A Museum By The People And For The People

Red Skelton’s life story will be tangibly visible as his collection of costumes, awards, and paintings are displayed along with fading paper headlines extolling his fame and photos that are turning bland.

But the story that has to be told is one that transfers feelings from heart to heart; it is a story that nourishes the human spirit, especially in times like we are facing today.

It is about Red Skelton who turned poverty into opportunity, who became more generous as he prospered, who upheld Heartland values as he waded through crassness, who could go beyond himself when enduring the death of his beloved son to entertain young women and men of the military, who paid the rent of a struggling actor and flew to the bedside of a dying boy who wanted to meet Willie Lump Lump. It’s the man who left a foundation to clothe the needy children of his hometown with warm coats in the winter, and the man who sat all night beside a frightened little girl facing serious surgery without her mother, while his son was in the hospital.

This is the Red to be memorialized. And, it is up to us to complete Red’s place. We the people, for the people.

Those who will come and see the rich and diverse collection, to laugh, to study, to learn, and be enriched.

And for the people who will be inspired; who will gain an understanding of goodness, generosity, grace under trial, a work ethic, the understanding of an indominateable spirit: a gift for posterity. The Red Skelton Museum.

RED SKELTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Dedicated on Feb. 24, the $16.8 million Red Skelton Performing Arts Center features an 800-seat proscenium theatre. Located just one block from the legendary entertainer’s birthplace, the 63,000 square-foot Skelton Center also features classrooms, rehearsal halls, and labs for students majoring in theatre, theatrical production, music, and dance.

Sophisticated sound, lighting, and staging complement the audience experience. Theatre features include European opera-house style seating with two seating balconies, a third balcony for light/sound control, central speaker cluster and additional speakers left and right for special effects, barrier-free access to all seating balconies, movable drapes on the third balcony to adjust acoustic performance from voice to music, a separate system providing additional sound reinforcement for the hearing impaired, and a ceiling design that references Red Skelton’s beginnings in traveling tent shows.

Funded with the support of the Indiana General Assembly, the Center bolsters several VU performance programs while fulfilling Red Skelton’s lifelong wish to support the performing arts.

In addition to the theatre, other features of the Skelton Performing Arts Center include a large lobby to accommodate a display of Skelton memorabilia, an outdoor plaza facing a south lawn for summer events, convenient drop-off drive, and space for future expansion.

Instructional space includes a scene shop for construction of sets and props, group and individual music rehearsal spaces, costume production lab, sound design lab, star and chorus dressing rooms, room for patron receptions, and an acting lab complete with sprung floor, movable drapes, and a lighting grid.

RED SKELTON

Born in Vincennes on July 18, 1913, Red Skelton joined a medicine show at age ten, beginning a lifelong entertainment career. Although he died at age 84 on Sept. 17, 1997, he is currently ranked among the top five most popular deceased celebrities, sharing top-billing with Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, John Wayne, and Jimmy Stewart.

Skelton is one of few performers to succeed in four entertainment genres--vaudeville, radio, movies, and television. To honor his lifetime achievements, Red received the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Governor’s Emmy Award in 1986.

“The Red Skelton Show” ran on television a record 20 consecutive years, from 1951 to 1971, and was consistently among the top-rated programs. The only TV performer with a longer stay was Ed Sullivan (24 years as host of “The Ed Sullivan Show”). Through his radio and TV career, Skelton introduced unforgettable characters like Freddie the Freeloader; country bumpkin Clem Kadiddlehopper; Willy Lump Lump, the drunk; Cauliflower McPugg, the boxer; Junior the Mean Widdle Kid; and con man San Fernando Red.

Based on longevity and audience size, “The Red Skelton Show” was the second most popular show in TV history (“Gunsmoke” is first). Long after his television career ended, Skelton continued to perform to sell-out audiences throughout the nation and overseas, and was particularly popular on the college circuit.

Skelton starred in more than 30 motion pictures, was a prolific painter, and wrote 5,000 musical selections.