>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

WACKY CHARACTER: Jerry Peters plays Red Skelton. (Observer file photo).

By T.L. Petersen

Observer Staff Writer

ELGIN — Jerry Peters loves Red Skelton.

And area audiences are coming to love Jerry Peters portraying the comic who spent 20 years ending his television show with the line, "Good night and God bless."

Peters will again be transforming himself into Skelton for a single performance Tuesday evening on the Elgin Opera House stage.

With minimal props, a bit of hair-coloring and after absorbing hours of viewing Skelton videotapes and practicing in front of mirrors, Peters turns his own experience as a clown to bringing back to life Freddie the Freeloader, the Mean Widdle Kid and other classic Skelton characters.

"I've been a Red Skelton fan all my life," Peters said. He is one of perhaps only two comedians currently impersonating Skelton, he believes.

Peters, who has clowned and currently serves as the Methodist minister in Cove and Union, views Skelton as one of his inspirations. Skelton, Peters says, never swore in his acts and provided family entertainment through his television shows on NBC.

Peters sets out to do the same from the stage, introducing a new generation of audiences to the fun of wacky characters and humor, both understated and slapstick.

Skelton's death in 1997 hit Peters hard, he said. It may have inspired him to put his one-man show together.

"Comedy should be about peace and justice for people," Peters believes. "Comedians today just aren't comedians if they rely on four-letter words and filth."

While next week's performance will be Peters' third appearance at the Opera House as Skelton, the practice doesn't make it that much easier, he said. He's still waking up at night finding himself practicing lines.

And he's still keeping Freddie the Freeloader's planned escape route in mind:

"If I flop, I'll just catch the train out of town."

Tuesday's performance, "A Mirror Image: Remembering Red Skelton," begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the Opera House and at the La Grande Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for those 12 years old and under, and may be available at the door, if the performance hasn't sold out in advance.