Skelton’s memory lives across valley

Friday, Sept. 19, 1997 | 11:08 a.m.

A tribute was paid to comedian Red Skelton in the U.S. Senate and Las Vegans are remembering him as a legendary entertainer and a giving individual.

"If laughter is the best medicine then Red Skelton is single-handedly responsible for the well-being of millions of Americans," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a Senate resolution introduced Thursday.

"Through his colorful cast of characters like Clem Kadiddlehopper, he taught us how to laugh. Red's laughter was the best and the truest kind of laughter because it sprang from love."

Skelton, a regular in Las Vegas showrooms in the 1950s and '60s who made a comeback here in the late '80s before packed houses, died Wednesday in a Southern California hospital following a lengthy illness. He was 84.

Earlier this year, Reid presented an ailing Skelton the President's Certificate of Commendation at his Anza, Calif., home near Palm Springs.

The commendation had been signed on April 1, 1996 -- April Fools Day in recognition of Skelton's contribution as a tramp-style clown and for his heralded paintings of clowns that have sold for upwards of $100,000.

However, Skelton was too ill to go to the White House and receive the medal and certificate from President Clinton, who called Skelton "a natural-born comic ... who has given to all those lucky enough to see him perform the gift of laughter and joy."

Shecky Green, a Las Vegas mainstay comedian dating back to Las Vegas' early days, said from his Southern California home Thursday that there was "nothing in the field of entertainment that Skelton couldn't do."

"This is the end of an era," Green said. "Red was the greatest clown on stage. And he did variety very well."

Art Marshall, president of Marshall-Rousso stores in Las Vegas and a longtime friend, recalled Skelton's wit and love of antiques, plants and children.

"He came into our store at the Sands one day and saw a Rolls Royce in front that I had bought during a trip to England," Marshall recalled. "He asked if he could drive it and I let him."

Later that day, Marshall got a call from a hotel official who asked how much he would sell it for.

"I said I didn't want to sell, but he said Red really wanted the car, and so I sold it to him for what I bought it for plus my shipping costs."

On another occasion, Skelton and Marshall walked into one of Marshall's stores and Art asked Red if there was anything he needed.

Skelton replied: "I've long been able to have everything I need, I just haven't been able to afford everything I want."

Marshall recalled visiting Skelton in the Presidential Suite at the old Sands, and watching him water the withering plants outside the building.

"He had such a green thumb -- he brought the grounds back to life," Marshall said. "And, he taught me to always take time to smell the flowers. I never forgot to do that."

Marshall said Skelton, who lost a son at a young age to leukemia, had a deep love for children, and enjoyed entertaining them and all of his fans.

"We brought Red to Las Vegas to give him an award, with the understanding he did not have to work," Marshall said. "During the ceremony, he turned to me and asked if it would be OK if he could do a 20-minute routine.

"I told him he didn't have to work, but he volunteered because he wanted to give us something in return for honoring him. He was a very special man."

Reid went as far as to say: "Las Vegas may never have earned the title Entertainment Capital of the World if it wasn't for Red Skelton."

Skelton was a radio personality of the 1940s and, before that, a motion picture star. He became a television icon of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. In addition to his art, he wrote music and short stories.

Upon meeting Skelton, folks often would tell him that his hour-long CBS variety show was responsible for keeping their families united because it was one of the few times during the week when the entire family gathered to laugh.

Skelton, a one-time vaudeville performer and the son of a circus clown, was a master of pantomime. His Freddie the Freeloader character was one of America's most recognizable clowns, on a par with his good friend, the late Emmett Kelly.

Skelton's show-closing catch phrase was a sincere "God bless."

Services will be Thursday at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, Calif.