Born in North Bridgeton,
Maine, Skelton graduated from
Middlebury College, Theatre Department. He pursued an interest in modern dance after moving to New York, studying dance with
Martha Graham and
José Limón. His lighting career started as an apprentice to
Jean Rosenthal at the
American Dance Festival. He worked for
Robert Joffrey's new dance company as a lighting designer and stage manager. By the 1950s he was published regularly in
Dance Magazine with his lighting methods. He taught at both
Yale University and
New York Studio and Forum of Stage Design. Most of his work was within the world of dance, particularly
ballet. He designed lighting for, among others, the
American Ballet Theatre,
The Joffrey Ballet, the
New York City Ballet and the Ohio Ballet, for which he was associate director. His method was published as 'The Handbook for Dance Stagecraft' between October 1955 and December 1956 in
Dance Magazine. He also designed lighting for some 63
Broadway productions, beginning with ''
Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad in 1963 until his last production in 1993, Shakespeare For My Father''. He also designed lighting for numerous productions at, among others, the
Circle in the Square,
Yale Repertory Theatre, and the
American Shakespeare Festival. == Work ==