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Shoes worn by Larry Harmon in the role of Bozo the Clown

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Description (Brief)
These brown shoes were part of a costume worn by Larry Harmon as the first Bozo the Clown on the children’s television show of the same name from 1949-1954.
Bozo the Clown was originally created by Alan Livingston in 1946 for a children's storytelling album for Capital Records. In 1956, Larry Harmon, an actor who previously portrayed Bozo during promotional events, bought the rights to the clown's image, and over the next fifty years, licensed and franchised Bozo to television stations all over America and the world. Harmon further developed the character during the 1950s and trained over 200 new actors from 1950s through the 1990s to play the clown. Harmon played Bozo on television from 1958-1962. The character of Bozo the Clown peaked in popularity in the 1960s but was beloved by many children for the entire second half of the twentieth century.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Larry Harmon
1940s - 1950s
ID Number
1984.0788.09
accession number
1984.0788
catalog number
1984.0788.09
Object Name
shoes, pair of
Physical Description
leather (overall material)
nylon (overall material)
fabric (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 5 1/2 in x 18 in x 7 in; 13.97 cm x 45.72 cm x 17.78 cm
See more items in
Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
Popular Entertainment
National Museum of American History
general subject association
Television
Children's television programs
Subject
Clowns
Record ID
nmah_681310
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-3178-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Bozo the Clown costume worn by Larry Harmon
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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