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Classic Movie Travels October: Red Skelton

Richard Red Skelton was born on July 18, 1913, in Vincennes, Indiana. He was the fourth son born to Joseph and Ida Skelton. Skelton had three older brothers named Denny, Christopher, and Paul. Skelton’s father, a grocer and former Hagenbeck-Wallace circus clown, passed away two months prior to Skelton’s birth. 

Due to his father’s passing and his family’s poverty, Skelton began to work at a very young age. He sold newspapers and performed other odd jobs. While selling newspapers, Skelton became interested in an entertainment career. Comedian Ed Wynn visited Vincennes for a performance in 1923 when he encountered a young Skelton and inquired about which events were happening in town. Unwittingly, Skelton pitched Wynn’s own show to him. In response, Wynn purchased every newspaper in Skelton’s possession, affording Skelton enough money to purchase a ticket. Wynn took Skelton backstage and introduced him to the other entertainers, piquing Skelton’s interest in performance.

Skelton appeared in minstrel shows and on showboats in the Ohio and Missouri rivers, perfecting his comedic craft. He dropped out of school in his preteen years and worked in various stock companies, on the burlesque circuit, and with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. With his mother’s blessing, Skelton left home and worked in traveling medicine shows and, later, vaudeville.

As the years went on, Skelton became a popular master of ceremonies at dance marathons. One of the winners, Edna Stillwell, would be Skelton’s first wife. Edna wrote some of his early comic material, negotiated a raise, and educated Skelton with textbooks until he received a high school equivalency degree.

Skelton and Edna traveled throughout the United States with their act, featuring new routines as well as their popular “Doughnut Dunkers” routine. In 1937, Skelton entertained President Franklin D. Roosevelt at a White House luncheon; after that performance, Skelton became the master of ceremonies for many of Roosevelt’s future birthday celebrations.

After a failed 1932 screen test, Skelton finally made his Hollywood film debut in Having Wonderful Time (1938). He could also be seen in two Vitaphone shorts: Seeing Red (1929) and The Broadway Buckaroo (1939). As for his MGM screen test, Skelton performed many of his other popular skits, including “Guzzler’s Gin” and impromptu performances of his “Imitation of Movie Heroes Dying.” His screen test was successful, leading to many MGM film roles, including Flight Command (1940), Dr. Kildare’s Wedding Day (1941), The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941), Whistling in Dixie (1942), and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943).

Comedian Buster Keaton coached Skelton through his performance in I Dood It (1943), a remake of Keaton’s Spite Marriage (1929). Keaton was so impressed with Skelton that he asked MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer to create a small company for himself and Skelton in order to work on film projects, offering to forgo his salary if the films were not hits; Mayer declined the request.

Though working in films, Skelton’s interests were in radio and television. His MGM contract stipulated prior approval from the studio before any radio and guest appearances. He was able to renegotiate his contract to allow him to remain working in radio and on television. Skelton eventually became the sole studio contract player to have permission to also pursue television.

Ultimately, Skelton would go on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program after years of other radio performances. He developed an array of characters and personalities, including Clem Kadiddlehopper—based on one of Skelton’s former Vincennes neighbors—and Junior.

In 1943, Edna and Skelton divorced. She remained the manager of their funds, as Skelton had trouble managing his finances. Edna remained his financial advisor until 1952, receiving a weekly salary for the rest of her life for her efforts.

Skelton lost his married man’s deferment and was soon drafted into the army in 1944. His last Raleigh radio show aired in June of 1944 and his supporting stars—bandleader Ozzie Nelson and vocalist Harriet Hilliard—went on to their own radio show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

In 1945, Skelton married actress Georgia Maureen Davis. They had two children: Valentina and Richard.

Skelton served in the Special Services, performing 12 shows per day to troops in the U.S. and in Europe. He suffered from exhaustion and a nervous breakdown, also developing a stutter. While recovering, he devoted much of his time to entertaining a wounded soldier at the army hospital who was not expected to survive. Skelton’s stutter lessened and the soldier’s condition improved over time. By September 1945, Skelton was released from his army duties. 

After another return to radio, Skelton became particularly interested in the then-experimental medium of television. The Red Skelton Show premiered in 1951, allowing Skelton to craft many more characters for the small screen. His show closed with the words, “Good night and may God bless.” The show was initially broadcast on NBC and performed live. The show caused a strain on his physical health and in his marriage. NBC later agreed to have the show filmed in advance, though it caused issues with the show’s sponsor, Procter & Gamble. He eventually moved to CBS with the intent to only perform variety shows, soon making the transition to color television programs in 1955.

Tragically, Skelton’s son, Richard, was diagnosed with leukemia and given one year to live. Though Skelton continued to work in television, he ultimately took his family on a trip to see the world. The Skelton family had a private audience with Pope Pius XII in 1957. The trip was cut short after the family encountered an aggressive reporter in London. Skelton himself suffered from a cardiac-asthma attack in the same year, leading him to stay off the air for a month. Richard Skelton passed away 10 days before his 10^th birthday on May 10, 1958. Skelton’s show was scheduled on the day of Richard’s interment. Skelton asked that guest performers be used instead. As a result, his friends in the industry—including Donald O’Connor, Vincent Price, and Sidney Miller—quickly organized The Friends of Red Skelton Variety Show, filmed to replace his usual television show for the week.

In 1960, Skelton purchased the old Charlie Chaplin Studios in order to use the location for videotape recording. CBS expanded his show to The Red Skelton Hour. One of the most famous moments of the show included Skelton performing a monologue explaining the Pledge of Allegiance, crediting his former Vincennes teacher with the original speech. CBS released the monologues as a single via Columbia Records, ultimately performing the monologue for President Nixon in the following year.

Skelton’s program was cancelled by CBS in the early 1970s, leading Skelton to switch to NBC; however, his NBC program was also soon canceled. Afterwards, he returned to live performances and tours.

At this point, Skelton and Georgia had divorced in 1971. Sadly, Georgia committed suicide in 18^th anniversary of Richard’s passing. Skelton put his work on hold as he mourned his former wife.

Skelton later married Lothian Toland, daughter of cinematographer Gregg Toland, in 1973. Skelton felt bitter about television networks due to the cancelations of this shows but he did make occasional guest appearances on other shows.

Behind the scenes, Skelton enjoyed painting for decades, inspired by a visit to a Chicago department store that had different paintings on display. His wife, Georgia, encouraged him to pursue painting, leading Skelton to have his initial public showing of his work in 1964. He typically painted pictures of clowns. In addition, he wrote stories and composed music.

Skelton passed away on September 17, 1997, in Rancho Mirage, California. He was 84 years old. Skelton was interred in the Skelton Family tomb alongside his son, Richard, and his second wife, Georgia, in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park—Glendale, California.

The Red Skelton Performing Arts Center was dedicated in 2006 at Vincennes University. It is located at 20 W. Red Skelton Blvd., Vincennes, Indiana. The performing arts center holds numerous displays and tributes to Skelton.

In 2013, the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy opened its doors on what would have been Skelton’s centennial. The collection possesses many costumes, props, awards, and personal effects that belonged to Skelton. Per his wishes, he did not express interest in a Hollywood memorial, but to instead have his personal and professional artifacts displayed in his hometown. In addition, the museum holds a multipurpose classroom dubbed the “REDucation Room.” The museum is also located at 20 W. Red Skelton Blvd., Vincennes, Indiana.

The town of Vincennes has held the Red Skelton Festival annually since 2005. Since Skelton considered himself a clown, the festival traditionally includes a clown parade.

Across from the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy, visitors can spot Skelton’s birthplace. The home stands at 111 Lyndale St., Vincennes, Indiana, and is owned by Vincennes University. In 2017, the Indiana Historical Bureau dedicated a new historic marker to Skelton in front of the home.

Skelton is celebrated with a mural, located at 12 S. 3^rd St., Vincennes, Indiana.

The Red Skelton Memorial Bridge links Illinois and Indiana on U.S. Route 50. Skelton attended the dedication in 1963.

In 2022, Skelton was honored with a statue depicting him as a young boy, selling newspapers. Legend has it that he was selling papers outside of the Pantheon Theatre when vaudeville comedian Ed Wynn purchased his entire stack so that he could afford to come see Wynn’s show. The statue is located at 422 Main St., Vincennes, Indiana.

During the 2023 Red Skelton Festival, the design for an eventual mural in Skelton’s honor was unveiled. Inspired by the “You Are the Star” mural in Hollywood, this mural features actors and actresses seated as audience members. They are being entertained by Wynn, who is depicted as exiting the stage and welcoming Skelton onstage.

Skelton is honored with a bust at the Television Hall of Fame, located at 5220 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, California.

Skelton resided at 444 E. Sonora Rd., Palm Springs, California, which stands today.

Skelton’s former horse ranch stands at 61489 Burnt Valley Rd., Anza, California.

Skelton’s estate at 37715 Thompson Rd., Rancho Mirage, California, also remains.

Skelton’s former Bel Air home stands at 801 Sarbonne Rd., Los Angeles, California.

Skelton is honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, celebrating his work in radio and television. His stars are located at 6763 Hollywood Blvd. and 6650 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California, respectively.

Forest Lawn Memorial Park—Glendale is located at 1712 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale, California.

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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub

Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.

Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is a PhD student at Dominican University and an independent scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for Classic Movie Hub, she also writes for Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco SocietyMagazine.