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Red Skelton

Red Skelton

Actor · 1913 – 1997 · Vincennes, Indiana, USA

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.

Movies22

  • Movie6.7
  • Movie6.4

    Ocean's Eleven

    1960 · 424 votes

  • Movie6.8
  • Movie5.9

    Bathing Beauty

    1944 · 33 votes

  • Movie7.4

    That's Entertainment!

    1974 · 73 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Susan Slept Here

    1954 · 32 votes

  • Movie6.1

    The Fuller Brush Girl

    1950 · 11 votes

  • Movie7.0
  • Movie6.5

    Du Barry Was a Lady

    1943 · 18 votes

  • Movie7.6
  • Movie6.0

    Ziegfeld Follies

    1945 · 59 votes

  • Movie6.3

    Public Pigeon No. 1

    1957 · 3 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Rudolph's Shiny New Year

    1976 · 114 votes

  • Movie6.9

    That's Dancing!

    1985 · 22 votes

  • Movie7.2
  • Movie6.1

    Neptune's Daughter

    1949 · 34 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Swing Out, Sweet Land

    1970 · 6 votes

  • Movie10.0

    Clown Alley

    1966 · 1 votes

  • Movie10.0
  • Movie2.0
  • Movie6.3

    Three Little Words

    1950 · 17 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Twenty Years After

    1944 · 2 votes

Series15

  • TV7.6
  • TV7.0

    What's My Line?

    1950 · 29 votes

  • TV7.4

    The Red Skelton Show

    1951 · 19 votes

  • TV3.8

    Climax!

    1954 · 12 votes

  • TV7.5
  • TV7.0

    The Bob Hope Show

    1950 · 5 votes

  • TV6.8

    The Ed Sullivan Show

    1948 · 23 votes

  • TV6.2

    The Steve Allen Show

    1956 · 6 votes

  • TV6.4
  • TV7.8

    The Jack Benny Program

    1950 · 17 votes

  • TV7.1

    The Oscars

    1953 · 85 votes

  • TV6.3
  • TV6.5

    This Is Your Life

    1952 · 13 votes

  • TV8.6
  • TV7.5

    Texaco Star Theater

    1948 · 6 votes