You know who the guy in that picture is? That's Vance "Pinto" Colvig, a clown and cartoonist who became famous — or, at least, his sound did — when he supplied the original voice of both Bozo the Clown and Walt Disney's Goofy. Matter of fact, he not only spoke for Bozo when the clown debuted on Capitol Records, but also donned the make-up and played Bozo for personal appearances and on some early TV shows. Later on, dozens of different folks — including the Today Show's own Willard Scott — played Bozo but Colvig was the first.
(In Los Angeles, our local Bozo, on KTLA from 1959 to 1964, was Vance Colvig, Jr. — Pinto's son and a pretty decent cartoon voice actor in his own right. He was Chopper the Bulldog on Hanna-Barbera's Yakky Doodle cartoons.)
Anyway, if you're interested in Bozo lore, the Chicago TV station that hosted his antics for four decades, ending only months ago, has set up a fact-filled on-line shrine. It includes some nice biographical material on Pinto and on Alan Livingstone (the Capitol writer-producer who concocted the character), among others involved with that there clown. Here's the link…and keep laughing!
Oh, by the way: If you'd like to see an example of Pinto Colvig's work as a cartoonist, there's one to be seen at this link. And here he is in his other identity…
