Norbert Locke, better known as Ned Locke (December 25, 1919 – February 4, 1992), was an American television personality and radio announcer, best known for the role of "Ringmaster Ned" on WGN-TV's '' Bozo's Circus'' from 1961 - 1976. Locke, who was from

Red Wing, Minnesota Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County. This city is named for early 19th-century Dakota Sioux c ...

, got into radio quite young, appearing on a program in Minneapolis-St.Paul when he was only nine years old. Locke performed in various theater companies after his high school graduation and became a radio announcer for

WHO (AM) WHO (1040 kHz "Newsradio 1040") is a commercial AM radio station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and carries a news/talk radio format. The radio studios are on Grand Avenue in Des Moines. WHO broadcast ...

in Des Moines, Iowa. Ned Locke Captain Hartz and his pets 1955

By 1950, he was appearing on WMAQ (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

) radio in

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, on a program called ''Uncle Ned's Squadron''. It was his appearance here that led him to substituting for longtime Chicago children's host

Johnny Coons Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

on his ''Noontime Comics'' series on WNBQ (now WMAQ-TV) in 1951. An avid pilot who both operated two Des Moines area airports and trained pilots, Locke initially commuted to Chicago for his weekly radio program. Locke also served as the director of aeronautics for the state of Iowa for seven years. His substitute television appearance led to other children's shows: ''Sunday Funnies'', where Locke read the newspaper comics on television and ''Captain Hartz and His Pets'', sponsored by Hartz Mountain. He worked there and at local

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

affiliate WENR (now WLS-TV) appearing in teledramas, musicals, commercials and even writing a teleplay called ''Jet Pilot''. He wrote over 2,500 radio and television shows during the course of his career. He moved over to WGN-TV in 1956, where he was a weather forecaster; co-starred on the children's series ''Lunchtime Little Theater''; and later wrote, produced and starred in the children's program ''Paddleboat''; Roy Brown served as the show's puppeteer. He got the role of Ringmaster Ned, for which he is best remembered, on September 11, 1961 when ''Bozo's Circus'' made its debut. Locke received his ringmaster costume for the show on the last episode of ''Paddleboat''. Locke stayed on until he retired from television in 1976. He temporarily came out of retirement and made appearances as Ringmaster Ned for the 25th and 30th anniversaries of the show. A survivor of three

heart attacks A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, after going into retirement he moved to

Kimberling City, Missouri Kimberling City is a city in Stone County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,344 at the 2020 census. History Kimberling City was founded on the shores of Table Rock Lake, a reservoir impounded in the late 1950s. Incorporated in 1973, ...

, where he was chief of police, owned a real estate firm, and was later mayor until his death from liver cancer in 1992. He was survived by his late wife, Rose, sons Norbert, Jr. and Robert and his grandchildren. One of Locke's ringmaster costumes is part of the

Museum of Broadcast Communications The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum, the stated mission of which is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain through our archi ...

' ''Bozo's Circus'' collection.

References

External links

Watch

Various shorts clips and original commercial breaks from airings of Bozo's Circus/The Bozo Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Ned 1919 births 1992 deaths American television personalities People from Red Wing, Minnesota People from Kimberling City, Missouri Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in Missouri American police chiefs