Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Baytos, Betsy.

Description

1. 2 sound cassettes (115 min.) +

Summary

1. Cassette 1 (25 min. per side). Mr. Skelton discusses his childhood; early jobs with the circus; becoming a clown; meeting Ed Wynn; working in medicine shows; creating comic falls; deriving character bits from observations of pedestrians; performing in tent shows; working in minstrel shows; why minstrel shows lost popularity; racism in vaudeville; working on a showboat; working in burlesque; developing his comic acts; performing impersonations in vaudeville; and the acts of various vaudevillians and comedians.
2. Cassette 2 (65 min.). Mr. Skelton talks about his career in the borscht belt; developing his cigar routine; his appreciation of silent film actors; the relationship of pathos to comedy; the development of his prop routines; adapting physical comedy for radio; Joe Frisco; working with Louis B. Mayer in film; writing music and fiction; working with guest stars on his television show; modulating the flow of humor on his show; a comparison of clowns, mimes, and comedians; his work and admiration for Marcel Marceau; the receptiveness of London audiences to his show; pratfalls; the relationship of animation to physical comedy; the origins of some of his comic characters; and what makes a character funny.

Donor/Sponsor

1. National Initiative to Preserve American Dance.

Alternative title

1. Dance Oral History Project.
2. Dance Audio Archive.

Subject

1. Vaudeville
2. Comedians
3. Comedy
4. Phonotapes > Skelton, R
5. Phonotapes > Baytos, B
6. Wynn, Ed, 1886-1966
7. Minstrel shows
8. Medicine shows
9. Burlesque
10. Animation (Cinematography)
11. Marceau, Marcel

Call number

1. *MGZMT 3-1997

Note

1. For transcript, see: *MGZMT 3-1997.
2. Interviewed by Betsy Baytos in Mr. Skelton's home, February 20, 1996.

Access (note)

1. Transcripts may not be photographed or reproduced without permission.

Author

1. Skelton, Red, 1913-1997. Interviewee

Title

1. Interview with Red Skelton [sound recording].

Imprint

1. 1996.

Local note

1. Preservation master cassettes: *MGZTCO 3-1997.
2. Archival transcript: *MGZMTO 3-1997.
3. Dubbing master: *MGZTD 10-1997. 7 1/2 in. per sec.; 10 in. reel; polyester; half-track. 2 reels.
4. Interview funded by the National Initiative to Preserve American Dance (NIPAD)

Restricted access

1. Transcripts may not be photographed or reproduced without permission.

Local subject

1. Phonotapes -- Skelton, R.
2. Phonotapes -- Baytos, B.

Added author

1. Baytos, Betsy. Interviewer

Research call number

1. *MGZMT 3-1997 (transcript)
2. *MGZTC 3-1997 (sound cassette)