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