Red Skelton

In 1931, he married Edna Stillwell, his first wife. They divorced in 1943.

In 1945, he married Georgia Davis and they went on to have two children; Richard and Valentina. However, Richard passed away due to leukemia, when he was a young boy, which left Skelton devastated. The couple divorced in 1971.

He married Lothian Toland in 1973. The couple lived together till his death.

Richard Bernard ‘Red’ Skelton was born on 18 July 1913, to circus clown, Joseph E. Skelton and house help, Ida Mae, in Vincennes, Indiana.

Due to the early death of his father he started working as a newspaper boy at the age of seven.

In 1923, fate played its cards when Ed Wynn, a comedian, bought all the papers from Skelton and offered to take him backstage for a show in town. It was during this time he realized that he wanted a career in showbiz.

He dropped out of school and became an expert performer, working in showboats and the local vaudeville circuit.

After he got married, he and his wife began to put together the famous ‘Doughnut Dunkers’ acts, which gained them popularity and earned them a number of shows throughout Canada.

In 1932, he gave a failed screen test, which was his first connection with Hollywood. Five years later, he made his film debut in the role of a camp counselor in the movie ‘Having Wonderful Time’.

He made his first appearance on radio on ‘The Rudy Vallee Show’ on August 12, 1937. He became so popular, that he was invited for two more segments on the show. The following year, he substituted Red Foley as the host of ‘Avalon Time’ on NBC.

In 1941, he went on air, hosting his own show, ‘The Raleigh Cigarettes Program’, where he introduced his first character ‘Clem Kaddiddlehopper’. The next year, he starred in the films ‘Ship Ahoy’, ‘Maisie Gets Her Man’, ‘Panama Hattie’ and ‘Whistling in Dixie’.

From 1943 to 1946, he starred in a string of comedy films, ‘I Dood It’, ‘Whistling in Brooklyn’, ‘Bathing Beauty’ and ‘The Show-Off’. He also lent his voice for the short-film, ‘Radio Bugs’. During this time, he also began producing art work, but he kept it a secret.

‘The Red Skelton Hour’, which premiered in 1951 on television, went on to become one of the highest-watched shows on both, the NBC and CBS. He reprised some of his most famous characters on the show including ‘George Appleby’ and ‘Clem Kaddiddlehopper’, which made the show a hit with audiences. The popular show had the highest TRP’s for nearly two decades since its inception.