George Appleby, Red Skelton‘s henpecked husband character
George Appleby is the ultimate henpecked husband. In addition to holding down (at least) one full-time job, he does the cooking, cleaning, sewing, etc. around the house. None of which is to the satisfaction of his bossy wife, Clara.
![George Appleby being needled by his boss, Henry Corden, in "The Agony and the Nag-Ony"](https://red-skelton.info/wp-content/uploads/george-appleby-needled-by-boss-300x224.jpg)
His job varies according to the need of the episode, but he’s typically a lower-ranking office worker, with no hope of advancement. He’s physically near-sighted, and always wears a pair of round glasses. He’s typically dressed in a suit and bow tie. Like most of Red’s characters, he wears a hat. In his case, a bowler.
George is a perpetual loser, although he maintains a happy attitude, like many of Red’s characters. In some ways, he’s very similar to Freddie the Freeloader — if Freddie held down a job, and was hen-pecked.
He will occasionally talk back to Clara, but quickly backs down. When she’s not in earshot, he will sometime comment on her bad looks — although she’s been portrayed by some of the leading ladies of Hollywood. For example:
Clara Appleby
- Eve Arden
- Janet Blair
- Pat Carroll
- Virginia Grey
- Marilyn Maxwell
- Audrey Meadows
![Appleby's Forumula, with Red Skelton as George Appleby, Marilyn Maxwell as Clara Appleby](https://red-skelton.info/wp-content/uploads/applebys-formula-300x204.png)
Clara constantly demeans and belittles George. Although, deep down, she does truly love him. And he loves her as well — although we won’t admit it to her. The ending of Absence Makes the Hate Grow Fonder is a good example of this.