Stephen G. Brenner was not only the Bozo assigned the Maryland beat, he was also involved with carnivals and sideshows all his life. Brenner was born in 1894 and published his autobiography "My Life Story as a Clown" in 1978. He was an early, if not the first Bozo. Incidentally, There is a list of dozens of regional Bozos listed in Wiki. Larry Harmon is, of course, the most famous, but my favorite is Victor Trujilo of Mexico City who created "Brozo el Payaso Tenebrosco" (Brozo the Creepy Clown) shown here in a clip with his inspiration the Mexican Bozo.
Real Photo promotional card for Stephen G. Brenner, Collection Jim Linderman
Steven brenner was my great grandfather..I have the book that he made changes to..My family and the rest of Baltimore know who the original bozo is..thanks for keeping his memory Alice..
ReplyDeleteBozo was the nicest man ever, I lived on the same street and as young as I can remember I would visit him often, I was probably a pain in the butt to be honest, I always wanted to see all his clowns and pictures, He was always so very kind. I remember one of his favorites was a picture of Mini Pearl and himself. he was always kind enough to let me see all his clowns and clapping monkeys I felt proud to say I knew the the real Bozo and say that he was my friend, I sure do miss him.
DeleteLisa Stefan
Baltimore Md
I was friends with his grandson David. I remember that Steven could change his face into Popeye the sailor..such a nice man . He always made us laugh. And that's what he lived for. Even if y were sad and having a bad day Steven could make y laugh
ReplyDeleteGod bless
Michael fortino