Larry Harmon
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (February 2022) |
Larry Harmon | |
---|---|
Born | Lawrence Weiss January 2, 1925 Los Angeles, California |
Known for | Bozo the Clown |
Children | 4, including Jeff B. Harmon |
Lawrence Weiss (January 2, 1925 – July 3, 2008), better known by the stage name Larry Harmon and as his alter ego Bozo the Clown, was an American entertainer.[1] Weiss had four children, including filmmaker Jeff Harmon.
Biography
Harmon was born to Jewish parents in
Harmon began making the first of thousands of appearances as Bozo the Clown after attending a casting call in the late 1940s.[3] In 1957, Harmon purchased the licensing rights to the Bozo character from Capitol Records, who had promoted the character on its children’s albums as “Bozo the Capitol Clown”, and marketed the property aggressively. By the late 1950s, Harmon had licensed local Bozo TV shows in nearly every major U.S. market, as well as in other countries.[4] He also produced a series of Bozo animated cartoons intended to be shown with the live-action show, performing Bozo's voice himself.
Harmon's animation studio also produced eighteen
In 1961, Harmon bought the merchandising rights to the likenesses of
In 1984 Harmon stood as a write-in candidate in the presidential election with the aim of encouraging people to vote.[6][7] Only Arizona reported the number of votes he received, 21.[8] The total number of U.S. write-in votes was 19,315 or 0.02 percent of the vote.
On New Year's Day 1996, Harmon dressed as Bozo for the first time in 10 years, appearing in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.[9]
He wrote an autobiography titled The Man Behind the Nose: Assassins, Astronauts, Cannibals, and Other Stupendous Tales, published in 2010 by Igniter Books. One of Harmon's alleged ex-wives disputed the memoir's veracity.[10]
Harmon died of
He was married four times, and had four children: filmmaker Jeff Harmon, and three daughters.
See also
References
- ^ a b Dennis McLellan, Larry Harmon, 83; entrepreneur made Bozo the Clown a star, Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2008.
- ^ "The Man Behind the Nose Book Description at www.harpercollins.com". Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
- ^ Manning, Sue (March 3, 1996). "Big time Bozo". The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin). Associated Press. p. E1. Retrieved July 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bozo the Clown: The Unusual History of Bozo the Clown". Archived from the original on 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
- ^ "Letters From Stan-May 1961". Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ^ Forgotten Newsmakers website
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago of artworks by Kathryn Andrewsinspired by the event.
- ^ Official resultes
- ^ Rogers, John (July 4, 2008). "Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dead at 83". SFGate.com. San Francisco: Hearst Communications. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ^ McKay, Hollie (August 24, 2010). "Did Bozo the Clown Tell Lies and Sleep Around?". Fox News. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ "Larry Harmon, Who Popularized Bozo, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-05.