Red 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.
Known For
Self
Ocean's Eleven
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
The Neanderthal Man
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes
Father Time / Baby Bear (voice)
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
(archive footage)
The Hollywood Clowns
Self
The People's Command Performance: '77
Harry Ruby
Three Little Words
Al Marsh
Lovely to Look At
Cornie Quinell
Texas Carnival
J. Newton Numbskull (segment "When Television Comes")
Ziegfeld Follies
Jack Spratt
Neptune's Daughter
Red Jones
The Fuller Brush Man
Louis Blore / King Louis XV
Du Barry Was a Lady
Red Skelton
Thousands Cheer
Merton K. Kibble
Ship Ahoy
Joe 'Red' Willet
Lady Be Good
Steve Elliott
Bathing Beauty
Self (uncredited)
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
Itchy
Having Wonderful Time
Freddie the Freeloader
Clown Alley
Oswald from North Dakota (uncredited)
Susan Slept Here
Joe Belden
Excuse My Dust
Freddie the Freeloader
Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner
Vernon Briggs
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
Wally Benton
Whistling in the Dark
Wally 'The Fox' Benton
Whistling in Brooklyn
Wally Benton
Whistling in Dixie
Lieut. 'Mugger' Martin
Flight Command
Dodo Delwyn
The Clown
Herbert P. 'Hap' Hixby
Maisie Gets Her Man
Augustus 'Red' Pirdy
The Yellow Cab Man
Self (uncredited)
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special
Red
Panama Hattie
Merton Gill aka Clifford Armytage
Merton of the Movies
Vernon Briggs
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
Joseph 'Joe' Rivington Renolds
I Dood It
Ambrose C. Park
The Great Diamond Robbery
Ben Dobson
Half a Hero
Self
Swing Out, Sweet Land
Aubrey Filmore
A Southern Yankee
Rusty Cammeron
Watch the Birdie
J. Aubrey Piper
The Show-Off
Red Skelton - Fuller Brush Man (uncredited)
The Fuller Brush Girl
Red / Doorman / Coatroom Attendant / Waiter / Emcee
Seeing Red
Rusty Morgan
Public Pigeon No. 1
(archive footage) (uncredited)
That's Entertainment!
Main
Red Skelton Christmas Classics
Himself (Host)/Various Characters
Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs
Buffalo Bob Smith / Howdy Doody (archive footage)
Television: The First Fifty Years
Drunk in Barbary Coast Saloon
Around the World in Eighty Days
Aubrey Filmore in 'A Southern Yankee' (archive footage)
The Big Parade of Comedy
Host
America on Parade
Red
The Broadway Buckaroo
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
Twenty Years After
From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
That's Dancing!
Himself
Red Skelton: A Royal Command Performance
Self
Inside the Dream Factory
Self
Honor America Day
Self
A Tribute to Houdini
Pioneers of Primetime
Red Skelton
Red Skelton: America's Greatest Clown
Self - Announcing Next Week's Show
The Country Husband
Self
The Man in the Funny Suit
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
64
Gender
Male
Birthday
1913-07-18
Place of Birth
Vincennes, Indiana, USA
Also Known As
Ред Скелтон