Red Skelton
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.
Ocean's Eleven
(Self)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
(Self (archive footage))
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes
(The Neanderthal Man)
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
(Father Time / Baby Bear (voice))
The Hollywood Clowns
((archive footage))
The People's Command Performance: '77
(Self)
Three Little Words
(Harry Ruby)
Lovely to Look At
(Al Marsh)
Texas Carnival
(Cornie Quinell)
Ziegfeld Follies
(J. Newton Numbskull (segment "When Television Comes"))
Neptune's Daughter
(Jack Spratt)
The Fuller Brush Man
(Red Jones)
Du Barry was a Lady
(Louis Blore / King Louis XV)
Thousands Cheer
(Red Skelton)
Ship Ahoy
(Merton K. Kibble)
Lady Be Good
(Joe 'Red' Willet)
Bathing Beauty
(Stephen "Steve" Sherman Elliott)
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
(Self (uncredited))
Having Wonderful Time
(Itchy)
Clown Alley
(Freddie the Freeloader)
Susan Slept Here
(Oswald from North Dakota (uncredited))
Excuse My Dust
(Joe Belden)
Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner
(Freddie the Freeloader)
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
(Vernon Briggs)
Whistling in the Dark
(Wally Benton)
Whistling in Dixie
(Wally Benton)
Whistling in Brooklyn
(Wally 'The Fox' Benton)
Flight Command
(Lieut. 'Mugger' Martin)
The Clown
(Dodo Delwyn)
Maisie Gets Her Man
(Herbert P. 'Hap' Hixby)
The Yellow Cab Man
(Augustus 'Red' Pirdy)
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special
(Self (uncredited))
Panama Hattie
(Red)
Merton of the Movies
(Merton Gill aka Clifford Armytage)
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
(Vernon Briggs)
I Dood It
(Joseph 'Joe' Rivington Renolds)
The Great Diamond Robbery
(Ambrose C. Park)
Half a Hero
(Ben Dobson)
Swing Out, Sweet Land
(Self)
A Southern Yankee
(Aubrey Filmore)
Watch the Birdie
(Rusty Cammeron)
The Show-Off
(J. Aubrey Piper)
The Fuller Brush Girl
(Red Skelton - Fuller Brush Man (uncredited))
Seeing Red
(Red / Doorman / Coatroom Attendant / Waiter / Emcee)
Public Pigeon No. 1
(Rusty Morgan)
That's Entertainment!
((archive footage) (uncredited))
Red Skelton Christmas Classics
(Main)
Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs
(Himself (Host)/Various Characters)
Television: The First Fifty Years
(Buffalo Bob Smith / Howdy Doody (archive footage))
Around the World in Eighty Days
(Drunk in Barbary Coast Saloon)
The Big Parade of Comedy
(Aubrey Filmore in 'A Southern Yankee' (archive footage))
America on Parade
(Host)
The Broadway Buckaroo
(Red)
That's Entertainment, Part II
((archive footage))
Twenty Years After
((archive footage))
That's Dancing!
(From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage))
Red Skelton: A Royal Command Performance
(Himself)
Inside the Dream Factory
(Self)
Texaco Star Theater
(Clem Kadiddlehopper)
The Ed Sullivan Show
(Self)
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
(Self)
This Is Your Life
(Self)
Climax!
(Rusty Morgan)
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
(Self)
The Steve Allen Show
(Self - Cameo / Clem Kadiddlehopper)
The Oscars
(Self)
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
(Red Skeleton)
The Red Skelton Show
(Host)
The Ed Sullivan Show
(Self - Comedian)
The Jack Benny Program
(Self)
The Ed Sullivan Show
(Self - Guest)
The Bob Hope Show
(Self)
The Ed Sullivan Show
(Self - Guest Host)
The Steve Allen Show
(Self - Recipient)
What's My Line?
(Self - Mystery Guest)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(Self)