Went to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana to do research on Red Skelton and to see Mickey Rooney. The archives has video tape of Red Skelton from his 1986 visit. There was video of a news conference and receiving his honorary degree. Red tells a great story about his visit to Philadelphia State Fair. They have slide from his 1977 visit. Did not see items from his 1981 visit.
Mickey Rooney had a good show. The first half was just Mickey showing clips from his movies, talking about his life with jokes and song. The second half was a singing from his wife. When Mickey came stage you could see that love they have for each other. It was great to see this legend up close. I hope he will be able to contact me and talk about his time with Red Skelton.
News about Red Skelton from his hometown Vincennes Indiana. Blog on the Red Skelton Festival.
1 comment:
I recall a Christmas episode of Red Skelton's show that kept me and my family teary-eyed much of the hour.
I almost saw Red Skelton at BSU on 10/9/77. I was at IU and seeing a girl (K, I'll call her) from my hometown who was attending BSU. I gave her money to buy tickets. When I called her a day or two before the event to firm up our plans for the evening, she said (approximately), "Oh yeah, that . . . I'm going with, uh, someone else." I called Emens Auditorium in order to get two more tickets and take someone else, but the show was sold out. I'm sure I looked forward to crossing paths with K (who didn't like Red Skelton as much as I did and never paid me for the tickets), so this might have been for the better.
It feels strange to stumble across mentions of the show on the internet, learn the exact date, see photos of what I missed, and be reminded of K, the all-too pretty girl who'd made a fool of me several times before the show and did so many times after.
Unpleasant associations or no, Red Skelton remains one of my favorites.
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