MILKY THE CLOWN AND OTHER CHARACTERS

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Milky the Clown double bubble clock

Detroit Kids of the 1950's watched and were entertained by "Milky" in front of those large b/w TV sets. Kids loved Milky's cartoons, games, and the Twin Pines Milk and Dairy products.

Clarence R. Cummings Jr. portrayed Milky the Clown for Twin Pines Dairy. Cummings started learning magic when he was twelve and received a magic set for Christmas. He read library books on magic, mastered dozens of tricks, and performed for his family and friends. He made his professional debut as a magician in 1929 at the Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham when he was 17 years old.

On the TV float. Top row: Larry Sands, Jerry Booth, (Jingles in Boofland, The Larry and Jerry Show), Milky the Clown (Milky’s Party Time), Sagebrush Shorty(Sagebrush Shorty’s Fun Ranch). Bottom row: Ricky the Clown (Action Theatre), Poopdeck Paul and Captain Jolly (Popeye and Pals), the boy is Michael Zadoorian. Photo taken by his dad Norman Zadoorian. Read More

Poop Deck Paul, Milky, Capt Jolly, Jingles, Johnny Ginger, Bozo

THE STORY OF BOZO THE CLOWN!

Bozo was created by Alan W. Livingston  The name came from the tradition of circuses calling clowns Bozos.

 
Bozo was created for a series of Capitol children's records in 1946, with Vance "Pinto" Colvig, the voice of Walt Disney's Goofy, providing the clown's voice.

 The First Bozo Pinto Colvig

Bozo needed a voice so Livingston hired a former circus clown, Pinto Colvig, to portray Bozo on the recordings and at promotional appearances.

CBS Los Angeles broadcasted the first Bozo television show, Bozo's Circus. Bozo's Circus starred Pinto Colvig Sr.

Larry Harmon

Larry Harmon formed a partnership that purchased the rights (except for records) to the Bozo the Clown character, and turned it into a nationwide franchise. He took over the role of Bozo the Clown which he had been occasionally hired in the past to play at promotionals, and credited himself as training over 200 Bozo the Clowns.

See the Wheeler's Bozo the Clown Timeline

WGN TV BOZO BOB BELL 

In 1960, WGN-TV asked character actor and staff announcer Bob Bell to portray Bozo the Clown on a live, 30-minute afternoon show consisting of one-man sketches and cartoons. “Bozo’s Circus” was a live, hour-long telecast that aired weekdays at noon.

clown picture - Bob Bell, as Bozo the clown, in the final incarnation of his makeup In 1970, Bob Bell receives an Emmy for WGN-TV’s “Bozo’s Circus” during a live broadcast of the 11th annual Chicago Emmy Awards at the Drury Lane Theatre in Evergreen Park, Illinois on WBBM-TV (CBS) in Chicago. Bob Bell retired from WGN-TV in April 1984, and was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame on August 3, 1996.

Joey J. D'Auria (born May 18, 1952) is an actor and a voice actor who is best known for his role of WGN-TV Chicago's Bozo the Clown from 1984 to 2001. D'Auria was hired after a long search for the next Bozo in part because his improvisational skills were very good. D'Auria also blended well with Roy Brown, who said he knew right away that D'Auria would be a hit after telling him he had broken his arm in three places and getting a response of, "Then don't go in those three places!" D'Auria played Bozo until the show's cancellation in 2001.