Red Skelton
Date of birth: 1913-07-18
Place of birth: Vincennes, Indiana, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Ред Скелтон, Richard Red Skelton, Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton, Richard Bernard Skelton
Biography
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.
Movie Credits
Ocean's Eleven
1960-08-10
Danny Ocean and his gang attempt to rob the five biggest casinos in Las Vegas in one night.
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985-01-01
William Shatner, Liz Taylor and many more stars blow lines, lose their pants and more in this hilari
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes
1965-06-16
In order to boost circulation of his newspaper, Lord Rawnsley announces an air race and offers £10,0
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
1977-12-04
Rudolph must find Happy, the baby new year, before the midnight of New Year's Eve.
The Hollywood Clowns
1979-03-23
Glenn Ford narrates this hilarious look back at the greatest comedians in movie history.
The People's Command Performance: '77
1977-04-07
A celebrity lineup selected by a “specially conducted nationwide survey” entertains.
Three Little Words
1950-07-12
Song-and-dance man Bert Kalmar can't continue his stage career after an injury, so he has to earn hi
Lovely to Look At
1952-05-29
Broadway producers Tony Naylor, Al Marsh, and Jerry Ralby are having difficulty securing funds for t
Texas Carnival
1951-10-05
A Texas carnival showmen team is mistaken for a cattle baron and his sister.
Ziegfeld Follies
1945-08-26
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his gr
Neptune's Daughter
1949-06-10
Scatterbrained Betty Barrett mistakes masseur Jack Spratt for Jose O'Rourke, the captain of the Sout
The Fuller Brush Man
1948-06-01
Poor Red Jones gets fired from every job he tries. His fiancée gives him one last chance to make goo
Du Barry Was a Lady
1943-08-13
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a p
Thousands Cheer
1943-09-13
Acrobat Eddie Marsh is in the army now. His first act is to become friendly with Kathryn Jones, the
Ship Ahoy
1942-04-16
Miss Winters is a dancer with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and is asked to secretly transport a protot
Lady Be Good
1941-09-18
Married songwriters almost split up while putting on a big show.
Bathing Beauty
1944-06-27
After breaking up with her fiancé, a gym teacher returns to work at a women's college, but a legal l
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
1968-12-19
A Classic Holiday Celebration with Dean and Friends.
Having Wonderful Time
1938-07-01
Teddy Shaw, a bored New York office girl, goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains for rest and find
Clown Alley
1966-11-09
An all-star cast joins Red Skelton in this lavish 60-minute salute to circus clowns.
Susan Slept Here
1954-07-28
On Christmas Eve, suffering from a case of writer's block, screenwriter Mark Christopher and his gof
Excuse My Dust
1951-06-27
Joe, inventor in an American Small town of 1895 has problems with his new invention, a car, driven w
Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner
1981-11-01
Freddie the Freeloader sets out to have Xmas dinner in a very expensive New York restaurant with his
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
1941-08-22
A variety of predicaments arise to distract Dr. Kildare from his wedding to Nurse Mary Lamont.
Whistling in the Dark
1941-08-08
Radio crime show host 'The Fox' along with his fiancée and ex-girlfriend are kidnapped by a larcenou
Whistling in Brooklyn
1943-12-01
Radio crime show host "The Fox" finds himself on the trail of a serial killer while a suspect himsel
Whistling in Dixie
1942-12-31
Radio sleuth Wally 'The Fox' Benton travels to Georgia with his fiancé Carol to be married; and to h
Flight Command
1940-12-27
A rookie flyer, Ens. Alan Drake, joins the famous Hellcats Squadron right out of flight school in Pe
The Clown
1953-01-16
Once a famous Ziegfeld star, Dodo Delwyn is reduced to playing clowns in burlesque and amusement par
Maisie Gets Her Man
1942-06-01
Struggling performers, Sothern and Skelton's lives are thrown off gear when they are caught with a b
The Yellow Cab Man
1950-03-25
Pirdy is accident prone. He has been denied insurance from every company in town because he is alway
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special
1970-11-16
Panama Hattie
1942-09-30
Sailors and spies mingle in between the acts at Hattie's nightclub in the Canal Zone.
Merton of the Movies
1947-10-11
In 1915, Kansas theatre usher Merton Gill is a rabid silent-movie fan. When he brings Mammoth Studio
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
1941-05-02
An ice skater sues Kildare (Lew Ayres) for malpractice after his roadside first aid leaves her paral
I Dood It
1943-09-01
Constance Shaw, a Broadway dance star, and Joseph Rivington Reynolds, a keen fan of hers, marry afte
The Great Diamond Robbery
1954-01-29
Ambrose C. Park, left on a park bench as an infant with an impulsive need to find his parents, is an
Half a Hero
1953-05-11
A man moves his family from the big city to the suburbs.
Swing Out, Sweet Land
1970-01-01
John Wayne and an all-star cast tell the story of America.
A Southern Yankee
1948-08-05
Red Skelton plays Aubrey Filmore, a feather-brained but lovable bellboy who dreams of becoming an ag
Watch the Birdie
1950-12-11
A photographer falls for a rich girl and gets mixed up with crooks.
The Show-Off
1946-12-01
Chaos is brought to a family when daughter marries a brash young man met on a blind date.
The Fuller Brush Girl
1950-09-15
A daffy door-to-door saleswoman blunders into a murder investigation.
Seeing Red
1939-08-25
When he is fired from his job, Red puts a hex on his boss. That evening, the boss goes to a nightclu
Public Pigeon No. 1
1957-05-17
Swindlers con a lunchroom clerk into doing them a favor, supposedly on behalf of the FBI.
That's Entertainment!
1974-06-21
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year hi
Red Skelton Christmas Classics
1955-12-23
The ultimate Red Skelton Holiday Collection! Restored and In Color!
Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs
2001-05-15
Comedian Red Skelton, who delighted millions in his radio, TV, and movie appearances for more than f
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999-01-01
Trace the history of television and its impact on American culture with clips, newsreels, and exclus
Around the World in Eighty Days
1956-10-17
Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the wor
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964-09-02
Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.
America on Parade
1976-04-03
Television special for the American Bicentennial starring Red Skelton, featuring the America on Para
The Broadway Buckaroo
1939-06-03
Red Skelton inherits a dude ranch and must live there for six months, far from the bright lights of
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976-05-16
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time includi
Twenty Years After
1944-01-01
This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits, then
That's Dancing!
1985-01-18
A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie ca
Red Skelton: A Royal Command Performance
1984-04-22
This performance was recorded live on Red Skelton's 70th Birthday on 18 July 1983 and released on th
Inside the Dream Factory
1995-11-01
Faye Dunaway hosts a behind-the-scenes look at the Hollywood star-making machine.
Honor America Day
1970-07-04
Bob Hope's 2 1/2 hour star-spangled salute to America... "Honor America Day" as aired on July 4, 197
A Tribute to Houdini
1987-01-01
John Calvert performs an array of tricks inspired by celebrated escape artist and magician Harry Hou
Pioneers of Primetime
2005-11-09
An in-depth look at the early days of television and its first stars.
Red Skelton: America's Greatest Clown
2005-06-28
Hollywood has seen the coming and going of many comic geniuses, but only a select few have been as u
The Country Husband
1956-11-01
After a car crash and the arrival of a beautiful babysitter, a young businessman, William Wiley, con
The Man in the Funny Suit
1960-04-15
A dramatisation of the difficulties faced by actor Keenan Wynn when his father comedian Ed Wynn is c