Get this and get it straight. Crime is a suckers road and those who travel it wind up in the gut of the prison of the grave.

The story you are about to hear is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

The Adventures of Sam Spade Detective.

The Adventures of the Saints starring Vincent Prize

Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account

America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator.

Yours truly, Johnny Deller. And the Hello and welcome to another midweek bonus comedy episode of Down These Mean Streets. This week we'll meet a cavalcade of characters, Crazy Cowboy Dead Eye,

the exceptionally inebriated Willie Lumplump, and Junior, the most problematic problem child of them all.

And all of those characters and more will come out of the mind and mouth of Red Skelton.

Skelton was one of the biggest comedy stars of the 20th century,

and his radio presence was a major part of his career.

From 1941 until 1953, Skelton starred in his own series and it was a

showcase for his vaudevillian style. The character's Skelton introduced on his radio show would be parts of his repertoire through his TV series and later specials.

Skelton once said he wasn't concerned about being the greatest or the best comedian.

Instead, he wanted to be known as a clown. As he said, it means you can do anything,

sing, dance, and above all make people laugh.

And Red Skelton did that for decades on the stage, screen, and radio.

Now growing up I wasn't familiar with Red Skelton.

His TV shows weren't making the rounds on Nick at Night, which was my main source of

exposure to classic TV stars. I think the first time I heard him was in the

form of a homemade cassette of novelty holiday songs, one of them being Skelton's 1954 recording of The Little Christmas Tree.

If you've never heard it, it's charming but strange.

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