Cast
Red Skelton
Acting
Cast
Red Skelton
Known for
Acting
Born
1913-07-18
From
Vincennes, Indiana, USA
Died
1997-09-17
Also known as Ред Скелтон, Richard Red Skelton, Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton
Biography
The son of a former circus clown turned grocer and a cleaning woman, Red Skelton was introduced to show business at the age of 7 by Ed Wynn, at a vaudeville show in Vincennes. At age 10, he left home to travel with a medicine show through the Midwest, and joined the vaudeville circuit at age 15. At age 17, he married Edna Marie Stilwell, an usher who became his vaudeville partner and later his chief writer and manager. He debuted on Broadway and radio in 1937 and on film in 1938. His ex-wife/manager negotiated a seven-year Hollywood contract for him in 1951, the same year The Red Skelton Hour (1951) premiered on NBC. For two decades, until 1971, his show consistently stayed in the top twenty, both on NBC and CBS. His numerous characters, including Clem Kaddiddlehopper, George Appleby, and the seagulls Gertrude and Heathcliffe delighted audiences for decades. First and foremost, he considered himself a clown, although not the greatest, and his paintings of clowns brought in a fortune after he left television. His home life was not completely happy--two divorces and a son Richard who died of leukemia at age 9--and he did not hang around with other comedians. He continued performing live until illness, and he was a longtime supporter of children's charities. Red Skelton died at age 84 of pneumonia in Rancho Mirage, California, on September 17, 1997. Red is interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, California, in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Benediction.
★6.4
MOVIE1960
Ocean's Eleven
as Self
★6.7
MOVIE1956
Around the World in 80 Days
as Drunk in Barbary Coast Saloon
★5.9
MOVIE1944
Bathing Beauty
as Steve Elliott
★7.4
MOVIE1974
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
★6.5
MOVIE1943
Du Barry Was a Lady
as Louis Blore / King Louis
MOVIE2026
A Brave Engineer: Buster Keaton's Last Ride
as Self (Archival)
★6.1
MOVIE1950
The Fuller Brush Girl
as Red Skelton - Fuller Brush Man (uncredited)
★6.1
MOVIE1954
Susan Slept Here
as Oswald from North Dakota (uncredited)
★6.8
MOVIE1965
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes
as The Neanderthal Man
MOVIE2005
Pioneers of Primetime
★10.0
MOVIE1966
Clown Alley
as Freddie the Freeloader
★8.0
MOVIE1944
Twenty Years After
as (archive footage)
★6.1
MOVIE1949
Neptune's Daughter
as Jack Spratt
★6.5
MOVIE1953
Half a Hero
as Ben Dobson
★6.9
MOVIE1985
That's Dancing!
as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
★6.0
MOVIE1945
Ziegfeld Follies
as J. Newton Numbskull (segment "When Television Comes")
★5.5
MOVIE1948
A Southern Yankee
as Aubrey Filmore
★7.0
MOVIE1976
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
MOVIE2004
Elf: Christmas in Tinseltown
as Self (archive)
★5.0
MOVIE1943
I Dood It
as Joseph 'Joe' Rivington Renolds
★4.9
MOVIE1938
Having Wonderful Time
as Itchy
★5.5
MOVIE1950
Watch the Birdie
as Rusty Cammeron / Pop Cammeron / Grandpop Cammeron
★5.7
MOVIE1942
Panama Hattie
as Red
★5.9
MOVIE1940
Flight Command
as Lieut. 'Mugger' Martin
★7.2
MOVIE1964
The Big Parade of Comedy
as Aubrey Filmore in 'A Southern Yankee' (archive footage)
MOVIE1979
The Hollywood Clowns
as (archive footage)
★5.7
MOVIE1970
Swing Out, Sweet Land
as Self
MOVIE1970
Honor America Day
as Self
★7.0
MOVIE1946
The Show-Off
as J. Aubrey Piper
★7.8
MOVIE1951
Excuse My Dust
as Joe Belden
★6.8
MOVIE1941
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day
as Vernon Briggs
★6.4
MOVIE1976
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
as Father Time / Baby Bear (voice)
MOVIE2001
Red Skelton: Bloopers, Blunders, and Ad Libs
as Himself (Host)/Various Characters
★7.0
MOVIE1943
Whistling in Brooklyn
as Wally 'The Fox' Benton
★6.7
MOVIE1942
Maisie Gets Her Man
as Herbert P. 'Hap' Hixby
★6.3
MOVIE1939
Seeing Red
as Red / Doorman / Coatroom Attendant / Waiter / Emcee
★7.0
MOVIE1941
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
as Vernon Briggs
★5.6
MOVIE1953
The Clown
as Dodo Delwyn
MOVIE1999
Television: The First Fifty Years
as Buffalo Bob Smith / Howdy Doody (archive footage)
★5.9
MOVIE1941
Whistling in the Dark
as Wally Benton
★7.6
MOVIE1968
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
as Self (uncredited)
★6.3
MOVIE1950
Three Little Words
as Harry Ruby
★6.2
MOVIE1942
Whistling in Dixie
as Wally Benton
★6.4
MOVIE1943
Thousands Cheer
as Red Skelton
★5.4
MOVIE1981
Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner
as Freddie the Freeloader
★6.9
MOVIE1950
The Yellow Cab Man
as Augustus 'Red' Pirdy
★5.5
MOVIE1941
Lady Be Good
as Joe 'Red' Willet
★10.0
MOVIE1954
The Great Diamond Robbery
as Ambrose C. Park
★9.0
MOVIE1976
America on Parade
as Host
★8.0
MOVIE1995
Inside the Dream Factory
as Self
★6.3
MOVIE1957
Public Pigeon No. 1
as Rusty Morgan
★6.3
MOVIE1947
Merton of the Movies
as Merton Gill aka Clifford Armytage
★2.0
MOVIE1985
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
as Self (archive footage)
★5.5
MOVIE1952
Lovely to Look At
as Al Marsh
★6.3
MOVIE1942
Ship Ahoy
as Merton K. Kibble
MOVIE1956
The Country Husband
as Self - Announcing Next Week's Show
MOVIE1960
The Man in the Funny Suit
as Self
★5.4
MOVIE1951
Texas Carnival
as Cornie Quinell
★7.0
MOVIE1970
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special
as Self (uncredited)
★6.3
MOVIE1948
The Fuller Brush Man
as Red Jones
MOVIE1977
The People's Command Performance: '77
as Self
MOVIE1955
Red Skelton Christmas Classics
as Main
MOVIE1939
The Broadway Buckaroo
as Red
★10.0
MOVIE1984
Red Skelton: A Royal Command Performance
as Himself
MOVIE2005
Red Skelton: America's Greatest Clown
as Red Skelton
★6.0
MOVIE1987
A Tribute to Houdini
as Self