MovieChat Forums > The Red Skelton Show (1951) Discussion > Why don't more people talk about this sh...

Why don't more people talk about this show?


I'm Twenty years old and I just picked up a few DVD's of episodes of this show and all I can say... Hilarious. This show is absolutely top notch, Mr. Skelton was a comedic genius to say the least. It is easy to see that many performers and sketch shows have taken cues from this show and Mr. Skelton. Just watching these episodes makes me want to go back to these days when everything didn't have to be enhanced by cheesy special effects and computer animation. If you haven't seen this show, like most of the people my age, you should have a look at it. It's truly where the roots of television comedy took ground and one of the great comedians of all time truly shined.

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I discovered this show when I was nine, I was looking thru a cabinet of videos and I saw one marked "Red Skelton", I thought it said "Red Skeleton". So I didn't watch it until I got bored, I expected it to be a horror movie. It's now my favorite classic TV show.

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"Show me a jogger and I'll show you a strange person with a thing for pain." -Garfield

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[deleted]

I've been around a few years, so I've had the opportunity to see some of Red Skelton's shows when they first aired. I think probably the main reason why Red Skelton was so funny and why so many people loved him is he was willing to laugh at himself, and through him, we could see humanity in the rest of us. Jerry Lewis once referred to Skelton as the true king of stand-up comedy.

Skelton was a comedic genius, and I equate him with the musician/comedian Victor Borge. Yet Skelton was more than a comedian himself. He was also an artist, as his famous clown art attests. Additionally, he composed some music, some for his shows, most for his fans to enjoy. Red Skelton's original vinyl LP's are now much sought after, and I feel myself fortunate to have two of them in my collection.

Comedians will come and go, but none of them will ever be able to match the wit, intelligence, and downright hilarity of the venerable Red Skelton!

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You said it Nojaa. I also remember watching Red's show in the 60's. Even at such a young age I still laughed. His comedy appealed to all ages and the adult references were just obscure enough to get the adults laughing but spare the kids what they shouldn't know. Today they just come right out with things, who cares about young impressionable children.

I just had the pleasure of watching one of those PBS drives that was themed around the Red Skelton Show. I watched it for 2 hours laughing all the way. I had no idea that Jamie Farr was a regular. I guess I just didn't place him when I watched Mash.

Red Skelton is one of those people that just gives you a warm upbeat feeling inside no matter what kind of day you had.

You will always be loved Red.

"Tom Mix wept"

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I remember this show from the 60's. I was just a kid at the time but it was fun to sit and watch. I remember the seagulls "Gertrude and Heathcliffe", but that's about all. How nice to hear people born since then have taken to his brand of comedy.

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Not to preach to anyone, but the way he ended his programs should be at least studied if not actually practiced by more of his present day contemporaries.

Imagine if being truly humble and thanking God for the privilege of giving so many people a few moments of pleasure caught on...

Hey, I can dream, can't I?




"Go back to your oar, Forty One."

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isnt it a shame that the comedians feel they have to use filth to make people laugh i remeber watching red when i was a kid id cry when it wasnt on no comedian could ever hold a candel to his comidic genius a golden heart truly stopped beating when he died comedy will never be the same all the good comidians are gone now only the fools remain

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This was mandatory watching in my house when I was a kid. The Red Skelton show was my Dad's favorite, when it was on the tube nobody was watching anything else, no talking either! This show was great, I fondly remember! I like all the many of Red's own characters as well as the skits they would do every week with the guests etc. It seemed they got funnier as they abandoned the script and began making up the lines as they went, cast members laughing like idiots, along with all the folks at home! I suppose these unscripted episodes ticked off the management but how can you argue with success! I'm pretty sure there was always a live audience, a pretty good indicator of "what works" and there was always his humble, sweet and sincere "Thank You and God Bless" Red was a master of his craft, a real gem. I agree with the OP that he does seem sadly forgotten today!

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I watched this show religiously when I was a child. Even at 9 or 10 years old, I could recognize when Red would start going "blue" and I assume drive his sponsors and CBS crazy.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

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As far as I remember Red never went "blue" That quote is attributed to Clifton Webb in the movie Titanic 1953. I don't usually write anything especially to correct someone,but felt Red deserves it.

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The dawn of consumer TV was a fecund and opportune time. Edward R. Murrow CREATED TV news with his expose of Senator Joe McCarthy’s thug witch hunt for communists. Comics like Red, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen and Jackie Gleason had the chance to define the vocabulary of TV comedy and variety shows. For those in the Peanut Gallery (an allusion to The Howdy Doody Show), Steve Allen CREATED The Tonight Show, the original late-night network talk/laugh show, back when TV had only 2 channels. Jack Parr took over when Steve moved on, and Johnny Carson took it to a level that no one has yet equaled and I doubt ever will. The OP is spot-on. If you’d like to see how great CLEAN TV comedy can be, find a way to find shows from the 50s. And keep this in mind: they were all broadcast LIVE. No re-takes, no laugh tracks. (One of the most brilliant parts of HBO’s The Larry Sanders Show was the Hank Kingsley, the Ed MacMahon clone, introducing it with, “Noooow, Live, ON TAPE, The Larry Sanders Show!”) Working without a net sharpens your game. These folks were the pioneers, which means they left a legacy. That’s the most that anyone can do.

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