Roy Brown (clown)
| Roy Brown | |
|---|---|
Brown at WGN-TV in 1966.
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| Born |
July 8, 1932 Tucson, Arizona |
| Died | January 22, 2001 (aged 68) Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation | graphic artist puppeteer clown |
| Known for | Cooky the Cook Bozo's Circus Garfield Goose and Friends Ray Rayner and His Friends |
Roy Thomas Brown (July 8, 1932 – January 22, 2001) was an American television personality, puppeteer, clown and artist known for playing "Cooky the Cook" (also Cooky the Clown) on Chicago's long-running Bozo's Circus.
Roy Brown was born in Tucson, Arizona but had lived in the Chicago area since he was a boy. His mother was an artist with an at-home studio, which gave him the opportunity to also become interested in art. Brown graduated from Chicago's Austin High School; when he entered the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, Brown intended to become a cartoonist. He started working on the children's series Garfield Goose and Friends at WBKB-TV in 1952 as a puppeteer and art director. When Garfield Goose moved to WGN-TV in 1955, Brown followed along and stayed until the show went off the air in 1976.
When Frazier Thomas hired Brown for Garfield Goose and Friend in 1952, he was still an art student and had no prior experience as a puppeteer. Brown's talent for this work was quickly evident. In a later interview, he talked about his many years of work with Thomas on the show, saying that while Thomas was a perfectionist, he was very willing to grant Brown the freedom to be creative with the program's puppet characters. Brown developed a movement with his hand that would make Garfield Goose appear to smile. He also created greeting cards for the program which were sent to young viewers in response to their letters, the title cards for the show, and created illustrations of Garfield Goose's travels away from his castle.
By 1953, the program was popular enough for Thomas to write a book about the character, Garfield Goose Memory Book, detailing his family, years of growing up and his average day as King of the United States in his castle. Brown contributed the illustrations for the 32 page booklet, which was also able to be used as a coloring book.
Brown's first puppet contribution to the show made his debut on Christmas Day, 1953. Christmas Goose, the nephew of Garfield, was the first puppet cast member outside of Garfield Goose. A capuchin monkey named Geronimo had joined the cast on Thanksgiving Day as a butler. During the time he was working on the Garfield Goose show, Brown also created puppets and performed them for another WGN-TV children's show called Quiet Riot. One of Brown's creations for this show was a rabbit named Romberg; when Quiet Riot was cancelled, Brown brought Romberg Rabbit to Frazier Thomas, who liked the puppet so much, he asked Brown to make him part of the Garfield Goose cast.
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