The Red Skelton Hour (1951)

Name: The Red Skelton Hour
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 8.1
Cast: Red Skelton

Comedy

The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awards, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961.

IMDb rating: 8.1 (1,550 votes)
Episode average: 7.4 -0.7 vs IMDb
Seasons: 12
Streaming (US): Amazon Prime Video
Language: EN
Type: TV series

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 12 seasons indexed

Cast

Red Skelton Host

Seasons

Season 1 (1951)

7.04 avg 28 episodes 8.2 → 7.3 27 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Series Premiere	8.2	14
2	How to Wash a Baby	8.4	11
4	Smokeless Sunday	7.6	31
6	Willie and the Burglar	7.5	19
7	Cafe Paree	7.1	14
8	G.I. McPugg	7.3	17
9	Clem and Married Life	7.2	16
11	The Big Trial	6.9	17
12	Clean Politics	7.1	15
13	The Skeltons at Home	7.6	22
14	Learn to Dance in Ten Easy Lessons or One Hard One	7.0	17
15	Fancy Footwork	7.2	25
16	McPugg the Babysitter	6.1	16
17	Clean Fighter	7.5	15
18	Rock-a-Bye Baby	7.0	14
20	The Transcontinental	7.1	13
21	The Disc Jockey	6.4	12
23	How to Make a Salad	7.0	18
24	Pasquale's Hotel	6.6	12
27	Willie the Barber	6.6	11
28	The Travel Club	6.4	12
32	Live in San Francisco	7.4	14
33	Let's Talk About Mother	6.8	11
34	Telephone Trouble	6.2	13
35	The Railroad Station	6.3	12
36	Tornado Deadeye	6.4	14
37	Folding Boy	6.8	11
39	Let's Talk About Father	7.3	11

Season 2 (1952)

6.53 avg 12 episodes 5.9 → 6.4 28 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Willie Comes Home	5.9	13
2	Willie Paints a Room	6.5	12
3	Stagecoach Robbery	6.9	14
6	Whistle Stop	7.0	11
7	Clem Kaddidhopper's Graduation	6.0	11
8	Help Wanted	6.5	12
11	Fancy Footwork	7.5	13
12	The Sultan	7.2	12
26	Ambulance Driver	6.2	11
27	Quiz Show Winner	6.7	12
30	Baby's First Birthday	5.6	11
36	Freddie Becomes a Star-Gazer	6.4	11

Season 3 (1953)

6.58 avg 14 episodes 6.8 → 8.4 30 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	McPugg's Last Fight	6.8	10
5	Hobo's Dilemma	6.2	10
6	Appleby the Dreamer	6.6	11
11	Flugelmeyer's Secret Formula	6.2	13
14	Christmas with the Skeltons	7.7	16
15	The Great White Hunter	7.1	14
16	Accidents Will Happen	6.6	10
18	What Fathers Should Know	5.0	9
20	The Train Trip	6.0	9
21	Deadeye at the Golden Nugget	7.0	19
26	Sherlock Holmes Satire	5.8	9
34	The Referee	6.2	9
35	Prince Valiant	6.5	10
40	Dial 'B' for Brush with guest performers Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr. & Vampira	8.4	35

Season 4 (1954)

7.60 avg 7 episodes 7.0 → 7.7 30 min avg

Front-loaded

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
9	He Made Good in the City	7.0	9
14	The Cop and the Anthem	8.4	22
16	The Smog Czar starring George Raft	8.2	18
18	Honeymooners Spoof	8.0	17
19	Love Thy Neighbor	6.7	11
20	Queen of Mars	7.2	9
25	Look Magazine Movie Awards Show	7.7	18

Season 5 (1955)

7.68 avg 5 episodes 7.5 → 7.0 30 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
6	Halloween Show	7.5	13
10	Phantom of the Ballet	8.6	10
11	Deadeye vs. the Lone Ranger	7.5	12
13	Cookie and Zsa Zsa Gabor	7.8	11
31	Desert Island	7.0	10

Season 6 (1956)

8.40 avg 3 episodes 8.4 → 7.9 30 min avg

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
7	The First Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims	8.4	8
20	San Fernando's Showboat	8.9	11
21	Clem Strikes Oil	7.9	14

Season 7 (1957)

8.14 avg 9 episodes 8.3 → 7.6 30 min avg

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
11	Deadeye the Outlaw	8.3	10
15	Calypso Clem	7.8	9
17	Bolivar's Beauty Salon	8.0	12
19	Appleby's Garage	7.7	14
21	Clem the Dentist	8.3	16
23	Cauliflower's Hamburger Stand	8.8	9
25	San Fernando's Filibuster	9.0	9
28	The Kadiddlehopper Mural or Clem the Artist	7.8	22
35	Bolivar and the Lost Patrol	7.6	8

Season 11 (1961)

7.92 avg 5 episodes 8.0 → 7.8 30 min avg

Season 11 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
4	Deadeye and the Gunslinger	8.0	15
6	Freddie's Romance	8.6	10
13	Freddie and the Yuletide Doll	7.4	30
21	The Iceman Goeth	7.8	10
26	The Dalton Gals	7.8	9

Season 15 (1965)

8.16 avg 5 episodes 7.6 → 6.8 60 min avg

Season 15 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
11	Somebody Down Here Hates Me	7.6	9
14	The Plight Before Christmas (Color Re-staging)	9.5	9
16	When Nut-Hood Was in Flower	8.3	10
18	Concert in Pantomime	8.6	8
24	Red Skelton Scrapbook 66 - guest John Wayne	6.8	14

Season 16 (1966)

8.43 avg 8 episodes 9.2 → 8.8 56 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 16 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
6	The Land of Bilk and Money	9.2	10
14	Christmas Spirit	7.4	10
17	Freddie's Heroes	8.6	11
19	Absence Makes the Hate Grow Fonder	7.6	9
22	Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Dumb	8.6	9
24	Parlor, Bedroom & Wrath	8.0	9
26	It's a Treat to Beat a Cheat on the Mississippi Mud	9.2	10
27	A Bum for All Seasons	8.8	9

Season 17 (1967)

8.50 avg 3 episodes 8.0 → 8.8 60 min avg

Rising

Season 17 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
9	Hippie Days Are Here Again	8.0	10
16	A Christmas Urchin	8.7	10
26	Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of George Appleby	8.8	12

Season 20 (1970)

7.63 avg 11 episodes 7.9 → 6.6 30 min avg

Season 20 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Magic Act	7.9	15
2	Freddie's Desperate Hour	7.4	11
3	The Family Business	7.8	8
4	The Private Detective	8.6	11
5	Bad Guys and Good Girls	8.4	10
6	Census Taker	8.8	11
7	Hiring the Secretary	8.6	9
13	Red Skelton Christmas Show	6.7	9
19	The Castaways	6.1	10
20	Appleby's Garage Sale	7.0	8
22	Sheriff Hater	6.6	8

The Red Skelton Hour (1951)

Cast

Seasons

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