The above photos from TV Guide and the blurb below represent all I know about Red Skelton's CLOWN ALLEY, a special that aired November 11, 1966. It was described in Time magazine that week as...
"CLOWN ALLEY (CBS, 10-11 p.m.). Red Skelton & Co. in a special tribute to the circus funnymen. With Jackie Coogan, Audrey Meadows, Robert Merrill, Vincent Price, Martha Raye, Cesar Romero, Amanda Blake and Bobby Rydell."
Why CBS aired a special so obviously aimed at children at 10:00 PM is odd. Why Red cast Jackie Coogan (He had worked with Chaplin in THE KID as a small child but was much better know in 1966 as The Addams Family's Uncle Fester), Robert Merrill (who?), Vincent Price (?!?), Caesar Romero (who played the Joker on the Batman TV show), Amanda Blake (again, who?) and teen heartthrob Bobby Rydell is even odder.
I believe Time may have it wrong and it was Jackie GLEASON, not Jackie COOGAN who was in the special but I don't know as I've never seen it and can't locate a copy anywhere, not even from the Red Skelton estate who have no record of any surviving master tape.
Anyway, it might be interesting. It's a series of clown gags done by the above mentioned celebrities, co-written by Mort Greene (who wrote many of the "silent spots" on Red's show) all performed under the direction and supervision of "technical advisor" ICHOF inductee and Ringling Master Clown, Bobby Kay.
Then again, it could be an hour of material that resembles actual circus clown gags about as much as the last 7 minutes of JUMBO, which had Albert "Flo" White as a consultant.
Anyone who remembers seeing it, or better yeat actually has a copy, please drop me a line ASAP!
3 comments:
It was Jackie Coogan, not Gleason. Almost everyone on Red's guest list for this special were frequent guest stars on his show. Red liked working among friends and rarely worked with other major comics (he did guest spots with Lucy, Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle and Bob Hope though...)
This special is truly the holy grail of lost TV comedy.
I've seen photo's from it and he performs the baseball gag, firehouse, dentist, washerwoman, Niagra Falls.
In addition to Bobby Kaye, you can see Harold Hall among the real circus clowns in the backgrounds. Billy Barty is also among the little people jumping out of the firehouse.
-Greg
Joe Vani told me a story once when Jackie Coocan was the guest star in Rochester. Joe walked past Jackie's dressing room and the door was part way open, & Jackie was leaning back in a chair with his feet propped up on the make up counter. Joe stopped leaned over and looked through the door, Coogan said, "What are you looking at?". Joe replied a loud, & emphatic, "NOTHIN", Coogan took his foot and slammed the door.
Robert Merrill was a popular opera star who sang at Yankees games for many years. It seems that he sang from Pagliacci on the special.
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