Red Skelton
"When the stork brought you, Clem, I shoulda shot him on sight!"
Born
July 18, 1913 Vincennes, Indiana, USA
Died
September 17, 1997 Palm Springs, California, USA

Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton (July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997) was an American comedian whose greatest impact — in a career which began as a teen circus clown and graduated to vaudeville, Broadway, MGM films, and radio — began when he reached television stardom with The Red Skelton Show (NBC, 1951–1952, CBS, 1953–1970; NBC, 1970–1971). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (639x850, 132 KB) Summary Official publicity photograph of Red Skelton. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The city of Vincennes is the county seat of Knox County, Indiana. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq. ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Palm Springs is located in Riverside County, California, the U.S.A.. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 42,807. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Vaudeville is a style of multi-act theatre which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. ... Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... The Red Skelton Show was a staple of American television for almost two decades, from the early 1950s through the early 1970s. ... NBC, (Formerly an acronym for the National Broadcasting Company until 2004), is an American television and radio network based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... See also: 1950 in television, other events of 1951, 1952 in television and the list of years in television. // Events May 28 - The US Supreme Court upholds the FCCs approval of the CBS color television system. ... See also: 1951 in television, other events of 1952, 1953 in television and the list of years in television. // Events February 15 - The funeral of King George VI is televised in the UK. August 1 - First TV broadcast in the Dominican Republic by La Voz Dominicana, a TV station based... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of the network) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... See also: 1952 in television, other events of 1953, 1954 in television and the list of years in television. // Events The BBCs Television Symbol, known as the bats wings by logo enthusiasts, first appeared in December this year. ... See also: 1969 in television, other events of 1970, 1971 in television and the list of years in television. For the American network television schedule, please see 1970-71 American network television schedule. ... NBC, (Formerly an acronym for the National Broadcasting Company until 2004), is an American television and radio network based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... See also: 1969 in television, other events of 1970, 1971 in television and the list of years in television. For the American network television schedule, please see 1970-71 American network television schedule. ... See also: 1970 in television, other events of 1971, 1972 in television and the list of years in television. For the American network television schedule, please see 1971-72 American network television schedule. ...

Greasepaint in his blood

Skelton was the son of a Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus clown who died shortly before he was born. Skelton himself got one of his earliest tastes of show business with the same circus as a teenager. Before that, however, he had been given the show business bug at age ten by entertainer Ed Wynn, who spotted him selling newspapers trying to help his family. After buying every newspaper in Skelton's stock, Wynn took the boy backstage and introduced him to every member of the show with which he was traveling. By age fifteen, Skelton had hit the road full-time as an entertainer, working everywhere from medicine shows and vaudeville to burlesque, showboats, minstrel shows, and circuses. A promotional poster for the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus The Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus was a circus that traveled across America in the early part of the 20th century. ... Ed Wynn (November 9, 1886 - June 19, 1966) was a popular United States entertainer, born Isaiah Edwin Leopold in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Photo of the Burlesque Troupe, Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang Burlesque was originally a form of art that mocked by imitation, referring to everything from comic sketches to dance routines and usually lampooning the social attitudes of the upper classes. ... The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, is an indigenous form of American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, usually performed by white people in blackface. ...

Air and celluloid

While performing in Kansas City in 1930, Skelton met and married his first wife, Edna Stillwell. The couple divorced thirteen years later, but they remained cordial enough that Stillwell remained one of his chief writers. Seven years after their marriage, Skelton caught his big break in two media at once: radio and film. Beginning with Having a Wonderful Time, Skelton appeared in over forty films for MGM in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1945, he married Georgia Davis; the couple had two children, Richard and Valentina; Richard's childhood death of leukemia devastated the household. Red and Georgia divorced in 1971, and he remarried. In 1976, Georgia committed suicide by gunshot. Nickname: City of Fountains or Heart of America Official website: http://www. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Leukemia or leukaemia (see spelling differences) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ...

In 1941, Skelton premiered his own radio show, developing comic skits involving a number of clown characters, most of which accompanied him to television a decade later. These characters included Cauliflower McPugg, a punch-drunk boxer; Willie Lump Lump, a drunkard; The Mean Little Kid (his favourite phrase - "I dood it!" - became part of the American lexicon); San Fernando Red, a slickermaster con artist with a pair of crosseyed seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe; and, especially, Clem Kadiddlehopper, a country bumpkin with a big heart, a slow wit, and an unintentional knack for upstaging high society slickers, even if he couldn't upstage his cynical father. ("When the stork bought you, Clem, I shoulda shot him on sight!") For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ...

The picture box clown

Skelton helped sell war bonds during World War II and served with an Army entertainment unit as a private. He once joked about his military career, "I was the only celebrity who went in and came out a private." His radio show - called "Red Skelton's Scrapbook of Satire" - became increasingly popular as the 1940s wore on, and in 1951 - the same year in which the network introduced I Love Lucy- CBS beckoned Skelton to bring his radio show to television. His clown-based characters worked even better on screen than on radio; television also provoked him to create his second best-remembered character, Freddy the Freeloader, a traditional tramp whose appearance suggested the elder, gray-haired brother of the famous Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus clown Emmett Kelly. (His weekly signoff ("Good night and may God bless") became as familiar to television viewers as Edward R. Murrow's "Good night and good luck" or Walter Cronkite's "And that's the way it is." Categories: Stub ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... I Love Lucy is a television sitcom that aired in the 1950s. ... Ringling Bros. ... Emmett Kelly (1898 – March 28, 1979), a native of Sedan, Kansas, was an American circus performer, who created the memorable clown figure Weary Willie, based on the hobos of the Depression era. ... Edward R. Murrow, U.S. newscaster, pioneer in broadcast journalism Edward R. Ed Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow), (April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American journalist. ... Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. ...

Skelton was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame in 1989, but as Kadiddlehopper showed he was more than an interpretive clown. One of his best-known routines was "The Pledge of Allegiance," in which he explained the pledge word by word. Another Skelton staple, a pantomime of the crowd at a small-town parade as the American flag passes by, reflected Skelton's rural, Americana tastes. The International Clown Hall of Fame is located in West Allis, Wisconsin and maintains a national archive of clown artifacts and history. ... An apple pie and baseball bat sitting atop an American flag. ...

In his autobiography "Groucho And Me", Groucho Marx, in asserting that comic acting is much more difficult than straight acting, rated Red Skelton's acting ability extremely highly and considered him a worthy successor to Charles Chaplin. Groucho Marx poses for an NBC promotional photograph Julius Henry Marx, known as Groucho Marx (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was an American comedian, working both with his siblings, the Marx Brothers, and on his own. ... For the Jamaican musician named Charlie Chaplin, see Charlie Chaplin (singer). ...

One of the last known on-camera interviews with Skelton was conducted by Steven F. Zambo. A small portion of this interview can be seen in the 2005 PBS special The Pioneers of Primetime. Steven F. Zambo is a film and television producer, director, and writer. ...

Off the air

Skelton kept his high television ratings into 1970 but he ran into two problems with CBS: demographics showed he no longer appealed to younger viewers, and his contracted annual salary raises grew disproportionately thanks to the inflation. Since CBS had earlier decided to keep another longtime favourite whose appeal was strictly to elder audiences, Gunsmoke, it's possible that without Skelton's inflationary contract raises he might have been kept on the air a few more years. He moved to NBC in 1971 for one season in a half-hour Monday night version of his show, then ended his long television career after being canceled. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of the network) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... Demographics is a shorthand term for population characteristics. Demographics include race, age, income, mobility (in terms of travel time to work or number of vehicles available), educational attainment, home ownership, employment status, and even location. ... The cast of radios Gunsmoke: Howard McNear (Doc), William Conrad (Matt), Georgia Ellis (Kitty) and Parley Baer (Chester) Gunsmoke was a long-running old-time radio and television Western drama created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. ... NBC, (Formerly an acronym for the National Broadcasting Company until 2004), is an American television and radio network based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

Skelton was said to be bitter about CBS's cancellation for many years to follow. Ignoring the demographics and salary issues, he bitterly accused CBS of caving in to the anti-establishment, anti-war faction at the height of the Vietnam War, saying his patriotism and traditional values caused CBS to turn against him. Skelton invited prominent Republicans, including Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and Senate Republican Leader Everett McKinley Dirksen, to appear on his program. Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... Spiro Theodore Agnew, born Spiro Anagnostopoulos (November 9, 1918–September 17, 1996), was the thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard M. Nixon. ... Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was a Republican U.S. Congressman and Senator from Illinois. ...

When he was presented with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Governor's Award in 1986, he received a standing ovation. "I want to thank you for sitting down," Skelton said when the ovation subsided. "I thought you were pulling a CBS and walking out on me." 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Aftermath

Skelton returned to live performance after his television days ended, in nightclubs and casinos and resorts, as well as performing such venues as Carnegie Hall. Many of those shows yielded segments that were edited into part of the Funny Faces video series. He also resurrected a lifetime love of painting, usually of clown images, and his works began to attract prices over $80,000. Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in New York City located at 57th Street and 7th Avenue. ...

Near the end of his life, Skelton said his daily routine included writing a short story a day (he collected the best ones in self-published chapbooks) and composing a piece of music a day (which he would then sell to providers of background music such as Muzak). This article is in need of attention. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ...

Red Skelton died in a hospital in Palm Springs, California from an undisclosed illness on September 17, 1997. At the time of his death, he lived in Anza, California. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California. Palm Springs is located in Riverside County, California, the U.S.A.. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 42,807. ... Anza is a city located in southern Riverside County, California, United States, in the Anza Valley, a semi-arid region at a mean elevation of 1253 meters above sea level. ... Gates of Forest Lawn Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a cemetery in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California. ... Nickname The Jewel City Location Location of Glendale within Los Angeles County and the State of California. ...

The Red Skelton Bridge spans the Wabash River and provides the highway link between Illinois and Indiana on Highway 50. The Wabash River is a 475 mi (765 km) long river in the eastern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near St. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq. ...

The Red Skelton Performing Arts Center on the Vincennes University campus was constructed in 2006. Vincennes University (VU) is a public university in Vincennes, Indiana in the United States. ...

May 17, 2006. According to the newspaper, the Vincennes Sun-Commercial, a non-profit group in Red's hometown of Vincennes, Indiana began to renovate the historic Pantheon Theater. According to the article, the stage at the Pantheon will be named in honor of Red Skelton.

Filmography

• Having Wonderful Time (1938)
• Seeing Red (1939) (short subject)
• Flight Command (1940)
• The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941)
• Whistling in the Dark (1941)
• Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day (1941)
• Lady Be Good (1941)
• Ship Ahoy (1942)
• Maisie Gets Her Man (1942)
• Panama Hattie (1942)
• Whistling in Dixie (1942)
• DuBarry Was a Lady (1943)
• Thousands Cheer (1943)
• I Dood It (1943)
• Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)
• Radio Bugs (1944) (short subject) (voice)
• Bathing Beauty (1944)
• The Luckiest Guy in the World (1946) (short subject) (voice)
• Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
• The Show-Off (1946)
• Merton of the Movies (1947)
• The Fuller Brush Man (1948)
• A Southern Yankee (1948)
• Neptune's Daughter (1949)
• The Yellow Cab Man (1950)
• Three Little Words (1950)
• Duchess of Idaho (1950) (cameo)
• The Fuller Brush Girl (1950) (cameo)
• Watch the Birdie (1950)
• Excuse My Dust (1951)
• Texas Carnival (1951)
• Lovely to Look At (1952)
• The Clown (1953)
• Half a Hero (1953)
• The Great Diamond Robbery (1953)
• Hollywood Goes to War (1954) (short subject)
• Susan Slept Here (1954) (cameo)
• Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
• Public Pigeon No. One (1957)
• Ocean's Eleven (1960)
• Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)

Seeing Red is the debut album by Canadian pop-punk band LiveonRelease, released by music label, HerMajestysRecords in October 2002 (see 2002 in music). ... For the aircraft of this name, see Lady be Good (aircraft). ... Ship Ahoy is the title of a 1942 musical-comedy motion picture produced by MGM. The film stars Eleanor Powell as Tallulah Winters, a dancing star who is hired to perform on an ocean liner. ... Panama Hattie is a theater musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. ... DuBarry Was a Lady was a 1939 musical with songs by Cole Porter. ... Thousands Cheer was an American musical-comedy released by MGM in 1943. ... I Dood It is the title of a 1943 musical-comedy motion picture produced by MGM and starring Red Skelton and dancer Eleanor Powell. ... The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. ... A Southern Yankee is a 1948 film, directed by Edward Sedgwick. ... Three Little Words (MGM) is a 1950 Hollywood musical film biography of the Tin Pan Alley songwriting partnership of Kalmar and Ruby and stars Fred Astaire as lyricist Bert Kalmar, Red Skelton as composer Harry Ruby, along with Vera-Ellen, Debbie Reynolds and Arlene Dahl. ... Duchess of Idaho is a musical romantic comedy produced in 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. ... Around the World in Eighty Days book cover Around the World in Eighty Days (French: Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is a classic adventure novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1872. ... Oceans Eleven is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. ... The 1965 comedy film Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is set in 1910, at the dawn of aviation when Lord Rawnsley, an English Press magnate, puts up the prize money for an air race from...

External links

• Red Skelton at The Internet Movie Database
• Official website of Red Skelton