Talk:Ronald McDonald

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Old stuff

Why is there a picture of Mr. Bean in the 'Monda Lisa?' I don't know how to fix this. -134.50.75.123 06:30, 1 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The ronald mcdonald material concerning willard scott and george voorhees was correct, documentable and verified by me personally. I have seen the costume and a newspaper clipping, as well as been told the story by the 2 co-creators in front of another clown that was a contemporary witness. The information is not disputed by mcdonalds. It should be restored.Pedant 22:02, 7 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Shouldn't this page mention the odd (and actionable) relationship between McDonaldLand and H.R. Puffenstuff? I would do it myself, but I am on vacation and so it would be immoral of me to do anything like work, I am sure you understand. [[PaulinSaudi 18:17, 22 Sep 2004 (UTC)]]

Only two quotes on this page, and they're both from former Ronald actors complaining about how much they hated their jobs. Doesn't strike me as NPOV. DaveTheRed 06:24, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I added those two quotes at a time when the article was still rather short and stubbish. I wasn't trying to push any agenda; I just thought that they were relevant. If you think they bias the article, then I would recommend adding some less or oppositely biased quotes rather than removing the two that are already there. Psychonaut 09:02, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

All of the quotes I could find about Ronald are either a) advertising, b) anti-McDonalds or c) jokes, none of which help in this situation. Truthfully I hardly care passionately about this. I'm content to let the NPOV issue remain academic. It strikes me though that the quotes relate more to the business aspect of McDonalds than to the character himself. Perhaps we could move them to the McDonald's page? DaveTheRed 18:39, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Geoffrey Giuliano

There is some suggestion that Geoff Giuliano has exaggerated his role as Ronald to boost his campaign against the company; that in fact, he only played the clown at personal appearances, possibly in a local TV commercial or two, but never in a national spot. Brithgob 03:23, 28 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Exactly--can anyone nail this one down once and for all? Giuliano's resume on IMDB says he did commericals, but in an interview (http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/ronald.htm) he said that he made 50 grand (and that was Canadian) around 1980. That doesn't seem like nearly enough if he was making commercials for them. Also, everything he describes in interviews sounds like the "personal appearances" Ronald, which would make him just one of MANY. Furthermore, David Green, who worked for McDonalds in various marketing posts beginning in 1972 and who was U.S. Senior Vice President of Marketing at the time of the McLibel trial in England testified that he did not know of an actor named Geoffrey Giuliano playing the role of a "principal" Ronald McDonald. Should this be included somehow? The url for that last one is http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/trial/verdict/verdict_jud2b.html Tattooconnection 01:24, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, here is some more information I uncovered that shows that Geoffrey Giuliano was definitely NOT a "primary Ronald actor" (i.e., appeared in television commercials)--as the current wiki version states. First, see the following article, which originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-ronald060203,0,184908.story?coll=bal-business-indepth

According to this article, a "personal appearances" Ronald makes anywhere between 40 thousand and 100 thousand per year, depending on the number of appearances they make. The article states that an actor who portrays Ronald in television commercials makes 300 thousand per year. The following source says Giuliano made 50 thousand per year:

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1991/03/1991-03-03.shtml. Granted, this was some time ago, but taking into account differences due to the Canadian-American exchange rate (he worked in Canada), and the fact that the total salary for the "personal appearances" Ronald goes up somewhat with a larger number of personal appearances made, it's very clear that his salary was within the range paid to "personal appearances" Ronalds but that it was not NEARLY enough of a salary for a "primary" Ronald actor. He should be removed from the list of primary Ronald actors currently included in the entry. I know that a lot of people care about the Ronald McDonald entry a lot and have put a lot of work into it, so I'll just put the facts out there and give all aspiring Ronald McDonald editors a chance to comment before I make the change. Thanks, Tattooconnection 03:03, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ronald in Japan

Why is there NOTHING talking about the recent girl Ronald in Japan? --daunrealist 20:04, 7 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Like I'm certain many westerners, I've never heard of a girl Ronald. Add it yourself if you know more then us - that is after all the point of Wikipedia Lochok 11:26, 21 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Are you talking about this? It's just someone dressing up in a homemade outfit (in the Phillipines, not Japan).--Wasabe3543 21:40, 10 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

That was just a short marketing gimmick in Japan. It was on TV and in print ads for a while and her name was never given.

Also, the statement about Ronald's name being "Donald" because of a difficulty in pronunciation is false and has been a continuous stereotype which I find offensive. People named Ronald, Ronaldino, or Ronaldo live in Japan and are refered to by the Japanese with a pronunciation more appropriate than the transliteration of "Donald".

However, McDonald's does repeat this assertion about pronunciation on one of their web sites: [1]--Wasabe3543 00:15, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

In actuality, the first American citizen to visit and live in Japan during the closure of the country was a man named Ronald McDonald, a worker on a whaling ship who departed from the ship and onto an island near Hokkaido, and eventually became notorious and famous amongst the Japanese rulers of the time. He is mentioned in history textbooks, Japanese language textbooks for English speakers, and is fairly well known by those with knowledge of Japanese history. "Donald McDonald" was adopted to prevent confusion and to keep people from thinking that McDonald's was referencing this historical figure. In fact, I came to this page hoping to find a disambiguation to learn more about this man.

I am going to remove the referenced line in the article but I do not yet have a source for the real Ronald McDonald (who does deserve his own entry) so I will wait to update this portion. If anyone else has a source feel free to do so. Smoove K 21:54, 1 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I believe this is what you were thinking of: Ranald_MacDonald --Xyzzyplugh 00:21, 2 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The "girl Ronald" isn't really Ronald, it's supposed be an attractive woman dressed as Ronald. No more no less. See here. [2] GracieLizzie 13:35, 13 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The assertion that the "r" sound is similar, or the same as, the "d" sounds doesn't ring true at all. I did study Japanese for a year. I'm not an expert, but anyone who's studied basic Japanese knows that all the sounds in the Japanese language using hiragana (or katakana as the case may be) are distinct sounds. So, "ro" or "ra" are completely diffrent sounds from "do," or "da." If anything, "do" and "da" would sound closer to "to" and "ta." --70.77.37.70 09:31, 16 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Brent Spiner

Is there any truth to the rumor that Star Trek: The Next Generation co-star Brent Spiner played Ronald McDonald early in his career? - Jess Ragan

I really don't think so. And since this addition was made by an anon who didn't give any reference, and I can't find any support through Google for this bit of information, I'm removing it from the article. - Brian Kendig 07:02, 15 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

lol internet

Should there be a reference to steamsteamlol.ytmnd.com the "lol internet" YTMND somewhere? -ComputerBox

No. Guy 09:03, 12 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm pretty sure "Kyle Stephenson" being listed with Santa Claus and Ronald McDonald as the US' most recognizable icons is an act of vandalism on the article. Someone should verify & remove it. -LGS

Bio

What is an unrelated biography doing in this article? A simple line saying "The character takes his name from..." would suffice. If the guy is notable, then he should get his own article. This subject could also use a dab page. Rklawton 20:39, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

ridiculous shame

the article is fully vandalized... can some body fix it?

Yep, I did. —The Gr e at Llama ^talk 18:45, 10 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

-Fixed the pic. This guy is friendlier. :)

suggestion

First of all, thanks for llama man for fixing the article. but I'm here to suggest a protection for the article, to avoid vandals, cause its very proeminent between anti-american user — Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.153.54.125 (talk • contribs)

Lots of articles are like that. This particular article isn't vandalized very much by comparison. It's also very easy to remove vandalism, so it's no big deal. In fact, it takes us much less time to fix an article than it does to break one. Rklawton 19:03, 10 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I disagree, since the majority of this article does not cite sources, it is getting hard to tell what is vandalism and what is supposed to be a part of the article. I support protecting it.

Willard Scott as Ronald McDonald

I grew up in the Washington, D.C., area and remember seeing Willard Scott playing the role of Ronald McDonald in T.V. ads. I had also remembered him as having played Bozo a few years earlier, so it was no surprise that he was now playing another clown. I knew that Bozo was a national phenomenon played by a different personality in each T.V. market where the show aired, so I figured Ronald McDonald was done the same way.

In 1986, I read newspaper articles marking the 20th anniversary of Ronald McDonald. This surprised me because I knew that I had seen the ads featuring Willard Scott before 1966. A few years later, I checked out a book Willard (anyone who grew up watching him is on a first name basis with him) had written from a local library, and I learned that he had pioneered the concept in the D.C. area before it went national. So, 1986 as the 20th anniversary was proper with regard to the national campaign.

In the late 1990s, someone in California told me that the Willard Scott story was not true and that Ronald McDonald originated in Los Angeles. I thought this person did not have the correct facts, but I see from this article that there may be a basis of truth in what this person told me. RSLitman 01:15, 20 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

RSLitman, I don't think that person was right. Willard Scott even said himself that he created Ronald McDonald. Willard Scott deserves to take full credit for creating him. I don't know why he dosen't. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.233.72.140 (talk) 00:56, 23 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I was at a McDonald a few years ago and I was told that Willard Scott, George Voorhis and Terry Teene were friends with eachother. They all worked on him together as a team. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.233.72.140 (talk) 21:07, 23 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

this article needs major cleanup

George Voorhis as Ronald McDonald. I married this man's daughter in 1968. I wish I'd checked out this page years ago. He was a professional clown and was Ronald McDonald in Southern California from the mid-sixties until the mid-eighties. He made several commercials but his primary function as Ronald was personal appearances at openings of new McDonald's stores and newly renovated stores in and around the So. Cal. area. He was not a homosexual and was never accused of being one. Jimmknows 00:49, 11 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Article Name has Strangely Changed

For some reason, Angelica Pickles has changed this article's name to "The Penis Clown". I looked on the edit history, and for some reason it says that she changed it to that on May 14, 2007, though I found it with this name and am even writing this concerned paragraph on May 13. THIS IS VERY STRANGE. — Preceding unsigned comment added by JYMoore (talk • contribs)

I fixed the page move vandalism. As for why it says it was changed May 14 and you're looking at it on May 13, it's your time zone preferences on your account that is causing the apparent discrepancy. -- Gogo Dodo 06:45, 14 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, I changed it because that's Ronald's nickname. Some people on youtube call him that.

Thanks a lot Gogo. JYMoore 04:44, 16 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Popular culture

This section is comprised entirely of original research. Ronald McDonald and McDonald's advertising in general makes no reference to any of these shows/events. Therefore, they don't belong in the Ronald McDonald article. These events reference Ronald McDonald. As such, any mention (if notable) belongs there, not here. If Ronald McDonald has had an impact on popular culture, then this section should cite the sources discussing this topic and not the original material (TV shows, etc). Failing to do this violates WP:NOR. Rklawton 04:49, 7 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The popular culture section seems to be missing. Aren't their any tv shows, movies, books, works of art that refer to the McDonalds clown? One example I can think of is Douglas Coupland's novel jPod that has a frustrated Ronald McDonald who infiltrates a computer game as a killer clown. Felix Atagong 09:40, 24 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Media:Headline text

Merge proposal

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section.

month and a half with no dissension. Merge. It has been proposed that the article The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald be merged into this article. Please discuss here.

Merge this is part of the McDonald's ad campaign featuring Ronald McDonald. It should be included in this article similar to the Burger King X-Box games featuring the Burger King. - Jeremy (Jerem43 14:35, 25 October 2007 (UTC))[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Subtle Vandalism / Spam, unfollowed lead, or what?

I believe the following line is a piece of very subtle vandalism / spam or whatever you may call it, it just strikes me as out of place:
"Due to the controversy over fast food, critics have likened McDonald to Joe Camel, the former mascot of Camel cigarettes.[2]"
The line doesn't follow the tempo of the article, the reference attached to it goes to a very poorly formatted webpage (broken character escapes all over (which can be, but is not always, an indication of a content scrape from another source), and overly large text) and Critics does not equal Critic. It either needs to be followed up and expanded upon, moved, or removed because there's nothing else in the article about critics.--68.237.239.86 (talk) 01:27, 16 December 2007 (UTC)A Passing Visitor[reply]