His death was the first time that Ed Wynn ever made anyone sad.

Despite Red Skelton's continued strong ratings CBS saw his show as fitting into this category and gave it the axe along with other comedy shows hosted by veterans such as Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan. He asked Marta to illustrate his room with circus performers and though he died shortly thereafter Red Skelton did so anyway. Staying in this room with acrobats scaling the walls and trapeze artists flying from the ceiling is a singularly evocative experience one I wouldn’t trade for a suite at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton (July 18 1913 – September 17 1997) was an American entertainer best known for being a national radio and television comedian between 1937 and 1971.