The character of Bozo the clown was created in 1946. A record album was produced by Alan Livingstone titled, “Bozo at the Circus”. It was called a record reader and came with the book and the album. It was the first read-along book set ever produced. Pinto Colvig was the voice of Bozo for this and other read-along records.
Bozo was so popular on these records that he became the mascot for the record company. He was called “Bozo the Capitol Clown”. Records that were suitable for children were given the “Bozo seal of approval”.
The first Bozo television show was produced in 1949 in Los Angeles. It was called, “Bozo’s Circus” and aired on Friday nights. Pinto Colvig continued his role as Bozo with a blue and red costume, big red hair, and classic clown, whiteface, makeup.
In 1956 Bozo was renamed, “Bozo, The World’s Most Famous Clown” by Larry Harmon who bought the licensing rights to the Bozo character. Harmon was an actor who had played Bozo at various promotional events. As well as changing the name, he changed Bozo’s voice, costume, and hair. Bozo’s hair was returned to the wing-tipped orange hair from the comic books. The wigs were made from yak hair by Emil Corsillo Inc. The hair was sprayed with a lacquer to keep its tip shape form.
The Bozo show was a franchise not a syndicated show. Local Television stations could create their own shows using their own actor as Bozo. This meant there were many different people portraying Bozo with slightly different voices and costumes.
There is now a Bozo character ventriloquist figure that can be purchased from online web stores. If you’re learning vent you might want to consider the option of using a Bozo dummy.
Doing an act with a Bozo dummy creates many opportunities. You can have him tell about his many adventures in the circus. There are a multitude of funny stories that can be created from a circus background. Think of living every day surrounded by elephants, acrobats, and performing dogs. And don’t forget clown alley. You can have him tell about all the other clowns he works with in the circus and how hard it is to try and all fit into a small car. He might want to tell how he graduated from Clown College and the classes he took there. The possibilities are endless.
If you’re doing shows for children the Bozo figure is a perfect choice. Children already love clowns so he’ll be a hit from the start. You might want to consider doing shows for child care centers or Sunday school with your Bozo figure. When doing church shows, it’s always good to include a well known Bible story such as David and Goliath or Jonah and the Whale. But don’t touch on any denominational issues. Stick with the basic Bible story.
It’s not hard to learn vent. All you need is a figure and a mirror to get started. Check out the dummies that are available and you can get started right away.
