Red Skelton: The Mask Behind the Mask - Biography of the Legendary Comedian | Perfect for Comedy Lovers & Entertainment History Fans

If you read the author's other book on Red Skelton, you may have walked away a tad disappointed, because for the main part, it was a review of the performance-related aspects of the Skelton career. The current book more than makes up for it. While there is some "review material", as appropriate, this is very much a journey into the psyche of Red Skelton. And, it's balanced and fair. It's not a hatchet job, nor does it attempt to pretty everything up as a fan-writer might do. This tells it like it was, as much as one can do when writing about events and people that took place and lived in the early and mid-1900s. Skelton has been a hero to me since I was a boy...and, after reading this biography, still is...but as I suspected (and has been hinted at in countless magazine articles and other books), he was a flawed person who brought trauma into the lives of those closest to him. But then again, they hooked their fortunes to the star, so I won't feel too sorry for them. As the author points out, Red damaged and nearly destroyed his own legacy by locking away his television treasures and by his long-standing public bitterness toward CBS (not that they didn't deserve it), but -- for the most part -- he banished himself from television and our living rooms. To some extent, the author makes up for that by chronicling just how big a start Red Skelton was. In the 2010s, it's easy for us to forget that. I recall an article written at the time Skelton was dropped by CBS, and one line said something to the effect of, "Who's bigger? Dean Martin? Lucy?" Thanks to the author for reminding us. A very good read.