Now You See It, Now You Don't!
TellZall's object for January is Bozo the Clown
Have you ever wondered what television shows children in the past watched? Well one of the shows that your parents and grandparents probably enjoyed starred "Bozo."
Bozo was a clown (picture one). In 1946, Alan W. Livingston authored a book starring Bozo, and Capitol Records began to produce recordings of this and other Bozo books by Livingston. Pinto Colvig provided Bozo's voice on these recordings.
In 1949, a Bozo television series began to air in Los Angeles, California. Colvig starred in the series as the very first Bozo. He wore a blue and red costume and sported bright red hair. Colvig coated his face in white makeup. The show became an immediate success.
In 1956, Larry Harmon purchased the rights to Bozo (picture two). He began to make cartoons that starred the clown for television. He sold rights to these cartoons to television stations across the United States of America and also allowed these stations to hire their own human Bozo. Soon local stations across the nation had their own Bozo shows. Each station's program was different, with variations in Bozo's costume, facial features, and voice. Most of these programs remained local ones, but from 1965 to 1967, a Boston station aired its show nationally through cable and satellite. Chicago's Superstation WGN also aired a national program from 1978 to 2001. When production stopped in 2001, the Chicago show was the last Bozo program airing at either the national or local level. Bozo programs also aired in Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Thailand, Australia, and Greece.
Bozo became so popular that thousands of items celebrating the clown eventually appeared. Lunchboxes, books, and Halloween costumes were among the more popular items.
