
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.

Clown Alley

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour

The Jack Benny Program

The Dean Martin Christmas Show

The Red Skelton Show

That's Entertainment!

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Excuse My Dust

The Show-Off

That's Dancing!

アカデミー賞

The Bob Hope Show

What's My Line?

That's Entertainment, Part II

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes

The People Vs. Dr. Kildare

エド・サリヴァン・ショー

Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day

80日間世界一周

The Big Parade of Comedy

Maisie Gets Her Man

オーシャンと十一人の仲間

赤鼻のトナカイ ルドルフ物語

Du Barry Was a Lady

Thousands Cheer

This Is Your Life

Whistling in Brooklyn

The Yellow Cab Man

Merton of the Movies

Three Little Words

ジーグフェルド・フォリーズ

Neptune's Daughter

The Fuller Brush Man

Swing Out, Sweet Land

The Fuller Brush Girl

Public Pigeon No. 1

Twenty Years After

Inside the Dream Factory

A Tribute to Houdini

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

Susan Slept Here

Ship Ahoy

Bathing Beauty

Whistling in the Dark

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

Flight Command

The Steve Allen Show

Half a Hero

Seeing Red

Lady Be Good

Watch the Birdie

The Clown

A Southern Yankee

Lovely to Look at

Whistling in Dixie

Texas Carnival

Having Wonderful Time

I Dood It

Panama Hattie

Climax!

Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

The Hollywood Clowns

The People's Command Performance: '77

The Great Diamond Robbery

Red Skelton Christmas Classics

Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs

America on Parade

Honor America Day

Pioneers of Primetime

Red Skelton: America's Greatest Clown

The Country Husband