Hardbopjazz Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 I remeber this show as small child. Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dead at 83 By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer 44 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - 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. "I felt if I could plant my size 83AAA shoes on this planet, (people) would never be able to forget those footprints," he said. Susan Harmon, his wife of 29 years, indicated Harmon was the perfect fit for Bozo. "He was the most optimistic man I ever met. He always saw a bright side; he always had something good to say about everybody. He was the love of my life," she said Thursday. The business — combining animation, licensing of the character, and personal appearances — made millions, as Harmon trained more than 200 Bozos over the years to represent him in local markets. "I'm looking for that sparkle in the eyes, that emotion, feeling, directness, warmth. That is so important," he said of his criteria for becoming a Bozo. The Chicago version of Bozo ran on WGN-TV in Chicago for 40 years and was seen in many other cities after cable television transformed WGN into a superstation. Bozo — portrayed in Chicago for many years by Bob Bell — was so popular that the waiting list for tickets to a TV show eventually stretched to a decade, prompting the station to stop taking reservations for 10 years. On the day in 1990 when WGN started taking reservations again, it took just five hours to book the show for five more years. The phone company reported more than 27 million phone call attempts had been made. By the time the show bowed out in Chicago, in 2001, it was the last locally produced version. Harmon said at the time that he hoped to develop a new cable or network show, as well as a Bozo feature film. He became caught up in a minor controversy in 2004 when the International Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee took down a plaque honoring him as Bozo and formally endorsed Colvig for creating the role. Harmon denied ever misrepresenting Bozo's history. He said he was claiming credit only for what he added to the character — "What I sound like, what I look like, what I walk like" — and what he did to popularize Bozo. "Isn't it a shame the credit that was given to me for the work I have done, they arbitrarily take it down, like I didn't do anything for the last 52 years," he told the AP at the time. Harmon protected Bozo's reputation with a vengeance, while embracing those who poked good-natured fun at the clown. As Bozo's influence spread through popular culture, his very name became a synonym for clownish behavior. "It takes a lot of effort and energy to keep a character that old fresh so kids today still know about him and want to buy the products," Karen Raugust, executive editor of The Licensing Letter, a New York-based trade publication, said in 1996. A normal character runs its course in three to five years, Raugust said. "Harmon's is a classic character. It's been around 50 years." On New Year's Day 1996, Harmon dressed up as Bozo for the first time in 10 years, appearing in the Rose Parade in Pasadena. The crowd reaction, he recalled, "was deafening." "They kept yelling, `Bozo, Bozo, love you, love you.' I shed more crocodile tears for five miles in four hours than I realized I had," he said. "I still get goose bumps." Born in Toledo, Ohio, Harmon became interested in theater while studying at the University of Southern California. "Bozo is a star, an entertainer, bigger than life," Harmon once said. "People see him as Mr. Bozo, somebody you can relate to, touch and laugh with." Besides his wife, Harmon is survived by his son, Jeff Harmon, and daughters Lori Harmon, Marci Breth-Carabet and Leslie Breth. ___ Associated Press writers Polly Anderson in New York and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 There are/were lots of Bozos. Some of us live here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 George talking to Eric, the clown at Robin's son's birthday party. GEORGE: Bozo? ERIC: No. GEORGE: B-O-Z-O? ERIC: Sorry, I... GEORGE: You've never heard of Bozo the Clown? ERIC: No! GEORGE: How could you not know who Bozo the Clown is? ERIC: I don't know, I just don't. GEORGE: How can you call yourself a clown and not know who Bozo is? ERIC: Hey, man - what are you hassling me for? This is just a gig, it's not my life. I don't know who Bozo is, what - is he a clown? GEORGE: Is he a clown? What, are you kidding me!? ERIC: Well, what is he? GEORGE: Yes, he's a clown! ERIC: Alright, so what's the big deal! There's millions of clowns! GEORGE: Alright, just forget it. ERIC: Me forget it? You should forget it! You're livin' in the past, man! You're hung up on some clown from the sixties, man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 You can get help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 (edited) Have to admit this is the first thing I thought of: Wasn't Bob Bell the WGN Bozo for a long time? Edited July 3, 2008 by Free For All Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 In the late 50s I lived in the Washington, DC, metro. We had our own Bozo. I read many years later that it was Willard Scott! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 In the late 50s I lived in the Washington, DC, metro. We had our own Bozo. I hope he was better than Washington's current Bozo...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 Sorry to hear that....a childhood favorite. Bozo the Clown is gone. Wow. Rest in Peace, Larry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 In the late 50s I lived in the Washington, DC, metro. We had our own Bozo. I read many years later that it was Willard Scott! While Willard Scott may well have been a "Bozo," was also the original Ronald McDonald. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 Back in the 70's and 80's (early 80's at least) there was a local-station movie show called "The Great Entertainment" in the Boston area. Hosted by a rather pretentious guy who, I later heard, was once upon a time our local Bozo. It seemed fitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Ptah Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 George talking to Eric, the clown at Robin's son's birthday party. GEORGE: Bozo? ERIC: No. GEORGE: B-O-Z-O? ERIC: Sorry, I... GEORGE: You've never heard of Bozo the Clown? ERIC: No! GEORGE: How could you not know who Bozo the Clown is? ERIC: I don't know, I just don't. GEORGE: How can you call yourself a clown and not know who Bozo is? ERIC: Hey, man - what are you hassling me for? This is just a gig, it's not my life. I don't know who Bozo is, what - is he a clown? GEORGE: Is he a clown? What, are you kidding me!? ERIC: Well, what is he? GEORGE: Yes, he's a clown! ERIC: Alright, so what's the big deal! There's millions of clowns! GEORGE: Alright, just forget it. ERIC: Me forget it? You should forget it! You're livin' in the past, man! You're hung up on some clown from the sixties, man! This was a very funny scene, in my opinion. It is the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title, Bozo Is Dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 And to think, some people find clown make-up to be rather...psychotic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 Free for All - that was Chuckles the Clown - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 I remember watching and enjoying Bozo on WGN back in the early 80's. While certainly not classic comedy, the cast at that time had a great chemistry. Often wondered how many times they threw the script out the window and just improvised stuff, like Jackie Gleason & Art Carney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 There are/were lots of Bozos. Some of us live here. We're all Bozos on this bus... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 anybody remember the "cram it clown" story? don't know if it's true, but Bozo is supposed to have told a little kid, who cursed, that "that's a Bozo no-no." the kid replied: "Cram it, clown." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 Food poisoning, I heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 Dead Clowns Rule! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 You don't like dead clowns you suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willard Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 (edited) Pennywise is still there somewhere lurks in the sewers and storm-drains Edited July 19, 2008 by Willard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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