 Tom Mullica brings his outstanding Red Skelton: A Performance Tribute to Lapeer's Pix Theatre for two
shows this weekend.
Mr. Mullica is a magician by experience but a rabid devotee of
Red Skelton's wit, style, and talents.
"People loved him," said Mr. Mullica. "He had many characters and a varied
style of humor. People have tried to do shows about George Burns and Jack Benny
and have done them well, but they didn't last. It wasn't that they weren't
funny, but the style of humor was different.
"Red was a sketch comic, and he did anything he could to
get a laugh. He was raised in vaudeville and had lots of material."
His tribute is one of Branson's top attractions for nine
months each year. During the winter, Mr.
Mullica takes the show on the road.
The two men met in 1980: Mr. Mullica owned a club in Atlanta
and Mr. Skelton was performing on the road after being unceremoniously dropped
by CBS and then NBC television.
The networks thought he skewed too much towards the "unsophisticated"
viewer; even though his show remained a favorite.
"A
lot of people ask me why I became friends with Red, because he was a hard guy
to get to know. But I was born in 1948, and Red's son was born in 1948, and he
died of leukemia when he was 9 years old, so I think that might be part of the
explanation."
Be sure to visit Mr. Mullica's
website here.
Check out the full Flint Journal article here.
You can get box office information from the Pix Theatre here.
- Provided by InsideMagic |
