This is from Listservers 1997
exrex Toobah speaks at the passing of Red Skeleton...
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Blue Unit-
Kemper Arena - Kansas City-
(or was it the Checker Dome in St.Louis?) 1985-
Red Skelton was playing nearby, one of the clowns got the promoter's office
to "comp" him and his staff to our matinee.
He came in a white limo.
Backstage was teeming with clowns and showfolk asking for autographs and
photos. He was most accomodating, but he had a show to do and so did we.
Still basking in the glow of meeting an entertainment icon (and a clown
deity) we got word that Mr. Skelton was taking the entire clown alley to dinner
after our respective shows.
It was decided we'd all go in make up. I was announcing in a spangled tux,
out of face, at Ward Hall's side show, so I put my clown face on and headed
for the restaurant....it was a barbecue place.
Not only that but Mr. Skelton wanted to see what we really looked like OUT
of face. Oh well.
He related stories and facts about his show. Because he perspires a lot
during his performances he kept bananas in his dressing room to eat to replenish
lost potassium. He usually drank Heinekin beer after his show (also high in
potassium). They weighed his sweaty tuxedo after a typical performance and
discovered that he loses 4 or 5 pounds a night. Wow.
His wife was his buisness manager and watched the box office like a hawk.
He wrote her a love letter every morning.
He also made it a habit to compose a piece of music every day.
He composed the music in his stage show.
After dinner he lit up a cigar and for the next half hour he patiently answered
our questions. He held court for the clowns as a true gentleman.
Sam Drummond claimed the cigar stub when the evening was over.
About a year later I saw his show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. He was
hot! A year after that, at the Anaheim Convention Center, I saw him again.
Sadly he took ill during his "Pledge of Alligance" routine and had to cut
his show short.
Grandmother, Grandfather. Bouregard and Heathclift flying over Washington
D.C.: "Here's one on the House". Silver hair, carefully combed back, finally
sneezed forward into a tostled mess. An airborne skip accompanied by a mistimed
cowbell. A requested chair thrown onstage from the wings by a stage hand with
a "strong union".
Guzzler's Gin: a mighty sm-sm-smOOOOth drink.
Mr Skelton, thanks for making laugh till I cried... and may God bless.
-Tuba