Bozo the clown

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Postcard photo of the main characters in Chicago's Bozo's Circus . Ringmaster Ned (Ned Locke), Mr. Bob (Bandleader Bob Trendler), Bozo (Bob Bell), Oliver O. Oliver (Ray Rayner), Sandy (Don Sandburg)

Bozo the clown is a popular American clown character . The origin of the word Bozo is dated between 1915 and 1920 (Random House Dictionary of the English Language). Today's fictional character was created around 1946 as a children's book character. The character was invented by Alan Livingston , former President of Capitol Records . Important contributions came from Pinto Colvig - first actor and the voice of Disney's Goofy . To make the clown known, numerous actors were hired, including Willard Scott and Larry Harmon . Harmon bought the copyright (with partners) in 1956 when Capitol Records pulled out of the children's business and became the quintessential clown in America.

Bozo, the clown is used in many shows in North America. He is also regarded as the archetype of Ronald McDonald and the Simpsons -Figur Krusty the Clown .

Bozo as an adjective or verb

In the film " The Marx Brothers at Sea " ( Monkey Business , 1931) there is the following dialogue:

Alky Briggs: Say, I can help you Bozos!
Groucho : Mr. Bozos to you!
Alky Briggs: Alright, Mr. Bozo.

Even later, the word can be found in the vocabulary of well-known comedians like Jerry Seinfeld : Bozo the Clown is superfluous - Are we going to confuse him with Bozo the District Attorney? Bozo the Pope? (German: "Bozo the clown is a tautology, or would someone confuse him with Bozo the public prosecutor? Bozo the pope?")

In early versions of Apple's Mac OS, a file attribute (officially known as the "no copy flag") was implemented, which prevented this file from being copied , at least in the file manager . In popular parlance, this “copy protection” was quickly given the nickname Bozo Bit , which in a figurative sense is still used today for ideas or suggestions that are not to be taken seriously.

literature

  • Lee Dorman: Nashville Broadcasting . Arcadia Publishing, Charleston 2009, ISBN 0738568295 , p. 127.
  • Ray B. Browne, Pat Browne: The Guide to United States Popular Culture . Popular Press, Bowling Green 2001, ISBN 0879728213 , p. 183.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Battling Bozos , on abcnews.go.com
  2. ↑ Bozo the clown , on toonopedia.com

Web links

Commons : Bozo the Clown  - collection of images, videos and audio files