20 Mind-Blowing Facts About McDonald's

By Ian Watson /

19. Ronald McDonald Was Based On A TV Clown

From 1959 to 1963, actor Willard Scott played a clown in Bozo€™s Circus, a local TV show sponsored by Oscar Goldstein, who owned several McDonald€™s restaurants in Washington DC. As part of the deal, Bozo visited the restaurants, attracting so many customers that when the show was cancelled in 1963, Scott was hired for regular appearances. In order to create a new mascot, an advertising agency designed a new clown costume, replacing Bozo€™s red outfit with yellow clothes that tied in with the golden arches logo, and a star was born.