Bernard Richard Skelton

"RED" SKELTON
July 18, 1913 ~ September 17, 1997
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As a youngster, I would listen to "Red" Skelton Show on the radio. In later years, he would make his television debut. I will always remember the first time that I saw him on television. He appeared before me just as he had appeared in my mind when I listened to him on the radio. He possessed the ability to broadcast his image through his voice inflections. Despite how difficult the times were, a few minutes of listening or watching Red Skelton, you were immediately transformed to a happier medium. You never knew who you would be watching when he performed; he could easily transform himself from character to character, whether it was "Freddy the Freeloader”, or "Clem Kadiddlehopper". On stage, he was one of the greatest, in life he was a Great American."

Red Skelton was a great comedian, Shrine Clown, and human being. We could all learn a lot from this man. A "Pledge" is something to take seriously, as he points out. Another pledge he obviously KEPT was to make people smile. . . in his memory, we should strive to do the same. (Annotation in Congressional Record when the above recording of the Pledge of Allegiance was registered.)

Two Stars On Hollywood Walk Of Fame
(One For Radio and One for Television)
Performed For Eight U.S. Presidents
Performed For Three Popes
Served In Army During World War II
Scottish Rite, 33rd Degree Mason
Radio Hall Of Fame 1994
International Clown Fall Of Fame 1989
First CBS Show Host To Be Televised In Color

"Red" was born Bernard Richard Skelton in Vincennes, Indiana on July 18, 1913. He was born two months following the death of his father who had been a clown with the Haggenbach and Wallace traveling shows. Red was raised by his mother in the love of the circus people who were to become his first real family, leaving an imprint on him that he would carry throughout his life, bringing happiness and laughter to millions.

To make ends meet, at age seven he begin singing on the streets for pennies. At age 10, he quit school and left home. He joined up with a traveling medicine show. From there, minstrel and tent shows, circuses, burlesques, Mississippi showboats, vaudeville, radio, motion pictures, and television were to become his home. He was a star in over 48 motion pictures but it was in television that Red Skelton was to achieve his greatest public acclaim. His television career spanned a record twenty consecutive years, during this tenure, his shows were always rated among the Top Ten in the Neilson Rating system.

Red's lesser known but equally outstanding accomplishments included the writing of nearly 5,000 musical compositions, including 64 symphonies, many of which have been played and recorded by Arthur Fiedler, David Rose, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Red Skelton was also the author of more than 4,000 short stories and full length books. His Skelton's "Pledge of Allegiance" has won forty-two awards and has twice been read into the Congressional Record.

In addition to being accomplished entertainer, Red Skelton is acclaimed as one of the century's greatest painters. His original oil paintings are displayed exclusively at the Center Art Galleries in Honolulu, Hawaii. A large majority of his paintings are those of the life that he led, focusing on happiness and clowns.

Red Skelton was a Shriner Clown and worked relentlessly in support of the Shriner's Hospitals. He donated a great deal of his artwork, books, memorabilia, and music for auctions to raise funds for the Shriner Hospitals and his kids, as he referred to the children that were patients in these hospitals.

Although he quit school when he was ten years old, he was recognized with Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Emerson College in Boston, Vincennes University, and Indiana State University. During a rehearsal of his television series, he accidentally fell and injured himself. Unable to perform, he asked one of his writers if they would fill in for him. The "staff writer" that was making his first television appearance was Johnny Carson. Whether he was playing the role of two seagulls, "Gertrude" and "Heathcliffe", the bum "Freddie the Freeloader" or the goofy "Clem Kadiddlehopper", his style of entertainment was always fresh and funny. Each show would commence with him holding an unlit cigar and offering a warm greeting along with a brief monologue. It would also include a "silent spot" in which Skelton demonstrated his mastery of pantomime. In closing his show, his final words would always be, "Good Night and God Bless".

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 you love and happiness,
In everything you do.
The time has come to say good night,
I hope I've made a friend.
And so we'll say "May God Bless You,"
Until we meet again.