Bozo's Circus

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Posted by Bobby Curran on May 28, 2001 at 23:55:21:

In Reply to: Re: The Met posted by Theyallgetbeat on May 28, 2001 at 18:00:11:

Ned Lockhart was the Ringmaster on Bozo's Circus.

It is a kid's show that has been broadcast out of Chicago, on WGN, for years. (Rumor has it that the network now considers the show a dinosaur and that its on the way out).

Halfway through the show they use to play a game called "Bozo's Buckets" or "The Grand Prize Game". A magic spotlight would dance over the crowd and the kid it stopped upon was the lucky contestant to try and toss a ping pong ball into a series of 6 buckets placed at incrementally further distances from the lucky contestant. The grand prize for making the final toss into the sixth bucket was riches beyond belief. Each day that no-one made the last toss another silver dollar accrued to be disbursed to the kid that hit the "lottery shot". (For a kid it was like winning a Saratoga Springs Pick Six and similar to the pick six you had to hit every shot).

One day my best friend told me he had two tickets to "Bozo's Circus" and that his mom would drive if I wanted to come. The spotlight stopped on him that day. (Even though I thought the light was on me!) Somehow he made 6 consecutive tosses of the ping pong ball to win the grand prize. (It was alot more than the silver dollars).

As Nan piloted the wood paneled station wagon home, the contestant was counting his coins. When he had finished, he leaned over and whispered something in my ear. So much time has gone by, I can't recall the words with certainty now, but they were tantamount to: "Money won is twice as sweet as money earned". I really don't think the experience changed him though.

Ned Lockhart is gone now, but rumor has it he was a helluva ponies man.

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: Ned Lockhart was the Ringmaster on Bozo's Circus. : It is a kid's show that has been broadcast out of Chicago, on WGN, for years. (Rumor has it that the network now considers the show a dinosaur and that its on the way out). : Halfway through the show they use to play a game called "Bozo's Buckets" or "The Grand Prize Game". A magic spotlight would dance over the crowd and the kid it stopped upon was the lucky contestant to try and toss a ping pong ball into a series of 6 buckets placed at incrementally further distances from the lucky contestant. The grand prize for making the final toss into the sixth bucket was riches beyond belief. Each day that no-one made the last toss another silver dollar accrued to be disbursed to the kid that hit the "lottery shot". (For a kid it was like winning a Saratoga Springs Pick Six and similar to the pick six you had to hit every shot). : One day my best friend told me he had two tickets to "Bozo's Circus" and that his mom would drive if I wanted to come. The spotlight stopped on him that day. (Even though I thought the light was on me!) Somehow he made 6 consecutive tosses of the ping pong ball to win the grand prize. (It was alot more than the silver dollars). : As Nan piloted the wood paneled station wagon home, the contestant was counting his coins. When he had finished, he leaned over and whispered something in my ear. So much time has gone by, I can't recall the words with certainty now, but they were tantamount to: "Money won is twice as sweet as money earned". I really don't think the experience changed him though. : Ned Lockhart is gone now, but rumor has it he was a helluva ponies man. :

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