That Clown is a Fraud!
Bozo has been de-clowned.
There are no bigger shoes to fill than that of Bozo, the Clown of Clowns. But alas, this red-mopped, forever-smiling face will no longer grace Mt. Goofmore.
The Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee has formally removed Larry Harmon's 1990 lifetime achievement award for
creating the beloved Bozo character. In a fine example of hard-hitting journalism, an investigative reporter dug beneath the grease paint, and struck pay dirt: There was a Bozo before Bozo.
Way back before the glory days of the Bozo we love, Capitol Records featured another clown named Bozo, played by a fellow named Calvin "Pinto" Colvig.
Harmon has always acknowledged that Colvig was the first Bozo, the "Capitol Clown." But it was Harmon who personally shaped Bozo's image into "Bozo, the World's Most Famous Clown." Harmon spent decades training 200 other clowns to "do Bozo."
Nevertheless, down goes the lifetime achievement award. That clown is a fraud.
"Isn't it a shame," asks Harmon, now in his 80s. "They arbitrarily take it down, like I didn't do anything for the last 52 years.[They take away] the credit that was given to me for the work I have done."
Harmon even brought us the great phrase, "wowie kazowie."
Bozo and I agree: it's a shame. Now ABC Entertainment producer Buck Wolf can forever proudly be known as the Man Who Uncovered the Bozo Conspiracy. The price of this revelation? Not much. Just an old man's honor and a tiny remnant of a generation's childhood innocence.
Howard Hendricks has said that we are a culture of "debunkers." Our is a world where people gladly tear down someone else's lifetime accomplishments for a cheap 15 minutes of their own fame.
Christians should be so much different. God's worshipers are not just a "sub-culture," they are a "counter-culture." We are a people called to edify or build up each other (Rm. 14:19). We are called to regard others more important than ourselves (Ph. 2:3). We are called to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), a family that is kind, tenderhearted and forgiving (Eph. 4:32).
You and I are surrounded by familiar faces. Our ears ring with familiar voices. In our homes. In our workplaces. At church. At school. Familiar faces that we easily take for granted, dear ones in our lives that we easily treat as common. These are the ones to whom we deliver the quick "burn," or "slam." The contemptuous vocal inflections. We've all heard it, we've all done it.
Consider these lyrics by Point of Grace:
God forbid that I find you so familiar that I think of you as less than who you are
God forbid that I should speak of you at all without a humble reverence in my heart
As stress drives us toward the holidays, this is a good couplet to paste to our dashboards.
Think twice before you put that clown in his place.
Blessings, Phil
PS: Yes, I know this wasn't the original intention of the Point of Grace lyric, but hoped you'd agree the lyrics are equally profound when considered this way. If not, I'll apologize and take it all back. <g>
