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Season 20 (NBC) (1970-71)
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by: Tom Alger Rina Fox
references:
TV Guide / Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive /  Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

############ The Red Skelton Show ############
############# season 20 1970-71 ##############
############### (final season) ###############
(reverts to 30 min format)
moves back to NBC
September 1970-March 1971 Monday 7:30-8:00
June 1971-August 1971 Sunday 8:30-9:00
 
 Cancelled by CBS after 17 consecutive seasons, Red Skelton celebrated his 20th anniversary in television by returning to NBC, where he'd launched his TV career way back in 1951.
Inasmuch as his "new" NBC show ran 30 minutes, the title of Red's series changed from "The Red Skelton Hour" back to its original "The Red Skelton Show".

Regulars:
Chanin Hale, Jan Arvan, Billy Barty, Bob Duggan, Peggy Rea, Carol Worthington, Brad Logan
Musical Regulars:
Robin Wlson, The Burgundy Street Singers

20.01 [649] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)  [Season 20 Premiere]
14-Sep-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41107.
Introduced by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
Guest:
Jerry Lewis
*
Musical Highlights:
Robin Wilson (regular) sings "For Once in My Life."
"The Silent Spot"
Silent Spot pantomime segment with Jerry Lewis.

20.02 [650] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
21-Sep-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41108.
Introduced by Dean Martin
Guests:
Raymond Burr (Ironside)
Barbara Anderson (Officer Eve Whitfield in Ironside)
*
Main Comedy Sketch: "Freddie's Desperate Hour"
An escaped convict (Raymond) and his moll (Barbara) hide out in the City Dump shack inhabited by Freddie the Freeloader (Red).
"The Silent Spot"
(no details)

20.03 [651] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
28-Sep-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41109.
Introduced by Jack Benny
Guest:
Robert Wagner
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
Super-hero Colossal Man (Red) insists that his wimpy son (Robert Wagner) take over the family business.
Emmaline Henry also appears as "Mr. Man."
"The Silent Spot"
George Appleby (Red) has a run-in with a tough guy.

20.04 [652] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
05Oct1970 NBC / OREG: LP41110.
Introduced by Johnny Carson (received his first big network-TV break by subbing for Red Skelton way back in 1954)
Guest:
Mike Connors (Mannix)
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
Clumsy Clem Kadiddlehopper (Red) is hired to protect federal witness Mike Connors. Cashing in on his Mannix image,
Mike also gives Red advice on becoming a private eye.
Musical Highlights:
Robin Wilson (regular) sings "I've Gotta Be Me".
"The Silent Spot"
A mouse (Red) tries to steal a piece of cheese from a trap.

20.05 [653] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
12-Oct-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41111
Guest:
Walter Brennan
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
In a takeoff of High Noon, Sheriff Deadeye (Red Skelton) faces a showdown with Sheriff Hawkeye (Walter Brennan).
On a more serious note, Red reads his own poem about being a grandparent (his daughter Valentina had presented him
with a granddaughter some three months before this program aired).
"The Silent Spot"
Two outdoorsmen (Red, Jan Arvan) duke it out at a campsite.

20.06 [654] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
19-Oct-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41112.
Guest:
Gene Barry (one of the three rotating stars on NBC's The Name of the Game)
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
Census taker Clem Kadiddlehopper (Red) finds himself in the middle of a domestic quarrel.
"The Silent Spot"
Red plays a taxidermist saddled with a contentious mother-in-law.

20.07 [655] The Red Skelton Show: HALLOWEEN SHOW (30 min)
26-Oct-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41113.
Guest:
Van Johnson
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
An Executive (Van Johnson) decides that hobo Freddie the Freeloader (Red) is the ideal person to locate a responsible secretary.
Red delivers a monologue about trick-or-treating
"The Silent Spot"
Red plays a man pestered by ghoulies and ghosties.

[--] 02-Nov-1970 - Re-Scheduled to 07-Dec-1970 - see #2.11

20.08 [656] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
09-Nov-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41114.
Guest:
Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright in Bonanza)
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
George Appleby (Red) is hoping to prove to wife Clara (Emmaline Henry) that he's the head of the household,
timid George tries to get rid of annoying house guest Little Willie (Dan Blocker).
"The Silent Spot"
Red pantomimically portrays a drunken barber.

20.09 [657] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
16-Nov-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41115.
Guest:
Godfrey Cambridge
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
San Fernando Red (Skelton) appoints himself manager of flamboyant football star Joe Broadway (Godfrey Cambridge).
"The Silent Spot"
Diamond Jim Grady (Skelton) goes dining in a plush New York restaurant.

20.10 [658] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
23-Nov-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41116.
Guest:
Mickey Rooney
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
Red Skelton introduces a new character: Absent-minded professor Ludwick Von Humperdoo, "the world's oldest youngters."
A a government agent (Mickey Rooney) is assigned to check out Von Humperdoo's latest invention.
"The Silent Spot"
A house detective (Skelton) tries to ferret out a crook from among three likely suspects.

[--] 30-Nov-1970 - No Details

20.11 [659] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
07-Dec-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41117.
Guest:
Michael Landon (Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza)
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
"The Richest boy in the world" (Michael Landon), is ripe for plucking by con artist supreme San Fernando Red (Skelton).
"The Silent Spot"
Skelton reprises his curmudgeonly character "Mr. Haight", who herein declares war on kids.
Note:
This episode was originally scheduled to air on 02-Nov-1970

20.12 [660] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
14-Dec-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41118.
Guest:
Telly Savalas
*
Main Comedy Sketch: "The Stagecoach Hijack".
Sheriff Deadeye (Skelton) suspects that a bald-headed stranger (Telly Savalas) is the leader of an outlaw gang.
The Silent Spot: "The Gift of Giving"
A shabby old man (Skelton) finds a wallet.

20.13 [661] The Red Skelton Show: THE CHRISTMAS SHOW (30 min)
21-Dec-1970 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41119.
Guest:
Leslie Nielsen
*
Main Comedy Sketch: written by Red Skelton
A duty-bound cop (Leslie Nielsen) arrests hobo Freddie the Freeloader (Skelton) for selling chestnuts without a license.
But when the cop finds out that Freddie is trying to raise money for a homeless orphan, he has a change of heart.
"The Silent Spot"
(no details)

[--] 28-Dec-1970 No Details

20.14 [662] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
04-Jan-1971 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41123
Guest:
Audrey Meadows
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
Mean Widdle Kid, Junior Cavendish (Skelton) drives his mom (Audrey Meadows) crazy during an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning.
"The Silent Spot"
An old man (Skelton) recalls a youthful romance.

20.15 [663] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
11-Jan-1971 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41122.
Guests:
Jill St. John
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
A sexy spy (Jill St. John) tries to steal a new secret formula concocted by Ludwick Von Humperdoo (Red Skelton).
Series regular Billy Barty appears as the "shrunken" Ludwick.
"The Silent Spot"
A man (Skelton) nurses a whopper of a hangover after his bachelor party.

20.16 [664] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
18-Jan-1971 NBC Mon / REG: LP41124.
Guests:
Chad Everett
Cass Elliot
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
A crooked marriage broker San Fernando Red (Skelton) matches a bachelor (Chad Everett) with a bachelorette (Mama Cass).
"The Silent Spot"
Skelton's trained-flea act is undermined by a passing dog.

20.17 [655] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
25-Jan-1971 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41125.
Guest:
James Drury (The Virginian)
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
A county supervisor (James Drury) encounters unforeseen difficulties as he tries to auction off the Clem Kadiddlehopper farm.
"The Silent Spot"
A nervous TV repairman (Skelton) fends off an amorous housewife (series regular Chanin Hale).

20.18 [666] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
01-Feb-1971 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41126.
Guests:
Eva Gabor (Green Acres)
Wally Cox
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
A philanthropist (Eva Gabor) wants to bestow one million dollars upon bums Freddie the Freeloader (Skelton) and Muggsy (Wally Cox).
"The Silent Spot"
Skelton plays a rotten chef at a greasy-spoon diner.

20.19 [667] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
08-Feb-1971 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41127.
Guest:
Vincent Price
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
A fastidious gourmet Claude Casserole (Vincent Price) is marooned on a desert island with dimwitted Clem Kadiddlehopper (Skelton).
"The Silent Spot"
A prison inmate (Skelton) prefers life in jail to the nagging of his wife (series regular Peggy Rhea).

20.20 [668] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
15-Feb-1971 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41128.
Guest:
Martha Raye
*
Main Comedy Sketch: "The Garage Sale."
There's heck to pay when George Appleby (Skelton) sells the old guitar in which his wife Clara (Martha Raye) has hidden their live savings.
"The Silent Spot"
Skelton plays a stockboy in a teddy-bear factory.

20.21 [669] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
22-Feb-1971 NBC / OREG: LP41129.
Guest:
George Gobel
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
Professor Ludwick Von Humperdoo (Skelton) invents a cement tire, much to the dismay of millionaire tire manufacturer Tom Treadwell (George Gobel).
"The Silent Spot"
A sailor (Skelton) tries to pick up a cute blonde (series regular Chanin Hale).

20.22 [670] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
01-Mar-1971 NBC / OREG: LP41130.
Guest:
Phyllis Diller
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
Slow-draw Sheriff Deadeye (Skelton) is terrorized by a female fugitive killer (Phyllis Diller).
"The Silent Spot"
A satire on computer dating (still a relatively new concept in 1971!)

20.23 [671] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min)
08-Mar-1971 NBC Mon / OREG: LP41120.
Guest:
Tony Randall
Regulars: The Burgundy Street Singers
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
A TV director (Tony Randall), appoints himself image consultant to corrupt politician San Fernando Red (Skelton).
Musical Highlight:
The Burgundy Street Singers (series regulars) perform "Rainmaker."
"The Silent Spot"
A toothache victim (Skelton) is terrified of his dentist (series regular Jan Arvan). T

20.24 [672] The Red Skelton Show: (30 min) (final weekly program for NBC)
15-Mar-1971 NBC / OREG: LP41121.
Guest:
Sebastian Cabot
Regulars: The Burgundy Street Singers
*
Main Comedy Sketch:
A spoof of the TV series Ironside. A wheelchair-bound private detective (Sebastian Cabot) is forced to put his life in the hands of
clumsy assistant Clem Kadiddlehopper (Skelton).
Musical Highlight:
The Burgundy Street Singers (series regulars) perform "Let's Get Together."
"The Silent Spot"
Skelton plays a butterfingered race-car mechanic during a championship race.

Note:
After twenty consecutive years on television, Red Skelton was put out to pasture at the end of the 1970-71 season on the dubious grounds
that his brand of comedy was "tired" and "old-fashioned." Happily, he didn't stay out of the public eye for long, and he continued
appearing in live concerts and TV specials up until a few years before his death in 1997.

########### The Red Skelton Show ############
################## the end #################
##############################################

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