From 1959 to 1963, actor Willard Scott played a clown in Bozos Circus, a local TV show sponsored by Oscar Goldstein, who owned several McDonalds 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 Bozos red outfit with yellow clothes that tied in with the golden arches logo, and a star was born.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
From 1959 to 1963, actor Willard Scott played a clown in Bozos Circus, a local TV show sponsored by Oscar Goldstein, who owned several McDonalds 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 Bozos red outfit with yellow clothes that tied in with the golden arches logo, and a star was born.