The Flintstones is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, animated or otherwise. Take a peek under the hood and you'll realize that it shares many of its parts with an earlier TV great, too. It's no great secret that The Flintstones took many of its cues from The Honeymooners. Just look at the shows' structures: A working-class man beleaguered by a relatable life at home, with a bufoon next-door neighbor who's the closest thing he's got to a best friend. Even Fred's vocal patter evokes memories of ol' Ralph Kramden. 

But here's a little-known piece of showbiz lore that might surprise you: According to online Flintstones resource Webrock.com, Jackie Gleason had every intention to take legal action regarding the shows' similarities. 

Henry Corden, voice of Fred Flintstone and one of Gleason's closest friends, said that The Great One wanted to pursue a lawsuit.

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"Jackie's lawyers told him he could probably have The Flintstones pulled right off the air. But they also told him, 'Do you want to be known as the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air? The guy who took away a show that so many kids love, and so many of their parents love, too?' And apparently, Jackie thought it over and decided against it.

So, how similar were the shows? Was The Honeymooners intentionally a part of its cartoon relatives' conception? 

"At that time, The Honeymooners was the most popular show on the air, and for my bill, it was the funniest show on the air," said Flintstones creator Joseph Hanna. "The characters, I thought, were terrific. Now, that influenced greatly what we did with The Flintstones... The Honeymooners was there, and we used that as a kind of basis for the concept."

Hanna's creative partner, Joseph Barbera, had this to add to the conversation:

I don't remember mentioning The Honeymooners when I sold the show, but if people want to compare The Flintstones to The Honeymooners, then great. It's a total compliment. The Honeymooners was one of the greatest shows ever written.