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Ред Скелтон, Richard Red Skelton, Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton, Richard Bernard Skelton
description About
The son of a former circus clown turned grocer and a cleaning woman, Red Skelton was introduced to show business at the age of 7 by Ed Wynn, at a vaudeville show in Vincennes. At age 10, he left home to travel with a medicine show through the Midwest, and joined the vaudeville circuit at age 15. At age 17, he married Edna Marie Stilwell, an usher who became his vaudeville partner and later his chief writer and manager. He debuted on Broadway and radio in 1937 and on film in 1938. His ex-wife/manager negotiated a seven-year Hollywood contract for him in 1951, the same year The Red Skelton Hour (1951) premiered on NBC. For two decades, until 1971, his show consistently stayed in the top twenty, both on NBC and CBS. His numerous characters, including Clem Kaddiddlehopper, George Appleby, and the seagulls Gertrude and Heathcliffe delighted audiences for decades. First and foremost, he considered himself a clown, although not the greatest, and his paintings of clowns brought in a fortune after he left television. His home life was not completely happy--two divorces and a son Richard who died of leukemia at age 9--and he did not hang around with other comedians. He continued performing live until illness, and he was a longtime supporter of children's charities. Red Skelton died at age 84 of pneumonia in Rancho Mirage, California, on September 17, 1997. Red is interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, California, in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Benediction.
Info
- wc Gender: Male
- calendar_month Birth Date: 1913-07-18
- event Death Date 1997-09-17
- school Known for: Acting
- star Popularity: 4.1
- info Birth Place Vincennes, Indiana, USA
- visibility Views: 6 views
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star User Ratings:
image Images
smart_display Movies and TV shows by Red Skelton
6.4
Ocean's Eleven
1960-08-10
0
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985-01-01
6.9
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes
1965-06-16
6.4
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
1976-12-10
0
The Hollywood Clowns
1979-03-23
0
The People's Command Performance: '77
1977-04-07
5.9
Three Little Words
1950-07-12
5.1
Lovely to Look At
1952-05-29
4.4
Texas Carnival
1951-10-05
6.1
Ziegfeld Follies
1945-08-26
5.8
Neptune's Daughter
1949-06-10
5.8
The Fuller Brush Man
1948-06-01
6.1
Du Barry was a Lady
1943-08-13
6.4
Thousands Cheer
1943-09-13
5.9
Ship Ahoy
1942-04-16
5.4
Lady Be Good
1941-09-18
5.8
Bathing Beauty
1944-06-27
7.6
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
1968-12-19
4.9
Having Wonderful Time
1938-07-01
10
Clown Alley
1966-11-09
6.1
Susan Slept Here
1954-07-28
7.2
Excuse My Dust
1951-06-27
4.8
Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner
1981-11-01
6.5
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
1941-08-22
5.8
Whistling in the Dark
1941-08-08
6.3
Whistling in Brooklyn
1943-12-01
5
Whistling in Dixie
1942-12-31
5.4
Flight Command
1940-12-27
5.4
The Clown
1953-01-16
6.5
Maisie Gets Her Man
1942-06-01
6.3
The Yellow Cab Man
1950-03-25
0
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special
1970-11-16
4
Panama Hattie
1942-09-30
6.8
Merton of the Movies
1947-10-11
7
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
1941-05-02
3.5
I Dood It
1943-09-01
0
The Great Diamond Robbery
1954-01-29
5.5
Half a Hero
1953-05-11
5.7
Swing Out, Sweet Land
1970-01-01
5.2
A Southern Yankee
1948-08-05
5.3
Watch the Birdie
1950-12-11
7
The Show-Off
1946-12-01
6
The Fuller Brush Girl
1950-09-15
5.5
Seeing Red
1939-08-25
6
Public Pigeon No. 1
1957-05-17
7.3
That's Entertainment!
1974-06-21
0
Red Skelton Christmas Classics
1955-12-23
0
Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs
2001-05-15
0
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999-01-01
6.6
Around the World in Eighty Days
1956-10-17
6.3
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964-09-02
0
America on Parade
1976-04-03
0
The Broadway Buckaroo
1939-06-03
6.8
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976-05-16
6
Twenty Years After
1944-01-01
7
That's Dancing!
1985-01-18
0
Red Skelton: A Royal Command Performance
1984-04-22
6
Inside the Dream Factory
1995-11-01
0
Honor America Day
1970-07-04
7.3
Texaco Star Theater
1948-06-08
6.6
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948-06-20
5.3
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958-10-06
6.6
This Is Your Life
1952-10-01
3
Climax!
1954-10-07
5.3
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956-10-05
5
The Steve Allen Show
1956-06-24
7
The Oscars
1953-03-19
8.6
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
1957-11-06
7.4
The Red Skelton Show
1951-09-30
7.7
The Jack Benny Program
1950-10-28
7
The Bob Hope Show
1950-04-09
5
The Steve Allen Show
1956-06-24
7
What's My Line?
1950-02-02
7.5
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962-10-01