Entertainment News
BC-Obit-Harmon
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:39:29 PDT
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^URGENT<
^Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dead at 83<
^Eds: APNewsNow. Will be led. Moving on general news and
entertainment services.<
^By JOHN ROGERS=
^Associated Press Writer=
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Larry Harmon, who appeared as Bozo the Clown
for decades and licensed the name to other Bozos around the world,
had died at age 83.
Harmon died Thursday at his home of congestive heart failure,
his longtime publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press.
Although not the first person to play Bozo, Harmon took on the
famous clown's persona and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the
character to others, particularly TV stations. Those stations then
recruited their own Bozos for local shows.
Harmon met his alter ego after answering a casting call to make
personal appearances as a clown to promote records. He got the job
and eventually bought the rights to Bozo.
Along the way, he embellished Bozo's distinctive look: the
orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, the outlandish red, white and
blue costume.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-07-03-08 1740EDT<
