Talk:Bozo the Clown

I dispute that this did not occur(meaning, I say it DID occur): It happened between 1967 and 1970, on the Los Angeles version of Bozo, I personally saw it: "That's a Bozo no-no." which elicited the response from the kid: "Cram it, clownie!" This story, although humorous, never occurred."

although it was not an outspoken child in the audience it was an audience participation sequence where the child was trying towin a prize, his task was to hit a spoon and cause it to fly into a glass tumbler a few inches away... time ran out and the kid said "Crap!, bozo said "That's a Bozo no-no.", and the kid said "Aw, cram it, clownie!" (not just cram it but Aw cram it). this was on live tv ("making it onto the air" is a big sign that this is erroneous...the show was live, so what else would happen but that it makes it onto the air???) in los angeles 1967-1969 some time... I saw it, myself however, no way to prove the story and I don't want to be called a vandal/hoaxer again... but I suggest we remove the line:

Many stories have arisen about misbehavior on the show making it onto the air, including one in which Bozo was attempting to manage the behavior of an outspoken child in the audience by making the comment: "That's a Bozo no-no." which elicited the response from the kid: "Cram it, clownie!" This story, although humorous, never occurred.

since while I can't prove it happened, saying it DIDN'T happen is a step too far in my opinion

Also, does anyone have any reason I shouldn't post the 'Bozo origin story?', I don't want another 'George Voorhees and Terry Teene/Clownzo never existed' debate, I'd hate to have my actions cause another clown bio to disappear from the wikipedia. I take clowning seriously, and have adopted the clown constellation as my pet project. comments? if a couple of you think it's right, take that line out. I'm staying away from making controversial edits without consensus, even if I know I'm right. If you were in on the last clown debacle, you know what I mean.Pedant 05:30, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I agree that the "did not occur" line is too strong, and have removed it. - DavidWBrooks 17:07, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)

"fictional"

To the anons who keep putting reference to Bozo being "fictional" in this article - could you explain yourself? How is this flesh-and-blood being any more fictional than any other flesh-and-blood clown (as compared to those depicted only in fictional works, such as Krusty the Klown on the Simpsons). - DavidWBrooks 21:43, 16 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Argh! I give up on the "fictional" fight against this silent anonymous opponent ... it could extend to Ronald McDonald, too, and life is too short for that. - DavidWBrooks 18:49, 21 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Other countries' Bozos

I was thinking. US isn't the only country that had their Bozos. I'm pretty sure at least a few other countries had their versions, just like the Americans did. I can speak for Brazil, which is where I live. We've had our share of Bozos in the past, so yes, it's not exclusive of the US. Maybe something about that could be added here?--Kaonashi 05:43, 5 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Alright. I've been meaning to do this for a very long time, but I ended up procrastinating it. A lot. Anyway, I just added some info on the Brazilian Bozos to the article. There's a new "international" section there now, so new additions will be welcome. What I added is pretty much all I could find out right now. I also took my time to write a small bit about the relation with Ronald McDonald, since the article lacked that. That's it. Since I'm really not into the subject, feel free to modify whatever sounds wrong there. Thank you.--Kaonashi 04:16, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC)

"Bozo no-no" Urban Legend

The alleged incident could not have occurred in Los Angeles between 1967 and 1970. L.A.'s last locally-produced "Bozo the Clown" show (which starred Vance Colvig, Jr. who was the son of the original "Bozo the Clown," Pinto Colvig) ended in 1964 on KTLA. In 1965, Larry Harmon bought out his business partners and became the sole owner of the "Bozo the Clown" licensing rights. In 1966, he syndicated 130 of WHDH (now WCVB) Boston's "Bozo's Big Top" starring Frank Avruch (on tape, not live) to cities that weren't producing their own Bozo shows. KCOP was the Los Angeles outlet. Avruch denies the incident occurred on his show.

Urban legends can be true, as this one may well be. It's the iconic status as an oft-told tale, with many uncertainties and embellishments, that makes it an urban legend. - DavidWBrooks 22:08, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I watched it, had to be 1967 or the next 2 years, I moved to LA in 67. I personally actually saw it. Not a friend of a friend, I personally actually saw it. I only assume that it was live, as I doubt that they would air the tape. I can't reconcile the conflict, and I wouldn't object to anything but "it did not happen", I'd be ok with "Avruch denies the incident occurred on his show." or similar claims, but "it did not happen" doesn't seem acceptable to me as there were at least tens of thousands of witnesses. User:Pedant

"Tens of thousands of witnesses" in L.A.? Where'd you come up with that estimate? With all due respect, people in almost every market have claimed to have witnessed the alleged incident on their local "Bozo" show.

"Bozo" in the 1992 United States Presidential Election

I think this is interesting, though someone might need to phrase things in a way to be appropriate for a Wikipedia article. According to my memory, and niagarafallsreporter.com,

"My dog Millie knows more about foreign affairs than these two bozos," Bush the Elder said of Clinton and Al Gore, his running mate and vice presidential candidate.

Clinton responded that Bozo (a popular TV clown of some decades ago) "makes people laugh, and Bush makes people cry."

Politics aside, why this is interesting and appropriate for Bozo the Clown is that it shows the change in the meaning of the word "Bozo" in US English. To Bush the Elder (b. 1924), a "bozo" was, as is claimed at dictionary.com, dunce or a fool. But to Clinton (b. 1946) and younger people, Bozo is the clown, and not just a slang term for a low-intelligence bumpkin.

This all said, I'd like to see it put in the main Bozo article, but I don't feel skilled enough in Wiki to put it there. What do you think?

Bozo as cult

The content of this section seems improbable. There are Bozo people who live in Niger. --Big_Iron 21:06, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

The Chicago Bozo

Since the Bozo from Chicago is arguably the most popular Bozo, could we get a picture of either Bob Bell or Joey D'Auria?

"Bozo Prize"

I recall that a rather worthless consolation prize was given to the losers of prize contests, and that subsequently the phrase "Bozo prize" came to mean a rather useless consolation prize. Does anyone else recall this practice ? Does anyone else use this phrase ? StuRat 22:47, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Does anybody remember the lender's bagels? Didn't the kids in the audience have little ones on necklaces? And wasn't the Bozo prize a package of bagels? (In NY, at least?)

16th anniversary show

Here's the low down on the 16th anniversary.

It was a regular live noontime show, aired Monday, September 12, 1977. (They also did another one the following year, for the seventeenth anniversary.)

Ray Rayner returned as Oliver O. Oliver, and Ned Locke returned as Ringmaster Ned. Rayner talked a little about it on his own morning show that day, reminding viewers to tune in and adding that "Oliver O. Oliver will be there." He didn't mention that he (Rayner) played Oliver. (But viewers old enough to remember Oliver probably knew that.)

That week's Chicago edition of TV Guide had a WGN-TV ad for the show. (The Tribune probably did, too.) The ad does not specifically mention Locke and Rayner appearing, but they definitely did. (Marshall Brodien as Wizzo brought them back using magic, and he's mentioned in a couple of interviews that during that live bit, Rayner became visible to the audience a little earlier than he should have...but I don't specifically remember that. I believe Locke also presided over one of the audience games that day.) The TV Guide ad does include a mid-1960s era photo of Bob Bell as Bozo (using older photos of cast members in print ads or on-air bumpers was fairly common). It was a black and white image, so it didn't matter that he would have been wearing a red suit, although his makeup was noticeably different too.

This sometimes gets confused with the 17th anniversary show (aired live Monday, September 11, 1978). (I don't personally remember them doing any other "anniversary" shows in the 1970s, but remember that these were not really promoted as "specials," they just aired in the show's usual timeslot.) Even Producer Allen Hall has mistakenly remembered Locke and Rayner having appeared on the 17th anniversary show, when it was actually the 16th. The 17th anniversary show did not feature any appearances by former regulars, but talk show host Phil Donahue and then-acting Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic appeared. One other oddity is that Cooky appeared on-camera during the Garfield Goose segment, so someone else must have been operating the puppets that day.

The bad news is that apparently, WGN did not save the tape of the 9/12/77 show. (Not a big surprise...the 17th anniversary 9/11/78 show was apparently only preserved because someone taped it on a home Betamax that day. One might think with Locke and Rayner appearing that day, that tape might have been considered significant enough to be archived, but evidently not.)

The famous pie fight clip (in which the clowns cover Frazier Thomas with pies) is not from the 17th anniversary show, by the way. It apparently isn't from the 16th anniversary show either, since Oliver O. Oliver isn't in it. In the WGN special "Bozo: The Man Behind The Make-Up," that clip was shown and incorrectly dentified as being from the 17th anniversary show. The last few times clips have appeared, usually they just say it's from 1978. But who knows?