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Freddie the Freeloader

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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Christmas with Red Skelton, featuring €The Cop and the Anthem and Freddie and the Yuletide Doll featuring Freddie the Freeloader

Christmas with Red Skelton – DVD

Christmas with Red Skelton, featuring The Cop and the Anthem and Freddie and the Yuletide Doll featuring Freddie the Freeloader

The title, “Christmas with Red Skelton,” could perhaps have been “Christmas with Freddie the Freeloader.”  On this DVD are two Christmas episodes of The Red Skelton Show, both featuring Red Skelton’s hobo character, Freddie the Freeloader.   Both are absolute classics.

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Red Skelton's Christmas Dinner

Red Skelton’s Christmas Dinner special

Red Skelton’s Christmas Dinner starring Red Skelton, Vincent Price, Imogene Coca

Red Skelton’s final television project, Red Skelton’s Christmas Dinner (also known as Freddie the Freeloader’s Christmas Dinner), is one of his best.   It centers around Red’s hobo clown character, Freddie the Freeloader, who has been saving up his money to afford a nice Christmas dinner with his friend, The Professor — another hobo clown, played wonderfully by Vincent Price.  

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Christmas with Red Skelton, featuring €The Cop and the Anthem and Freddie and the Yuletide Doll featuring Freddie the Freeloader

Red Skelton Christmas DVD | Freddie the Freeloader

Red Skelton’s Christmas, featuring “The Plight Before Christmas,” starring Red Skelton and Greer Garson

The title, “Red Skelton Christmas,” is both accurate and slightly misleading. Although it actually contains several Christmas episodes (and highlights from another), it also contains other Holiday segments. These include Red Skelton’s Pledge of Allegiance and a very nice Thanksgiving segment titled “The Thanksgiving Turkey”. Also, this 130-minute DVD is authorized by the Red Skelton estate.

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Freddie the Freeloader - Red Skelton's famous Hobo clown

Freddie the Freeloader – Red Skelton’s famous Hobo clown

Red Skelton’s most famous character, Freddie the Freeloader, is a happy hobo clown.  Unlike Emmett Kelly‘s Weary Willy tramp clown, Freddie the Freeloader had a perpetually upbeat personality, sure that good fortune awaited him just around the corner. He typically (depending on the need of the skit) lived in a ramshackle shack in the garbage dump, where he slept in a bathtub.  Although it was a running joke that he didn’t bathe regularly.   For instance, in several episodes of the Red Skelton Show, someone asked Freddie the Freeloader if he was alone.  Freddie the Freeloader would scratch himself, pantomiming that he had fleas, and reply that he wasn’t totally alone.

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Freddie the Freeloader (Red Skelton) singing "There's Nothing Worse than Loneliness at Christmastime"

There’s Nothing Worse than Loneliness at Christmastime

There’s Nothing Worse than Loneliness at Christmastime – [written and sung by Red Skelton, as Freddy the Freeloader, in Red Skelton’s Christmas Dinner]

There is nothing worse than loneliness at Christmastime,
When old friends forget where you are,
While your memory still lingers,
You can count upon your fingers,
Those that know the meaning of the Star.

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