AllMovie

In January of 1961, comedian Red Skeltonunderwent radical surgery, forcing him to miss several episodes of his weekly CBS series. During his convalescence, several of Red's show business friends subbed for him, including Danny Thomas, Garry Moore, Arthur Godfrey and Jackie Gleason. Of these "non-Red" programs, only two are worth mentioning. The first was a "pantomime concert" starring Marcel Marceau, which originally aired on January 31, 1961. Marceau appeared in his traditional whiteface guise as "Bip," wordlessly describing his recent visit to New York, and also performing "The Main Street Ballet" to music provided by orchestra leader David Rose. Desi Arnaz introduced the program, while Red Skelton showed up briefly to offer a nonstrenuous mimed version of a fairy tale. Four years after this episode aired, Red Skelton and Marcel Marceau reteamed for another, even more wonderful evening of pantomime.