Roy Brown (clown) - On Camera Performer

On Camera Performer

It was on Bozo's Circus, however, that Brown had his chance to shine in front of the camera as a performer. When show producer Don Sandburg, who doubled as a clown called Sandy the Tramp, announced in 1968 he would leave the show, Brown took one of Bozo's old red wigs, trimmed and restyled it and cobbled together some other props and wardrobe. Before he found the right makeup for Cooky, Brown had made 60 other tries with it for his character. Told by Sandberg that if he wanted to become Sandy's replacement on the show, he would need to appear without any other preparation, Brown did his audition live on the air as Cooky the clown. Brown, who had no previous on-camera experience, created the Cooky character as an initial tongue-in-cheek reference to the food at the station's cafeteria.

The viewer reaction was positive, but Brown was not the only person who wanted to replace Sandy. Dick Lubbers, a WGN-TV floor manager, also auditioned for the role as Monty Melvin. Until Lubbers left the station about a year later, Brown and Lubbers appeared on the show on alternating days. Lubbers' leaving meant the job finally belonged to Roy Brown. When Rayner, who also starred as Oliver O. Oliver on Bozo's Circus, left the show in 1971, Cooky became Bozo's main foil until his retirement in 1994. Fellow cast member Marshall Brodien, who played Wizzo the Magician on the show, teamed up with Brown in 1973 for an act they brought to the Kane County and DuPage County fairs each summer for twenty-one years. Brodien also retired from the program in 1994.

The tradition on "Bozo's Circus" from its start was that at the end of the program, Bozo would lead the audience out of the television studio in a Grand March, complete with baton and music. In 1987, a viewer petition gathered 10,000 names for Brown's Cooky character to lead the Grand March, and Brown was given the honors for a day. Although Brown's Cooky outlasted Bob Bell's 24 years as Bozo by a year, Cooky's appearances during his final year were from previous shows due to health problems.