Red Skelton

Richard "Red" Skelton

• Birth Date: July/18/1913
• Date of death: Sep./17/1984
• Birth Place: Vincennes, Indiana
• Profession: Clown/comedian

Born and raised in the small town of Vincennes, Indiana Richard "Red" Skelton was just an ordinary young American boy. He like most others would probably end up working on one of the local farms or the market, but history tells his life differently. At 10, he left home to travel with a medicine show, and at 15 joined the Vaudeville circuit.

Richard's father, Joseph Elmer Skelton, died two months before Richard's birth. Before his death he was a clown with the Hagenbeck & Wallace Circus. At the age of 17 Richard also joined the Hagenbeck & Wallace Circus, he was with them for about two years.

Richard's radio show, The Red Skelton Show, ran from 1941 to 1953. After seeing the success of Richard's show, he was offered a job at NBC. In 1951 "The Red Skelton show" premiered on NBC, it ran from 1951 to 1970. In its first year, the show finished fourth in the ratings and received the Emmy Award for Best Comedy Show.

In 1953, the show moved to CBS. In 1961 the show received a second Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievement. In 1964, the show made the Nielsen Top Twenty, where it stayed for six years.

During his life Richard appeared in many films, with several famous actors. Including the late Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Shirley MacLaine. Many years after the last episode of "The Red Skelton Show" he still performed live skits. Richard "Red" Skelton died of pneumonia at the age of 84. The following is a list of movies that Richard has appeared in:

• Having Wonderful Time, 1938
• Seein' Red, 1939
• Broadway Buckaroo, 1939
• Flight Command, 1940
• Lady Be Good, 1941
• The People vs. Dr. Kildare, 1941
• Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day, 1941
• Whistling in the Dark, 1941
• Whistling in Dixie, 1942
• Ship Ahoy, 1942
• Maisie Gets Her Man, 1942
• Panama Hattie, 1942
• DuBarry Was a Lady, 1943
• Thousands Cheer, 1943
• I Dood It, 1943
• Whistling in Brooklyn, 1943
• Bathing Beauty, 1944
• Ziegfeld Follies, 1944
• Radio Bugs (voice only), 1944
• The Show-Off, 1946
• Merton of the Movies, 1947
• The Fuller Brush Man, 1948
• Southern Yankee, 1948
• Neptune's Daughter, 1949
• Yellow Cab Man, 1950
• Three Little Words, 1950
• The Fuller Brush Girl, 1950
• Watch the Birdie, 1951
• Duchess of Idaho, 1950
• Excuse My Dust, 1951
• Texas Carnival, 1951
• Lovely to Look At, 1952
• The Clown, 1952
• Half a Hero, 1953
• The Great Diamond Robbery, 1953
• Susan Slept Here, 1954
• Around the World in 80 Days, 1956
• Public Pigeon No. 1, 1957
• Ocean's Eleven, 1960
• Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, 1965.