IÂ recently lost an old friend. In fact, he was more than an old friend. He was a mentor, guide, teacher, adviser, coach, leader, advocate, educator and, to many, a legend. I don’t think much about those other roles he played … even though he executed each with a professionalism none other could duplicate. I still feel I lost an old friend. If you happen to be a baby boomer, you probably share my loss.
My friend’s name was Larry. Larry Harmon. He was 83 years old, and he died on the day before the 4th of July in the capital city of clowns, Los Angeles. You probably know him as Bozo the Clown … the World’s Most Famous Clown, a status once confirmed by a Harris poll. The story of his life and death was lost in the chaos of vacations, fireworks, and holiday festivities as the U.S. celebrated Independence Day.
When I heard the news, I was alone in my car driving to the mall. When the news bulletin finally sunk in, I felt as though a chapter had just closed in my life. I must admit I had mixed emotions. One was that of guilt for having forgotten my friend and the many roles he played in my early development. Another emotion was that of appreciation as I remembered the many life lessons he taught me every Saturday morning on his laugh-a-minute television show. Another emotion was sadness as I wished my children and grandchildren could have been exposed to his wisdom and wit … but then realized it just wouldn’t have been the same. Today’s children aren’t captivated by a circus or mesmerized by a magician as we were—and understandably so. It’s tough to compete with cell phones that take pictures, computers that shrink the world, iPods, video games, and cartoons guaranteed to stifle adult comprehension. Our children simply wouldn’t get Bozo. I can deal with that. Things change. My concern lies in speculating where these young minds will find the stimulation, support and life-lessons which they will soon desperately need. I’ll get back to that challenge in a moment.
Bozo emerged in 1946 as Capitol Records, a rather small company at the time, attempted to enter the children’s market. They hired a young man named Alan Livingston, who came up with an idea for a book that would have a record included—children would listen as they read, with an audio signal to turn the page. This was the world’s first “read-along” book and was a huge hit for the small company. It starred a clown narrator, named Bozo.
In order to meet the demand for personal appearances by Bozo, Alan Livingston had hired numerous actors in several cities to perform as Bozo at various events. One of them, named Larry Harmon, became a pivotal point in Bozo’s history.
Together with a group of investors, Larry later purchased the licensing rights to the Bozo character from Capitol Records. Although Larry was not the original Bozo, he was the Oz behind the curtain of success for this loveable clown character with an unforgettable name. His unique marketing ability led to the creation of local Bozo TV shows in nearly every U.S. market as well as Mexico, Thailand, Australia, Greece and Brazil by the late 50s. Over the years, Bozo was portrayed by more than 200 different actors including famed TV weatherman Willard Scott.
Bozo quickly became a show-business staple with his distinctive look consisting of outlandish, orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, and the outlandish red, white and blue costume grounded in his 83AAA clown shoes.
I remember going to the local shopping center (we didn’t have malls) and seeing Bozo comics, records, masks, books, lunch boxes, wigs, magic tricks, noses, playground balls, cars, magic slates, T-shirts, and just about anything else you can think of. This unique superstar delighted, entertained and educated children for more than a half-century. His TV show ran for 47 years, making it one of the longest running shows in history! He’ll be sorely missed … which brings me back to the challenge I mentioned earlier.
With today’s short attention span and obvious need for a role model similar to Larry’s alter-ego, who will emerge to play that critical role? If you follow our blog to any degree, you know that we strongly promote the importance of mentoring younger generations. That’s why we created Generational Gems for Future Leaders to assist those of you who accept the challenge. Study after study reveals the dire need for mentoring in our currently chaotic environment. You can find some revealing figures in our recent blog article by clicking on Give a Little – Get a Lot.
So, if you “wanna be a Bozo” and make a difference in the life of a young person, give some serious thought to the honorable role of mentor. Take the initiative, do some research and take the appropriate action. A young person will be forever appreciative, you’ll gain a great deal of self satisfaction, the world will be better off, you’ll broaden the smile on Bozo’s face, and my friend Larry will rest in peace!
P.S. For those of you who remember Bozo and, for old time’s sake, would like to see a clip of our friend in action, go here.
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I must admit that I sometimes go overboard in sharing the latest example of innovation as part of our 
Well, some creative soul has solved all of those problems for us by simply browsing through the tool shed with an open mind and a creative spirit. Wah-La! … Ye olde steel spring-tine garden rake. What a concept!
In the spirit of C.A.N.I. (Continuous And Never-ending Improvement), here are this week’s new facts—one for each day of your coming week. Pass them on to others to keep the spirit alive or invite your friends and family to visit our blog where they can also view previous entries.
While in high school, one of my favorite songs was a short but whimsical folk song first recorded by Simon and Garfunkel and later covered by Harper’s Bizarre. The formal title was the “59th Street Bridge Song” but most knew it as “Feelin’ Groovy.” You may not recognize the title, but if you heard the melody you’d recognize it immediately and, more than likely, start singing along. I still hear it on the Oldies stations every week. Years later I lived in Greenwich Village in a world of hippies and often visited the fabled bridge, known locally as the Queensboro Bridge connecting Manhattan to Queens.
Many organizations today are encouraging their staff to take more breaks, avoid taking work home, and striving for more balance. While that sounds very generous of the leadership, the true motive may very well prove otherwise. In those cases where employees have established “me time” successfully, productively levels have actually increased. Nuff said. Everyone wins.
We created this feature with the hope and purpose of making certain future generations have access to the wonderful lessons, anecdotes, allegories, parables, and narratives that we experienced and enjoyed over the decades. Anyone in business for any substantial length of time has had the benefit and privilege to hear words of wisdom from some of the greatest leaders, writers, consultants, speakers and authors in the world.
Her first base coach realized what had happened and quickly shouted to gathering teammates: “Nobody touch her!” She knew the rules stated that if anyone from her team or one of the coaches touched Sara, her home run would be invalid and would go down in the record books as a single. The coach felt she couldn’t take that away from Sara as she was a senior and this was her first, and probably last, home run. The coach quickly asked the umpire if there were exceptions to the rule, and the umpire responded with a firm “no,” explaining that the only option under the rules was to replace Sara with a pinch runner and have the hit recorded as a two-run single rather than the coveted three-run home run. Seeing no other alternative, the coach prepared to make the substitution, taking both the run and the cherished but short-lived memory from Sara.
So Mallory and her shortstop, Liz Wallace, lifted Sara off the ground and supported her weight between them as they began the slow arduous trip around the bases, stopping at each one so Sara’s good left foot could touch each bag. As they rounded second base, they realized that the audience was on their feet in a tearful standing ovation.
Roger Adams may very well have been the recipient of one of those dreaded “wedgies” from his fellow dreamers because in late 2000 he patented a pair of roller shoes he called Heelys. They look, at first glance, like any other tennis shoe. However, these unique creations have one or more wheels embedded in each sole allowing the proud owner to walk, run or, by shifting their weight to their heels, roll. Braking is achieved by lowering the back of the foot so that the sole contacts the ground. “Heeling,” as it was soon labeled, is a form of skating that has since been banned from many areas such as shopping malls and schools. That didn’t seem to hinder the sales of more than one million pair the very first year. Certain models allow for the removal of the wheels for comfort reasons or for reasons of practicality or safety. Several imitators quickly appeared on the scene to the delight of many youthful converts.
Reebok, the prominent British footwear company, has collaborated with Kool-Aid to create some of the coolest kicks your mind could imagine. Not only do they offer six bright Kool-Aid colors, but these shoes actually offer authentic smells, which include grape, strawberry, cherry, lemonade, lemon-lime and orange! These fun and fashionable shoes are based on the classic Reebok Pro-Legacy basketball shoes. The smell is provided from a unique sock liner and each shoe includes Kool-Aid Man graphics, detailed ice rubber soles to mimic ice cubes, and a peek-a-boo Kool-Aid graphic bottom. The line also includes equally-fun T-shirts, hoodies, and hats.
I think most would agree that, at this particular time, our country, our organizations, and our people are in dire need of true leadership. I’m afraid we’re in for bitter disappointment if we place our hopes and dreams in the hands of anyone currently in residence in Washington D.C. or our own state capitols. And that, of course, would include those running for office as well as those currently holding office.