Larry Harmon, the actor who played TV's famed Bozo the Clown for over fifty years, has died in his Los Angeles home from heart failure at the age of 83.
While Harmon was not the original Bozo the Clown (that lies with creator Alan W. Livingston, who created the character in 1946), Harmon was the one who had the foresight to purchase the rights to the name and then carry on the character for fifty years.It was Harmon's knowledge of television that enabled him to succeed, selling a franchise of the clown around the USA, as opposed to syndication methods that are more familiar with today.
"We didn't have satellite, syndication and networking like today," Reuters quoted Harmon as once saying. "So, I created my own network of local clowns and productions, a cross-country operation that kept me on the road for 50 weeks a year for decades."
He is survived by his wife, one son and four daughters.
Interesting random Bozo-but-not-Larry-Harmon-fact, Bozo the Clown was originally the voice of Alan W. Livingston on records telling children's stories, which were released through Capitol Records. Through this, he became known as Bozo the Capitol Clown and was known as the mascot for Capitol Records in the 40s.
