Red Skelton
Acting • Born 1913-07-18 – Died 1997-09-17
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.
Filmography
79 credits
Ocean's Eleven
Movie • 1960
Self
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Movie • 1985
Self (archive footage)
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes
Movie • 1965
The Neanderthal Man
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
Movie • 1977
Father Time / Baby Bear (voice)
The Hollywood Clowns
Movie • 1979
(archive footage)
The People's Command Performance: '77
Movie • 1977
Self
Three Little Words
Movie • 1950
Harry Ruby
Lovely to Look at
Movie • 1952
Al Marsh
Texas Carnival
Movie • 1951
Cornie Quinell
Ziegfeld Follies
Movie • 1945
J. Newton Numbskull (segment "When Television Comes")
Neptune's Daughter
Movie • 1949
Jack Spratt
The Fuller Brush Man
Movie • 1948
Red Jones
Du Barry Was a Lady
Movie • 1943
Louis Blore / King Louis XV
Thousands Cheer
Movie • 1943
Red Skelton
Ship Ahoy
Movie • 1942
Merton K. Kibble
Lady Be Good
Movie • 1941
Joe 'Red' Willet
Bathing Beauty
Movie • 1944
Steve Elliott
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
Movie • 1968
Self (uncredited)
Having Wonderful Time
Movie • 1938
Itchy
Clown Alley
Movie • 1966
Freddie the Freeloader
Susan Slept Here
Movie • 1954
Oswald from North Dakota (uncredited)
Excuse My Dust
Movie • 1951
Joe Belden
Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner
Movie • 1981
Freddie the Freeloader
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
Movie • 1941
Vernon Briggs
Whistling in the Dark
Movie • 1941
Wally Benton
Whistling in Brooklyn
Movie • 1943
Wally 'The Fox' Benton
Whistling in Dixie
Movie • 1942
Wally Benton
Flight Command
Movie • 1940
Lieut. 'Mugger' Martin
The Clown
Movie • 1953
Dodo Delwyn
Maisie Gets Her Man
Movie • 1942
Herbert P. 'Hap' Hixby
The Yellow Cab Man
Movie • 1950
Augustus 'Red' Pirdy
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special
Movie • 1970
Self (uncredited)
Panama Hattie
Movie • 1942
Red
Merton of the Movies
Movie • 1947
Merton Gill aka Clifford Armytage
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
Movie • 1941
Vernon Briggs
I Dood It
Movie • 1943
Joseph 'Joe' Rivington Renolds
The Great Diamond Robbery
Movie • 1954
Ambrose C. Park
Half a Hero
Movie • 1953
Ben Dobson
Swing Out, Sweet Land
Movie • 1970
Self
A Southern Yankee
Movie • 1948
Aubrey Filmore
Watch the Birdie
Movie • 1950
Rusty Cammeron / Pop Cammeron / Grandpop Cammeron
The Show-Off
Movie • 1946
J. Aubrey Piper
The Fuller Brush Girl
Movie • 1950
Red Skelton - Fuller Brush Man (uncredited)
Seeing Red
Movie • 1939
Red / Doorman / Coatroom Attendant / Waiter / Emcee
Public Pigeon No. 1
Movie • 1957
Rusty Morgan
That's Entertainment!
Movie • 1974
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Red Skelton Christmas Classics
Movie • 1955
Main
Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs
Movie • 2001
Himself (Host)/Various Characters
Television: The First Fifty Years
Movie • 1999
Buffalo Bob Smith / Howdy Doody (archive footage)
Around the World in 80 Days
Movie • 1956
Drunk in Barbary Coast Saloon
The Big Parade of Comedy
Movie • 1964
Aubrey Filmore in 'A Southern Yankee' (archive footage)
America on Parade
Movie • 1976
Host
The Broadway Buckaroo
Movie • 1939
Red
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
Twenty Years After
Movie • 1944
(archive footage)
That's Dancing!
Movie • 1985
From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
Red Skelton: A Royal Command Performance
Movie • 1984
Himself
Inside the Dream Factory
Movie • 1995
Self
Honor America Day
Movie • 1970
Self
A Tribute to Houdini
Movie • 1987
Self
Pioneers of Primetime
Movie • 2005
Red Skelton: America's Greatest Clown
Movie • 2005
Red Skelton
The Country Husband
Movie • 1956
Self - Announcing Next Week's Show
The Man in the Funny Suit
Movie • 1960
Self
Texaco Star Theater
TV • 1948
Clem Kadiddlehopper
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
TV • 1958
Self
This Is Your Life
TV • 1952
Self
Climax!
TV • 1954
Rusty Morgan
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV • 1956
Self
The Steve Allen Show
TV • 1956
Self - Cameo / Clem Kadiddlehopper
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
TV • 1957
Red Skeleton
The Red Skelton Show
TV • 1951
Host
The Jack Benny Program
TV • 1950
Self
The Bob Hope Show
TV • 1950
Self
The Steve Allen Show
TV • 1956
Self
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self - Mystery Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self