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Book reviews dealing with Red Skelton.  Some were written by Red, others he edited, others were written about Red

American Legends: The Life of Red Skelton

American Legends: The Life of Red Skelton

Editorial review of American Legends: The Life of Red Skelton courtesy of Amazon.com

“I don’t want to be called ‘the greatest’ or ‘one of the greatest’; let other guys claim to be the best. I just want to be known as a clown because to me that’s the height of my profession. It means you can do everything-sing, dance, and above all, make people laugh.” – Red Skelton

“All I want to do is to make people laugh, to take the word ‘heartache’ out of their vocabulary” – Red Skelton

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.

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A  Critical History of Television's The Red Skelton Show, 1951-1971

A Critical History of Television’s The Red Skelton Show, 1951-1971

Product description for A  Critical History of Television’s The Red Skelton Show, 1951-1971

A Critical History of Television's The Red Skelton Show, 1951-1971

Buy from Amazon.com The Red Skelton Show was on the air for 20 years, the longest-running primetime network comedy variety series on television. It was a top 10 series for nine years–an accomplishment surpassed only by Gunsmoke and Home Improvement. The series has a few unimpressive achievements too, such as becoming the first top 10 series to be cancelled by a network.

Here is the history of The Red Skelton Show, beginning with its debut in 1951 and its great initial success. It was one of the top five television series that year, and Skelton and his show were nominated for Emmys. The author then details the show’s decline in popularity; its move from CBS to NBC in 1953 and its slow rise back to the top; its glory days of the 1960s, when it became an hour long show and finished at number two for two different years; CBS’s surprise cancellation of the show in 1970 despite its place in the top 10; and the failed last season back with NBC. There are three appendices: Appendix A lists cast and crew credits for the show, Appendix B lists special guests by season, and Appendix C offers information on the post-Red Skelton lives of many of the shows principal players.

Read More »A Critical History of Television’s The Red Skelton Show, 1951-1971

A Critical History of Television’s the Red Skelton Show

Book Description  of  A Critical History of Television’s the Red Skelton Show, 1951-1971, courtesy of Amazon.com

 The Red Skelton Show  was on the air for 20 years, the longest-running primetime network comedy variety series on television. It was a top 10 series for nine years – an accomplishment surpassed only by Gunsmoke and Home Improvement. The series has a few unimpressive achievements too, such as becoming the first top 10 series to be canceled by a network.

Read More »A Critical History of Television’s the Red Skelton Show