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Digital ID
ent001327-006
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I agree.Red Skelton Page 6. part except the hounds which chased Eliza across the ice. Already aware that it was wise to insure a routine whenever possible, Skelton would stuff his pockets 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.?ǥ One day, Red had a chance to join the Hagenbeck- Wallace Circus. "My lifelong ambition to train wild animals was chilled for good 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 born in 1906, seven years before the fact. With the faked documents, Skelton was able to earn $75 per 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 $15.00. The vaudeville field opened up to Red in Kansas City more...