In 1996, my assigning newspaper editor sent me to attend the 50th birthday party for “Bozo the Clown.”
The guest list had more than 500 children attending, plus parents and adults, all jammed into the Grand Ballroom of what was the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in Merrillville.
The event was sponsored by the Security Federal Banking financial institution chain, and it raised money for disadvantaged and disabled children. An even greater focus seemed to be on the biggest “win” of the day. Every guest attending was entered into a drawing with hopes of garnering the “Grand Prize.”
Drumroll: Four tickets for the Dec. 3, 1996 taping of “The Bozo Show” broadcast on WGN-TV.
When I was taken to a secret lounge area to interview Bozo, this was not the Bozo the Clown I recalled most from my youth, the late Bob Bell who wore the famed red bulb nose when WGN-TV launched their Bozo broadcast in 1960 and carried on the clowning tradition for 23 years.
By the time I was age 13, in 1984, Joey D’Auria stepped into those blue size 83 AAA shoes and became the new comedy talent to adopt the identity of Bozo until the show franchise ended in August 2001.
July ushers in a string of family birthdays, starting with my dad Chester and then my oldest brother Tom, both in July, and then older brother David, myself and my mom Peggy this month in August and my older sisters Pam and Carol finish our family birthday celebrations in early September.
Clowns and birthday parties are an ages-old traditional pairing for kids’ entertainment. For my seventh birthday in 1997, I had “Mrs. Bozo the Clown” as the surprise celebrity guest at my kids party at the farm. (Spoiler: “Mrs. Bozo” was really my older sister Pam in the make-up, padding, wig and disguise as dreamed up by my older brother David and our mom.)
Last month, D’Auria, 70, who lives with wife Ginni in Star, Idaho, did an autograph party appearance on July 6 at Crown Antique Mall to celebrate the antique shop’s fifth anniversary. Crown Point artist Tim Wolak introduced D’Auria to his just-finished, custom, life-sized, sculpted likeness of Bozo, which D’Auria autographed and stood on display for photo ops.
D’Auria ended his run as Bozo at age 49 for WGN in 2001, and his predecessor Bell died at age 75 in 1997.
“I really didn’t know Bob (Bell) that well, but I certainly admired his work,” D’Auria told me when I asked if Bob Bell had passed along any advice for filling “his big shoes.”
And since it was also health-related reasons (both Bob Bell and his clown counterpart Roy Brown, who played Cooky the Clown, suffered heart conditions) that were the catalyst leading to original Bozo Bell’s retirement, D’Auria said it was Roy Brown as Cooky who helped him transition to his new clowning career during their decade together. Brown retired in 1994 and died at age 68 in 2001.
“I do recall there was one time when Bob Bell happened to be back in town after his retirement, and he stopped by the studio during a taping,” D’Auria recalled.
“Of course, everyone was talking to him and he was surrounded, but I was busy in make-up doing the show. When he approached me and spoke, I had no idea who he was and just gave him a ‘hello’ and kept right on about my business. I think he was a bit taken back by that, but it wasn’t anything intentional. I didn’t place who he was, without him being in makeup and costume. I think the only other time I was around Bob was when we were together for the show’s reunion special.”
D’Auria said his clown colleague Roy Brown always told him it was the change in broadcasting mandates for children’s TV programming which brought about the eventual cancellation of “Bozo” from the airwaves.
“In the 1990s, there were all of these requirements for kids’ shows to include an educational component and not just be entertaining,” D’Auria said.
“There’s not much educational about throwing pie around at each other. At one point earlier in the show’s run, the clowns and ringmaster Mr. Ned even did live commercial advertising placements during the show for products. In fact, Roy once told me the reason there were even the ‘Bozo buttons’ given out to audiences was because they were sponsored by the local Holsum Bread Company.”
Last month, I wrote an earlier column about Bozo and the late Larry Harmon, the man who owned the rights to the Bozo trademark and licensing before actor David Arquette recently acquired it. WGN TV Producer George Pappas, and a kind friend and Bozo historian, wrote to me to clarify some details.
Hi, Phil! Hope all is well,
Saw your Bozo article and want to point out a few corrections. WGN’s ‘Bozo’ starring Bob Bell premiered in 1960 and was relaunched as ‘Bozo’s Circus’ in 1961. Bell portrayed the character for 24 years until 1984. The Bozo character was created in 1946 by Alan Livingston, who hired Pinto Colvig as the voice of Bozo for the Capitol Records albums. Colvig also starred on KTTV (CBS) Los Angeles’ ‘Bozo’s Circus’ in 1949. After Larry Harmon acquired the rights to Bozo in 1957, he voiced Bozo for the cartoons. Pinto Colvig’s son, Vance Colvig Jr., played Bozo on KTLA in Los Angeles from 1959 to 1964. Later that year, Willard Scott, who was already an on-air personality at WRC (NBC) in Washington, D.C., starred as Bozo for that station until 1962. WGN’s Bozo show was not the longest-running locally produced children’s show in U.S. broadcast history, but recognized as the most popular and successful. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Phil!
George Pappas
Programming Specialist
Chicago’s Very Own WGN-TV
If I have Bozo questions, George Pappas is my go-to guy. If I have questions about Chicago’s late iconic newspaper advice columnist, Ann Landers, or her twin sister rival columnist, the also departed Pauline Phillips, the original “Dear Abby,” then Chicago Tribune editor and WGN Radio personality Rick Kogan is my go-to guy. He was the longtime editor for Eppie Lederer, the real name behind the Ann Landers identity.
In 2007, Kogan shared a favorite recipe which he also submitted for “The WGN Radio Cookbook,” a promotional giveaway for listeners. His recipe for “Green Noodles” was swiped from the original Windy City eatery Ricardo’s which Rick describes as “a famous hangout at the corner of Rush and Hubbard streets and a favorite for artists, actors, journalists and other lively sorts.” He further explained: “It’s also the place where my parents, Herman and Marilew, first laid eyes on one another, one night in 1948.”
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at [email protected] or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, IN 46374.
Ricardo’s Green Noodles
Make 6 servings
1 cup cooked spinach
2 eggs
1 oz olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Dots of butter
Dash of paprika
Directions:
1. Grind 1 cup of cooked spinach
2. Mix spinach with eggs, olive oil and salt.
3. Add 3 cups of flour and mix well.
4. Roll the dough about 1/8 inch thick and cut into strips 1/2 inch wide.
5. Boil in salted water for 5 or 6 minutes. Drain and place in a buttered casserole.
6. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, dot with butter and add a dash of paprika for color.
7. Bake in a 350-degree oven until lightly browned — just a few minutes.
