Although the original Bozo the Clown was played by Pinto Colvig (who found greater fame as the voice of Goofy), the character of Bozo was owned and franchised by Larry Harmon, who died last week at the age of 83. He often played the clown himself and was very strict about how Bozo had to look and dress. It was Harmon who established the distinctive orange hair, the big red rose, the blue and red clown suits, and the size 83AAA shoes. During his long reign as Bozo’s guardian, Harmon licensed the character to TV stations all over the country, and the Chicago version of the show was by far the most popular. It ran for over 40 years, from 1960 to 2001, and was a true broadcasting phenomenon. In its heyday, when I was a kid, there was a 10-year-wait to get tickets for the daily hourlong show. One of the rituals among young newlyweds in Chicago during the 1960s was to sign up for tickets at the time of their wedding so that the couple would be able to take any future offspring they may have to see “Bozo’s Circus” before the kids were too old.
My siblings and I were lucky because we did not have to wait that long. My grandfather’s store, Karoll’s Red Hanger Shop, was a sponsor on WGN (mostly for the Cubs games) and my grandfather was able to pull a few strings to get us into the show. I remember walking onto the celebrated circus set like it was yesterday. It seemed so much smaller in real life. We got to meet all the characters: Ringmaster Ned Locke in his red tails and top hat shook my hand so hard I had to stifle a yelp.
Oliver O. Oliver, the country bumpkin clown, was played by the brilliant Ray Rayner, himself a Chicago institution with his own morning show in which he would interact with the talking canine Cuddley Duddley and an actual duck named Chalveston who was constantly attacking him. Rayner would host a series of technically unsophisticated cartoons from Diver Dan to Clutch Cargo to the Funny Company. He wore overalls on his show that were always covered with little square notes that he would consult and then discard. I always thought he should have gotten the patent for the Post-It that was still years away from being invented. The silent Sandy the Clown was played by Don Sandburg with great poignancy and expertise. He would leave the show a few years later and be replaced by Roy Brown’s Cooky the Cook. Brown had been the voice of Cuddley Duddley.
But the star of the show was Bob Bell’s gravelly-voiced irascible Bozo the Clown. With apologies to Larry Harmon and all the other men who played the character, Bell was the “real” Bozo to anyone who grew up in Chicago during the 60s and 70s. Chicago-born actor Dan Castellanata, the voice of Homer Simpson, said he based the voice of Krusty the Clown on Bob Bell's Bozo. Bell played Bozo from 1960 to 1984. He was the perfect vaudevillian, and the frequently ad-libbed antics between Bozo, Oliver, and Sandy were hilarious to kids and adults alike. Like the best children’s programming, there was something for children in every sketch but also plenty of humor for their parents that would sail right over the heads of the little ones. I wish I could see some of those old sketches again, I think the censors today would have a fit. I remember one bit in which Ray Rayner's character was supposed to warn Bozo about some rampaging circus animals. “The elephants are loose! The elephants are loose!” he screamed frantically. Forgetting his line, Bob ad-libbed “Better give them some kaopectate!”
Funny that I loved the clowns on this show since I had such a fear of clowns in other venues. Once as a very young child I was watching a Shriner’s parade marching down State Street. Sitting on the curb with my sister, one of the clowns reached down and picked me up, placing me on a float in the parade. Sounds like an exciting moment for a kid but I was absolutely terrified and burst into tears, thinking I had been kidnapped and would never see my parents again. I found clowns creepy and dangerous, but not Bozo and his friends who seemed like family members, dysfunction and all.
One of the biggest moments in “Bozo’s Circus” was the Grand Prize Game. A boy and girl would be chosen by the magic arrows on the screen and get to play this game in which they would try to toss ping pong balls into six buckets, each one a little farther away. I can still remember the odd prizes the kids would win from the WGN sponsors such as “NuMode hosiery with the no-bind top” and cans of Sanka coffee. I believe the prizes got more kid-friendly if the children kept winning and for the few kids that reached the final bucket all hell would break loose in the studio. Bozo would usually ride out on the fire engine red bicycle that the lucky child would win. I longed to be on the Grand Prize Game but I was also worried, even at that age, that I might be publicly humiliated by missing Buckets #1 or #2. You had to get to at least Bucket #4 to leave the game with any dignity. Alas, I wasn’t chosen, but because we were there on my sister’s 8th birthday, she got to play a mock game during one of the commercial breaks and won some nice prizes including a Bozo mural that hung on our bedroom wall for years.
By the time Bob Bell retired, I was in my twenties and no longer watched the show. Bell was replaced by comedian Joey D’Auria for the next 17 years. Ringmaster Ned left the show in 1976 and was replaced by WGN star Frazier Thomas who also hosted “Garfield Goose & Friends” and “Family Classics,” two more staples of my TV-obsessed childhood. The 13-piece Big Top Band I saw during my visit was eventually replaced by a three-piece combo and then by canned music. I stayed faithful to the show throughout my elementary school years. I remember rushing home from school for lunch to catch the first half-hour of Bozo and then switching to “Let’s Make a Deal.” Somehow we’d make it back to school for afternoon classes.
Does local children’s broadcasting even exist anymore? Chicago had some of the best examples of this genre and I watched them all, from Bozo and Ray Rayner to “Garfield Goose,” “Kiddie-a-Go-Go”, “B.J. and Dirty Dragon,” and the Jewish-themed “Magic Door.”
Kendall and I are on a trip up the California coast with our dog Henry. I’m writing this from the lobby of Doris Day’s dog-friendly Cypress Inn in beautiful downtown Carmel. With Doris's voice being piped in singing "My Buddy," I am surrounded by dogs on all sides, a remarkable sight in this very tony establishment. But all I can think about right now is the whereabouts of the the signed photos I once received from Bozo the Clown and Garfield Goose. And where is that original Cuddley Duddley dog I once owned? I’ll be scouring our house for them tonight when we return.
Bozo,Bozo,Bozo, What fond memories I have of that show. I went there about 6 or 7 times. It was with the neighbors kids so I'm guessing there must of been some pull there somewhere. The magic arrows did land on my sister. We were jumping with joy but she started crying and clinging to our mother so the arrows flew around to find another child. We did a lot of practicing with empty coffee cans hoping to get picked. I remember going to Riverview one time after the Bozo Show. Bob Bell for sure was the only Bozo for Chicago. Thanks for the memory.
Posted by: PATSY | July 08, 2008 at 02:10 PM
Okay, look--QUIT STALKING ME!!!
Seriously...have you been following me around since I was five? This is getting ridiculous!
I, too, had a party at Bozo's Circus. Both wanted to play the Grand Prize Game and was terrified at looking like a loser (never been good under pressure.) And you didn't even get into how dinky and disappointing the studio looked compared to its grandness on the air!
I suppose you were on Romper Room, too, huh? Oh my god...no...not you toooooooo!!!!
Posted by: the communicatrix | July 08, 2008 at 09:45 PM
I remember that by the time one of my classmates finally got on Bozo, she was in junior high and really embarrassed and we all made fun of her.
Oh, also. Thanks a lot. Now I have the Cuddley Duddley song in my head. "We're off to Cuddley Duddley's house as cute as he can beee...."
Posted by: churlita | July 09, 2008 at 08:50 AM
Oh my, Danny. Bozo is still scary to me. Please quick hurry with another post so that I can visit without clown fright!
Posted by: Jane | July 09, 2008 at 02:06 PM
Oh, man, I'm there all over again. I loved Ray Rayner -- started every day with him. Watched Bozo religiously. Debated with friends endlessly over whether a kid actually said "Cram it, clown" to Bozo after the kid missed Bucket #1 in the Grand Prize Game.
They were onto something.
Posted by: david | July 09, 2008 at 05:18 PM
I went when I was 3 or 4 and visiting my aunt in Chicago and all I remember was that early in the show a little kid fell off the bleacher seats we were sitting on and had a "Bozo Accident". You can only imagine the damage that wreaks on a 3 year old brain. I thought for years that if you fell off of bleachers you would turn into a clown! I now know that only makes you a drunk.
Posted by: k8inhawaii | July 10, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Hey Danny,
Regarding the issue of whether or not anyone ever said "Cram it Bozo," or flipped him the bird, or any of the other variations on that urban myth: NEVER HAPPENED. Norm Nowicki, who recently passed away worked on every single episode of Bozo in Chicago, every day as either Writer/Producer, director, and for the last few years both. I had him for my first college TV course and we became friends for many years after. When I asked him about it, he confirmed that he gets asked all the time. As with many urban myths, he said people would say, Oh no. It DID happen. I WAS THERE THAT DAY!
Of course Norm was there EVERY DAY, so I'm going with his version.
I don't know if you remember Danny, but on my 7th or 8th birthday I was so excited to be going to Bozo the next day I didn't sleep and hadn't eaten anything, and got sick in the audience bleachers 4-5 minutes before the show hit the air LIVE. I was escorted out and couldn't get back in until the last segment of the show.
Ahhh, memories.
Love, your big brother
Posted by: Your big brother, Bruce | July 11, 2008 at 12:42 AM
Hi Danny,
you always come up with the greatest memories. ahhhhh! and what about Kiddie-A-Go-Go?!!!!!!!
Posted by: Debbie Rose Galo | July 23, 2008 at 12:34 PM
I sent in for the maximum number of tickets during my first pregnancy. Yes, the same Peterson/Von Steuben graduate who knew we Jews weren't supposed to have baby showers or bring the new crib into the house before the baby was actually on site -- yes, that woman ordered Bozo tickets for her unborn child.
Posted by: lynne | August 06, 2008 at 07:44 PM
Hey Danny,
You really have a way of dredging up old memories. I can remember going to see Bozo when I was six years old. My grandmother was the one who took us. Alas, no magic arrow landed on me and I was heartbroken.
My mother was a guest on Bozo, Ray Raynor, and Garfield Goose. She was invited there with our dog, Heyboy -- a big, beautiful golden retriever. I'd give anything to get copies of the shows she was on with him.
Posted by: Wendi Goodman | August 13, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Thanks for the history on Bozo. My aunt got my mother tickets and my siblings, mother and I got to be at the show in November 1967. I was picked for the grand prize game. I remember practicing a bit at home but due to my stage fright and seeing the big lights I only got bucket number 1. I was given a Bozo mural and my mother got no run pantyhose. However it was a memory that I will never forget. Bozo, Bob Bell was extremely very kind to me and so was Mr. Ned. I am currently writing my personal history and that part of my life will be in it. Thanks again for your help. Cindy
Posted by: Cindy | March 14, 2009 at 12:32 PM
The very first Bozo the Clown, Pinto Colvig, is part Greek! His great-great-grandmother Zelesta Lyngae is the daughter of the Greek sea captain!
Posted by: V.E.G. | October 01, 2009 at 09:03 AM
I won the Grand Prize game when I was 9 in 1977. Is there a way to purchace old episodes to show my kids?? Thanks
Posted by: Gary Stasierowski | January 20, 2010 at 07:58 AM
I was in the audience on Jan. 20, 1968, I was 4. I am told the arrow landed on me for the grand prize game and i was sleeping. Is there a way to view the old show to watch it with my children?
Posted by: Sam Mead | January 20, 2010 at 06:46 PM
No, there is NO way to see the old shows, not even on youtube. WGN has a sponsorship relationship with the National Broadcasting Museum here in Chicago, and they refuse to release rights to anybody, any entity, even another museum to re-broadcast or post on the net. It's nothing but a pure unmitigated tragedy in my opinion, since in another few years, nobody will even care or remember any more. Such a tragedy.
I remember the show like it was yesterday.
Posted by: Marvin8 | August 17, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Tonight my six year old threw a ping pong ball in a tin pale slam dunk. Boy that took me back instantly. I told him a story I had long forgot. Back in the 5th grade Parkview Elementary School in Steger Ill. went to the Bozo Circus Show. I was picked with the magic arrow and too my suprise I won the Grand prize that day. I even remember what I was wearing. After reading a bit of what has been posted, we were pretty darn lucky to sit in the audience. Never knew. It's a real shame I can't share those memories with my children. Maybe one day they will share...
Posted by: Kim Dunn | September 10, 2010 at 09:45 PM
The "Cram it, Clownie!" incident DEFINITELY happened. I watched it happen, live on WGN-TV. The kid tosses the ball, misses, and says "Aw, S**T!". Bozo shakes a finger at him in a pure ad-lib and says "Now now, that's a big Bozo no-no!"
The kid looks at him and says "Cram it, Clownie!"
I SAW it. Live. It was somewhere around 1972-73, because it happened when I was in sixth grade, in the apartment we had only a block from school, so I'd come home for lunch and watch TV. (Hey, it was the only thing on even remotely interesting. The only other thing on was soap opers. Bleah.)
Posted by: Jenny | June 18, 2015 at 08:12 AM