 Original Old Radio on the Web since 1992 Now with over 100,000 CDs and cassettes sold. SHOW HISTORY FOR Avalon Time  Home - Menu Richard Bernard “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, while pursuing another career as a painter. After 1937 appearances on The Rudy Vallee Show, Skelton became a regular in 1939 on NBC's Avalon Time, sponsored by Avalon Cigarettes. On October 7, 1941, Skelton premiered his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, developing routines involving a number of recurring characters, including punch-drunk boxer, "Cauliflower McPugg," inebriated "Willy Lump-Lump" and "'Mean Widdle Kid' Junior," whose favorite phrase ("I dood it!") became part of the American lexicon. That, along with, "He bwoke my widdle arm!," or other body part, and, "He don't know me vewy well, do he?," all found their way into various Warner Bros. cartoons. Skelton himself was referenced in a Popeye cartoon in which the title character enters a haunted house and encounters a "red skeleton." There was also, "Con Man San Fernando Red," with his pair of cross-eyed seagulls, "Gertrude and Heathcliffe" and singing cabdriver, "Clem Kadiddlehopper," a country bumpkin with a big heart and a slow wit. "Clem" had an unintentional knack for upstaging high society slickers, even if he couldn't manipulate his cynical father: "When the stork brought you, Clem, I shoulda' shot him on sight!" Skelton would later consider court action against the apparent usurption of this character by Bill Scott, for the voice of Bullwinkle. Skelton also helped sell World War II war bonds on the top-rated show, which featured Ozzie and Harriet Nelson in the supporting cast, plus the Ozzie Nelson Orchestra and announcer Truman Bradley. Harriet Nelson was the show's vocalist. It was during this period that Red divorced his first wife, Edna, and married his second wife Georgia. Red and Georgia's only son, Richard, was born in 1945. Georgia continued in her role as Red's manager until the 1960s. Skelton was drafted in March 1944, and the popular series was discontinued on June 6, 1944. Shipped overseas to serve with an Army entertainment unit as a private, Skelton led an exceptionally hectic military life. In addition to his own duties and responsibilities, he was always being summoned to entertain officers late at night. The perpetual motion and lack of rest resulted in a nervous breakdown in Italy. He spent three months in a hospital and was discharged in September 1945. He once joked about his military career, "I was the only celebrity who went in and came out a private." On December 4, 1945, The Raleigh Cigarette Program resumed where it left off with Skelton introducing some new characters, including, "Bolivar Shagnasty," and, "J. Newton Numbskull." Lurene Tuttle and Verna Felton appeared as "Junior's" mother and grandmother. David Forrester and David Rose led the orchestra, featuring vocalist Anita Ellis. The announcers were Pat McGeehan and Rod O'Connor. The series ended May 20, 1949, and that fall, he moved to CBS. Ironically, given that his peak of popularity came with his television show, in recent years, recordings of the Red Skelton radio show have become much easier to come by than the TV show. (http://en.wikipedia.org).  Original Old Radio P.O. Box 522 Berea, KY 40403-0522 Email: darryl@originaloldradio.com Webpage Design Darryl Hawkins Radio Programs In Public Domain |