Good Night, and God Bless Red Skelton

He was born as "Richard Bernard Skelton" on July 18, 1913, in Vincennes, Indiana. But you know him better as the comedian named simply, "Red Skelton." When Skelton was born, his father, Joseph, had already passed away. When he was a boy, he helped support his family by doing any odd jobs he could find.

One day, good fortune hit Skelton while he was standing on the sidewalk hawking newspapers.
Entertainer Ed Wynn happened by. He took a liking to the red-haired boy, so he bought all of his newspapers from him. Then, Wynn took Skelton to meet the cast of the show he was traveling with. That chance experience helped Red Skelton decide what he wanted to be: an entertainer. His father had been a circus clown. And now Skelton, who was just fifteen years old, started his own career as a circus clown. He also entertained at vaudeville shows, in minstrel shows- anywhere he could find work.

In the midst of Red Skelton's travels, he met a girl named Edna Stillwell. The two teenagers fell in love and they married in 1930; Skelton was just seventeen.

When the year 1937 came, the red-haired entertainer made his film debut in "Having a Wonderful Time." He followed that movie with many more in the 1940's. Some of his films of that decade included: "Whistling in the Dark" in 1941; "Ship Ahoy" in 1942; "Du Barry Was a Lady" in 1943; "I Dood It" in 1943; "Bathing Beauty" in 1944; "Ziegfeld Follies" in 1946; "Merton of the Movies" in 1947; "The Fuller Brush Man" in 1948; and "Neptune's Daughter" in 1949.

The forties also brought Red Skelton the chance to star in his own radio show. This is where, in 1941, he showcased his clown-based characters named, "Cauliflower McPugg, Clem Kadiddlehopper, Willie Lump Lump, Gertrude and Heathcliffe, and The Mean Little Kid, whose trademark line was, "I dood it!"

And, the forties brought Skelton heartache. In 1943, he and his wife of thirteen years, Edna Stillwell, divorced. The couple had no children.

In 1945, Skelton married Georgia Davis. The union produced two children, Richard and Valentina.