I was watching the Bozo the Clown Show way back in the 80’s sometime. They were having kids from the audience play Pen the Tail on the Donkey. Well, they spun this one kid around a few times, and off he went. But instead of heading towards the Donkey he walks off stage to the right. He has that pin and tail extended and headed right towards a stagehand’s crotch. With about 2 inches to go for the Grand Prize, so to speak, Mom intervenes and quickly steers the kid away from danger and back toward the donkey. Whew! Disaster averted.
I used to ALWAYS watch bozo! I remember the final throw the ball in the bucket game (cant remember the name of it) I always hated it when they picked a three year old that winged the ping pong ball as hard as he can not even paying attention to the first bucket he should be throwing at. I always wanted to win that bike and the “crisp, new 100 dollar bill!!”
Although I always thought Bozo was kinda creepy but his pal Cookie was cool.
I believe it was simply called “The Grand Prize Game”
Remember Cookie? What a wuss!
I remember watching Bozo the Clown in the 70’s! Cookie was always getting into trouble and he always was trying to lead the “Grand March” at the end of the show, but Bozo would always find a way to foil him. As part of the Grand Prize Game, they would draw an envelope from a large drum that was sent in by a home viewer who would get whatever the player won as well.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Bozo from that show has had 3 people playing him. I don’t remember who played him, though.
The only episode of the Bozo show I remember watching was when my sister was in the audience. We all freaked at her sitting in the bleachers in her brownie uniform (she didn’t get picked to play any games). Of course, that was back before we had a VCR (mid 70s), so it is only a memory to us now.
We had our own local version of Bozo here in Little Rock backin the 60’s. He didn’t have a Cookie. He just winged it on his own.
My childhood memory of Bozo was the news reporting that he’d been arrested for DWI.
Nowdays, he does a bad local version of Krusty (I think he calls himself “Giggles” or some shit like that) and he does the Oaklawn Report reporting on the day’s results during the live and simulcast seasons at the local horse track.
:eek:
Don’t…like…clowns.
Channel 7, KATV, 3:30pm weekdays. I still remember saving side panels from cardboard Coleman Milk cartons to get into a live appearance by Bozo at the old theater in downtown Stuttgart.
“Do you walk to school or carry your lunch . . . ?”
“Oops, it’s a mom!”
I assume most of you are talking about the WGN version? As jesuslynch attests, Bozo is/was a (inter?)national empire. But Chicago’s recently departed Bob Bell was most famous due to WGN’s reach.
In high school I had a friend who lived right down the street from WGN (my HS, Lane Tech, was pretty much across the street.) He said because they always wanted a full audience, despite the years-long waiting list, he and his buddies would get on often by simply showing up at the time for taping.
What are all the plate spinners doing now that they went from 5 to 1 day a week?
I was a much bigger fan of Ray Rayner (of course, I could get my RR fix on Bozo as well as occasionally Garfield Goose!) When I was in high school, Ray used to occasionally broadcast from outside, on a field we used to play football on. One day we went over and shot the breeze with Ray and Harry Pazzulo. Yeah, I was a big fan of Ray. Course when I was really young, my mom wanted me to watch Captain Kangaroo instead. Sorry for the hijack.
Having grown up in the sleepy little cowtown of Tucson, Arizona I never associated clows with kiddie shows. I’d heard of Bozo maybe but didn’t know it was a kid’s show until I was an adult and met people who grew up around Chicago.
We had a proper kiddie show, Marshal Kgun’s Western Circus. The host, Bob Love, didn’t dress as no damn freak clown, they belong in a circus. Of course a children’s show host carrying a gun, albeit of the paper cap variety, would be un-PC these days but it was never an unhealthy influence on us. Bob later moved to an independant station where he hosted the Uncle Bob Show. The Western theme gave way to space exploration after the Apollo 11 landing.
Don’t you love farce?
My fault, I fear.
I thought that you’d want, what I want,
Sorry, my dear…
::ducking and running::
This reminds me very little of the time a kid missed the bean bag toss and exclaimed;
“Fuck it!”
At which point, Bozo ran up saying, “Now that’s Bozo no-no.” The kid seamlessly riposted with;
“Cram it clown!”
A chap named David B. in my American Political Institutions class claimed to have been on that particular show and witnessed the entire sordid spectacle.
Zenster,
Your friend may think he saw the Bozo episode in question, but our friends at Snopes think otherwise.
http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/bozo.htm
Just sayin’.
DRY, would you believe my voice teacher is trying to make me learn that song? When I do, email me your number and I’ll call you up and sing it for you!
Ah, Chicago and WGN TV memories!
Ray Rayner was a media giant to us kids back in the 60s. Ray played Oliver O. Oliver on Bozo at Noon, Andy Starr on the Afternoon cartoon show, hosted the “Dick Tracy” show, and had his own version of what was passed off as a variety show for kids each weekday morning. Right after Orion Samuelson’s “top of the morning” farm report, Ray was on for something like 2 and a half hours each morning, running WB cartoons in an orange jumpsuit covered with little post-it notes (long before post-its were invented, I might add) to remind him what was next on the show. He had all these animal guests, most frequently a large white duck named Chelveston. He lyp synced comedy routines. He had local high school performers. He did the sports report (always giving us the football scores from Slippery Rock State). He’s now retired and is enjoying a new life in theater and television out in Arizona.
More than you all care to know, I’m sure. . .
Dear Juniper200, please note the strategic inclusion of the word “claimed” in my post. I do, however, thank you for clearing this up. Always wondered about that. It used to keep me awake on the long winter nights.
I never saw the show but was it as bad, worse, or better than “The Gong Show”?
I saw Bozo the Clown in person!!!
He visited our school in Tokyo. Now before you point fingers and say, “Hong Kong Phooey, that was some Asian faux-Bozo,” I want you to know it was the REAL Bozo, on tour in Japan. He made a special appearance at our school because… well, we were special. NOOOO not special as in “the short bus” special, but I attended a private British prep school in Tokyo where most of my classmates were children of corporate executives and European ambassadors.
I don’t remember much from his special appearance, other than he looked exceedingly dorky (I hadn’t actually ever seen his show, seeing as I lived in Japan), and he did a bunch of magic tricks with rope and such.
What the hell.
It’s 310-555-1212 
Seriously, I’m sure you’ve got a great voice (much better than my whining one…).
I am mildly surprised that no, ahem, clown, quoted my post and replied “Don’t bother, they’re here.” :eek:
Well, maybe next year.
Quick test to tell someone’s age:
When someone says “clown” to you, do you first think of Bozo, or Homey?
