Bozo the Clown, dies at 83

Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dead at 83

My condolences to Mr Harmon's family and friends, I'm sure it was a great loss.
Someone who was able to maintain this type of persona for all these years has certainly perfected an art.

I always found the name "Bozo" amusing, but I know I'm not the only one that finds the actual clowns themselves a bit terrifying. My kids are not amused by them. So what is it about their big fake painted smile, blood shot eyes and pancake makeup that would make anyone laugh?

Here are some quotes from the article that was written by JOHN ROGERS of the Associate Press, in it he quotes Harmon saying:

"Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon told The Associated Press in a 1996 interview.

"I'm looking for that sparkle in the eyes, that emotion, feeling, directness, warmth. That is so important," he said of his criteria for becoming a Bozo."

"Bozo is a star, an entertainer, bigger than life," Harmon once said. "People see him as Mr. Bozo, somebody you can relate to, touch and laugh with."

I never really understood the attraction to clowns. I happen to considered it a bit tragic to have a permanent smile painted on a fully feeling adult. Children are very perceptive and it seems to imply that this "being" has only one singular feeling, doesn't that seem odd, a deception? I can't help thinking it all seems a bit deranged.