William (Cohen) Britten (1928 - 2020)

Born 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Biography

Bill (Cohen) Britten is Notable.

William Cohen (1928 – February 4, 2020) was an American actor born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an opera actor and singer. As Bill Britten, he is best known for his portrayal of Bozo the Clown[2] in the New York City market.

To be edited: Bill Britten is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Bozo the Clown. He performed as a mimic and pantomimist for local parties in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before enrolling in college. He studied clown makeup at Temple University, later attending the University of Washington in Seattle. He performed as a tramp clown for a gas station franchise and trained with two puppet theaters (one funded by the University of Washington, the other by the Seattle Parks Department).

After graduating from Washington, he moved to New York City, where he worked nightclubs until he won "Funniest New Clown Of The Year" audition with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus; he performed with them in the spring of 1954, but stayed behind when they left the city.

He made his first television appearance on WJZ TV's "Jolly Gene And His Fun Machine", where he provided puppeteering work and voice acting for the show's puppets: "Jolly Gene", "Yoo Hoo The Cuckoo" and "Waldo The Dodo". He also drew cartoons on the magic screen of "The Fun Machine". He stayed with the show from 1955 to 1956. He was the third host of "Time For Fun!" from December 31, 1956 to August 1, 1958, portraying "Johnny Jellybean".

He then succeeded Herb Sheldon to become the third host of WABD's "Wonderama", starting on August 10, 1958. It was the first edition of the show to be taped before a live studio audience. He initially hosted the show as "Three Gun Willie The Kid", but the character proved unpopular and was dropped. He also hosted "The Looney Tunes Show", "Bugs Bunny Presents" and "Funnytoones" at the same station until his departure in late December 1958.

On Monday September 14, 1959, he started with WPIX, he began to portray "Bozo the Clown" for "The Bozo Show", which he would do until March 1, 1963. On March 4, the series changed timeslots, and was renamed "Bozo's Big Top Circus", which played until June 2, 1963.

During this period, he also hosted the Saturday morning cartoon show "The Cartoon Express", from October 13 to November 3 of 1962.

His last show was "Bozo's Cartoon Circus Lunchtime Show", which began on June 24, 1963, and ran until August 14, 1964, which marked the end of his involvement with children's television.

He worked as a programming director for WNYC, and as a drama teacher at the Performing Arts High School in New York City, as well as appearing on Broadway, most notably as the Barber in the original Broadway production of "Man of La Mancha", alongside Robert Rounsville and Richard Kiley. He also appeared in the movie "Fame" as a drama teacher.

Sources

• Wikipedia contributors, "Bill Britten," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Britten&oldid=942424818 (accessed March 5, 2020).

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHWR-KMH : accessed 5 March 2020), William Cohen in household of Harry Cohen, Philadelphia (Districts 0751-1000), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 795, sheet 21A, line 8, family 398, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2126; FHL microfilm 2,341,860. (possible parents)

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQXC-GN3 : 28 July 2019), William Cohen in household of Harry Cohen, Ward 28, Philadelphia, Philadelphia City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 51-856, sheet 1A, line 34, family 11, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3714. (possible parents)

• "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMNX-1HM : 5 December 2014), William Cohen, enlisted 11 Apr 1946, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland. (possible enlistment record)