ent001330-161

i ? * e . .'.iPI NN^$W*5E ! 'J?╜} { [ ;<% f' k . ' - * *- V;x^ '<* pi;. n mm s 11 ] ;?½1 ; ' ' > r H a ^:;- II * ?╟╓l-^ '.*?\ w$m (fx -?╟≤?╟≤'is ?ú⌠ '. ?√ß ; 4"< #****' ' f > WpM ?½5 PI w ???║Ptif#??iI Sill I I I -> & ?╟≤ > ?╟≤ ii Wm 0M m Mm3. ^ s?? ?√ß?╟≤ ii yy&M- Red Skelton, the. artist, posed with admirer KS^Kf rente irt front of some of Skelton?╟╓s paintings at the ?║ands hoteLin Las Vegas. The majority of Skelton?╟╓s work,.; ^propriately- enough, are of clowns. ; ; owawn- M: as issj iv ?√ß* ' ?╟≤v 1 ?╟≤ . f By SHARON LAWHENC^?╟╓j | Hollywood, Calif. ?╟÷ |?║|| ?╟÷ Someone once described Red Skelton as ?╟úa funnyman ,who through the years has become more than a comic . . . he is now one of the world?╟╓s g r eat clowns, a star who can touch the heart as well as the funny bone.?╟Ñ ,V. vfi H > The thousands of visitors to Skelton?╟╓s first art exhibit, dis- covered 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 Vegas Sands hotel. ?╟úI?╟╓ve always ad- mired Red as a performer, but t never dreamed that his paint- ings would be anything more than a pleasant diversion. vj - * Wont Sell Them |i?╟úNow I knb.#;th?i.t?╟  )i}s,sP?╜iht- l?╟╓ngs have the>. state sensitivity that he displays as a clown. . ?╟úHe?╟╓s great!?╟Ñ ?╟≤ The Sands management haa anticipated that perhaps a few hundred persons would stop by to see the pairttings, but more than 3,000 visitors looked at the exhibit. | fr&hmK?½: One impressed resident , or as Sensitive Artist and Clown Pmi m t- " WsnWi. iSI -rtJPI PhOtO Red Skelton usually paintsin his Palm Springs swimming pool/; Wife, Georgia, looked on. > . fered the star $8,00Q for one of his paintings. , Others also of- fered to buy his canvases. Skel- ton wouldn?╟╓t sell. ' No one could have been more delighted with the reaction than Skelton. He is touchingly hum- ble- and is thrilled with the at- tention his art has won. 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 Skelton?╟╓s Palm, Springs home. ?╟úRed, these shouldn?╟╓t be buried away,*?╟╓ said Entratter, a serious art collector. ?╟úLet?╟╓s do an exhibition at the Sands where people can enjoy them.?╟Ñ ?╟ Aww, they?╟╓re not good enough,?╟Ñ.shrugged Skelton ?╟úWho?╟╓d be interested??╟Ñ . But Entratter won Skelton over. Not only tourists and Las Vegas residents came to the exhibit, It drew art collec- tors and fellow performers. Maurice Chevalier, who was appearing in Las Vegas at the time, asked Skelton if he could have a painting for his own collection. ?╟ Red Was Floored?╟╓ ;?╟ÑRed was really floored,?╟Ñ re calls his friend, A1 Freeman. Chevalier has a five million dollar collection of art in hi home in France, and here he was talking about putting a Skelton original in the middle of his Cezanpes, Van Goghs and Renoirs.?╟Ñ r-?╟  \ ?╟≤ Security officers at the hotel won?╟╓t forget the first day of the exhibit when Skelton came Up ?√ß - w,. toeing into the Emerald room ; and almost cried when he saw ) dozens of people studying h i s j paintings. : J ?╟úThere are people here,?╟Ñ he said, shaking his head. 11 can t believe it.?╟Ñ He says the day the exhibit opened will always be a special j day in his life. ?╟úRed is very sensitive about I this part of his life,?╟Ñ says Free- . man. ?╟úHe?╟╓s influenced by crit- , icism a great deal. . . . Painting is more than a hobby to him; it's a very important part of his ] world, a wonderful way for him j to relax.?╟Ñ Skelton usually does his paint- | ing standing in his filled Palm J Springs swimming pool, chew- f ing on a cigar he never smokes j and dipping his brush into the - pool water. Wife Helps Him ?╟úIf there?╟╓s one thing painting ; has taught me,?╟Ñ he grins, ?╟úit?╟╓s $ that oil and water don?╟╓t mix. ; You ought to see the pool after ; one of my painting sprees. It?╟╓s I ah Olympic size palette!?╟Ñ It isn?╟╓t unusual for Skelton to ^ decide to paint to around mid- ; night. When he?╟╓s finished, he puts the painting by wife Geor- j gia?╟╓s bed, ready for written.J Criticism. .. \1 A typical note from her might ^ read: ?╟úIt?╟╓s very good?╟Ñ or ?╟úthe j eyes are a trifle too bulgy.*?╟╓ Mrs. Skelton is an artist in her own right, a graduate of the art center school in L o s Angeles, and it is she who en-?╟  couraged her husband to take up painting 15 years ago. It?╟╓s just in the last year that he has worked steadily at paifiting, with more than 40 canvases completed in that time. ?╟úThe paintings take me any- where from an hour and a half to three hours,?╟Ñ Skelton says. Some of the paintings are still lifes of fruit and flowers, others Ttfrtt id Sfceifdft* ptt^e/2, cfil?? $