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DAYTON DAILY MS DAYTON, OHIO D. 152,100 SUN. 194,085 AUG 2 5 1964 GUEST COLUMN ?√ß?√ß?√ß I Red?╟╓s Pictures ?║ Thrill Viewers By SHARON LAWRENCE ?╟  | HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 25 ?╟÷ (UPI)-xSomeone once described Red Skelton as ?╟úa funny man who through te'e yiars has become more than a comic ... he is now one of the world?╟╓s great clowns, a star who can touch the heart as well as the funnybone.?╟Ñ , The thousands of visitors to | Red?╟╓s first art exhibit discover- ed that this is true not only of Skelton the performer but also of Skelton the artist. i ?╟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, ?╟úpve always admired Red as a performer, but I never dreamed that his paintings would be anything more than a pleasant diversion. ?╟úNOW I KNOW that his paintings have the same sen- sitivity that he displays as a clown. ?╟úHe?╟╓S great!?╟Ñ The Sands management had j| 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. One impressed resident of- fered the star $8,000 for one of his paintings. Others also offered to buy his canvases. Red wouldn?╟╓t sell. NO ONE could have been more delighted with the reac- tion than Skelton. He is touch- , ingly humble and thrilled with the attention his art has won. The exhibit came about when I Jack Entratter, president of the Sands and long a friend of the comedian, noticed a stack I , of paintings in a closet of Red?╟╓s] Palm Springs home. ?╟úRed, these shouldn?╟╓t bei buried away,?╟Ñ said Entratter, a serious art collector. ?╟úLet?╟╓s I do an exhibition at the Sands] lwhere people can enjoy them. ?╟úAWW, THEY?╟╓RE not good] : enough,?╟Ñ shrugged Skelton. [ j ?╟úWho?╟╓d be interested??╟Ñ ' t Blit fintratter Won Skelton J Gee Mitchell is on vacation. over. Not only tourists and Las Vegas residents came to the exhibit. It drew art col- lectors and fellow performers Maurice Chevalier, who was ! appearing in Las Vegas at the j time, asked Red if he could ! have a painting for his own | collection. ?╟╓ ?╟úRED WAS really floored,?╟Ñ j recalls his friend, A1 Freeman. 4 ?╟úChevalier has a $5-millionJ collection of art in his home in j France, and here he was talk- ing about putting a Skelton;; original in the middle of his Cezannes, Van Goghs and' I Renoirs.?╟Ñ