September 30, 1951-August 29, 1971
Red Skelton's network television program began at the start of the 1951 fall season on NBC (for sponsor Procter & Gamble). After two seasons on Sunday nights, the program was picked up by CBS in the fall of 1953 and moved to Tuesday night, the time slot with which it would become primarily associated during most of its run. After his first CBS season the program was moved to Wednesday night and expanded to an hour for the summer of 1954 only; it was then reduced back to a half-hour for a time, later expanded again, returning to Tuesday night where it would remain for the next sixteen years (co-sponsored by Johnson's Wax and Pet Milk between 1955 and 1962).
On September 25, 1962, the program was again expanded to a full hour (becoming The Red Skelton Hour) and remained in this longer format for the balance of its CBS run.
CBS ended its association with the program in early 1970. This apparently marked the beginning of one of several attempts by CBS to downplay programming whose primary appeal was to "Middle America", an audience more rural and also somewhat older than that generally desired by network television advertisers. Marketers were moving towards a younger, "hipper", and more urban audience.
At least in part due to Skelton's iconic status, the program was picked up by NBC, premiering on September 14, 1970. Vice President Spiro Agnew introduced Red's 20th season opener, returning back to NBC where he began his first TV season. Guest on Shelton's premiere program was Jerry Lewis. After the taping of the show, Lewis told the audience: "My ambition has always been to be a clown...tonight I've had the honor of working with a great clown."
The program that aired was quite different from the one that Skelton's CBS audience was used to seeing. The new set was dark, devoid of the backdrops that viewers had seen on CBS. The show was cut back to its original half-hour length and it was moved from Tuesday to Monday nights.
The new format never really worked. The program ended in March 1971, although selected programs from this final season were rerun on NBC on Sunday nights in prime time during June-August, 1971.
In this episode, Red Skelton's guests are actor Boris Karloff
and actress Eva Gabor.
