Larry Harmon

Larry Harmon was born on January 2, 1925 in Toledo, Ohio, USA as Lawrence Weiss.

Best known as the longtime owner of the name and likeness of "Bozo the Clown". Although Harmon credited himself as the character's creator and original portrayer, Capitol Records producer Alan Livingston created Bozo in 1946 for a popular series of children's storytelling record-album and illustrative read-along book sets, the first of their kind; and Pinto Colvig portrayed the character on the recordings, radio and first television series Bozo's Circus (1949) on KTTV-Channel 11 (CBS) Los Angeles, California in 1949. Harmon, one of several actors hired by Livingston and Capitol Records to portray Bozo at promotional appearances, formed a business partnership and bought the licensing rights (excluding the record-readers) to the character when Livingston briefly left Capitol in 1956. In 1959, Jayark Films Corporation distributed a series of Harmon-produced limited-animation cartoons (with Harmon as the voice of Bozo) to television stations, along with the rights for each to hire its own live Bozo host. In 1965, Harmon became the sole owner of the licensing rights after buying out his business partners. In 1971, Larry Harmon Pictures Corporation took over Capitol Records' "Bozo the Clown" copyright. In 2001, the last Bozo television series ended a 40-year-run on Superstation WGN-Channel 9 Chicago, Illinois.

He also created an aborted television pilot in the 1950s called "General Universe", in which he was going to use the life size, stationary model of the robot "Gort", from the movie Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951). He then went on to create the studio bound, 50s television show called "Commander Comet", which flourished for 2 and a half seasons. He used the "Gort" prop for this show as well. He made some additions to the "Gort" suit & called it "Rotar", who was the ever faithful companion to "Commander Comet".

He was a producer and actor, known for Bozo: The World's Most Famous Clown (1958), Commander Comet (1953) and A Laurel and Hardy Cartoon (1966). He was married to Susan Harmon.

He obtained the rights to the Laurel and Hardy team name and likeness in 1960 and issued Laurel and Hardy toys etc. He also produced animated cartoons of The Boys and provided the voice of Stan.

Caught up in a minor controversy when the International Clown Hall of Fame took down his 1990 Lifetime of Laughter Achievement Award plaque honoring him as the creator and original Bozo, and formally endorsed Alan Livingston in 1998 as creator and inducted Pinto Colvig in 2004 as the first Bozo. Harmon, who was one of several actors playing Bozo at promotional appearances in the early 1950s and later acquired all rights to the character, denied ever misrepresenting Bozo's history.