Frank Avruch, Famous Actor Who Played Bozo the Clown, Dies at 89

Medical ConditionsApril 2, 2018

Frank Avruch, the actor who played Bozo the Clown for over a decade, passed away at the age of 89 due to a heart disease, as confirmed by CBS News in Boston. Avruch who brought the clown character to life from the years 1959 to 1970 became the first ever national syndicated embodiment of Bozo. Apart from playing the character of Bozo, Avruch has also contributed to various television networks for over 40 years, hosting show segments on the latest happenings in Boston.

Frank Avruch played the character of iconic clown Bozo from the years 1959 to 1970

Clown Actor Dies at 89

For readers who weren’t born in the era when Bozo phenomenon took off and might be familiar with the character from different television show like The Simpsons, Bozo was created in the 1950’s to be featured in a series of illustrated books for children but the concept quickly took off and became so famous that Capital Records started licensing and selling it to television networks across the nation. Two variations of the show called Bozo The Clown and Bozo’s Circus starred Avruch as the goofy, orange-haired and white-skinned clown who graced the television screens every day for 11 years from 1959 to 1970.

The two shows were created in Boston and were owned by actor named Larry Harmon who had previously starred as Bozo himself and had later bought the licensing rights to create his own comedy shows featuring the funny clown. Harmon and Avruch created the shows together and sold it to other networks in the 60’s who weren’t willing to produce their own Bozo series. Soon, the shows were playing in almost every major city in the U.S. including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Boston.

Bozo as the Highlight of his Career

Although many different versions of the show portraying the iconic clown exist, the Boston version starring Avruch was the most popular one in the 1950’s because of the number of television channels it was aired on. Eventually, Avruch’s popularity was surpassed by Bob Bell who played the famous clown character in a version from Chicago, making the new show a phenomenal hit across the country in the 1970’s.

Bozo’s character was a huge hit in the 60’s after the Boston version took off making it the first ever nationally-syndicated character. Avruch admits that playing Bozo was the best decision he ever made in the 40 years of his career on television, but once he ditched the obnoxiously orange hair and clown makeup, people could barely recognize him.

Often, his friends would hesitate to bring up the discussion of his old character not being about to believe that a sophisticated gentleman like him could have played the character of a comedic clown who wore big shoes and an orange wig. But Avruch was anything but ashamed of the role which made him the iconic actor he is known and remembered as today.

Apart from his career on television, the late actor was also an ambassador for UNICEF and did several shows for children’s charity

A Philanthropist, a Family Man

Avruch began his career from a radio show after graduating from Boston University, but quickly moved on to television after auditioning for Bozo’s part and being chosen to play the character that changed his life. Avruch says that many actors had come and gone before him and even in field not famous for its longevity, he was able to stick around and make a name for himself.

While being inducted into the Gold Circle of National Television Academy, Avruch said that he had done everything from television to radio to DJ shows to interviews and booth announcing. Besides his career in show business, Avruch was also a philanthropist who worked as a UNICEF Ambassador and did charity shows for the organization. Stuart Hersh who acted as the late actor’s manager said that he had a heart of gold who had touched so many children’s lives through his portrayal of the funny clown character.

The actor who had a wife, two sons, and many grandchildren, died after losing a battle against heart disease. In a statement to the Avruch’s home station, his family said that the late actor loved bringing joy to children of all ages and that he will be terribly missed.