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SOMETHING ABOUT ONE OF AMERICA'S CLOWNS Red Skelton was bom in Vincennes, Indiana on July 18th ... His father (Joe) was a lawyer, author, taught elocution at Valparaiso, was a master elec- trician, and circus clown with the, Hagenbeck and Wallace Circus. He died in May 1913 ... Red was bom two months later... In 1926 at the age of 13, Red?╟╓s destiny caught up with him... Show business was his ambition... He attended school during the winter and pursued his career in show business dur- ing the summer... In 1928 he adopted the theatre as his home... He traveled with medicine shows, tent shows, and showboats on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Then he joined Clarence Stout?╟╓s Mins- trels as a black-face comedian... A1 G. Fields, the famous Minstrel man, was his mother?╟╓s uncle... Red went into small-time vaudeville and burlesque and was featured as ?╟úthe youngest comedian in bur- lesque?╟Ñ ... Walkathons started to gain in popularity, so he joined this phase of show business as a master of ceremonies ... Then came big time vaudeville ... Skelton was booked 52 weeks out of the year and has never stopped working since. *. In 1937 Rudy Vallee introduced him to radio... In 1938 he was the star of his own coast-to-coast radio program, and has been coming into the American home every week since... On numerous occasions he has acted as official master of ceremonies at the White House functions and gridiron dinners ... During a Presi- dential celebration Mickey Rooney caught the come- dy antics of Red Skelton and induced Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, to give Skelton a screen test... Frank Borzage, the noted director, saw the test and immediately cast him for a featured part in a motion picture called ?╟úFlight Command.?╟Ñ ... Skelton remained at Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer for the next 15 years... He entered the U. S. Army during World War II as a private and was discharged as a private... During his hitch for Uncle Sam he did over 3500 camp shows here and overseas... In 1945 he married Georgia Davis and they were blessed with two children, Valentina Marie and Richard ... Tragedy struck the Skeltons in 1958 when the entire world mourned the loss of his son... On his recent vacation trip to Japan, Skelton entertained our troops stationed in Japan and Korea... He has starred in over 36 motion pic- tures and has held high ratings in radio and tele- vision ... He is the proud owner of two Emmys ... He has been in television ten years, eight years with the Columbia Broadcasting System, and has been under exclusive sponsorship to Johnson?╟╓s Wax and the Pet Milk Company for the past six years... He has but one aim in life and that is to make people laugh I To: Name Address - City & State Red Shelton appears through the courtesy of CBS, Johnson?╟╓s Wax and Pet Milh