Red Skelton
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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
Credits
Ocean's Eleven (1960)
as Self
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
as Drunk in Barbary Coast Saloon
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965)
as The Neanderthal Man
Bathing Beauty (1944)
as Steve Elliott
Elf: Christmas in Tinseltown (2004)
as Self (archive)
Honor America Day (1970)
as Self
That's Entertainment! (1974)
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pioneers of Primetime (2005)
Actor
Neptune's Daughter (1949)
as Jack Spratt
Clown Alley (1966)
as Freddie the Freeloader
That's Dancing! (1985)
as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
Susan Slept Here (1954)
as Oswald from North Dakota (uncredited)
Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)
as Louis Blore / King Louis
Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976)
as Father Time / Baby Bear (voice)
Half a Hero (1953)
as Ben Dobson
Twenty Years After (1944)
as (archive footage)
Excuse My Dust (1951)
as Joe Belden
The Great Diamond Robbery (1954)
as Ambrose C. Park
The Fuller Brush Girl (1950)
as Red Skelton - Fuller Brush Man (uncredited)
Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
as J. Newton Numbskull (segment "When Television Comes")
The Show-Off (1946)
as J. Aubrey Piper
I Dood It (1943)
as Joseph 'Joe' Rivington Renolds
That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
as (archive footage)
Seeing Red (1939)
as Red / Doorman / Coatroom Attendant / Waiter / Emcee
A Southern Yankee (1948)
as Aubrey Filmore
Three Little Words (1950)
as Harry Ruby
The Dean Martin Christmas Show (1968)
as Self (uncredited)
Watch the Birdie (1950)
as Rusty Cammeron / Pop Cammeron / Grandpop Cammeron
The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)
as Aubrey Filmore in 'A Southern Yankee' (archive footage)
Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs (2001)
as Himself (Host)/Various Characters
Television: The First Fifty Years (1999)
as Buffalo Bob Smith / Howdy Doody (archive footage)
Merton of the Movies (1947)
as Merton Gill aka Clifford Armytage
A Brave Engineer: Buster Keaton's Last Ride (2026)
as Self (Archival)
Swing Out, Sweet Land (1970)
as Self
Lovely to Look At (1952)
as Al Marsh
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day (1941)
as Vernon Briggs
Flight Command (1940)
as Lieut. 'Mugger' Martin
Thousands Cheer (1943)
as Red Skelton
Texas Carnival (1951)
as Cornie Quinell
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare (1941)
as Vernon Briggs
The Yellow Cab Man (1950)
as Augustus 'Red' Pirdy
Maisie Gets Her Man (1942)
as Herbert P. 'Hap' Hixby
The Fuller Brush Man (1948)
as Red Jones
Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)
as Wally 'The Fox' Benton
Panama Hattie (1942)
as Red
Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner (1981)
as Freddie the Freeloader
A Tribute to Houdini (1987)
as Self
Inside the Dream Factory (1995)
as Self
The Hollywood Clowns (1979)
as (archive footage)
Whistling in the Dark (1941)
as Wally Benton
Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957)
as Rusty Morgan
Whistling in Dixie (1942)
as Wally Benton
Ship Ahoy (1942)
as Merton K. Kibble
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers (1985)
as Self (archive footage)
Lady Be Good (1941)
as Joe 'Red' Willet
Having Wonderful Time (1938)
as Itchy
The Clown (1953)
as Dodo Delwyn
The People's Command Performance: '77 (1977)
as Self
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special (1970)
as Self (uncredited)
The Country Husband (1956)
as Self - Announcing Next Week's Show
The Man in the Funny Suit (1960)
as Self
The Broadway Buckaroo (1939)
as Red
Red Skelton: A Royal Command Performance (1984)
as Himself
Red Skelton Christmas Classics (1955)
as Main
Red Skelton: America's Greatest Clown (2005)
as Red Skelton
America on Parade (1976)
as Host