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| Larry Harmon |
The man behind the rubber nose—at least the one who played him for decades, then licensed the name to other clowns around the United States—has died. He was 83.
Larry Harmon died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure, his longtime publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press.
Harmon was not the man to originate Bozo, but he took the name and ran with it, licensing use of the name to others… particularly TV stations. Those stations then used the name to recruit their own clowns.
Harmon and “Bozo” first became acquainted when he answered an ad in the paper for a clown to promote records. He got the job and ultimately bought the rights to the name with his earnings.
The big hair, balloon nose and red, white and blue costume all originated with Harmon.
