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INDIO, CALIF. NEWS D. 6,100 AUG 2 9 1964 ton-He Can Touch Heart And Funnybone By SHARON LAWRENCE United Press International HOLLYWOOD (UPI) - Some- one once described Red Skelton as ?╟úa funny man who through the years has become more than a comic ... he is now one of the world?╟╓s great clowns, a star who cah touch the heart as well as the funnybone.?╟Ñ The thousands' of visitors to Red?╟╓s first art exhibit discov- ered that this is true not only of Skelton the performer but also of Skelton the artist. ?╟úI came to the exhibit out of sheer curiosity.?╟Ñ said a woman who spent two hours examining the 52 Skelton oil paintings in the Emerald Room of Las Ve- gas?╟╓ Sands Hotel. ?╟ I?╟╓ve always adnirFecTReci'" ISS* a performer, but A never dreamed that his paintings would be anything more than a pleasant diversion, ?╟úNow I know that, his paint- ings have the same sensitivity that he displays as a clown. The Sands management had anticipated that perhaps a few hundred persons would stop by to see the paintings, but they were soon playing host to more than 3,000 visitors. Friend Promotes Exhibit The exhibit came about when Jack Entratter, president of the Sands and long a friend of the comedian, noticed a stack of paintings in a closet of Red?╟╓s Palm Springs home. ?╟úRed, these shouldn?╟╓t be bur- ied away,?╟Ñ said Entratter, a serious art collector. ?╟úLet?╟╓s do an exhibition at the Sands where people can enjoy them.?╟Ñ ?╟úAwww, they?╟╓re not good enough,?╟Ñ shrugged Skelton. ?╟úWiho?╟╓d be interested??╟Ñ But Entratter won 'Skelton over. Not only tourists and Las Vegas residents came to the exhibit. It drew art collectors and fellow performers. Some of Red?╟╓s paintings are still lifes of Jruit and flowers* .........~ others are of animals, and bne especially outstanding work shows a charming little French town which he first modeled from his supply of cigar boxes. Paints Many Clowns However, the majority of his work is, appropriately enough, of clowns. Many of his finest paintings are those patterned on such real life downs as Paul Jerome, Bozo Snyder, Fe- lix Adler and Lou Jacobs. People often cbmment about the elongated faces and big eyes of Skelton?╟╓s subjects. ?╟úThe first thing I notice about a per- son are his eyes,?╟Ñ he explains. ?╟úTo7 me, the eyes are the fur- nace of the soul and when I paint, I exaggerate to capture the true person as I see him.?╟╓?╟╓ Why are the faces so thin? / ?╟úAgain, it?╟╓s because Irm try- ing to express the real person, not the fat they might, have accumulated through the years, That?╟╓s not an integral part of their true self,?╟Ñ y Red and Georgia Skelton have a fine collection of the works of such artists as Renoir, Vla- minck, Andrew Wyeth and Mar* garet Keane in their home plus of course, some of their own work. Thus far, Red has turned down all bids on his paintings, although he has donated sever- al to charity to be auctioned off. Wouldn?╟╓t he like to see his paintings in private collections and public galleries? He still insists: ?╟úAwww, they?╟╓re not good enough.?╟Ñ sJS53I?╟÷?╟? :rr~ *