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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.

A Critical History of Television’s the Red Skelton Show
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.

AMC – The Red Skelton Show
Red Skelton as as old man - Red Skelton's farewell

Red Skelton’s Farewell

The time has come to say good night,
My how time does fly.
We €™ve had a laugh, perhaps a tear,
and now we hear good-bye.

I really hate to say good night,
for times like these are few.
I wish Red Skelton’s Farewell