Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dies at 83

[Lord Undies]

http://www.mail.com/Article.aspx?articlepath=APNews/General-Entertainment/20080704/Obit-Harmon.xml&cat=entertainment&subcat=&pageid=1

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 Other  Entertainment  Photos 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, was the first Bozo the Clown, a character created by writer-producer Alan W. Livingston for a series of children's records in 1946. Livingston said he came up with the name Bozo after polling several people at Capitol Records.

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.

...more

A little song,
A little dance,
A little seltzer,
Down your pants.

Farewell, Mr. Bozo.  RIP.

[RobJohnson]

That hurt my eyes!

Sad to hear bozo passed away. Was this the same bozo that was on WGN TV?

[Lord Undies]

That hurt my eyes!

It was inspired by Bozo's makeup and work clothes.  Thanks for noticing!

Sad to hear bozo passed away. Was this the same bozo that was on WGN TV?

The article goes into how the act was franchised.  Bob Bell was Chicago's Bozo.

[Airwolf]

I remember the WGN Bozo the Clown. We used to watch it almost every morning between PT and first formation at Ft. Campbell. It was better to watch that then the Today show or other network garbage. Then after that we would watch the 20 minute workout show,LOL. I think the entire post stopped for the length of that program just to see the women work out.Unill today I had no real idea just how big the empire was but it certainly rivaled most anything in recent history. RIP Bozo, You were loved by millions.

[asdf2231]

"And now it's time for the... Grand!... PRIZE!... GAME!!!!!!!!"

*Shiver*

If only I had known then what I know now about the International League of Creepy Satanic Pedophile Clowns.

Thank God for the hardworking Rodeo Clowns that are out there every day locked in mortal combat with these fiends!!

[Chris_]

That hurt my eyes!

It was inspired by Bozo's makeup and work clothes.  Thanks for noticing!

Sad to hear bozo passed away. Was this the same bozo that was on WGN TV?

The article goes into how the act was franchised.  Bob Bell was Chicago's Bozo.

I am pretty sure Bob Bell was the syndicated Bozo most of us saw as kids.

[EastFacingNorth]

Okay, so who else here had their own home version of Bozo Buckets?

Anyone?