Red Skelton is a famous American comedian of the 20th century. To the audience, he is known for his roles in the films "Ocean's Eleven", "Aerial Adventures" and "Around the World in 80 Days". The actor also had his own comedy show.
Childhood
Red Skelton was born on July 18, 1913 in Vincennes. He died after a lingering illness at 84 on September 17, 1997 at Rancho Mirage. Skelton was the fourth son of Joseph Elmer and Ida May (Fields) Skelton. His father was a grocer and a former circus performer. Red's family was very poor, so he had to work from childhood. As a boy, he sold newspapers. Already in childhood, Skelton knew how to laugh. In his youth, he dropped out of school and got a job on a river boat. Then he got small roles and worked on the radio.
Personal life
Red tied his fate with screenwriter Edna Skelton, but soon his wife asked for a divorce. A friendly and professional relationship remained between the Skeltons. In 1944, he was engaged to actress Muriel Chase (Morris), but at the last minute his bride left him. According to some sources, the reason was Chase's intention to marry some wealthy man, and according to others - that the wedding did not take place, because his first wife continued to manage Red's career and money. The actor's second wife was actress Georgia Maureen Davis, who was 8 years younger than her husband. Their marriage lasted from 1945 to 1971. The family had two children - daughter Valentine in 1947, and son Richard in 1948. He did not live to see his 10th birthday for several days. Georgia Maureen passed away in 1974.
Filmography
Red has almost 100 works in film and television. In 1938, he played Itchy in Having Wonderful Time, and a year later appeared in The Broadway Buckaroo and Seeing Red. He then landed a role in Aviazveno, The People Against Dr. Kildar (Vernon), the 1941 drama Whistle in the Dark, and The Wedding of Dr. Kildar (Vernon). He has starred in the films Lady Be Better, On the Boat, Dubarry Was a Lady, A Thousand Cheers, I Did It and The Beautiful Bather. In 1945 he starred in the musical "The Siegfield Folly". The main roles in the comedy were played by Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Bryce and Judy Garland. The film tells about the chic and expensive productions popular at the beginning of the 20th century with the participation of beautiful dancers. The film won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1949, Red played Jack in the musical sports melodrama Neptune's Daughter. He got the male lead. His partners on the set were Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, Betty Garrett, Keenen Winn and Xavier Cugat. The film won an Oscar. The picture tells about a frivolous girl who mistook the masseur for the captain of the ship. In 1950, Skelton got one of the main roles in the comedy musical Three Little Words, written by George Wells. This romantic story of love and friendship won the Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar.
Then Red starred in the films Sorry My Dust, Carnival in Texas, It Looks Nice and The Jackie Gleason Show. In 1953, he starred as Dodo in the drama The Clown. The rest of the characters were played by Jane Greer, Tim Considine, Loring Smith, Philip Aubert and Lou Lubin. In 1954, Red played the main character in the crime comedy The Great Theft of the Diamond. His filming partners were Kara Williams, James Whitmore, Kurt Kaznar, Dorothy Stickney. Then he was invited to the series "Climax". He got the role of Rusty Morgan in it. Skelton's next series was The Steve Allen Show, where Red played Clem.
In the 1950s, Red was seen in Theater 90, Around the World in 80 Days, Lucy Desi Comedy Hour, Ocean's Eleven. In 1965, Red starred in the family comedy Air Adventures with Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, James Fox, Alberto Sordi and Robert Morley. The plot tells about the air race across the English Channel, organized by the Daily Post. The film was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe and won a British Academy Prize. In 1984, Red Skelton starred in the film It's a Dance! This documentary musical follows the lives of some of the dancers who have dedicated their lives to art. The main roles were played by Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ray Bolger, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly and Liza Minnelli.
Skelton has been featured on many television shows, including The Herb Schriner Show, The Jack Benny Program, The Dina Shore Show, The Harry Moore Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Johnny Carson Tonight Show, The Merv Griffin Show "," The Dean Martin Show ". He could also be seen on Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight.
During his career, Red has often worked with actors such as Bess Flowers, Sam Harris, Pierre Watkin, William Tannen, Lucille Ball, Keenen Winn, Harold Miller, Dennis Kerr, Dick Wessel, and Virginia O'Brien. Vincent Minnelli, Roy Del Ruth, C. Sylvan Simon, Robert Z. Leonard, George Sidney, Norman Z. McLeod, Jack Donoghue, Seymour Burns and John Frankenheimer have invited him to his paintings. The Red Skelton Show was released from 1951 to 2016. For 20 seasons, Red, along with Art Gilmore, Bob Lamon, Ian Arvan, Lucy Knock, Ray Kellogg and many other comedians, amused American audiences. The show won Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
