Bozo the Clown is a clown character whose broad popularity peaked in the United States in the 1960s as a result of widespread franchising in early television.

Originally created by Alan W. Livingston for a children's storytelling record-album and illustrative read-along book set and portrayed by Pinto Colvig, the character became very popular during the 1940s and was a mascot for record company Capitol Records.

The character first appeared on television in 1949 starring Pinto Colvig. After the creative rights to Bozo were purchased by Larry Harmon in 1956, the character became a common franchiseacross the United States, with local television stations producing their own Bozo shows featuring the character. Harmon bought out his business partners in 1965 and produced Bozo's Big Top for syndication to local television markets not producing their own Bozo shows in 1966, while Chicago's Bozo's Circus which premiered in 1960, went national via cable and satellite in 1978.