Blinky the Clown, Denver TV icon for more than 40 years, dead at 91
Russell Scott better known as Blinky the Clown on the local kids TV program "Blinky's Fun Club," at his room at the Bear Creek Nursing Center in Morrison with portraits of him as Blinky on Thursday, July 28, 2011. (Cyrus McCrimmon, Denver Post file photo)
By Claire Martin
The Denver Post
08/28/2012
The Emmy award-winning television clown who wished Colorado children a "Happy Birf Day" every day for more than 40 years died with Russell "Blinky The Clown" Scott, who passed away Monday at age 91. His daughter said he died from complications of pneumonia.
Scott created a Colorado legend and legacy as Blinky, a red-nosed, plaid-jacketed, pouty-mouthed goof whose gentle humor made a would-be thief temporarily reform his ways and whose safety tips prompted generations of children to look both ways before crossing the street.
From 1958 to 1998, countless children began their days as Blinky greeted them with his "Good morning/Glad to see you!" song. Scott's career as a clown grew from sketches he performed for children who came to see the elaborate miniature circus he maintained at his home.
"Dad was incredibly artistic," said daughter Linda Scott Ballas, who with her husband Steve, owns Steve's Snappin' Dogs in Denver.
"Everything was to scale, like one of those model train layouts. He hand-carved the elephants, a gorilla, put little motors under the plywood table that would move the animals in a circle, move the trapeze act and the barkers. It started out for me and my sister, but the more involved Dad got, we weren't actually allowed to touch it."
Scott's employer at a Colorado Springs Sears store heard about the circus layout and invited him to put it on display at the appliance department where he worked. Scott put together a clown he called Sears-O, who became the prototype for Blinky.
By Claire Martin
The Denver Post
08/28/2012
The Emmy award-winning television clown who wished Colorado children a "Happy Birf Day" every day for more than 40 years died with Russell "Blinky The Clown" Scott, who passed away Monday at age 91. His daughter said he died from complications of pneumonia.
Scott created a Colorado legend and legacy as Blinky, a red-nosed, plaid-jacketed, pouty-mouthed goof whose gentle humor made a would-be thief temporarily reform his ways and whose safety tips prompted generations of children to look both ways before crossing the street.
From 1958 to 1998, countless children began their days as Blinky greeted them with his "Good morning/Glad to see you!" song. Scott's career as a clown grew from sketches he performed for children who came to see the elaborate miniature circus he maintained at his home.
"Dad was incredibly artistic," said daughter Linda Scott Ballas, who with her husband Steve, owns Steve's Snappin' Dogs in Denver.
"Everything was to scale, like one of those model train layouts. He hand-carved the elephants, a gorilla, put little motors under the plywood table that would move the animals in a circle, move the trapeze act and the barkers. It started out for me and my sister, but the more involved Dad got, we weren't actually allowed to touch it."
Scott's employer at a Colorado Springs Sears store heard about the circus layout and invited him to put it on display at the appliance department where he worked. Scott put together a clown he called Sears-O, who became the prototype for Blinky.
Children loved Sears-O. Local television producers, looking for stars for a new medium, invited Scott to host a children's show, but Scott didn't agree until Colorado Springs' KKTV offered to let him write and produce the show — as Blinky, not Sears-O. (A photo display at Steve's Snappin' Dogs shows the progression of clown faces that Scott developed in the transition from Sears-O to Blinky.)
Read more: Blinky the Clown, Denver TV icon for more than 40 years, dead at 91 - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21411432#ixzz25aaqJxKZ
Read more: Blinky the Clown, Denver TV icon for more than 40 years, dead at 91 - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21411432#ixzz25aaqJxKZ
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