Did you know that Willard Scott started his TV career as Bozo the Clown?

According to his autobiography,The Joy of Living,Willard stated that Bozo was to be his proving grounds in television.



When the Washington D.C.McDonald's bought some airtime on the Bozo show,Willard did some commercials for them as Bozo.



A year after Bozo was canceled,Willard was asked to create a new character for the McDonald's ads and thus Ronald McDonald was born!



Did you know that Willard also starred in two more kid shows for WRC-Uncle Willard(where he hosted syndicated reruns of the Mickey Mouse Club) and Commander Retro(a space themed hero)?Did you know that Willard Scott started his TV career as Bozo the Clown?
interesting info----what is the question? did I know--no I did not.....but now I do.Did you know that Willard Scott started his TV career as Bozo the Clown?
He was the first Ronald McDonald.Did you know that Willard Scott started his TV career as Bozo the Clown?
Born in Alexandria, Virginia, Scott attended American University in Washington, D.C. and was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. While there, he met Ed Walker. The two hosted a program on the university radio station WAMU-AM for two years, before moving in 1953 to WRC-AM, the NBC owned-and-operated television station in Washington.



From 1955 to 1972, Scott teamed with Ed Walker as co-host of the nightly Joy Boys radio program on WRC-AM. Scott would sketch a list of characters and a few lead lines setting up the situation, which Walker would commit to memory or make notes on his Braille typewriter, due to his blindness since birth. In a 1999 article recalling the Joy Boys at the height of their popularity in the mid-1960s, the Washington Post said they "dominated Washington, providing entertainment, companionship, and community to a city on the verge of powerful change". The Joy Boys show remained on WRC until 1972 when they moved to cross-town station WWDC for another two years. Of their close professional and personal bond which has continued to the present, Scott wrote in his book, The Joy of Living, that they are "closer than most brothers".



Scott spent the 1960s balancing his radio career with jobs as the host of children's television programs. He appeared on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., playing characters such as Commander Retro and Bozo the Clown (1959鈥?962). Another role he played during this time was that of Ronald McDonald, whom he created and was hired to portray for a McDonald's franchise in Washington, D.C., Scott played Ronald in the first three television ads featuring the character. In Morgan Spurlock's documentary film Super Size Me, Eric Schlosser claims that McDonald's fired Scott on account of his weight, supposedly concerned about McDonald's image. Others dispute this, saying that he was not unduly overweight at the time.





Willard Scott as Ronald McDonald, from one of the first 3 pre-recorded television advertisements to feature Ronald. Note the "food-tray hat".In 1970, Scott moved from radio to television, appearing on WRC-TV as a weekday weatherman. He remained there until 1980, when he was tapped by NBC to become its weatherman for The Today Show, replacing Bob Ryan, who replaced him at WRC-TV and is there to this day. After being inspired by a viewer request, Scott began his practice of wishing centenarians a happy birthday on-air in 1983.



During the '80s, Scott routinely did weather reports on the road, interviewing locals at community festivals and landmarks. He also periodically did the program from Washington, which he still considered his home. During this time, NBC executives told the bald Scott to wear a hairpiece. He complied when in New York, but refused when outside of the studio, resulting in a strange dichotomy on the air.



In 1989, Today show co-host Bryant Gumbel wrote an internal memo critical of the show's personalities. The memo was leaked to the media. Gumbel said Scott "holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste ... This guy is killing us and no one's even trying to rein him in." This garnered enough of a backlash that Gumbel was shown making up with Scott on the show.



Scott had a small role as Mr. Peter Poole on the late-1980s NBC sitcom The Hogan Family, where his character was married to Mrs. Poole, played by Edie McClurg.



Scott hosted the NBC telecast of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1987 until 1997 when he was replaced by Matt Lauer.



Scott is currently the commercial voice of Smucker's jellies, taking over the job from Mason Adams. Smucker's is also the longtime sponsor of his Today birthday tributes.



Scott has published several fiction and non-fiction books based on his experiences.



Although he has retired as the show's full-time weatherman, Scott continues to appear on The Today Show to wish centenarians a happy birthday and to substitute for regular weatherman Al Roker.



American University has recently released some of the old Joy Boys radio broadcasts of the 1960s on CDs.Did you know that Willard Scott started his TV career as Bozo the Clown?
Goes to show you that it takes quite a "character" to do the weather...LOL



I guess he quit "clowning around" , and got a more serious job...LOL



All "kidding" aside, an interesting journey indeed!
Scott spent the 1960s balancing his radio career with jobs as the host of children's television programs. He appeared on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., playing characters such as Commander Retro and Bozo the Clown (1959鈥?962). Another role he played during this time was that of Ronald McDonald, whom he created and was hired to portray for a McDonald's franchise in Washington, D.C., Scott played Ronald in the first three television ads featuring the character.