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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.

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AMC - The Red Skelton Show - 14 episodes of Red Skelton's TV series

AMC – The Red Skelton Show

AMC – The Red Skelton Show – 14 episodes of Red Skelton’s TV series

Buy from Amazon.com AMC – The Red Skelton Show is a very nice compilation of episodes from  The Red Skelton  Show  — a total of 14 episodes on 2 DVDs, for under $10.00. Frankly, several of these are personal favorites, and they showcase some of Red Skelton’s most famous characters, including  Freddy the Freeloader,  Clem Kadiddlehopper and  Cauliflower McPugg.  They also include some excellent moments of  Red Skelton being himself, such as when he emceed the Look Awards and interacted with  Judy Garland,  Jack Lemmon, Walt Disney, Edmond O’Brien, Alfred Hitchcock,  Bing Crosby, and many others.

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DVD review - Red Skelton - King of Laughter - Celebrate Red's reign from Vaudeville to Movies and TV

Red Skelton King of Laughter

DVD Review of Red Skelton King of Laughter

Buy from Amazon.com Red Skelton, King of Laughter, is a compilation of episodes of  Red Skelton’s  long-running TV series, as well as bits and pieces from other sources. For example, it includes a clip of  Red’s vaudeville routine, Guzzler’s Gin, as well as a trailer for his movie Public Pigeon Number 1. It also includes various bloopers, and a rehearsal with Martha Raye that includes some things that never made it on the air.

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Thousands Cheer, starring Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson

Thousands Cheer

Thousands Cheer (1943) starring Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson

Thousands Cheer, starring Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson

Thousands Cheer is a  musical romance, set in the U.S.A. during World War II.   The first half of the movie deals with Kathryn Roberts (played by Kathryn Grayson). She’s a  concert singer who is retiring from the stage to work on putting on shows for the Army, to help morale.   This is also designed to let her bond with  her father, an Army colonel. Whom she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, after her parents’ divorce.  

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Ziegfeld Follies (1945) starring Red Skelton, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly,  Lucille Ball,  Lena Horne, Kathryn Grayson, William Powell and many more

Ziegfeld Follies

Ziegfeld Follies (1945) starring Red Skelton, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly,  Lucille Ball,  Lena Horne, Kathryn Grayson, William Powell and many more

Ziegfeld Follies is an attempt at recreating the spectacle of Flo Ziegfeld’s famous Broadway shows. And so the film is a series of unrelated musical and comedy routines. They’re unconnected except by the narration of the ghostly Flo Ziegfeld. The part is played by William Powell. He sits back in Heaven, thinking of the spectacles that he could create with then-current stars.  

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The Red Skelton Hour: In Color: Unreleased Seasons

Red Skelton – Unreleased

Red Skelton – Unreleased – Collector’s Edition – Select Shows from 1959-1962

Buy from Amazon.com Red Skelton Unreleased  is a fairly different DVD collection of  The Red Skelton Show  in several respects.   It is digitally remastered, unlike most of the  Red Skelton  DVD collections out there.   It is also authorized by the Red Skelton estate.   It also contains a  lot  of episodes of The Red Skelton Show  – sixteen episodes in all, as well three full-length color episodes from Red’s final year on broadcast TV, as well as a taping of one of Red’s live shows.

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