People remember Red Skelton for his decades-long television series, as well as his long film career. But his rise to national prominence actually began on the radio. His first radio appearance was on Rudy Vallée’s The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour in 1937. Red joked with fellow comic Joe Cook about their respective home towns. The two were invited back two weeks later, and Red appeared again in November.
Avalon Time – Red Skelton’s first radio show
In When Nuthood Was in Flower, Red Skelton appears as Forsooth in a sketch set in the Middle Ages. He begins as apprentice to a torture device manufacturer, and ends entertaining the troops … With guest star Milton Berle! The ad libbing and improvised comedy is hilarious!
When Nuthood Was in Flower [Red Skelton Show]
In Somebody Down Here Hates Me, Red Skelton plays the hen-pecked George Appleby. He’s been working two jobs to put his brother-in-law through medical school … But now that he’s a doctor, the mooching continues!
Somebody Down Here Hates Me [The Red Skelton Hour]
In A Jerk of All Trades, Clem Kadiddlehopper becomes a human bloodhound, tracking down gas leaks and causing trouble at Tallulah Bankhead’s perfume shop.
monologue | Jerk of All Trades | Classic skit | Songs | The Silent Spot
Jerk of All Trades [Red Skelton Show]
“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.
American Legends: The Life of Red Skelton
The Red Skelton Show season 1 – the very first season of Red Skelton‘s long-running television show. It’s interesting how many things became recurring items … and what didn’t. For example, at the end of each episode, Red is knocked over and dragged backwards through the curtain!
Here Comes the Bribe is an episode of The Red Skelton Show, featuring Sheriff Deadeye running for re-election … Unless guest star Johnny Mathis can stop him! It was originally aired shortly before Halloween, so the silent spot is an appropriate parody of Hansel and Gretel, as well as some Halloween jokes in Red’s opening monologue.
Here Comes the Bribe [Red Skelton Show]
A Taste of Money features Red Skelton as his con man character, San Fernando Red. With guest Harve Presnell, they perform a three-act skit. They also do a funny short routine about rodeo skills, and a hilarious silent spot of pickpocket Red repeatedly trying to escape from jail.
Red Skelton tells the running away from home joke as part of his opening monologue in Smokeless Sunday on the Red Skelton Show. Supposedly, his little boy Richie is telling his sister Valentina, (in his Mead Widdle Kid voice):
Running Away from Home [joke]
Smokeless Sunday begins with Red Skelton playing checkers with a dog … and losing.
Next is Red’s opening monologue, that leads into Cauliflower McPugg with his million dollar idea. Which involves a human fly climbing 100 feet on a ladder and jumping into a small cup of water. When the fly loses his nerve, Cauliflower takes his place … and regrets it.
Smokeless Sunday [Red Skelton Show]