Bozo the Clown
From The TV IV
| Bozo the Clown | |
| |
| Premiere | 1959 |
| Finale | 1962 |
| Airs | |
| Creator | Alan W. Livingston |
| Network | Syndication |
| Style | 6-minute animated comedy |
| Company | Larry Harmon Pictures, Jayark Films |
| Episodes | 156 |
| Seasons | 1 |
| Origin | USA |
Bozo the Clown was the first star of a popular series of chidren's storytelling record-album and illustrative read-along book sets released by Capitol Records. He was created by Alan W. Livingston and voiced by Pinto Colvig (original voice of Disney's character Goofy, among others). A local Los Angeles kids' show was launched with Pinto as Bozo in 1949. A chap named Larry Harmon, one of several actors hired to play him at promotional appearances, was so enamored with the character that he formed a business partnership, bought the licensing rights for Bozo and went on to create a nationwide franchise of live Bozo shows. The longest running Bozo show originated from WGN-TV in Chicago from 1960 to 2001. In the late 1960s, a syndicated edition, Bozo's Big Top, produced by Harmon featured the WHDH-TV (WCVB-TV) Boston Bozo show in markets that were not producing their own Bozo shows at the time.
Harmon would inaugurate an animation studio where he had Bozo cartoons made for the local stations. In these cartoons, he had a young circus sidekick named Butchy Boy and the Circus Boss. One of the cartoons' main adversaries was a thug named Big Shorty. Two batches of cartoons were made; the second had the designs more simplified and gave Bozo additional characters, including Belinda (a little girl) and Whaco Wolf.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Main Cast | ||
| Larry Harmon | Bozo | 1 |
| Butchy Boy | 1 | |
| Big Shorty | 1 | |
| Paul Frees | Circus Boss | 1 |
| Short Biggie | 1 | |
| Whaco Wolf | 1 | |
| Penny Phillips | Belinda | 1 |
DVD Releases
Three volumes of the late 1960s syndicated Boston Bozo live action shows feature a five-minute cartoon.


