VINCENNES, Ind. – Richard “Red” Skelton was born on July 18, 1913, in the small town of Vincennes, about 130 miles southwest of Indianapolis. He was the son of a former circus clown turned grocer and a cleaning lady. At the tender age of 10, Skelton left home to join a traveling medicine show and quickly discovered he loved to make people laugh. That love would one day propel him to the top of the entertainment industry. The Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy tells the story of that amazing ride.
Around 1927 Red began performing in vaudeville as part of a burlesque show where he honed his comedic skills. Over the years he performed with singers, dancers, acrobats, magicians and jugglers in various traveling shows across the country. While performing in Kansas City in 1930 he met Edna Marie Stilwell, who, like Red, left home at an early age. They married a short time later, and she became his vaudeville partner and later his chief writer and manager.
People are also reading…
Red debuted on Broadway and radio in 1937 and in movies the following year. Edna negotiated a seven-year Hollywood contract for her husband in 1951 and that same year "The Red Skelton Hour" began on NBC. The show was very popular and for the next two decades was in the top 20 both on NBC and CBS. It was during this time Red created his most famous characters including Clem Kaddiddlehopper, George Appleby, and the seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe.
The Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy has 3,500 square feet of displays and interactive exhibits dedicated to Red and his long career. Among the huge collection are scrapbooks filled with letters and memorabilia from Red’s life and comedy career. Costumes he wore for his most beloved characters, including Freddie the Freeloader, Clem Kaddidlehopper, San Fernando Red, Sheriff Dead-Eye and Cauliflower McPugg, are also on display.
While touring the museum visitors can watch a short film with highlights of Red’s movie and television career. One interactive exhibit features items used to create sound effects for radio. The exhibit shows how running your finger over a comb could create the sound of a cricket and blowing through a straw in water could produce the sound of water boiling.
One of the most popular exhibits in the museum is the “Clown’s Dressing Room.” Visitors sit at the dressing table, look in the mirror and press a button to take a photo of themselves. Then using their finger, they apply computerized makeup to the image. Once done the makeup stays on the image even as the visitor moves around.
Red’s Stage allows visitors to perform slapstick and pratfalls just like Red would do against a backdrop of Red performing one of his signature falls. There’s also a green wall where visitors can perform in front of a camera against a changing backdrop.
First and foremost Red considered himself a clown but he was also a talented artist. Many of his subjects were clowns like himself but he also painted landscapes. One wall in the museum is dedicated to those paintings. His easel, paints and chair are also on display.
Although Red Skelton provided his audiences with laughter, his own life wasn’t always happy. He went through two divorces, and his son Richard died at 9 years old. But his list of accomplishments in the field of entertainment is amazing. He performed in traveling tent shows and vaudeville where he honed his comedy skills. He was a star on both radio and television and made over 50 motion pictures. Red authored over 4,000 ideas and short stories as well as full-length books. He composed more than 3,000 musical melodies and symphonies that were played and recorded by some of the world’s most famous musicians and orchestras.
Red Skelton died at the age of 84 of pneumonia in Rancho Mirage, California, on Sept. 17, 1997. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
