The Red Skelton Show was a staple of American television for almost two decades, from the early 1950s through the early 1970s. (It was second to Gunsmoke (1955-1975) and third to The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971) 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 over 15 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 1960.

Origins: 1950s

Skelton's network television program began at the start of the 1951 fall season on NBC. After two seasons on Sunday nights, the program was picked up by CBS in the fall of 1953 and moved to Tuesday night, the time slot with which it would become primarily associated during most of its run. After his first CBS season the program was moved to Wednesday night and expanded to an hour for the summer of 1954 only; it was then reduced back to a half hour for a time, later expanded again, returning to Tuesday night, where it would remain for the next sixteen years.