I don't see a thred on Red, oops, I mean a THREAD on Red, so here we are:
Let's face it, if not for Red, we may never have had Johnny Carson. He was a writer for Red, early in his career.
An all around nice guy, from what I've read.
I don't see a thred on Red, oops, I mean a THREAD on Red, so here we are:
Let's face it, if not for Red, we may never have had Johnny Carson. He was a writer for Red, early in his career.
An all around nice guy, from what I've read.
Gosh, I am so glad someone started a thread on Red Skelton. I absolutely loved him, he seemed like a genuine nice guy - even though his humor could be somewhat corny. But he always made me laugh. From what I read, he did have his troubled life - his son died from cancer when he was nine and Red never recovered from it. His former wife Georgia eventually committed suicide from it. But, all in all, he had a fabulous outlook on life. And yes, Johnny Carson was a writer for his show.
I'm glad that you like the thread. Red was before my time, but yes, he sure did have his share of personal heartache. If I'm not mistaken, on Red's seventieth birthday, he appeared on The Tonight Show, and Johnny cancelled all of the other guests, so it was just him and Red. Now, THAT is class.
He never failed to make me laugh! Seems as if he was in a movie (the name of which escapes me) that took place in a circus, does anyone know of it?
Is it true that he wanted masters of his television show destroyed upon his death? Or is that some Hollywood myth?
I LOVE Red Skelton! I can remember watching him when I was a kid. I have a DVD of his television show.
I heard something about that.
I have also heard that Red was quite conservative when it came to his guests. For example he refused to have have rock or country stars to appear on his show. I heard he turned down both Elvis Presley and even Patsy Cline from appearing on his show.
Given the way he felt about CBS, I wouldn't be surprised about the masters. I hope that isn't the case, though.
I recall a Tonight Show episode of which Red was the only guest...Johnny spent the entire 90 minutes with the master clown. The only other Tonight Show I can recall Johnny spending the entire program with only one guest was with Billy Graham.
The only Red joke I remember was a Gertrude and Heathcliff (the two seagulls) joke.
Heathcliff: Hey Gertrude, look down there, it's a ship of fools.
Gertrude: How do you know it's a ship of fools?
Heathcliff: They're lookin' up, ain't they?
Mostly what stood out in my mind was way he ended his shows with "Good night, and may God bless", humbly and sincerely.
Thanks for this thread on one of the best of Hollywood...on and off stage.
Last edited by Bidmor; 04-10-2008 at 03:00 PM.
I always watched his show as a kid.
Corny, but funny jokes for a less complicated time.
I'd love to have those shows on DVD.
The episode of the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour where Red did the Freddy the Freeloader act with Lucy was so funny
Here's some great Skelton stories from Mark Evanier's great site:
http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL157.htm
I can barely remember his show as a young kid. Remember him being hysterically funny, and closing each sho with "Goodnight & God Bless"
While I don't know the ultimate answer to the fate of his shows upon his death, I do know what the issue was. He had a lot of offers to release his old shows in syndication, but all of the offers involved chopping the shows up and repackaging the pieces in a Best Of sort of format. He refused to sign a contract for anything other than re-releasing the shows as they were originally broadcast, completely intact. The threat to have the shows destroyed when he died seemed to be a pressure tactic, kind of a "Do it my way or else."
As a kid I was a bit frightened of Red's last name, because it sounded like "skeleton." His clown or tramp or whatever also creeped me out. I did enjoy the show, though. Miss those days.
Red Skeleton .. he was a class act that entertained millions. He was a truly funny man and I remember that he used to make himself laugh, that was even more hilarious.. Sadly missed........
There's more to the truth than just the facts. ~Author Unknown
He was also a great pantomime artist. He had Marcel Marceau as a guest one week, and the entire show was pantomime, just the two masters trading sketches.
I just love this guy, what a sweet, sweet man.
True story - my grandfather was a carpenter and was on the crew that was extending Harrahs at Tahoe back in the 50's. Red was appearing there and one day at lunch he came out and asked the construction crew "Can I eat my lunch with you guys?"
Of course they said yes.
Grandpa said Red was like a kid , he went running back to his dressing room and came out with the standard black lunchbox and said "I had this ready in case you guys said yes"
He ate lunch with them every day the entire timehe was performing there and was apparently a sweetheart of a guy.
Aw, that's a great story. I like when people turn out to be genuinely decent.
My Grandma met him a few times. One time she sat with him on a train. She said he was one of the nicest guys she'd ever met.
If one is fortunate enough to see a couple editions of The Red Skelton Hour, it's obvious that Red had a good time and that was because he genuinely got joy from bringing a few minutes of joy and laughter to others.
Once he showed his patriotism and injected a bit of social commentary in a rather serious piece called "The Pledge Of Allegiance" during a 1969 (I think it was) program. The popularity of that piece became enough for Colombia records to issue the audio track on a 45 rpm record, which I own a copy of.
Last edited by Bidmor; 09-25-2008 at 11:05 AM.
Red Skelton is a household name in my family. My mom hated that her children didn't get to watch him as she had. But by the miracle of DVD my mom can now relive a simpler time and enjoy non-blue comedy.
Red was a 33rd degree Mason. He was always proud of that fact and worked it into his act now and again.
I find it interesting that off camera, Red would tell very dirty jokes, but according to IMDb, he was very offended by blue humor. But still, Red was a very funny man.
Many interesting facts I never knew concerning Red Skelton.
Marlies
I am an old time radio buff, and I love Red's radio shows. Those of you who only got to see him on tv likely missed one of his best characters: Junior, "the mean widdle kid". He was absolutely hilarious as a mischief making brat. Verna Felton (the voice of the godmother from Cinderella) played his grandmother. He quit doing the character after his son died. You should really check out some of these shows. They're classics. You can find them for free at places like http://www.archive.org and http://www.radiolovers.com.
My favorite Red Skelton story is when he beat out Lucille Ball for the Emmy, and he said "Ladies and Gentlemen, you gave this award to the wrong readhead".
I have never heard that Red Skelton liked telling dirty jokes. Could you be thinking of Red Foxx, who came to fame for his dirty records? Red Skelton was convinced that telling dirty jokes was not true comedy, as he thought the discomfort the audience felt was why they laughed.
I have read this and heard him speak of this one time. He was a stickler for clean humor and I can't believe he wouldn't have been exposed.
Edited to add:Well, I am wrong or the POV story is wrong. I am surprised because Red certainly was a campaigner for comedians not telling dirty jokes.
Last edited by OBX; 10-09-2008 at 05:37 PM.
The dress rehearsals of the Red Skelton TV show were infamous for their blue humor and off color remarks....and in fact often on the broadcast version Red or someone would say: "I had a great line there in rehearsal, but I can't use it now." He certainly didn't use it on TV, but his night club and summer theatre act sometimes had some off color humor - but like Liberace, his audiences loved it.
I watched the Red Skelton Show every week, loved the sketches and the musical numbers, and Red's opening monolog and jokes were always funny.
He was born or raised in southern Indiana, and back in the 60's they dedicated a bridge in Vincennes, Indiana, to him. There was a big ceremony at the center of the structure and the mayor and all the bigwigs talked. Then Red got up and looked one way then the other and said: "All right, all you guys get off my bridge!"
Favorite Skelton movie: DuBarry Was a Lady with Lucille Ball.....
Ah, the happiness that is YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPbIls0iOnI
I met him in a club I was running in the 80`s....he was having dinner in the restaurant next door, and being a kid who had adored him I rushed over for an autograph....he was exactly the way you saw him on TV....sweet, non assuming, and a total class act.....I could tell he was tired, but he took the time to talk to me and got a kick out me knowing who he was....that autograph is one of my favorite material things on earth
I hate to say it, because he definitely seemed like a good guy, but when I was a kid my mother used to roll her eyes and groan every week when he got to the 'May God bless' line. She couldnt stand him. "He laughs at his own jokes too much," she'd say.
I remember well watching his show weekly when I was young. Always a hoot...and the off hand remarks and bloopers made it even funnier. My favorite movie of his was "The Clown"...made in '53. Real tear jerker at the end. In later years, he was the first celebrity I wrote to ask for an autograph. He signed the card "God Bless-Red Skelton". A wonderful soul, for sure.
I dragged my wife to see him at the state fair. It was Senior Citizens day and we may have been the youngest people there. I had watched his show as a kid and told me wife that we were in for a great time from him. When he finished my wife said her sides were hurting from laughing so hard.
I have always been glad that I got to see him live.
Did you know Red was an accomplished painter? His paintings are mostly of clowns and are for sale on E Bay.
Here is his site containing some of his artwork:
http://www.redskelton.com/ART.htm
He came to town for a show in 1979. I was married to my first ex-wife at the time and she really didn't want to go but she finally agreed to go with me (we got free tickets). The show was on a Friday night but he came to town the Sunday evening prior. He spent the week going out to malls, shopping centers and hospitals visiting with everyone and giving impromptu shows. On show night, he performed two-and-a-half hours without a break and then came back out for a 15-minute encore. While we were leaving, it was announced that Mr. Skelton would be staying around in front of the stage until the last person left to sign autographs and take pictures. We waited our turn in line. They had some tables set up to keep the hordes of waiting people behind so that we wouldn't crush him. When it came our turn, he posed for pictures with the wife and told a couple of jokes. When he got to me, the first words out of his mouth were that I was big enough to apply for statehood, which cracked everyone up. (At the time, I was 6'6" and 280 lbs, kinda 'broad at the shoulders and narrow at the hips' like Jimmy Dean's Big, Bad John.) We were some of the last to see him that night. After a show that totaled almost three hours, an hour later, he was still signing autographs, taking pictures, and telling jokes. What an entertainer. Guys like ol' Kenny Rogers (who knew he was better than the fan and would say things during concert like, 'if I can't shake everyone's hand, I'm not shaking anyone's hand') sure could have learned a thing about fan interaction and fan appreciation from Red Skelton.
What great stories! He has always been someone I wish I was lucky enough to meet. Really miss that dear man.
Cindy
Vincennes has several murals of Red Skelton and a museum. I walk past the murals all the time; however, I haven't visited the museum yet.
I think I read somewhere that Red plastered another actor's dressing room with nudie pictures so he probably could be raunchy at times.
Last edited by dagood54; 12-09-2011 at 10:11 PM. Reason: spelling error