Submitted by Karl Breckenridge
We take you now to Sparks, where Red Skelton is appearing in the Circus Room of the Nugget, and yours truly is the room announcer. (Bill Ruff was the principal announcer and Ed Smith, the ol’ redhead, was second banana. I came along as third and Ruff’s and Smith’s resounding voice made mine sound like Donald Duck.) But no matter – onward:
The year I’ll peg as 1966 and explain that later. Red was involved with the audience as Klem Kadiddlehopper, his beloved clown persona. But wait – another clown in professional makeup, clothing, big eyes on a stage-makeup white face and a big red nose, enters the stage from center rear!
Skelton/Kadiddlehopper is clearly bemused. The intercom is crackling between me – seated at the audio console low and to the left of center stage – and the light booth, high above the rear of the room. “Who the hell is that?” That question is being asked all over the room, husband-to-wife, or wife-to-husband: “Who is he?”
One by one all in the room over age 10 realize who “he” is, the most popular clown in the land, and slowly the room falls as silent as I ever heard it. The audience, and I suspect Skelton, were mesmerized.
Clowns don’t speak; we all know that. And the two, with their
four large floppy shoes toe-to-toe examined each other, circling around with no
expression on their faces for what seemed like five minutes, but our tape
actually revealed as 68 seconds.
Finally, the intruding clown held up his hand, palm toward Kadiddlehopper, and waved at him, moving only his fingers from their MC joint with his hand. Kadiddlehopper waved back – similarly – in one of the most touching scenes ever to hit the Circus Room. Clowns are by nature sad, you know, and at this point the intruder feigned sadness as he swept a tear from his eye with his hand, at the prospect of their imminent parting.
I’d say everyone in the house that night had already a tear in their eye at these two classic men’s antics. Heck, I’m glistening a bit as I type this on Sunday morning…
The intruder left the same way as he came; all the while one could have heard a pin drop in the Circus Room. Skelton finally stood on the stage alone – motionless. He walked off, shaking his head, with a slight wave to the audience.
Shortly I was handed a note: “Would you please announce that Mr. Skelton will not be returning to the stage, and thank the audience for joining us tonight?” (He was fine at the later cocktail show.) I still have that note…
Emmett Kelly was America’s favorite clown. He had closed his show at Harrah’s Tahoe the night before and decided to drop in on his buddy Red Skelton (Skelton had opened Harrah’s South Shore Room on January 1, 1960). Apparently only three souls knew that he’d be joining Kadiddlehopper on stage: Kelly’s makeup man, somebody on the Nugget staff who opened the stage door (and no one took much time to investigate!), and Emmett Kelly himself.
The year 1966? The only year Emmett Kelly played the South Shore Room when Skelton was at the Nugget. And the night and the event? Sixty-eight seconds evocative of the culture between casinos in 1966: humans, not corporations, owning them – Bill Harrah saying to Emmett Kelly, (if Kelly even asked him), “Sure – do it – Ascuaga will get a big kick out of it!”
Thanks for reading this; see y’all back here tomorrow. We’ll let the text take us somewhere else. Be safe, huh?
Karl Breckenridge
Karl Breckenridge was slowly going nuts. So he decided to help out This is Reno by writing a daily out-of-his-mind column for the duration of the coronavirus shutdown. Now that it’s over he’s back to his usual antics, drinking coffee with the boys at the Bear and, well, we’re not sure what else. But he loved sharing his daily musings with you, so he’s back, albeit a little less often, to keep on sharing. Karl grew up in the valley and has stories from the area going back to 1945. He’s been writing for 32 years locally.
Read more from Karl Breckenridge
Cheers 4 – the Lear steam bus
The latest news on the Lear Theater has Karl remembering some of the Lear’s other projects, including a steam-powered bus.
Cheers 3 – the groceries II
Karl did not limit his column to ten items or less, so get out of the express line to read this history of Reno grocery markets.
Cheers 2 – the groceries I
Karl got a little distracted this week, starting off with a list of Reno’s great groceries of yesterday then slipping on some ice.
Cheers 1 – Of wine and Little Italy
Karl is back, making us all wonder why we didn’t spend more time during stay-at-home orders pressing grapes into homemade wine.
Day 75 – Karl’s retired to the Bear
From the get-go our pal Karl said he’d write “a short squib on a daily basis – nothing political, nothing controversial,” well, except for that one column.
Day 74 – the Truckee’s picturesque islands (updated)
Karl’s pal Jody shares the rich history of bootlegging, decorating, and engineering within the confines of the Truckee River’s banks and its picturesque islands.
Day 72 – Hobos, tigers and leprechauns
Karl recollects the series of eateries that drew diners to the corner of Virginia Street and Gentry Way for several decades.
Day 70 & 71 – in Flanders Fields
Karl shares a poem by John McCrae to mark Memorial Day.
Day 69 – The Nugget shark: John meets Jaws
Karl was talking about baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, long before the kids these days had ever been born.
Day 67 – What I like about Reno High
Karl, er, Carmine Ghia, writes an end-of-school-year essay to turn in to Mrs. Lehners about everything he likes about Reno High School.
Day 67 – 25 Bret Harte
Karl saddles up and heads to Newlands Manor where Western movies star Reno Browne grew up, and Lash Larue paid a visit or two.
Day 66 – Out for dinner we go
Karl goes out to eat at the El Tavern Motel, a truck stop outside the Reno city limits on the Lincoln Highway.
Day 65 – Dawn Bunker
Karl is back in action with a fresh story of which students of Mrs. Bunker’s class at Jessie Beck Elementary School still won’t spill the beans.
Day 64 – abducted
Karl Breckenridge called in to This Is Reno editors this morning with a hands-in-the-air, what-can-I-do sense of resignation.
Day 63 – Wedding chapels
Karl’s enjoying coffee with pals at the Bear, so today Jody stands at the altar to share the history of Reno’s wedding chapel industry.
Day 62 – the mansion at 2301 Lakeside Drive
Karl’s 7-year-old alter ego rides his bike down to Virginia Lake to explore the Hancock Mansion, a nifty home complete with a bomb shelter, sunroof and doll collection.
Day 61 – Basque hotels
Karl wanders back in time to 1960, a time when multiple Basque hotels served up minestrone soup, English lessons, banking, and accommodations.
Day 60 – the bygone Greyhound terminal
Karl’s synapses are firing today after hearing mention of Reno’s Greyhound bus terminal on Stevenson Street, now razed.
Day 59 – Don’t tell Mom
Karl rewinds to Mother’s Day to share a story from the archive about Grandpas without a Clue and another ragtop adventure, by reader demand.
Day 58 – School stuff
Karl considers the value of a school name as the WCSD moves to rename one of the area’s older remaining schools and open a new one.
Day 57 – Pedalin’ around Vine Street
Karl rides his bike through history, remembering some of the places and people that helped to build Reno into the city it is today.
Submitted opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of This Is Reno. Have something to say? Submit an opinion article or letter to the editor here.
