Skelton served in the United States Army during World War II….and was assigned to the entertainment corps….where he performed as many as ten to twelve shows per day before troops in both the United States and in Europe….as the pressure of his workload caused him to suffer exhaustion and a nervous breakdown which left him with a serious stuttering problem….and while recovering at an army hospital in Virginia, he met a soldier who had been severely wounded and was not expected to survive. Skelton devoted a lot of time and effort to trying to make the man laugh….which resulted in his stuttering problem being cured….along with his army friend’s condition which also improved Skelton was released from his army duties in September 1945….when his former sponsor was eager to have him back on the air….so Skelton’s program began anew on NBC on December 4, 1945.
Upon returning to radio, Skelton brought with him many new characters that were added to his repertoire….like Bolivar Shagnasty a “loudmouthed braggart”…..Cauliflower McPugg, a boxer….Deadeye, a cowboy….Willie Lump-Lump, a fellow who drank too much….and San Fernando Red, a conman with political aspirations. By 1947, Skelton’s musical conductor was David Rose….who would go on to television with him….for having worked with Rose during his time in the army….he wanted Rose to join him on the radio show when it went back on the air. On April 22, 1947, Skelton was censored by NBC two minutes into his radio show….when he and his announcer Rod O’Connor began talking about Fred Allen being censored the previous week….they were silenced for 15 seconds….for comedian Bob Hope was given the same treatment once he began referring to the censoring of Allen. Skelton forged on with his lines for his studio audience’s benefit…as the material he insisted on using had been edited from the script by the network before the broadcast. He had been briefly censored the previous month for the use of the word “diaper”. After the April incidents, NBC indicated it would no longer pull the plug for similar reasons.