Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Red Skelton Show 42-10-06 (040) "Jobs"
Release Date: August 29, 2025
Host: Harolds Old Time Radio
Featured Cast: Red Skelton, Truman Bradley, Harriet Hilliard, Ozzie Nelson, Jay Newton Numbskull, Wonderful Smith

Overview

This episode of Harold's Old Time Radio brings listeners a classic performance of the Red Skelton Show from October 6, 1942, themed around "Jobs." The episode captures Red Skelton and his cast as they comicly navigate working life, odd jobs, and the quirks of employment during wartime America. A mix of comedy sketches, musical interludes, and character bits paints a nostalgic portrait of the era’s humor and culture.

Key Discussion Points & Sketches

1. Celebrating National Newspaper Week & Childhood Jobs

[03:32–05:53]

• Red Skelton and Truman Bradley reminisce about delivering papers as kids, poking fun at eccentric newspaper readers and the competition for the best paper routes.

• Red delivers a memorable line about the hazards of being a newspaper boy:

  “One day I came home with every other tooth missing. ... It came in handy though. Whenever my mother wanted to scallop the edges of a pie.” (Red Skelton, 04:20)

• Harriet Hilliard joins in, sharing her experience repurposing newspapers for her canary’s cage, leading to Skelton’s upside-down news gag:

  “One day I stuck the paper in the cage upside down, see, and the poor canary nearly went nuts trying to find out if Hoover was elected.” (Red Skelton, 05:21)

• Humorous references to newspaper personal columns and classifieds, including:

  “Gentleman with car wishes to meet lady with retread. PS that’s tires, not face.” (Red Skelton, 05:50)

2. Musical Interlude – “Mister Five by Five”

[06:16–08:03]

• Jay Newton Numbskull and Harriet Hilliard deliver a lively rendition of "Mister Five by Five," a song celebrating a jovial, corpulent character. The crew’s playful harmonies and comedic timing keep the tone light.

3. Jobs in Wartime – Wonderful Smith’s Side Gig

[08:03–10:07]

• Wonderful Smith discusses struggling with extra “work on the side,” humorously referencing financial woes:

  “Do you think there’ll be a confederacy again?” (Wonderful Smith, 08:56)

• Tells of his girlfriend working as a “spit welder over at Lockheed” (messing up “spot welder”), to Red’s mock alarm:

  “You mean spot welder don’t you? Just wait until the next P-38 flies overhead, you’ll find out.” (Red Skelton, 10:02)

4. The Clem Kadiddlehopper Sketch – Night Watchman at the Bank

[10:07–14:18]

• Red Skelton as Clem Kadiddlehopper, now a bank night watchman, bumbles through late-night duties. Harried by his own absent-mindedness and “stupid answers,” Clem copes with the monotony and anxiety of the job:

  “I get tired of talking to myself all the time, especially when I get such stupid answers.” (Red Skelton, 10:10)

• Harriet (as Daisy June) joins, lamenting her cleaning job and joking about using her head as a mop.

• A comic misunderstanding with a supposed burglar (the “bank president”) developing into farcical confusion about setting the alarm and confronting robbers and “wolves.”

5. Junior’s Lemonade Stand – Child’s Work & Entrepreneurial Spirit

[15:16–22:47]

• Skelton, as Junior the Mean Widdle Kid, tries earning pocket money. Humorous mayhem ensues around washing windows, stealing lemons, and Junior's warped lemonade recipe.

• Notable exchanges:

  “What are those crumbs floating around the top of it?”
  “Well, I didn’t have any sugar, so I put in a couple pieces of cake.”
  (Truman Bradley & Red Skelton, 19:18–19:24)

• Junior's experiments with “medicine” to improve his lemonade result in chaotic, slapstick consequences, including a policeman and his mother tasting the “revamped” drink.

6. Taxi/Job Sketch – Human Taxicab

[27:35–30:45]

• Jay Newton Numbskull and Red Skelton in vagrant mode exchange banter about finding easy money, forgery mishaps, and job hunting scams.

• Skelton parodies being a human taxi (due to rubber shortages), piggybacking passengers—and luggage:

  “You can use my Adam’s apple for a saddle horn.” (Red Skelton, 30:24)

• The taxi scene humorously underscores the improvisational job spirit of the wartime era.

7. Running Gags & Sponsor Bits

• Frequent comedic sponsor plugs for "Raleigh Cigarettes" and "Sir Walter Raleigh" pipe tobacco, interwoven into the sketches and even faux historical narratives (King Tut and tribal chiefs preferring Raleigh’s).
• Extended bits mocking advertising techniques while still making the compulsory sales pitch.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “There’s nobody who can watch like me, because my head turns all the way around—look, I’ll show you.”
  (Red Skelton as Clem, 12:17)

• “You know, I love those columns… Gentleman with car wishes to meet lady with retread—P.S. that’s tires, not face.”
  (Red Skelton, 05:50)

• “Why, did you steal the lemon?”
  “Well, I could answer that but it would only lead to bif bam boom.”
  (Harriet Hilliard & Red Skelton as Junior, 15:50)

• “All I want is Raleigh Cigarettes. All your gifts are found in Raleigh’s first—Raleigh’s more golden tobaccos…”
  (Truman Bradley as the tribal chief, 26:16)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:32]: Reminiscing about childhood jobs and National Newspaper Week
• [06:16]: "Mister Five by Five" musical performance
• [08:03]: Wonderful Smith’s job complaints and girlfriend’s welding mishap
• [10:07]: Clem the night watchman sketch begins
• [15:16]: Junior’s lemonade stand opens for business
• [19:01]: Junior’s first customer and the cake-as-sugar gag
• [27:35]: Human taxi business sketch

Tone & Style

The episode is fast-paced, packed with wisecracks, wordplay, and gentle, family-friendly satire—true to Red Skelton’s signature style. The banter is playful, often breaking the fourth wall, and makes heavy use of absurdity and running gags (e.g., constant sponsor plugs and kid logic in the lemonade stand sketch). Nostalgia, camaraderie, and wartime resilience are implicit throughout.

Closing

The episode closes with a light sponsor segment and a friendly farewell from Skelton, tying back to the spirit of helping the armed forces and communal goodwill.

“Saying goodbye now and thanks for listening. Good night, mummy doll—and remember, give the servicemen a ride.”
(Red Skelton, 32:03)

This episode is a rich showcase of Golden Age radio comedy, blending sharp wit with timeless Americana and the comforting rhythms of ensemble performance.