WGN Channel 9 - Bozo's Circus - "Christmas Day '72" (Excerpts, 12/25/1972) 🤡 🎄

Описание: Here's a few, extremely rare precious excerpts of the Christmas Day 1972 Bozo's Circus presentation on WGN Channel 9. This was back when ringmaster Ned Locke was the master of ceremonies - and the Bozo Big Top Band was a little fuller in the orchestral backing compared to later years.

On-screen text: "What follows is extremely rare footage that was found recently by us on a Umatic tape (which appeared to have been dubbed from the original Quad tape) at an estate sale for a former WGN employee that had passed away. His name was Marty Kite. Why he saved this footage is not known at this time but we can assume there was a family friend in attendance that day, likely the kid who played the Grand Prize Game (referred to briefly as "Ton" by Ned Locke, we can assume his name was Tony). The clip dates to 12/25/1972. Apart from a few items, almost no footage of Bozo's Circus from this time period is known to exist, so hopefully you can appreciate the rarity. I wish more was saved, but you have to be grateful for even a glimpse of 1972 Bozo! :-) The Museum of Classic Chicago Television (FuzzyMemoriesTV) relies on donations to continue its work in discovering and preserving this material all year around. Please consider making a donation. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!! - Fuzzy & Crew"

In the main segment, Ned is presiding over the Grand Prize Game, with the boy playing who's name seems to be Tony (in a yellow sweater vest and brown turtleneck), while mention is made of his at-home player, Timothy Allen Gartley of Chicago. Bozo (Bob Bell), Clod Hopper (Magician Johnny Thompson) and Cooky (Roy Brown) show off the various prizes won, including John's Pizza, Clark Superstick gum, and the TV Magic Show game.

After two brief segments that get cut short, we see the next sequence, an audience game where Ned has the kids on the far left of the audience rows show off their Christmas ornaments, then he has them string them through a hole to the other side of the audience (to the tune of "Sleigh Ride"). Unfortunately, we don't get to see the end of this segment either.

Afterwards, Ned wishes everybody a Merry Christmas, followed by Bozo leading the Grand March (to the tune of "Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)" (this was apparently raw footage, as no end credits are shown). Bob Trendler, the leader of the Big Top Band, can be seen briefly in the background in his yellow suit, directing people to the exit

This is followed by two seconds of a resolution chart, then one second of a male-female singing duo in what looks like WGN's other studio, and finally a brief shot of the EIA RS-189A color bars, before it all ends (too soon!)

This aired on local Chicago TV on Monday, December 25th 1972 during the 12pm to 1pm timeframe.

This video authorized by © Nexstar Media Inc. (WGN-TV) and Bozo™ & © Send in the Bozos LLC. Special thanks to George Pappas and Paul Abernathy.

About The Museum of Classic Chicago Television:

The MCCTv (FuzzyMemoriesTV) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose primary mission is the preservation and display of off-air, early home videotape recordings (70s to early 80s, mostly) recorded off of TV (in Chicago or other cities now too); things which would likely be lost if not sought out and preserved digitally. If you have any old 1970s videotapes recorded off of TV please email: [email protected] Even though (mostly) short clips are displayed here, we preserve the entire broadcasts in our archives - the complete programs with breaks (or however much is present on the tape), for historical preservation. For information on how to help in our mission, to donate or lend tapes to be converted to digital, please e-mail [email protected] Thank you for your help!