- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRichard Red Skelton
- Nicknames
- America's Clown Prince
- The Marcel Marceau of Television
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- The son of a former circus clown turned grocer and a cleaning woman, Red Skelton was introduced to show business at the age of seven 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 18, 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 nine--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.
- IMDb mini biography by: <anthony-adam@tamu.edu>
- SpousesLothian Toland(October 8, 1973 - September 17, 1997) (his death)Georgia Davis(March 9, 1945 - September 6, 1973) (divorced, 2 children)Edna Marie Stilwell(June 1, 1932 - February 18, 1943) (divorced)
- Children
- ParentsJoseph E. SkeltonIda Mae Skelton
- RelativesSabrina Alonso(Grandchild)Paul Skelton(Sibling)
- His wide variety of characters such as Sheriff Dead Eye, Clem Kadiddlehopper, etc.
- Performs and does characters with his brown hat. He performs different characters by changing the way the hat looks and how he wears it
- Always ended his TV show and specials with, "Good night and may God bless."
- Red hair
- Dimples
- One of Red's writers filled in for him one night when he took a serious fall, injuring himself. That writer's name was Johnny Carson.
- On May 10, 1976, his ex-wife Georgia Davis committed suicide by gunshot on the 18th anniversary of their son's Richard Freeman Skelton's death.
- It's been said that Skelton was deeply offended by "blue humor," but this isn't entirely true. In fact, Red Skelton could be as ribald as anyone, as evidenced by the now-infamous tapes of Martha Raye and Skelton trading dirty jokes during a rehearsal. What truly offended Skelton was that, as time went on, comedians started to use language and shock value to entertain audiences as opposed to genuine wit and pathos, which Skelton considered essential to a comedian's work.
- Served in the United States Army during World War II (1944-1945). His date of induction to the U.S. Army was Wednesday 7 June 1944. (Associated Press, "Red Skelton Inducted", The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 9 June 1944, Volume 50, page 9.). The pressures of entertaining troops, and fulfilling his duties as a soldier, resulted in Skelton's hospitalization for a nervous breakdown in 1945.
- In 1971, following a successful 30 year run on CBS (often placing among the top ten shows) his ratings finally slipped and The Red Skelton Hour (1951) was quickly canceled by the network. He never forgave them. Television historians have long suspected that he was a victim of the 1971 television purge that took place after the success of All in the Family (1971) wherein CBS rid itself of all "nice shows" and "rural shows" in favor of shows with edgier subject matter.
- My mother told me something I've never forgotten: 'Don't take life too seriously, son, you don't come out of it alive anyway.
- His traditional TV sign-off: "Good night, and may God bless."
- All men make mistakes, but married men find out about them sooner.
- When Harry Cohn, the notorious - and much despised - head of Columbia Pictures died, seeing the crowd at his funeral prompted this famous Skelton riposte: "It just goes to show you, Harry was right -- If you give the public what they want, they'll always show up."
- As a longtime painter, I carry around snapshots of my favorite paintings the way other old geezers my age carry around pictures of their grandkids. Grandchildren are wonderful, but a good painting can help support you in your old age.
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