- Posted by Christopher Estep on July 7, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83.
His publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press he died at his home.
Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos.
"You might say, in a way, I was cloning BTC (Bozo the Clown) before anybody else out there got around to cloning DNA," Harmon told the AP in a 1996 interview.
I have to wonder if this happened today how many lawsuits there would be against Harmon saying that “they” were the original Bozo and they were due royalties. Of course, the most famous Bozo (aside from Bill Clinton) was on WGN Chicago, but the most famous isn’t always the first.
For instance, most people don’t know that the first Kentucky Fried Chicken was in Utah. Yes, Utah.
“No, moron! It was in Corbin, Kentucky!” you say? Well, that’s actually Harlan Sanders’ first restaurant. But the first Kentucky Fried Chicken (I refuse to sanitize it and call it KFC) was in Utah. Ironically, it was the Utahan that came up with the name, too.
The economy may be tight right now, but my point is this: Do your own thing. Find your own opportunities and then work hard to turn them in to your own American Dream. Opportunities exist everywhere. You just need to see them and then put your shoulder to the wheel and work.
11Alive.com | Atlanta, GA | Larry 'Bozo' Harmon Dead At 83