Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1913-07-18
Day of Death
1997-09-17
Place of Birth
Vincennes, Indiana, USA
Red Skelton
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 (65)
A Brave Engineer: Buster Keaton's Last Ride
2026
Pioneers of Primetime
2005
Red Skelton: America's Greatest Clown
2005
Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs
2001Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
Inside the Dream Factory
1995
A Tribute to Houdini
1987
That's Dancing!
1985
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985Red Skelton: A Royal Command Performance
1984Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner
1981
The Hollywood Clowns
1979
The People's Command Performance: '77
1977
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
1976
