Robert Lewis Bell (January 18, 1922 – December 8, 1997), better known as Bob Bell, was famous for his alter-ego, Bozo the Clown. He was the original portrayer of the character for Chicago superstation WGN-TV.
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Early life
Bell was born in Flint, Michigan to a General Motors factory worker. He spent his life after high school doing odd jobs until he enlisted first in the United States Marine Corps and later the United States Navy during World War II, though he did not see any combat action due to poor vision in one eye.
He broke into broadcasting in Flint as an announcer at local station WMRP (now WWCK), then left for South Bend, Indiana station WHOT (now WDND). He met his future wife Carolyn while working there. He moved into television with Indianapolis station WFBM-TV (now WRTV) in 1950.
Cincinnati and Chicago
Bell moved on to Cincinnati, Ohio and WLW Radio and WLWT-TV in 1953. He joined the cast of the Wally Phillips Show and proved to have a gift for comedy, playing numerous characters. After WLW and WLWT's executive vice president took a position with Chicago broadcast giants WGN Radio and WGN-TV in 1956, Bell, Phillips and the show's writer/director/producer Don Sandburg came along, producing their own variety series, which included "The Wally Phillips Show" and "Midnight Ticker."
"Bozo's Circus is on the air!"
In 1960, station management asked the character actor and staff announcer to portray Bozo on a live, 30-minute show weekdays at noon, consisting of one-man sketches and cartoons, which debuted on June 20, 1960. The show went on hiatus in January,1961 to move from studios at Tribune Tower to new studios at 2501 West Bradley Place, near the Lane Tech High School campus. Thus, "Bozo" evolved into "Bozo's Circus" on September 11, 1961 as a live, hour-long telecast. At the same time Bell was hosting WGN's after school Three Stooges show where he played an old man named Andy Starr who ran a neighborhood theatre called the Odeon where he showed the Stooges shorts.
In 1970, Bell received his first Emmy for WGN-TV's Bozo's Circus. He retired from WGN-TV and "The Bozo Show" in 1984, and was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame in 1996.
Bell spent his last years in Lake San Marcos, California, where he was active in the Kiwanis club. Upon his death, he was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea.[citation needed]
Trivia
- Actor Dan Castellaneta, a Chicago native, has credited Bob Bell's Bozo with his slightly raspy voice as the inspiration for his raspy-voiced Krusty the Clown on The Simpsons television series.
- Bell is the only member of the International Clown Hall of Fame inducted not wearing his clown makeup. Larry Harmon owned the rights to the Bozo character and refused to allow Bell to wear the makeup for the ceremony.
- Bell's grandson Trevor Bell is a member of the Major League Baseball team Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
External links
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