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

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Larry Harmon and as his alter ego Bozo the Clown, was an American entertainer.Dennis McLellan
Larry Harmon, 83; entrepreneur made Bozo the Clown a star
''Los Angeles Times'', July 4, 2008.

Biography

Harmon was born in Toledo, Ohio and raised in Cleveland. During World War II, he served as a private in the Army. On returning, he wanted to become a doctor, until he met entertainer Al Jolson. 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, where he majored in theater and performed in the Spirit of Troy 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) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

and marketed the property aggressively. 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 a series of Bozo animated cartoons intended to be shown with the live-action show, performing Bozo's voice himself. Harmon's animation studio also produced eighteen Popeye The Sailor cartoons in 1960 as part of a larger TV syndication package. In 1961, Harmon bought the merchandising rights to the likenesses of

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

. Five years later, he promoted a Laurel and Hardy TV cartoon short series called A Laurel and Hardy Cartoon, animated by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Harmon performed

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

’s voice in that series along 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, Sout ...

. In 1999, Harmon coproduced and codirected a 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 ABC sitcom '' Perfect Strangers'' (1986–93). He also performed in films, such as ''Risky Business'' (1983), ''Beverly Hill ...

as Laurel and Gailard Sartain as Hardy. Intended as the first of a series, it was released direct-to-video and no sequels were made. In 1984 Harmon stood as a write-in candidate in the presidential election with the aim of encouraging people to vote. Only Arizona reported the number of votes 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 N ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, 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 district. I ...

. He 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 alleged ex-wives disputed the memoir's veracity. Harmon died of congestive heart failure in his home in Los Angeles, California, on July 3, 2008. He is buried in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery 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