tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post5828819464399262525..comments2024-03-17T07:25:56.478-04:00Comments on Thrilling Days of Yesteryear: “Good night…and may God bless…”Ivan G Shreve Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04067177808320053382noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-39217608261157765242017-01-16T13:48:33.948-05:002017-01-16T13:48:33.948-05:00Scott opined:
I've always found Red Skelton v...Scott opined:<br /><br /><i>I've always found Red Skelton vaguely repulsive, and I never stopped to wonder why - until now. It was the clowns, I think. The clownish costumes, the clown-like make-up and pantomime, the clown paintings which always seemed like something you'd find in John Wayne Gacy's garage.</i><br /><br />No more calls -- we have a winner. (The irony is that those garage paintings have fetched truly astronomical and obscene amounts of money at auctions and the like.)<br /><br />I've tried to reconcile why listening to Skelton on an old-time radio broadcast never fails to reduce me to hysterics...and yet I just don't warm up to his TV show like others do. Some of these shows -- particularly during his "Silent Spots" -- had me glancing at the watch I no longer wear on my wrist.<br /><br />Red doesn't get the credit for his movies like he should, even though a lot of them were splashy MGM affairs, a studio not generally known for its comedy expertise.Ivan G Shreve Jrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04067177808320053382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-7833266429546562412017-01-16T13:34:55.213-05:002017-01-16T13:34:55.213-05:00I've always found Red Skelton vaguely repulsiv...I've always found Red Skelton vaguely repulsive, and I never stopped to wonder why - until now. It was the clowns, I think. The clownish costumes, the clown-like make-up and pantomime, the clown paintings which always seemed like something you'd find in John Wayne Gacy's garage. The whole aptly named "gallery of grotesques" just haunted and unnerved me as a child.<br /><br />Ironically, I probably saw many of the episodes on this set, since my parents and grandparents were devoted to the show so there was no escaping it, save for leaving the room with the TV in it, and that, of course, was simply unthinkable. Like <i>I Love Lucy</i>, which I watched for years through hot, salty tears of hatred, I would rather be tortured by television that entertained by a book.<br /><br />The odd thing is, while I hated Red's TV shtick, I rather liked his moves when I later discovered them, leading to my Rainbow Rule for Red Skelton: Red in Black and White: Good. Red in Color: Bad.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02798340582589737829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-19970286154384453222017-01-16T13:04:08.310-05:002017-01-16T13:04:08.310-05:00Our Lady of Great Caftan reminisced:
Red's wa...Our Lady of Great Caftan reminisced:<br /><br /><i>Red's was the first show we watched on our new colour set. It used to tick my dad off when Red would laugh at his own jokes, but we were still laughing as well, so it was okay.</i><br /><br />"You're some comedian, laughing at your own jokes," my father would always scold me as a kid. One day, I pointed out that Red Skelton laughed at his own jokes ("Why should the comedian be the only one not allowed to laugh?" he once asked) Dad came back with "Yeah, but you're no Red Skelton." (He really knows how to hurt a guy.)<br /><br />Dad was digging through a strongbox filled with important family documents and he came across a receipt for our first color TV...purchased in 1976. (I guess we were waiting to see if it caught on.)Ivan G Shreve Jrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04067177808320053382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7307577717655310918.post-27345533624790681552017-01-16T11:23:42.887-05:002017-01-16T11:23:42.887-05:00Red's was the first show we watched on our new...Red's was the first show we watched on our new colour set. It used to tick my dad off when Red would laugh at his own jokes, but we were still laughing as well, so it was okay.<br /><br />The last time I saw Red was on a Canadian talk show hosted by Dini Petty (I think there are clips on YouTube). I was almost afraid to watch, thinking he would just be a rambling old guy. I'm so glad I watched because he was magnificent with his wonderful stories and had the audience right in the palm of his hand.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.com