Red Skelton Was The Funniest Man On The Planet

My Dad loved Red Skelton.  Seriously, I mean he loved Red Skelton!

Back in his World War II days, Red Skelton was the one entertainer that my Dad got to see.  As I recall him telling about it, Dad was stationed in Needles, California before heading over to Europe and the War.

Needles was in the Desert and I guess an entertainment troop (or maybe just Red alone, I'm not sure) came to the camp.  This was probably 1942, maybe early '43.  Red Skelton was already a major entertainment star.

All those many years later, my Dad would still talk about it.  So when the Red Skelton Show came on TV, well, that was an hour that Dad, Mom, my brother and me would be in front of the old black and white, munching popcorn and seeing what Klem Kadiddlehopper and his friends were up to.

I probably wouldn't put Red Skelton in my Top 5 comedians of all time.  But the memory of sitting on that linoleum floor in our farmhouse living room?  Yeah, that would be right up there near the top of my memory list.