This was my favorite Bozo (Bob Bell) Cookie (Roy Brown) Wizzo(Marshal Brodine) Frazer Thomas(in video) Ringmaster Ned Locke 1rst 12noon when sick from school,or no school because of snowed out or summer breaks in the 1970's-80's Bozo Circus,The Grand Prize Game,Fair & square contests where cookie always lose him wanting to lead the Grand march. Ah,kid Memories!
@Rocky.., that's right.., they didn't save much, but mostly, most of the footage which was on film, was lost to floods. I had visited the Chgo broadcast Museum to see if I could find when my family went, and was disappointed to learn of this.
They lost most of the footage they had, and never really properly saved the rest. It's a shame.
As I understand it WGN didn't save a lot of Bozo, Garfield, et al. on videotape because it was very expensive at the time---So, even if the rights owners were interested in selling dvds, there likely isn't enough footage or full episodes to fill them...Nobody, except for a very few who got recordings of one sort or another, knew then how special these shows would become all these years later....
This footage is an absolute treasure! I am quite surprised at how SMALL the studio is. It always seemed so big on TV!!! In reality, everything was quite packed in there!
I remember there use to be a 7 year wait for tickets. My mom started sending for them when she found out she was pregnant with me, then get letters back, "If the show is still on you will receive..." I swear she sent for them monthly because she took us and half the neighborhood so much that both Bob Bell & Roy Brown knew who we were.
Wow I got to goto The bozo show . I was in the four grade then when I went . I still remember thats time I had it was one of the best times in my life . Even My wife never went to the bozo show . Im sure she would of liked to went to that show then . Back then it was impossible for people to get tickets , But the chicago public schools had a way to get them . Thats how I went there from my school .
@TheTzdope At one time there are many different Bozo shows in production. You may have seen the one shot in New York or Boston. The Chicago Bozo show on WGN was the longest lasting show going 40 years.
There are some older Chicago Bozo shows in the Museum of Broadcasting in Chicago, IL. When I asked if I could have copies of the shows they said I would have to contact WGN about getting their permission. You might like to visit there sometime and see some of the older shows.
Wow, what memories! I used to think that the studio must have been huge, to accommodate that "cast of THOUSands" that they had! I was very surprised when I finally got to be part of the audience (I was 12; it was a fluke invitation from a friend whose cousin was sick and couldn't go) to see how small it actually was. Bozo said something to us as we were leaving the studio about "here come the models" That made our day!
WGN's Bob Bell Bozo was THE Bozo. I remember going south to see the grandparents and saw the Louisiana Bozo. It was not the same and I didn't understand it. I said instantly, "Thats not Bozo". But, Bozo was on at Noon then. We rushed home and rush back to school as Chicago schools were open campus then. Too bad WGN doesn't show the classic Bozo. The entire shows. "Who's your favorite clown?" "BOZO". Bob Bell - " Hey Thats Me". Bucket no 6 always had a Schwinn Bike and silver dollar.
@mansonrkmc Bozo's Circus is on the air! You're spot on! The '60 to '84 WGN Bozo was the man. The one that later replaced him was no comparison, although he done a good job. They were all excellent then: Ollie ole Oliver, Sandy the Tramp, Cooky the Clown, and Ringmaster Ned Locke. Great circus acts, great comedy, and games for the kids.
@mansonrkmc Pisses the hell out of me that WGN is the way it is about Bozo, Garfield, etc. You'd think that they'd at least wanna make some money by selling the DVD's, right?
Boy, you triggered a memory with this one - today, July 4, is the 44th anniversary of the day my folks and I were in the audience. We were even seated in the same area this was shot. During the breaks Ringmaster Ned would walk back and forth in front of the audience, smiling and waving with his index finger only; the circus act was the tumbler who used a ladder like stilts (his costume would unfurl over the ladder); and as we left Oliver O. Oliver told me not to play with fireworks!
If there such a thing as a time machine. I'd like to go back in time and record what's it like on the set of Bozo's Circus circa 1963 when the show has Bozo, Oliver O. Oliver, Sandy the Clown. & Ringmaster Ned among others. Now that'll be something nostalgic to look at.
@yogafan6500 Funny you should mention '63 - the show was shot live, and on November 22, 1963 I was watching in the living room and my mother was in the kitchen. She heard me yelling and she came in to see a WGN news bulletin about Kennedy being shot. This would have been about 12:40 PM. After the bulletin they went back to the show; how they finished it is beyond me. Wish I could ask Sandy (the last living cast member from then) about what happened on the set that day.
I was on Lunchtime Little Theater which predated Bozo Circus on Channel 9 in 1956. And also I was on Romper Room for a week which came on right before Bozo Circus.
Lets see....My mother ordered the tickets for me & my little cousin in 1963. I was 5 & he was 2. She finally received the tickets in 1968. 5 years after she ordered them. By then I was 10 & sort of put up an atitude about going..But I went & my cousin enjoyed it. Man that studio was small..Compared how it looked on television? At least it was a day off from school. (But I thought it was cool to shake Oliver's hand.) shhh don't tell anyone...lol :P
@Godzie1 That seems like a long time for the era; we ordered ours in mid '65 and we were on July 4th, 1966 - about a year wait (which is like a century when you're five years old!).
Why does WGN have to be so anal about posting old Bozo show episodes? It's not like they're gonna put out a DVD set or play them in syndication. Dammit I want to relive some of my childhood in Chicago.
I loved the intro "and a cast of 1000s they would say,Anyone remember Oliver O Oliver on bozo show played by ray rayner. also I remember "cookie the clown" was his name ,seen it live twice, in 1971 and1974
That's the Bozo and Cookie I grew up with! By the time they changed them, I was pretty much grown up!!" Who's your favorite clown", Bozo, Hey that's me" hahahaha!!!!
That's the Bozo and Cookie I grew up with! By the time they changed them I was already, pretty much grown up!!! Who's your favorite clown," Bozo", Hey, that's me !
@WHTSOXX74 I got my name picked out of the grand prize game wheel w/ all the postcards as a kid-got a whole bunch of gifts in the mail out of the blue, i think i was 8 at the time. quite a thrill!
I miss this show so much. I wish there was more footage available of the years that Cooky and Wizzo were on the show. Almost all of that is gone now. They would literally record over the tapes from the previous season, so what's left is both rare and special.
Plus video like this comes from a time when studios weren't so protective over copyright. I wonder how many more of these are floating out there.
This is truly a golden era of television that is sorely missed.
Well, it's not really WGN. The Bozo franchise had been owned for years by Larry Harmon, who had kept the Bozo franchise tied up legally for many years until his death. WGN couldn't really show footage from the show, outside of a legal loophole, which allowed them to broadcast a yearly Christmas special as a news special.
And even then, the footage of the Bozo show is extremely limited. There is almost no archive of the show that we remember. What's left is mostly stuff people recorded on VHS.
i read that when Bob Bell was inducted in the clown hall of fame..Harmon would not allow Bell to dress as Bozo for the ceremony because Bell had already retired...i thought that was hateful of Harmon!
@walleyrt69 Especially in this case. A bunch of useless lawyers for a corporation with absolutely no sense of history. They don't want anyone to remember this or any of their shows. It's sickening. It's not just a "product" you losers!
This was my favorite Bozo (Bob Bell) Cookie (Roy Brown) Wizzo(Marshal Brodine) Frazer Thomas(in video) Ringmaster Ned Locke 1rst 12noon when sick from school,or no school because of snowed out or summer breaks in the 1970's-80's Bozo Circus,The Grand Prize Game,Fair & square contests where cookie always lose him wanting to lead the Grand march. Ah,kid Memories!
LRM724 1 month ago
I wish we could see the Cram It Clown, episode! hilarious!
Henrytheape 2 months ago
Thanks!!!!!! I always wondered what the other side of the camera looked like. It seemed like such a big place on TV but so small now :)
kpenn0910 2 months ago
I would have never thought they had camcorders in 1977
Sonichu93 2 months ago
Thanks for sharing this.., great memories!
@Rocky.., that's right.., they didn't save much, but mostly, most of the footage which was on film, was lost to floods. I had visited the Chgo broadcast Museum to see if I could find when my family went, and was disappointed to learn of this.
They lost most of the footage they had, and never really properly saved the rest. It's a shame.
ChicagoIrishman1 3 months ago
As I understand it WGN didn't save a lot of Bozo, Garfield, et al. on videotape because it was very expensive at the time---So, even if the rights owners were interested in selling dvds, there likely isn't enough footage or full episodes to fill them...Nobody, except for a very few who got recordings of one sort or another, knew then how special these shows would become all these years later....
Johns805 5 months ago
WGN doesn't own internet rights to the character Bozo, which was done in many different TV markets by their own local bozos.
phaseshift 5 months ago
This footage is an absolute treasure! I am quite surprised at how SMALL the studio is. It always seemed so big on TV!!! In reality, everything was quite packed in there!
donhinklejr 6 months ago
I think a TV museum own the rights to all the shows and they wont release them. They better soon or we'll all be dead and no one will care anymore.
mansonrkmc 6 months ago
@Raretelevisiondvds ....YES!
Fooblestheclown 10 months ago
I remember there use to be a 7 year wait for tickets. My mom started sending for them when she found out she was pregnant with me, then get letters back, "If the show is still on you will receive..." I swear she sent for them monthly because she took us and half the neighborhood so much that both Bob Bell & Roy Brown knew who we were.
OneDemonicAngel 11 months ago
Wow I got to goto The bozo show . I was in the four grade then when I went . I still remember thats time I had it was one of the best times in my life . Even My wife never went to the bozo show . Im sure she would of liked to went to that show then . Back then it was impossible for people to get tickets , But the chicago public schools had a way to get them . Thats how I went there from my school .
ducklandwikeno 1 year ago
There was a trumpeter and organist named Tom Fitzsimmons who was the musical director at the time (1977).
GateStudios 1 year ago
@megobatman .......please check your YouTube Inbasket.
nalatrebo 1 year ago
WGN can't make shows available online or on dvd because they do not own the Bozo character....
dirwuf 1 year ago
i watched bozo in nyc in the 60's, but i always thought those shows were shot in the boston area!
TheTzdope 1 year ago
@TheTzdope At one time there are many different Bozo shows in production. You may have seen the one shot in New York or Boston. The Chicago Bozo show on WGN was the longest lasting show going 40 years.
RANDOMevilPERSON 9 months ago
W G N SUCKS and Burt Weiman Ford is a HOMO!!!!!!!
VLADTUBE1000 1 year ago
@VLADTUBE1000
Of course they suck, thats why they are the TV home for the Chicago cubs. Any station that is home of the cubs suck lmfao.
BNSF2184 1 year ago
There are some older Chicago Bozo shows in the Museum of Broadcasting in Chicago, IL. When I asked if I could have copies of the shows they said I would have to contact WGN about getting their permission. You might like to visit there sometime and see some of the older shows.
Ronclown 1 year ago
Bozo is owned by Larry Harmon! He owns the rights to the name and likeness and he controls the rights to what is released and not released!!
johnnyw12 1 year ago
@johnnyw12 .....Larry Harmon died in 2008. His estate should wise up & release these fabulous shows on DVD.
nalatrebo 1 year ago
Wow, what memories! I used to think that the studio must have been huge, to accommodate that "cast of THOUSands" that they had! I was very surprised when I finally got to be part of the audience (I was 12; it was a fluke invitation from a friend whose cousin was sick and couldn't go) to see how small it actually was. Bozo said something to us as we were leaving the studio about "here come the models" That made our day!
BlueIslandGirl 1 year ago
That was so cool. I grew up with that original Bozo.
makmelaf 1 year ago
Great footage. I got tons of WGN video from a man in Chicago but WGN won't let me put them on youtube.
TELEVISIONARCHIVES 1 year ago 2
Great video.
FuzzyMemoriesTV 1 year ago
I used to love watching the bozo show on wgn in the late 70's early 80's. I wonder why it's so hard to find clips these days?
marioTmaggot 1 year ago
Dear Daisy,
Mr.Larry Harmon was not a nice person..he was the meanest fink around.
143AC 1 year ago
WGN's Bob Bell Bozo was THE Bozo. I remember going south to see the grandparents and saw the Louisiana Bozo. It was not the same and I didn't understand it. I said instantly, "Thats not Bozo". But, Bozo was on at Noon then. We rushed home and rush back to school as Chicago schools were open campus then. Too bad WGN doesn't show the classic Bozo. The entire shows. "Who's your favorite clown?" "BOZO". Bob Bell - " Hey Thats Me". Bucket no 6 always had a Schwinn Bike and silver dollar.
mansonrkmc 1 year ago 7
@mansonrkmc Bozo's Circus is on the air! You're spot on! The '60 to '84 WGN Bozo was the man. The one that later replaced him was no comparison, although he done a good job. They were all excellent then: Ollie ole Oliver, Sandy the Tramp, Cooky the Clown, and Ringmaster Ned Locke. Great circus acts, great comedy, and games for the kids.
73849309378 1 year ago
@mansonrkmc Pisses the hell out of me that WGN is the way it is about Bozo, Garfield, etc. You'd think that they'd at least wanna make some money by selling the DVD's, right?
ayokay123 6 months ago
My childhood memories of the visiting the show in the 70's have faded. Watching this is like reliving it in a dream. Thanks!
mrsilence 1 year ago
Comment removed
wgn 1 year ago
Boy, you triggered a memory with this one - today, July 4, is the 44th anniversary of the day my folks and I were in the audience. We were even seated in the same area this was shot. During the breaks Ringmaster Ned would walk back and forth in front of the audience, smiling and waving with his index finger only; the circus act was the tumbler who used a ladder like stilts (his costume would unfurl over the ladder); and as we left Oliver O. Oliver told me not to play with fireworks!
57buickcentury 1 year ago
Better watch it or the Tribune Goons will have this yanked.
cskwiatkowski 1 year ago
I grew up with and will always love (Bob Bell)...Bozo Circus! Thanks so much for sharing this video.
daisy10731 1 year ago
Very interesting clip from an earlier time in Chicago TV.
TimelordR 1 year ago
If there such a thing as a time machine. I'd like to go back in time and record what's it like on the set of Bozo's Circus circa 1963 when the show has Bozo, Oliver O. Oliver, Sandy the Clown. & Ringmaster Ned among others. Now that'll be something nostalgic to look at.
yogafan6500 1 year ago 4
@yogafan6500 Funny you should mention '63 - the show was shot live, and on November 22, 1963 I was watching in the living room and my mother was in the kitchen. She heard me yelling and she came in to see a WGN news bulletin about Kennedy being shot. This would have been about 12:40 PM. After the bulletin they went back to the show; how they finished it is beyond me. Wish I could ask Sandy (the last living cast member from then) about what happened on the set that day.
57buickcentury 1 year ago 2
I was on Lunchtime Little Theater which predated Bozo Circus on Channel 9 in 1956. And also I was on Romper Room for a week which came on right before Bozo Circus.
pcerel 1 year ago
Very impressive.
yogafan6500 1 year ago 3
Lets see....My mother ordered the tickets for me & my little cousin in 1963. I was 5 & he was 2. She finally received the tickets in 1968. 5 years after she ordered them. By then I was 10 & sort of put up an atitude about going..But I went & my cousin enjoyed it. Man that studio was small..Compared how it looked on television? At least it was a day off from school. (But I thought it was cool to shake Oliver's hand.) shhh don't tell anyone...lol :P
Godzie1 1 year ago
@Godzie1 That seems like a long time for the era; we ordered ours in mid '65 and we were on July 4th, 1966 - about a year wait (which is like a century when you're five years old!).
57buickcentury 1 year ago
Why does WGN have to be so anal about posting old Bozo show episodes? It's not like they're gonna put out a DVD set or play them in syndication. Dammit I want to relive some of my childhood in Chicago.
rockyrack2 1 year ago 23
@rockyrack2 There are some licensing agreements with the people who license Bozo that make it's distribution anywhere problematic.,
RANDOMevilPERSON 9 months ago
@rockyrack2 Amen to that Rocky! AMEN!!!!
IntoWisOutdoors 3 months ago
awesome footage
yark72 1 year ago 2
LHM should back off since everybody knows that Bob Bell was the best Bozo in Chicago
Joker058 1 year ago 2
@Joker058 ...amen...bob bell WAS and will ALWAYS be Bozo!
daisy10731 1 year ago
It is sad that WGN never taped any of the Bozo shows and now there is verry little left on video for those of us who grew up with it.
Joker058 1 year ago 3
I went to the show that same year, thanks for posting, just as I remember.
Churchnote 2 years ago 2
Too cool!
4thtroika 2 years ago
unklebluto, roy brown played cookie the clown.
bjc19199 2 years ago
Which city had the best Bozo?
duckman531 2 years ago
chicago. just like the one in this video
gavmad77 2 years ago 3
Which city had the best Bozo?
duckman531 2 years ago
@duckman531 Chicago! Bob Bell was the best!
MikeHF 1 year ago
I loved the intro "and a cast of 1000s they would say,Anyone remember Oliver O Oliver on bozo show played by ray rayner. also I remember "cookie the clown" was his name ,seen it live twice, in 1971 and1974
unklebluto 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
That's the Bozo and Cookie I grew up with! By the time they changed them, I was pretty much grown up!!" Who's your favorite clown", Bozo, Hey that's me" hahahaha!!!!
4687878 2 years ago
cooky the clown rules
zymmyiscool 2 years ago
That's the Bozo and Cookie I grew up with! By the time they changed them I was already, pretty much grown up!!! Who's your favorite clown," Bozo", Hey, that's me !
4687878 2 years ago
Bozo waves to us at :49...Bozo was the best
WHTSOXX74 2 years ago 10
COOL!!!..he must have seen the camera THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!!!!! it brings back HAPPY MEMORIES!!!
LUVMEN21 2 years ago
@WHTSOXX74 I got my name picked out of the grand prize game wheel w/ all the postcards as a kid-got a whole bunch of gifts in the mail out of the blue, i think i was 8 at the time. quite a thrill!
KOSMICKEN09 7 months ago
I miss this show so much. I wish there was more footage available of the years that Cooky and Wizzo were on the show. Almost all of that is gone now. They would literally record over the tapes from the previous season, so what's left is both rare and special.
Plus video like this comes from a time when studios weren't so protective over copyright. I wonder how many more of these are floating out there.
This is truly a golden era of television that is sorely missed.
Neilsama 2 years ago 2
I wanted to see some old Bozo episodes but apparently WGN is worried about copy rights.Greed is a bad thing.
walleyrt69 2 years ago
Well, it's not really WGN. The Bozo franchise had been owned for years by Larry Harmon, who had kept the Bozo franchise tied up legally for many years until his death. WGN couldn't really show footage from the show, outside of a legal loophole, which allowed them to broadcast a yearly Christmas special as a news special.
And even then, the footage of the Bozo show is extremely limited. There is almost no archive of the show that we remember. What's left is mostly stuff people recorded on VHS.
Neilsama 2 years ago
Comment removed
FuzzyMemoriesTV 2 years ago
@Neilsama
i read that when Bob Bell was inducted in the clown hall of fame..Harmon would not allow Bell to dress as Bozo for the ceremony because Bell had already retired...i thought that was hateful of Harmon!
daisy10731 1 year ago
@walleyrt69 Especially in this case. A bunch of useless lawyers for a corporation with absolutely no sense of history. They don't want anyone to remember this or any of their shows. It's sickening. It's not just a "product" you losers!
secundillo 2 years ago
oh my gosh....it's Cookie the Clown!!! wasn't that his name??
keralaluv 2 years ago 2