At 12 South 3rd Street in Vincennes, Indiana, stands a mural of the comedian Red Skelton and his characters, including the hillbilly Clem Kadiddlehopper, the hobo Freddie the Freeloader, the henpecked husband George Appleby and the punch-drunk boxer Cauliflower McPugg.
Skelton isn’t remembered as well in most of the United States as he is in his birthplace of Vincennes, but there are still some fans of his distinct brand of pantomime humor and slapstick.
Skelton started in vaudeville as a teen in the 1920s, and he was a successful comedian for more than 50 years. He finished in the Top 20 in 16 of his 20 seasons on television on the show that bore his name. Like Lawrence Welk and Buddy Ebsen, he represented a midcentury, Middle American performance tradition.
The youngest of four brothers, Skelton was the son of a grocer who died two months before his birth on July 18, 1913. Growing up in poverty Skelton sold newspapers on the streets as a seven-year-old, which was his first performing role as he employed newsboy patter to get passers-by to buy copies of the day’s paper.