Behind the scenes with Red Skelton and Bob Harris...

As I have mentioned in some prior post on my blog, I was raised on Depot St. and many my age, maybe a year or two older or younger, also lived on Depot. So we are now known as the "Depot Street Gang". We all in one way or another keep in touch. We all went our separate ways and on to our separate lives after high school and college, but we are still entwined with love and friendship. Imagine we always will... would hate to think it would change. We have lost a few through the years but pretty much the gang is still intact.

One of the gang was Bob Harris. Any Duke fan knows Bob, as he is the "Voice of the Blue Devils" and has made us proud for 30+ years. Bob worked for a few years at our local radio station ,WZKY, and I always loved playing bingo that the station did and Bob always called out the letters and numbers. That was a long time ago, as my youngest son was just a baby at that time.

Keeping in touch is part of that happiness I mentioned yesterday. The only thing I know of better than a true friend is my dog. They are there when one of us is down on the bottom and there with us when when we are on the top. Sorta puts friends and dogs in perspective.
I wanted to share this email I got from Bob after I had sent him this about Red Skelton.

Red Skelton's explanation of ThePledge of Allegiance

I always liked Red. He was a favorite of mine, but knowing very little about him other than what I saw of him on tv.
It would be well worth your time to listen to the above. Now to the up close and personal contact of Red and Bob.


Hey Claudia,

I hope you are doing well on this last day of July. After a couple of days off, I'm "back in the saddle." Red actually did a record of this in the early 70's. I have a copy of it and remember playing it on WZKY for several years while I was there. I met Red in September of 1982 in Knoxville at the World's Fair. Duke was playing Tennessee in football and we stayed at the same hotel he did. I did an interview with him for the game. He came to Raleigh about five years later and had us come back stage after the show. We got a Christmas card from him for about 8 years. He was a truly amazing and talented man.

I asked him how he handled all the travelling he had to do and his routine was unbelievable. The first thing he did every morning was write his wife a love letter. After breakfast he wrote the outline to a short story. On Saturdays, he would select the best of the 5 outlines and write the story. After lunch he would compose a piece of music on his keyboard that he carried everywhere. He drew two clown pictures and signed them for me that weekend in Knoxville. Truly impressive. I tell the story, not to impress anyone with the fact that I met him, but to let people know something you would not read in the newspaper because it was beautiful, and not some kind of dirt.

After we recorded the radio interview, I told him how much Phyllis loved him and he had me call her at home since she didn't travel with me. She wasn't home, and that afternoon in the lobby of the hotel he called me over to a little shop and told me to pick out a parasol that she would like, since he didn't get to talk to her. I refused twice, but picked one after he insisted. He had her name painted on it and she still has it. See what I mean. A true gentleman.

Love you, my Depot St. friend.

bh

(Email used with the permission of Bob Harris---God Bless you Bob!)

Until tomorrow, God Bless!