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Chuckles the Clown - The star of THE
CHUCKLES THE CLOWN SHOW that aired on the fictional Minneapolis
television station WJM-TV Channel 12 on the sitcom THE MARY TYLER
MOORE SHOW/CBS/1970-77. His real name was George Bowerchuck.
The Chuckles character - who debuted episode No. 8 "The Snow Must Go
On" - was a running gag on the program. He was rarely seen,
but periodically mentioned by Lou Grant, Murray Slaughter, Mary
Richards or news anchor, Tex Baxter who dated George's daughter,
Betty Bowerchuck, for a while.
On episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust" Chuckles was killed off by the
script writers who had Chuckles being trampled to death by an
elephant in a parade. It seemed that Chuckles, as the parade's grand
marshal, was dressed in a giant Peter the Peanut costume and was
quickly shelled by a hungry pachyderm. At his funeral the minister
said:
"Chuckles the Clown brought pleasure to millions. The characters he
created will be remembered by children and adults alike...Peter
Peanut, Mr. Fee Fi Fo, Billy Banana and, my particular favorite,
Aunt Yoo Hoo. And not just for the laughter that he provided. There
was always some deeper meaning to whatever Chuckles did. And what
did Chuckles ask in return? Not much. In his own words-'a little
song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pant's."
Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) the station's news producer began
to laugh violently during Chuckle's funeral when the silliness of
the whole situation finally hit home.
TRIVIA NOTE: The website The Dark Side of the Net lists 30 ways to
be offensive at a funeral, including these pranks:
- Punch the body and
tell people that he hit you first.;
- Ask someone to take a snapshot
of you shaking hands with the deceased;
- Tell the undertaker that
your dog just died and ask if he can sneak him into the coffin;
- Use
the deceased's tongue to lick a stamp;
- When no-one's looking, slip
plastic vampire-teeth into the deceased's mouth;
- Toss a handful
of cooked rice on the deceased and scream "MAGGOTS! MAGGOTS!" and
pretend to faint.
See also - FACELESS
FAVORITES: "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
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