My childhood memories of Red Skelton involve sitting on the floor when I was 5 years old as with the rest of my family filled the couch as we peered at a little black and white TV. We laughed to exhaustion at Red’s wonderful shows. I especially enjoyed hearing my dad laugh and I think at that point I got the bug to do comedy. I too wanted to make my dad and mom laugh!

Red Skelton was a actor in the theater and vaudeville and then became a hugely successful radio star. His physical comedy led naturally to films and he made many movies. He saw the future of television and he was the only MGM star to have a contract that allowed him to do TV at the same time. He is on the Hollywood walk of fame for his wonderful contributions to the art of Radio and film.

Red was very creative and had a quick wit. His improvisations and ad libs were often funnier than the lines in the scripts and so many of his movies have his off the cuff lines left in rather than the original script. Red worked with most of the stars of Hollywood and also did a whole hour program for TV with the great mime Marcel Marceau.
Red was also a fantastic painter and his favorite subjects were clowns. He was an avid gardener and a generous man.

An Evening with Red Skelton Live on Stage
In the late 1980’s, I was delighted when Red Skelton came to Rochester, MN for a performance with the Glen Miller Orchestra as the opening act. It was a splendid night of comedy and wonderful music. The band often accompanied him through his show. And they provided the sound effects and rim shots too.
Red did a lot of spoken comedy which had the crowd in stitches. Then he twisted the hat and became Gertrude and Heathcliff those lovable dumb seagulls. It was a laugh riot.
“Gertrude and Heathcliff, hey Gertrude, did you see that ruby red Corvette?
Yes, I spotted it yesterday.”

He also did his wonderful patriotic version of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. It was heart touching and profound. He also did his Medicine Pitch act that had the crowd in stitches. Of course he finished by saying, “wasn’t it nice that we had some laughs together and it was without using foul words?” The crowd thundered applause in their approval of this.
He did many pantomimes without props. I recall a bit where he did a pantomime of an old man opening the door of his house. Every time it opened it squeaked, so he got out his imaginary can of oil and squirted the top hinge of the invisible door. He again opened the door and the rusty squeak was still there. So he oiled the lower hinge of the door. Upon opening the door it again squeaked. He then looked with curiosity as he opened and shut the door several more times and then finally realized the squeaking was coming from his elbow! He oiled his arm and the squeaking stopped. The crowd roared.

This old man and squeaking door is an example of a perfect skit. There was the comedy set of three. First the top hinge, then the bottom hinge and finally the punch line discovering it was his squeaky old arm. The set up, then establish the set up again – then the punch line. The audience is now in hysterics because of the unlikely surprise ending. And Red Skelton delivered the simple routine with perfect comic timing. He took his time unveiling the bit. He looked at the problem he faced with curiosity and discovery.

Like all great clown bits, the funny fellow is trying to achieve something. He finds himself failing and then discovers the problem and fixes it in a unique way. This is funny to us because in our lives there are many troubles, problems and failings that give us frustration. The clown offers a great escape for people and laughter as we realize all people have problems and make mistakes, but the clown finds a solution that is comical because it’s unexpected. Next time you are building a clown routine, consider these simple points.
Three Comedy tips from watching Red Skelton
#1 Focus. Keep it sharp and to the point. Don’t have a lot of clutter or meaningless movement. You can direct the attention of the audience better with minimal action.
#2 Don’t rush it, let the audience build anticipation for how you will solve your problem.
#3 The comedy is in the face. His facial expressions showed the audience his feelings about his perplexing situation. The comedy comes from how the comic reacts to the problem.
We can learn a lot from the comic greats like Red Skelton. Find a film or TV show and enjoy some laughs with Red Skelton, you deserve it.

 By Norm Barnhart

Norm Blogs about comedy at: ComedyNorm.Wordpress.com