ent001330-150

*8/ for the captain* s daughter. The skipper put his fooj| down - and young Skelton off - at the text iarixiaradH landing. The captain also dumped all of Skelton*s belongings into the river, leaving young Red with only the clothes on his back. **I guess he was upset,?ǥ Red Reminisces. For a time, Skelton traveled with ?ǥTom Shows," troupes which staged "Uncle Tom*s Cabin". Red played every part w except the hounds which chased Eliza across the ice. Already aware that it was x wise to insure a routine whenever possible, Skelton would stuff hispockets with liver when he was the object of the chase and, as he puts it, "those dogs never failed to move with hearts and stomachs pounding". One day, Rdd had a chance to join the Hagenbeck-Wdlace Circ^us. "My lifelong ambition to train wild animals was chilled for good an when I saw Clyde Beatty jumped by a tiger but saved in the nick of time by a cooperative lion. From that moment on, I turned to the less hazardous occupation of clown. At 17, Skelton was starred as "The Youngest Comedian in Burlesque". Whatever misconception might exist as to his actual age, it arose at this point in his life. Since a 17 year old was not employable in that medium, Red was able to secure a birth certificate stating he was bom 1 in 1906, seven years before the fact. With the faked documents, Skelton was able to earn $75 a week in burlesque and had the feeling he was a member of the Rockefeller Clan. Understandable, when one considers that not too many years before, his weekly stipend had been $10 and subsequently $15. The vaudeville field opened up to Red in Kansas City when he substituted for a missing act. He was a hit and went on from there to the Roxy in New York. Next came the Lido Club in Montreal. Red's success there wasn't startling at first and the hecklers had a field day. The honors moved from the audience to Skelton when he decided to answer the hecklers back and he would up with a six-week engagement at $150 for a seven-day stanza, a new high for him.