Lawrence Weiss (January 2, 1925 – July 3, 2008), better known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Larry Harmon and as his alter ego

Bozo the Clown Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to tel ...

, was an American entertainer.Dennis McLellan
Larry Harmon, 83; entrepreneur made Bozo the Clown a star
''Los Angeles Times'', July 4, 2008. Weiss had four children, including filmmaker Jeff Harmon.

Biography

Harmon was born to

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served as a Private in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. On returning, he wanted to become a medical doctor, until he met entertainer

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

. According to Harmon's autobiography ''The Man Behind the Nose'', Jolson told him, "Being a doctor of medicine is honorable, but you'll touch so many more lives as a doctor of laughter!" Harmon instead attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where he majored in theater and performed in the

Spirit of Troy The USC Trojan Marching Band, nicknamed The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe (TGMBITHOTU), represents the University of Southern California (USC) at various collegiate sports, broadcast, popular music recording, and nat ...

marching band. Harmon began making the first of thousands of appearances as Bozo the Clown after attending a casting call in the late 1940s. In 1957, Harmon purchased the licensing rights to the Bozo character from

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, which had promoted the character on its children's albums as "Bozo the Capitol Clown", and he aggressively marketed the property. By the late 1950s, Harmon had licensed local Bozo TV shows in nearly every major U.S. market, as well as in other countries. He also produced and provided the voice for a series of Bozo animated cartoons intended to be shown with the live-action show. Harmon's animation studio also produced eighteen ''

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

. Five years later, he promoted a Laurel and Hardy TV cartoon-short series called '' A Laurel and Hardy Cartoon'', animated by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

. Harmon performed

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...

's voice in that series, with Jim MacGeorge as

Hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, ...

. In 1984, Harmon stood as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

, with the aim of encouraging people to vote. Only Arizona reported the number of votes that he received: 21. (The total number of U.S. write-in votes was 19,315 or 0.02 percent of the vote.) On New Year's Day 1996, Harmon dressed as Bozo for the first time in 10 years, appearing in the

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if New ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

, California. In 1999, Harmon co-produced and co-directed the live-action feature '' The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in For Love or Mummy'', starring

Bronson Pinchot Bronson Alcott Pinchot (; born May 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Balki Bartokomous on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Perfect Strangers (TV series), Perfect Strangers'' (1986–1993). He also perform ...

as Laurel and

Gailard Sartain Gailard Sartain (born September 18, 1946) is a retired American actor who frequently played characters with roots in the South. He was a regular on the country music variety series ''Hee Haw''. He is also known for his roles in three of the Ern ...

as Hardy. Intended to be the first of a series, it was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

, and no sequels were made. Harmon wrote an autobiography titled ''The Man Behind the Nose: Assassins, Astronauts, Cannibals, and Other Stupendous Tales'', published in 2010 by Igniter Books. One of Harmon's ex-wives disputed the memoir's veracity. Harmon died of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

in his home in Los Angeles, California, on July 3, 2008. He is interred in

Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery is the largest Jewish mortuary and Jewish cemetery organization, located in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of the central region of Los Angeles, California. Many notable Jewish people from the American ente ...

in Los Angeles. He was married four times and had four children: filmmaker Jeff Harmon and three daughters.

References

External links

Bozo.comThe Man Behind The Nose: Assassins, Astronauts, Cannibals, and Other Stupendous TalesABC News Investigates Bozo's Origin (2001)ABC News: Bozo Finally Unmasked (2004)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Larry 1925 births 2008 deaths Television producers from Ohio American male voice actors American clowns USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni Male actors from Toledo, Ohio Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers Bozo the Clown

Biography

See also

References

External links