Sandi: Hey Sis - who do you think of when I say “Clem Kadiddlehopper?”
Shirley: Our dad, of course - he was a huge fan of the late, great Red Skelton.
Sandi: Yup, when I was little, I used to sit on Dad’s lap every week and watch the clown who wore funny hats and told funny jokes. We had a new Sylvania black and white television, and it was great fun for our whole family watching “The Red Skelton Show.”
Shirley: I can still see Dad laughing and laughing at the likes of Clem, San Fernando Red, Willy Lump Lump, Freddy the Freeloader, and the Mean Widdle Kid!! Dad used to always say “I dood it,” just like the Widdle Kid - as a matter of fact, that became a famous national slogan during Red’s haydays! Funny how comedy was so simple back then - just plain silliness made the whole world laugh!!
Sandi: I remember that! And what a great way to start the day, too - laughing. Everyone should make it a point to see Tom Mullica as Red Skelton at Music City Centre and start their day off right!
Shirley: Well, I wasn’t at all sure that I could get very tickled at ten o’clock in the morning!! However, by the time Tom finished his opening monologue, “morphed” into Clem Kadiddlehopper, and began to recite “PFFFFFFFFFFFFT - FROGS,” I was laughing so hard that I forgot what time it was!! That was one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard - the audience was rolling in the aisles!
Sandi: Yeah, we were all being transported back in time and I quickly forgot I wasn’t watching the real Red. Tom perfectly captures Red’s characters with his outfits, facial expressions, voice, comedic gestures and pantomimes. Tom explained a little about pantomime which began around the year 1300. As a matter of fact, William Shakespeare adapted the art as prologues to his plays in the 1500’s!!
Shirley: It was truly fascinating to watch Tom’s performances as the different characters made famous by Red. The whole show amazed me.….the simplicity of the stage settings, just a red director’s chair with the name RED on it and a hat rack, seemed to enable the audience to focus on the man, rather than his surroundings………and the ease in which Tom changed from one character to the other - right before our eyes - I was mesmerized, to say the least.
Sandi: Tom’s talent is remarkable and absolutely believable. I guess it may come partially from his being a magician and clown for so many years before he actually met Red Skelton and they became friends. Then Red gave him permission to do his characters as long as the humor was kept clean and wholesome enough for the whole family.
Shirley: Yes, that was an interesting point that Tom made while we were talking with him after the show - the fact that Red believed that comedians don’t need to be “blue” or “suggestive” in order to entertain. I might sound like an old prude, but I sure wish some of the modern day entertainers would take that advice. And speaking of comedians in the same league as Red, the “Guzzler’s Gin” routine, which was hilarious, became the basis for Lucille Ball’s unforgettable “Vitameatavegamin” skit - I never knew that before we saw Tom’s show!! Lucy and Red appeared together in “The Ziegfeld Follies” in 1945, became friends, and Red allowed her to rework the routine into one of her own! The line, “Be sure you ask for Guzzler’s Gin - a nice, smooooooooooooooooooooooth drink,” had the audience in hysterics, and Tom had them in the palm of his hand as he closed the first half of the show.
Sandi: Hic! And don’t forget Mark, the bellboy! He certainly played the straight man to a “T” - and how he kept from cracking up at Red, I’ll never understand.
Shirley: Mark was absolutely fabulous - with just a roll of his eyes or a bow to the audience - he was an important part of the show. When Red put on Mark’s hat, put his knees into his shoes, and did “Call For Phillip Morris,” my sides were splitting. Of course, you have to be of a “certain age” to remember that commercial!!
Sandi: Huh? The second half continued with several hilarious skits and more banter with the audience. The one serious moment came when Tom recited Red Skelton’s famous Pledge of Allegiance. I guess as a schoolboy, one of Red’s teachers explained the words and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance to his class. Red later wrote it down and eventually recorded this very special rendition.
Shirley: I believe it was first broadcast on Red’s show in 1969 and later read in Congress - twice! It explains the Pledge of Allegiance as few have heard it and as everyone should - especially in these troubled times we live in. With the American flag flying beside him and “America, The Beautiful,” playing quietly in the background, it was a powerful performance.
Sandi: Very powerful! It was the next skit that I’m sure everyone will remember - probably the most famous - Freddy the Freeloader! It was incredible to watch as Tom transformed himself into Freddy, with a trashcan sitting beside him, donning the tattered overcoat, scarf, gloves and top hat, and making his face over right before our eyes until he became the spitting image of the lovable hobo who had nothing but love in his heart for everyone.
Shirley: Memorable, to be sure, Freddy was first seen on Red’s television show in 1951, and to this day remains his most famous character. And then, just as incredible, was watching as Freddy transformed back into Tom Mullica, as he closed the show. Red Skelton died in 1997, but he lives on at Music City Centre through Tom Mullica’s wonderful tribute show. Tom was privileged to know Red and call him a friend, and Red once told Tom that “making people laugh is a gift of the gods.” Red had that gift, and Tom has that gift. It’s so true what they say - laughter is so good for the soul.
Sandi: Yes, for sure. Thanks to Tom Mullica for keeping Red Skelton, a true master of comedy and an American legend, alive for everyone to enjoy.
Shirley: I’d give this show a big 10+ in points, and once again, we must thank David Sandy for the marvelous entertainment he brings to Branson. Go see this show, everyone!! But be forewarned - you’ll come out of there with aching sides and your face will hurt from laughing - and you’ll be glad for every moment you spent with Tom Mullica. So as Red Skelton always said, “Good Night and May God Bless.”