As a boy I was very fond of the Red Skelton Show. It was live in those days and one never knew what might happen. Skelton could go off joking on anything and he walked a thin line between what was acceptable in the highly censored and naive TV of the 'fifties. But it wasn't just the surprise moments and not just his pantomime and clownishness, things even a young child could grasp and giggle at, it was the warmth and gentleness that came from this man. Despite the mischief often in his eyes and the devil in his dimpled grin, he seemed shy and sometimes almost embarrassed that people would applaud him. I recall each December he would do a Freddy the Freeloader skit based on an O. Henry short story about a down and out man trying to get himself arrested so he has a warm place to spend Christmas. Of course, there was a twist, this being O. Henry, but the nature of the sketch encapsulated the humor amd humanity of Red.
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