# Id this tall actor (Red Skelton's "The Christmas Spirit" (1966) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 3, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755 "2026-05-03T19:38:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/21 "2026-05-04T01:42:54Z")
I just googled the question “Was Richard Keil in an episode of The Rad Skelton Show” and it replied, “Yes, actor Richard Kiel—best known as the James Bond villain “Jaws”—appeared in an episode of The Red Skelton Hour (formerly _The Red Skelton Show_). [[1](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls535425268/), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Skelton), [3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/richard-kiel), [4](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x25sgx9)]”. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/22 "2026-05-04T03:00:16Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I just googled the question “Was Richard Keil in an episode of The Rad Skelton Show” and it replied, “Yes, actor Richard Kiel—best known as the James Bond villain “Jaws”—appeared in an episode of The Red Skelton Hour (formerly _The Red Skelton Show_). [[1](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls535425268/), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Skelton), [3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/richard-kiel), [4](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x25sgx9) Did any of the AI links go to a source? Nothing that you posted does. Sometimes it just tells you what it thinks you want to hear. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/23 "2026-05-04T03:08:11Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Anyway. . . the credits for bit players on variety shows are sketchy. Sometimes they’re listed at the end. Why are you assuming that the actor in question _isn’t_ in the credits? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/24 "2026-05-04T03:29:27Z")
This is bizarre. I put the same question into Google. I got a different answer this time. It now tells me he apparently didn’t appear in the episode. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/25 "2026-05-04T09:21:35Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Why would Ted Cassidy take a role as a bit player (a.k.a. extra) in a television episode in 1966? As I said in my previous post, he’d already been a star for two years in _The Addams Family_. Wouldn’t he turn down any part that was that small? At what point was _ **The Addams Family** _ cancelled? It could have been on mid-season hiatus or already gone for good. (Ignoring syndication, of course.) Anyway, why turn down anything that paid a buck? Like the “regulars” on _ **Star Trek** _, he may have been a “featured player” guaranteed six or seven out of thirteen episodes and paid accordingly. Would he even have received residuals after the series was cancelled? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/26 "2026-05-04T13:17:35Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > > > Anyway. . . the credits for bit players on variety shows are sketchy. Sometimes they’re listed at the end. > > Why are you assuming that the actor in question _isn’t_ in the credits? FTR: [the IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684316/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_ql_1) only lists two males ( [Todd Baron](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056320/?ref_=ttfc_fcr_3_4) & [Randy Lane](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0485513/?ref_=ttfc_fcr_3_13) ) with no roles attached and they’re both kids. ETA: missed [Dick Clair,](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163199/?ref_=ttfc_fcr_3_5) who was primarily a writer. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/27 "2026-05-04T13:25:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > At what point was _ **The Addams Family** _ cancelled? Several months before this show was filmed. This was around the time Cassidy guested on an episode of _Lost in Space_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/28 "2026-05-04T13:30:34Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [Dick Clair,](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163199/?ref_=ttfc_fcr_3_5) who was primarily a writer. [Too short](https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1233334461/photo/dick-clair-jenna-mcmahon-mark-harmon-lew-saunders-appearing-in-240-robert.jpg?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=hq2h0dqcdq0foYNnNTPpqZTyB7wO3N62FNHMBumZ2aQ=) (he’s on the left, yellow shirt). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/29 "2026-05-04T13:35:38Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > This was around the time Cassidy guested on an episode of _Lost in Space_. Also three episodes of “Star Trek” – which, like Red Skelton’s show, was produced by Desilu. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/30 "2026-05-04T13:44:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Like the “regulars” on _ **Star Trek** _, he may have been a “featured player” guaranteed six or seven out of thirteen episodes and paid accordingly. [Maybe Desilu guaranteed a certain number of appearances in their productions?](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0641695/?ref_=tturv_ov_bk) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/31 "2026-05-04T13:49:15Z")
Side note: Cassidy’s son Sean is pretty active on facebook (Hmmm. . . might ask his opine), and he recently shared a pic of [some dinner/function](https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=727711067055073&set=pcb.727715340387979) where Cassidy is seated next to Dick Van Dyke. (That’s Ted’s wife beside him. Hubba! Hubba!) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/32 "2026-05-04T13:52:55Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > However, at that point he had already been the fourth highest listed actor in _The Addams Family_ for all 64 episodes of the two years it was on television (and that was from 1964 to 1966). That’s a rather strange thing to not list a well-known actor in the credits. His show had been canceled. If he was forced by those circumstances to take “lesser” roles, throw-away appearances like that on the Skelton Show are the type he might request to go uncredited. A less well-known actor would actually be _more_ likely to be credited. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/33 "2026-05-04T14:01:48Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Cassidy’s son Sean is pretty active on facebook (Hmmm. . . might ask his opine), That’s a great idea! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/34 "2026-05-04T16:22:52Z")
Here’s a way we could decide between Ted Cassidy, Richard Kiel, James Daris, and somebody else we don’t know about being in the scene. Note that Red Skelton is right in front of the person who’s grabbing him. Red Skelton is 6’ 2", Ted Cassidy is 6’ 9", Richard Kiel is 7’ 1.5", and James Daris is 6’ 5". When you compare the height of Red Skelton with the man grabbing him, which height is more plausible for the man grabbing him, if any of those three are? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/35 "2026-05-04T16:26:43Z")
Incidentally, James daris is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/36 "2026-05-04T19:29:53Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Also three episodes of “Star Trek” Three? I can think of only one, “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” Can you name the others? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/37 "2026-05-04T19:36:42Z")
Of course, you already know this, but I’ll play: Voice of Balok’s fake image and the voice of the Gorn. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/38 "2026-05-04T19:57:19Z")
Actually, I didn’t know that. Like my dad used to say, you learn something new every day! 👍 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/39 "2026-05-05T22:56:41Z")
I found the E-mail address to contact Sean Cassidy, the son of Ted Cassidy (by searching on the question of how to contact him). I asked him if that was his father in the episode we’ve been talking about. He replied that he’s pretty sure it isn’t him. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755/40 "2026-05-05T23:52:50Z")
Well, that certainly narrows down the list of suspects! Have to see if Kiel has any family. . . . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-tall-actor-red-skeltons-the-christmas-spirit-1966/1029755.md?page=1)