Red Skelton Movies and Career Information

Red Skelton (July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997) was an American comedian who was best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing another career as a painter. Born in Vincennes, Indiana, Richard Skelton was the son of Joseph E. Skelton (1878–1913), who died in 1913 shortly before the birth of his son, and Ida (née Fields) Skelton (1884–1967). In Skelton's lifetime there was some dispute about the year of his birth. Biographer Arthur Marx reported (from second hand information) that Skelton may have been born as early as 1906, and the year 1910 was sometimes cited as the year of his birth. In a People Magazine article in 1979, Skelton admitted that he fudged about his age, and was quoted as saying he was "in his seventies." Skelton got one of his earliest tastes of show business with the circus as a teenager. Before that, he caught the show business bug at 10 years of age from entertainer Ed Wynn, who spotted him selling newspapers in front of the Pantheon Theatre, in Vincennes. After buying every