Clarabell the Clown
Encyclopedia
Howdy Doody
Howdy Doody is an American children's television program that was created and produced by E. Roger Muir and telecast on NBC in the United States from 1947 until 1960. It was a pioneer in children's television programming and set the pattern for many similar shows...
.
Three actors played Clarabell. The first was Bob Keeshan
Bob Keeshan
Robert James "Bob" Keeshan was an American television producer and actor. He is most notable as the title character of the children's television program Captain Kangaroo, which became an icon for millions of people during its 30-year run from 1955 to 1984.Keeshan also played the original...
, who later became Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
. Keeshan was succeeded by Robert "Nick" Nicholson, who also played the character of J. Cornelius Cobb on The Howdy Doody Show. Lew Anderson
Lew Anderson
Lewis Burr Anderson was an American actor and musician, most famous for being the third and final actor to portray Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody between 1954 and 1960...
was the third and last person to play Clarabell. Anderson played the character from 1954 until the series' final show on September 24, 1960. Anderson returned to play Clarabell in the short-lived 1976-77 New Howdy Doody Show and in the 1987 40th anniversary special, and in later years in many personal appearances with Buffalo Bob Smith.
Clarabell, who wore a baggy, striped costume, communicated by honking a horn for "yes" or "no". Clarabell would also spray fellow cast member Buffalo Bob Smith
Buffalo Bob Smith
Buffalo Bob Smith was the host of the children's show Howdy Doody.-Biography:...
with seltzer
Seltzer
Seltzer may refer to:* Seltzer water , carbonated water** Seltzer bottle* Seltzer, Pennsylvania, census-designated place in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United StatesPeople...
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Many attempts were made to find out the real face behind Clarabell. In season 2, #33 of Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, Ritchie Cunningham is able to get a candid shot of Clarabell (Robert Brunner) without his makeup, but chooses to destroy it.
Buffalo Bob Smith and the Kids of the Peanut Gallery
Peanut gallery
A peanut gallery is an audience that heckles the performer. The term originated in the days of vaudeville as a nickname for the cheapest seats in the theater; the least expensive snack served at the theater would often be peanuts, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage...
sang a song about Clarabell, sung to the tune of "Mademoiselle from Armentières
Mademoiselle from Armentières
"Mademoiselle from Armentières" was a song that was sung during World War I. It is also known by its ersatz French line, Hinky Dinky Parley Voo . It was considered a sexy song, and when sung on the radio and TV, as in The Waltons, typically only the first verse was sung...
".
Who's the funniest clown we know?
Clarabell!
Who's the clown on Howdy's show?
Clarabell!
His feet are big, his tummy's stout,
But we could never do without,
Clara, Clara, Clarabell!
Who has fuzzy-wuzzy hair?
Clarabell!
It's partly red but mostly bare.
Clarabell!
And since the day that he was born,
He's honked and honked and honked his horn.
Clara, Clara, Clarabell!
Clarabell didn't speak until the very end of the final episode. It was only at this moment that Clarabell, still gesturing and using his horn, tells Buffalo Bob that he could actually talk. Amazed, Bob frantically tells Clarabell to prove it as it would be his last chance. The camera slowly moves in close on Clarabell as a drum roll grows louder and then dies out. At this point Clarabell tearfully whispers: "Goodbye, kids."
Clarabell's make-up was the influence for drag actor Divine's makeup.
He may have influenced the design of Sideshow Mel and Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
in The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, two clown sidekicks who only communicate in music.