My apologies folks. This is one of the articles I wrote that didn’t survive when I moved the blogs. Had pictures and everything. But I’m so lazy I don’t feel like re-writing it BUT at least let me summarize it for you!

So Bozo the Clown was a nationwide television program that hired local guys to play Bozo. Here in Chicago one of the longest running actors, from the 50′s through probably 80′s was a guy named Bob Bell and his partner “Cookie.” Do the wiki thing for exact details. Bob was just a VERY unique Bozo. He wasn’t abusive really just…pragmatic and no-nonsense. He also had a sort of raspy, almost drunk, voice that would trail off into a mutter. It was very distinctive and FIT Bozo in a weird way. You didn’t get so much “hey a wacky clown” as “oh that funny guy has a very loud suit and orange hair.” He just seemed very human.

Anyway another young actor here in Chicago was a guy named Dan Castanella. And, well, let’s just say it’s very clear he watched TV. Because after years of watching the Simpsons it occurred to me that Krusty the Klown wasn’t just similar to “my” Bozo but pretty much a rock solid clone. Now Castanella has openly admitted Bell was his inspiration and certainly no harm done. I, and probably lots of people, are happy to see the spirit of a great performer not forgotten. Clowns have been a part of human culture pretty much from the beginning and it’s a tradition. Specifically, it’s a passed down type of thing-no matter the technology or performance space. Sitting next to a king being called a “jester” or Vaudeville theaters at the turn of the century.

Wow I just looked up at the title of this piece and I see I also did some kind of Ronald McDonald thing in the original article. I can’t remember but I think the way I connected it was that Willard Scott (who later became famous on the Today Show) was the original Ronald, and like Bozo (who Scott also played at one point) there were many actors who played Ronald. But Because Scott played both, and Bell played Bozo and then Castanella played Krusty based on Bell’s Bozo that was my little version of Six Degrees, but it does coincide with what I was saying earlier about the Clown tradition.

And look at that, excpet for the pictures, I’ve pretty much rewritten this piece!

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