Originally Posted By Darkbeer Interesting to note, the First Bozo was the voice of Goofy... <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hhj-8BF2XnML69KPAiEQQkgECTRwD91MKVT00" target="_blank">http://ap.google.com/article/A...91MKVT00</a> >>Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83. His publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press he died at his home. Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos. "You might say, in a way, I was cloning BTC (Bozo the Clown) before anybody else out there got around to cloning DNA," Harmon told the AP in a 1996 interview. "Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon said. Pinto Colvig, who also provided the voice for Walt Disney's Goofy, originated Bozo the Clown when Capitol Records introduced a series of children's records in 1946. Harmon would later meet his alter ego while answering a casting call to make personal appearances as a clown to promote the records. He got that job and eventually bought the rights to Bozo. Along the way, he embellished Bozo's distinctive look: the orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, the outlandish red, white and blue costume.<<
Originally Posted By Elderp I know I am going to be made fun of for saying this but I really liked bozo the clown. When I was little I wanted to be on the show but being in CA kinda killed that idea.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer I was actually on the Bozo the Clown show in San Diego. The Bozo was NOT Larry Harman, but the local guy trained by Larry Harman. Got picked from the audience back in the late 60's, and participated in a game where I wore a large oversized pair of pants, and a girl had to run to a container of balloons and stuff them in my pants. Then after the "race" (there was one or two other teams), Bozo came over and used a pin to pop the balloons in my pants. We won a few prizes, including some board game that used magnetic jelly bean things.... Bozo was a classic show for the time period... Rest in Peace, Larry Harmon... You made a LOT of kids happy!
Originally Posted By Elderp I think I just discovered my mom lied to me. She told me Bozo lived in Chicago and that is why we couldn't visit him. Heck! I grew up in Chula Vista, San Diego isn't that far from Chula Vista.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer There was a Bozo the Clown show on Channel 39 in San diego. KCST Channel 39 started to broadcast in 1968. Back then it was an independent, and needed things like the Bozo show (which was repeated on a LA Station). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KNSD" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KNSD</a> It only lasted a few years... The last major Bozo the Clown show was featured on WGN, the superstation from Chicago, and why "younger" folks would think Bozo was just in Chicago... But back in the 60's, many local TV stations found a good source of kids programming in a local version of Bozo the Clown.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling I don't generally approve of clowns. They're scary. But Bozo was part of my growing up so I always made a small exception for him. A very small exception mind you. But I think it's cool that Darkbeer was on his show! I think it's NOT cool that Elderp's mom lied to him though! Elderp, if it makes you feel any better, when I was little my folks told me we couldn't go to Disneyland because it was too far away. Yeah, I lived like 30 miles away but I didn't know that when I was a little kid. Parents. Sheesh.
Originally Posted By Walter Elias Bozo was cool but I liked a character on the show back in the 60's-70's named Beuford the best.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>and a girl had to run to a container of balloons and stuff them in my pants.<< Them was the days. Sure couldn't do that on a kid's show today! Mo' trivia - Pinto Colvig's son Vance Jr. was the TV Bozo on KTLA (Los Angeles) in the early 60s, licensed by Harmon. It was the loss of the Washington, DC Bozo license in 1962 that led Willard Scott to create Ronald McDonald. The show was sponsored by the DC-area McDonalds franchisees, and they wanted a clown, dang it.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I'm pretty sure by the mid to late 60's the LA affiliate was running Harmon as Bozo. That's what I remember, anyway. And everyone at my grade school SWORE they saw the famous "Bozo no-no" episode.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Bozo in Chicago was Bob Bell from 1960 - 1984 ( in the clown HOF) as is Roy Brown who played Cooky here forever.Joey D'Auria took over from 1984- 1994 when WGN decided Bozo just wasn't cool enough any more. I really like the Bozo show as i was on at lunchtime when I was home from grade school in the early - mid 60's Larry Harmon owned the character and leased it to WGN - he was never on here.
