logo

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

82

Gender

Male

Birthday

1913-07-18

Day of Death

1997-09-17 (84 years old)

Place of Birth

Vincennes, Indiana, USA

Also Known As

Ред Скелтон

Richard Red Skelton

Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton

Richard Bernard Skelton

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.

Known For

Acting

Ocean's Eleven

1960

Ocean's Eleven

as

Self

Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

1985

Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

as

Self (archive footage)

Rudolph's Shiny New Year

1976

Rudolph's Shiny New Year

as

Father Time / Baby Bear (voice)

The Hollywood Clowns

1979

The Hollywood Clowns

as

(archive footage)

Three Little Words

1950

Three Little Words

as

Harry Ruby

Lovely to Look At

1952

Lovely to Look At

as

Al Marsh

Texas Carnival

1951

Texas Carnival

as

Cornie Quinell

Ziegfeld Follies

1945

Ziegfeld Follies

as

J. Newton Numbskull (segment "When Television Comes")

Neptune's Daughter

1949

Neptune's Daughter

as

Jack Spratt

The Fuller Brush Man

1948

The Fuller Brush Man

as

Red Jones

Du Barry Was a Lady

1943

Du Barry Was a Lady

as

Louis Blore / King Louis XV

Thousands Cheer

1943

Thousands Cheer

as

Red Skelton

Ship Ahoy

1942

Ship Ahoy

as

Merton K. Kibble

Lady Be Good

1941

Lady Be Good

as

Joe 'Red' Willet

Bathing Beauty

1944

Bathing Beauty

as

Stephen "Steve" Sherman Elliott

The Dean Martin Christmas Show

1968

The Dean Martin Christmas Show

as

Self (uncredited)

Clown Alley

1966

Clown Alley

as

Freddie the Freeloader

Susan Slept Here

1954

Susan Slept Here

as

Oswald from North Dakota (uncredited)

Excuse My Dust

1951

Excuse My Dust

as

Joe Belden

Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner

1981

Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner

as

Freddie the Freeloader

Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day

1941

Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day

as

Vernon Briggs

Whistling in the Dark

1941

Whistling in the Dark

as

Wally Benton

Whistling in Brooklyn

1943

Whistling in Brooklyn

as

Wally 'The Fox' Benton

Whistling in Dixie

1942

Whistling in Dixie

as

Wally Benton

Flight Command

1940

Flight Command

as

Lieut. 'Mugger' Martin

The Clown

1953

The Clown

as

Dodo Delwyn

Maisie Gets Her Man

1942

Maisie Gets Her Man

as

Herbert P. 'Hap' Hixby

The Yellow Cab Man

1950

The Yellow Cab Man

as

Augustus 'Red' Pirdy

Panama Hattie

1942

Panama Hattie

as

Red

Merton of the Movies

1947

Merton of the Movies

as

Merton Gill aka Clifford Armytage

The People Vs. Dr. Kildare

1941

The People Vs. Dr. Kildare

as

Vernon Briggs

I Dood It

1943

I Dood It

as

Joseph 'Joe' Rivington Renolds

The Great Diamond Robbery

1954

The Great Diamond Robbery

as

Ambrose C. Park

Half a Hero

1953

Half a Hero

as

Ben Dobson

A Southern Yankee

1948

A Southern Yankee

as

Aubrey Filmore

Watch the Birdie

1950

Watch the Birdie

as

Rusty Cammeron

The Show-Off

1946

The Show-Off

as

J. Aubrey Piper

The Fuller Brush Girl

1950

The Fuller Brush Girl

as

Red Skelton - Fuller Brush Man (uncredited)

Seeing Red

1939

Seeing Red

as

Red / Doorman / Coatroom Attendant / Waiter / Emcee

Public Pigeon No. 1

1957

Public Pigeon No. 1

as

Rusty Morgan

That's Entertainment!

1974

That's Entertainment!

as

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs

2001

Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs

as

Himself (Host)/Various Characters

Television: The First Fifty Years

1999

Television: The First Fifty Years

as

Buffalo Bob Smith / Howdy Doody (archive footage)

Around the World in Eighty Days

1956

Around the World in Eighty Days

as

Drunk in Barbary Coast Saloon

The Big Parade of Comedy

1964

The Big Parade of Comedy

as

Aubrey Filmore in 'A Southern Yankee' (archive footage)

That's Entertainment, Part II

1976

That's Entertainment, Part II

as

(archive footage)

Twenty Years After

1944

Twenty Years After

as

(archive footage)

That's Dancing!

1985

That's Dancing!

as

From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)

Texaco Star Theater

Texaco Star Theater

as

Clem Kadiddlehopper

Climax!

Climax!

as

Rusty Morgan

The Steve Allen Show

The Steve Allen Show

as

Self - Cameo / Clem Kadiddlehopper

The Steve Allen Show

The Steve Allen Show

as

Self - Recipient

What's My Line?

What's My Line?

as

Self - Mystery Guest

Production

Crew

Directing