| Bernard Richard "Red" Skelton (July 18, 1913–September 17, 1997) was an American comedian born in Vincennes,
Indiana who started in vaudeville as a teen-ager, worked his way up to
Broadway shows, secondary roles in MGM movies, radio
performances and finally popularity in the early days of TV. His eponymous variety show ran alternately on
the television networks CBS and NBC from 1951 through 1971. (See: The Red Skelton Show.)
He is best remembered for taking on the persona of circus clowns in traditional makeup
- a role that may have come naturally to Skelton, since his father, who died shortly before his birth, had worked as a clown for
the Hagenbeck & Wallace Circus. His best-known clown persona was "Freddy the Freeloader", who had traditional tramp clown makeup. Another popular
character was goofy "Clem Kadiddlehopper".
Near the end of his life, Skelton said his daily routine included writing a short story a day and composing a piece of music a
day (which he would then sell to providers of background music such as Muzak).
One of America's best loved comedians, Red Skelton is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California.
Filmography
- Having Wonderful
Time (1938)
- Seeing Red (1939) (short
subject)
- Flight Command (1940)
- The
People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941)
- Whistling in the
Dark (1941)
- Dr.
Kildare's Wedding Day (1941)
- Lady Be Good (1941)
- Ship Ahoy (1942)
- Maisie Gets Her
Man (1942)
- Panama Hattie (1942)
- Whistling in Dixie
(1942)
- Du Barry Was a
Lady (1943)
- Thousands Cheer
(1943)
- I Dood It (1943)
- Whistling in
Brooklyn (1943)
- Radio Bugs (1944) (short subject)
(voice)
- Bathing Beauty (1944)
- The Luckiest Guy in the World (1946) (short subject) (voice)
- Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
- The Show-Off (1946)
- Merton of the
Movies (1947)
- The Fuller Brush
Man (1948)
- A Southern Yankee
(1948)
- Neptune's
Daughter (1949)
- The Yellow Cab Man
(1950)
- Three Little Words
(1950)
- Duchess of Idaho
(1950) (cameo)
- The Fuller Brush
Girl (1950) (cameo)
- Watch the Birdie
(1950)
- Excuse My Dust (1951)
- Texas Carnival (1951)
- Lovely to Look At
(1952)
- The Clown (1953)
- Half a Hero (1953)
- The
Great Diamond Robbery (1953)
- Hollywood Goes
to War (1954) (short subject)
- Susan Slept Here
(1954) (cameo)
- Around the World in Eighty Days
(1956)
- Public Pigeon
No. One (1957)
- Ocean's Eleven (1960)
- Those
Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)
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