Jim Allen portrayed the clown

Clown

Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...

 character Rusty Nails and was the host of various children's television shows in the Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, U.S. television market from 1957–1972. His program on KPTV

KPTV

KPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and...

 was the second-longest running children's program in Portland, second only to Ramblin' Rod Anders

Ramblin' Rod Anders

Ramblin' Rod Anders , born Rodney Carl Andersen, was the host of The Ramblin' Rod Show, a morning children's program, from 1964 until his retirement on August 8, 1997. The Portland, Oregon KPTV host was well known locally for his iconic, button-covered sweater, which he wore on air...

.

He hosted shows on KOIN

KOIN

KOIN is the CBS affiliate television station serving the Portland metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located in Portland, Oregon, United States; it broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 40...

, KPTV

KPTV

KPTV is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Portland, Oregon market, which includes most of the state of Oregon and portions of Southwest Washington. KPTV is owned by the Meredith Corporation in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KPDX , with its studios located in Beaverton and...

, and KATU

KATU

KATU, virtual channel 2, also known as K2, is an ABC-affiliated television station broadcasting on digital channel 43 in Portland, Oregon, USA. It has been owned by Fisher Communications of Seattle, Washington, which has been the owner of the Seattle's ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, ever since it began...

 as Rusty Nails (originally known as Rusty the Clown), and , still makes local appearances.

Matt Groening

Matt Groening

Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....

, who grew up in Portland watching the shows, loosely based the Krusty the Clown character from 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...

on the real-life clown, though Groening says that Krusty's mean-spirited nature is nothing like Rusty Nails.

External links

• Official website: archive of last functional update from April 2005
• Rusty's Hour: September 1958 to December 1959
• Rusty Nails and the Three Stooges: January 1960 to March 1962
• The Rusty Nails Cartoon Show: January 1967 to September 1972
• Kids' Comedy Theater: September 1972 to March 1973