"Bozo the Clown" is easily one of the most recognized names in children's television broadcasting. According the Guiness Book of World Records, 150,000 individual episodes of the "Bozo the Clown" show, produced by Larry Harmon Pictures, were aired by television stations around the world. However, unlike a lot of other national children's shows, such as "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" and "Captain Kangaroo," there was actually more than one version of the "Bozo the Clown" show airing at the same time. In fact, there were quite a few versions.
Instead of airing the national show, many television stations around the US chose the option of airing their own locally produced "Bozo the Clown" programs. And when KSOO (now KSFY) Television went on the air in Sioux Falls, SD in 1960, they decided to do their own local "Bozo" show. They hired Pat Tobin to play the local version of Bozo the Clown. Pat was a 24 year old man who had recently graduated from the University of Colorado, where he had played football.
Pat Tobin's Bozo had an assistant, the Bozoville Deputy Sheriff played by eight year old Joe Henkin. Joe's job was to hand out candy bars and to drive around the studio in one of the peddle powered milk trucks to help deliver cartons of milk to the children in the studio. The milk truck was provided by the show's sponser. And when the show went off the air in 1961 or 1962, Joe was allowed to take one home. Afterwards, he could be seen peddling the truck around his neighborhood. Joe was still working at KSFY-TV as recently as 1990.
On a Christmas edition of the local Bozo show, the host of KSOO's "Trading Post" program, Red Stangland, donned a red suit and beard to play Santa. Later, in the 1980's, Red Stangland would be better known for his Norwegian joke books and for his dim witted alter ego, "Uncle Torvald." Stangland died in the 1990's.