''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show,
Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
and
motion pictures
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
star.
Although his
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
is largely associated with
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
, where it appeared for more than sixteen years, it actually began and ended on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
. During its run, the program received three
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961. In 1959 Skelton also received a
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for Best TV Show.
Origins: 1950s
Red Skelton
Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...
's network television program began at the start of the 1951 fall season on NBC (for sponsor
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
). The MGM agreement with Skelton for television performances did not allow him to go on the air before September 30, 1951.
After two seasons on Sunday nights, the program was picked up by CBS in the fall of 1953 and moved to Tuesday night, the time slot with which it would become primarily associated during most of its run. After his first CBS season the program was moved to Wednesday night and expanded to an hour for the summer of 1954 only; it was then reduced back to a half-hour for a time, later expanded again, returning to Tuesday night, where it would remain for the next sixteen years (co-sponsored by
Johnson's Wax and
Pet Milk between 1955 and 1962).
The program was produced at
Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...
and
CBS Television City
Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and Ch ...
in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, and over five years, from 1955 through 1960, was
telecast in color approximately 100 times. In 1960, Skelton purchased the Chaplin studios, with plans to continue using the facility for his television show and for making films.
It was the most colorcast of the few programs CBS aired in color during this period. By 1960, CBS no longer manufactured television sets (unlike its rival NBC's parent company, RCA) and pulled the plug on colorcasts. With the exception of a few specials and some yearly broadcasts of ''
The Wizard of Oz'', CBS would not colorcast again on a regular basis until the 1965–66 fall season, when the network could no longer avoid public demand amidst rising sales in color television sets.
Skelton was infatuated with his appearance on color television, and he cajoled CBS to colorcast the program (In 1961, Skelton also invested in three rental remote vans which had full live, film, and color videotape capability). Although visionary, the venture in color was premature and, when it failed, CBS bought Skelton's facilities (formerly
Charlie Chaplin Studios
The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property serv ...
) as part of renewing Skelton's contract.
From 1956 to 1962,
Sherwood Schwartz
Sherwood Charles Schwartz (; November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was an American television screenwriter and producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, but he now is best known for creating the 1960s television series '' Gilligan's Isla ...
(later widely known for creating the popular sitcoms ''
Gilligan's Island
''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...
'' and ''
The Brady Bunch
''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, after ...
'', among others) was head writer of Skelton's show, for which Schwartz won an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
in 1961.
Format during the 1960s
In September 1962, the program was again expanded to a full hour (becoming ''The Red Skelton Hour'') and remained in this longer format for the balance of its CBS run. The format of the program itself during this period was quite simple.
Pre-opening
This pre-opening format was changed slightly each year during the rest of the show's CBS run, but followed this basic format.
Instead of a traditional opening title card, announcer Art Gilmore would intone, “From Television City in Hollywood,” and Skelton would perform a brief comedic
blackout sketch
A blackout gag is a kind of joke in broad, rapid-fire slapstick comedy. The term is derived from burlesque and vaudeville, when the lights were quickly turned off after the punchline of a joke to accentuate it and/or allow for audience laughter. ...
, ending with the show's resident vocal group singing the words "The Red Skelton Hour" (beginning in the 1964–65 season, Skelton would simply stand alone, smiling and waving at the camera, spotlit on a darkened stage as the shot zoomed in (dressed in some seasons as one of his various characters), as Gilmore would announce the title, and (in later seasons) the singers sang the title), leading into a brief musical "song and dance" number (about 90 seconds long) performed in lyrical song by several smiling male and female dancers as they danced and moved cheerfully across the large stage. This introductory number would have a certain visual theme, such as gardening, college football, the signs of the zodiac, etc., and the set, the dancers’ costumes, and the lyrics of the dancers’ song would reflect the theme. After the dancers sang the first two stanzas, they continued the song, singing “our guest star…” followed by the guest's name, matched with a camera shot of the guest (most evenings there was at least one major celebrity guest as well as a musical guest); “
David Rose and his orchestra,” with a shot of Rose; the singers (originally the
Modernaires
The Modernaires was an American vocal group, best known for performing in the 1940s alongside Glenn Miller.
Career
The Modernaires began in 1934 as "Don Juan, Two and Three," a trio of schoolmates from Lafayette High School in Buffalo, New Y ...
; the Skel-tones by 1963; by the fall of 1964 as the
Alan Copeland
Alan Robert Copeland (October 6, 1926 – December 28, 2022), also known as Weaver Copeland, was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and conductor.
Life and career
Copeland was born in Los Angeles, California on October 6, 1926.
Copeland wa ...
Singers (Copeland, the credited vocal arranger of the show, was originally a member of the Modernaires); and by the 1969–70 season as the Jimmy Joyce Singers) and the dancers (introduced after 1964 as the Tom Hansen Dancers, after the show's credited choreographer); and finally introducing Skelton as the star of the show; the assembled dancers looking "stage left" anticipating Skelton's entrance on stage to begin his opening monologue.
For the final CBS season (1969–70), a
cold open
A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...
blackout sketch
A blackout gag is a kind of joke in broad, rapid-fire slapstick comedy. The term is derived from burlesque and vaudeville, when the lights were quickly turned off after the punchline of a joke to accentuate it and/or allow for audience laughter. ...
was added, featuring the antics of two alien moon men, green in color, performing comedic antics on the moon, as the song
Mah Nà Mah Nà
"Mah Nà Mah Nà" is a popular song by Italian composer Piero Umiliani. It originally appeared in the Italian film '' Sweden: Heaven and Hell'' (''Svezia, inferno e paradiso''). It was a minor radio hit in the United States and in Britain, but be ...
was playing. This led immediately into the dancers' routine.
Opening monologue
After the opening song-and-dance routine, Skelton opened with a monologue. The monologue often lapsed into character humor, including "Gertrude and Heathcliff, the Two Seagulls", which he performed by crossing his eyes and sticking his thumbs into his armpits for "wings". (
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...
, who was a writer on this program for a period, reminisced about writing for this spot.) Skelton performed the "Doughnut Dunkers," one of his earliest signature routines, in a 1964 episode during this monologue.
Guest stars
This was followed by a guest-star performance, often a singer. Musical accompaniment was generally provided by the show's orchestra and led by its well-known bandleader,
David Rose. He was also the composer of the show's familiar signature tune, "
Holiday for Strings"
(U.S. Copyright Registration Date 26-3-1942). The guest then appeared with Skelton in a comedy sketch. In other episodes, the Tom Hansen Dancers would perform another song-and-dance number, sometimes joined by the guest star.
Among the notable guest stars on the program were western film stars
Amanda Blake
Amanda Blake (born Beverly Louise Neill, February 21, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Along with ...
and
Roscoe Ates
Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character So ...
, who played a
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
in the 1961 episode "Candid Clem".
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
,
Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
,
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and e ...
,
George Raft
George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...
,
Martha Raye
Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway.
She was honored ...
,
Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor noted for his stage, film and television work. His television roles include the spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.''; the ...
,
Audrey Meadows
Audrey Meadows ( Cotter, February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996) was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife The Honeymooners#Alice Kramden, Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy ''The Honeymooners''. ...
,
Carol Lawrence
Carol Lawrence (born Carolina Maria Laraia; September 5, 1932) is an American actress, appearing in musical theatre and on television. She is known for creating the role of Maria on Broadway in the musical ''West Side Story'' (1957), receiving ...
,
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
,
Godfrey Cambridge
Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost celeb ...
and
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, ...
also made appearances. Popular television actress
Phyllis Avery
Phyllis Avery (November 14, 1922-May 19, 2011) was an American actress.
Early life
Phyllis Avery was born to screenwriter Stephen Morehouse Avery and his wife Evelyn Martine Avery. appeared twice in "Clem's Watermelons" (1961) and "Nothing But the Tooth" (1962).
Billy Gray, who played Bud Anderson Jr. on "
Father Knows Best
''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by E ...
" guest starred after the former show ended its six-year run.
Musical guests
The
Beach Boys
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...
made their network television debut as musical guests on a 1963 episode.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
videotaped three songs in London for a 1964 Skelton show. Another
British Invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...
band,
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...
, appeared in early 1965 (shortly before the
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in New York City, ...
banned them from touring in the US for the next four years).
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
and the
Motown Sound
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
visited the Skelton hour in 1965. Other musical guests included
Bobby Rydell
Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s he was considered a teen idol. His ...
,
the Lettermen
The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...
,
Vikki Carr
Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has pe ...
,
Horst Jankowski Horst Jankowski (30 January 1936 – 29 June 1998) was a classically trained German pianist, most famous for his internationally successful easy listening music.
Biography
Born in Berlin, Jankowski studied at the Berlin Music Conservatory and p ...
,
Gloria Loring
Gloria Loring-Lagler (born Gloria Jean Goff; December 10, 1946) is an American singer and actress. She is known for playing Liz Chandler on ''Days of Our Lives'' for six years (1980–86). She and singer-actor Carl Anderson performed the duet " ...
,
the New Christy Minstrels
The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including " Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and " ...
,
the Doodletown Pipers
The Doodletown Pipers (also known as the New Doodletown Pipers) were a 1960s and 1970s easy listening vocal group founded by Ward Ellis, George Wilkins, Bernie Brillstein and Jerry Weintraub.
The Doodletown Pipers made numerous appearances on netw ...
,
Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...
and the Tijuana Brass,
the Association
The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...
,
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
,
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
,
Tom Jones,
Matt Monro
Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...
and
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...
.
Comedy sketches
![Skelton deadeye 1959](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Skelton_deadeye_1959.JPG)
The sketches were usually built around one of Red's many characters, including "Deadeye", an incredibly inept
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
in the
Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
; "San Fernando Red", a shady
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
agent (named for the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
, which was still a largely
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
area when the show began); "Cauliflower McPugg", a punchdrunk
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
, "George Appleby", a hen-pecked husband, "Junior, the Mean Widdle Kid" (whose trademark line was, " If l dood it, l get a whippin'.........l DOOD IT!"), "Clem Kadiddlehopper", a
hick who was identified in at least one sketch as being from Cornpone County,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and "Freddie the Freeloader". Freddie, regarded by many as Skelton's signature character, was a bum with a heart of gold, who was played by Skelton (and in one episode in 1961, by
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York ...
) in
clown
A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms.
History
The most ancient clowns have been found in ...
makeup reminiscent of
Emmett Kelly
Emmett Leo Kelly (December 9, 1898March 28, 1979) was an American circus performer, who created the clown figure "Weary Willie," based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s. According to Charles W. Carey, Jr.:
:Kelly’s creation of ...
but somehow not as sad. Freddie could be either a speaking character or totally
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
d. While many of Skelton's other characters originated on his radio shows, Freddie was created for television in 1952.
Skelton's father, Joseph, who died two months before his youngest son, Richard, was born, was once a clown for the
Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus.
Skelton, who had spent some time working for the same circus as a youth, copied his father's clown makeup for Freddie.
During the sketches, Skelton and the celebrity guest star would sometimes break character and make good-natured wisecracks at one another.
In its later years the show generally finished with "The Silent Spot", with Skelton pantomiming Freddie or another silent character. (It was hard for some younger viewers to accept that such an overwhelmingly visual, physical performer had once been a staple of radio.) After "The Silent Spot", the show closed with Red looking into the camera and saying sincerely, "Good night and may God bless."
The Tom Hansen Dancers would return in their costumes from the pre-opening song-and-dance number and invite the audience to join the show the following week, singing to the tune of "Holiday for Strings" as the closing credits appeared.
While the vast majority of Skelton's skits were comedy, there were a few serious segments. One memorable segment came in 1969, when Skelton performed a self-written monologue about the
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...
, providing commentary on the meaning of each phrase of the Pledge. CBS received 200,000 requests for copies; the company subsequently released the monologue as a single recording by Columbia Records.
Skelton television characters
Jane Powell Red Skelton Red Skelton Show 1968.JPG, alt=Skelton as Junior, Junior
Skelton clem 1970.JPG, alt=Skelton as Clem Kadiddlehopper, Clem Kadiddlehopper
Skelton san fernando red 1962.JPG, alt=Skelton as San Fernando Red, San Fernando Red
Skelton appleby 1968.JPG, alt=Skelton as George Appleby, George Appleby
Skelton freddie 1959.JPG, alt=Skelton as Freddie the Freeloader, Freddie the Freeloader
Skelton mcpugg 1960.JPG, alt=Skelton as Cauliflower McPugg, Cauliflower McPugg
Final years: 1970–1971
CBS ended its association with the program in early 1970. This apparently marked the beginning of one of several attempts by CBS to downplay programming (even shows gaining relatively strong Nielsen ratings) whose primary appeal was to "
Middle America", an audience more rural and also somewhat older than that generally desired by network television
advertisers
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
. Marketers were moving towards a younger, "hipper" and more
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
audience (see the
Rural Purge
The "rural purge" of American television networks (in particular CBS) was a series of cancellations in the early 1970s of still-popular rural-themed shows with demographically skewed audiences, the majority of which occurred at the end of the ...
).
Skelton was reportedly heartbroken at the cancellation.
The move to NBC: 1970
At least in part due to Skelton's iconic status, the program was picked up by NBC in late 1970.
However, the program that aired was quite different from the one that Skelton's CBS audience was used to seeing. The new set was dark, devoid of the bright and colorful backdrops that viewers had seen on CBS. The show was cut back to its original half-hour length and it was moved from Tuesday to Monday nights.
But perhaps the biggest change was that the show began to incorporate "regulars" for the first time along with Skelton, Rose, and Rose's orchestra. A repertory company of young, comic
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
s and
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...
es was added as well as veteran performers such as
Eve McVeagh
Eva Elizabeth "Eve" McVeagh (July 15, 1919 – December 10, 1997) was an American actress of film, television, stage, and radio. Her career spanned 52 years from her first stage role through her last stage appearance. Her roles included leading ...
and The Burgundy Street Singers (previously seen after an abortive comeback on network television by 1950s folk singing star
Jimmie Rodgers
James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...
on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
two years earlier.)
The new format never really worked; the audience sensed that there was little chemistry between Skelton and his repertory company. The program ended in March 1971, although selected programs from this final season were rerun on NBC on Sunday nights during mid-1971 by
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
, so it could be said that Skelton's network television career had ended exactly where it had begun.
Skelton's later TV career
Skelton continued to make appearances for many years afterwards, increasingly as a
nostalgic
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, ...
figure, but was never again a regular feature of network television programming.
He was awarded the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Governors Award, a lifetime achievement award, in 1986. Skelton was inducted into the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
' Television Hall of Fame in 1989.
Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
List of ''Red Skelton'' TV Episodes 1951–1971
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Skelton Show, The
1950s American sketch comedy television series
1960s American sketch comedy television series
1970s American sketch comedy television series
1950s American variety television series
1960s American variety television series
1970s American variety television series
1951 American television series debuts
1971 American television series endings
Black-and-white American television shows
CBS original programming
NBC original programming
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series winners
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series winners
Television shows filmed in Los Angeles