You're on the Air! The Early Years of Connecticut Television; Interview with Joey Russell

That's right. You mean whatever you want to get there I don't know anything you want you got it. All right all right Joy when you come here you know what I can wear to the kinetic I love the Massachusetts born and raised there and then it was very strange driving in with the with the truck with whatever little assets we had. We heard on the radio the Bruce had died August twenty eighth. Nineteen hundred and forty eight. And that's part of it is this is the colonel This followed happy of course and and pop Lollie have happy what have you most right happy. We were so proud he was the number one rated show all New England and he had some great ones at the time. There's the last of the dolls we sold so many of these. This is exactly what he looked like with the old top hat which I still

have the red wig the blue jacket with the tail with the wires up red and white trousers and a poke God dot shirt but happy it was kind of. You're right he had for some reason. Remember your checkered past. Check. Oh they just didn't want they wanted to keep an image a clown as a clown. Joey Russell is Joey Russell. He said checkered past. We had a libel suit here I got a son a judge w told me that we were only Oh absolutely not. In fact in fact I would come to the station. I would come to the station in costume in makeup.

I would leave in costume and in makeup they never saw me. The 26 years I was at Lake compounds first was happy the clown and then that and then as the Colonel why why do you know you're talking about little children. It isn't a way you can say to someone oh there's Robert Redford he played the Sundance kid but he's still Robert Redford was your wife. You were never off color I was doing stags not as a dancer. I was doing good. Off color joke. And if they were of color in those days very get it. You watch your HBO Now. The worst I ever said was damn and hell you know. Should I quote you some of the stuff that Eddie Murphy does. OK well all right I just want to check up. So they were a little bit worried at the time there was a place called Florio was the man I had to make a living. We had kids I was I was doing good by doing 15 dollars a night.

We would do a a gentleman smoke or a party but they were afraid all my goodness. That's everything changes. I even had black hair then the guy that changed then I was thin like the camera man look. Look how that has changed hands. This was Colonel clown. This was the colonel which went to Channel 30 after we left channel 8. Right. We were very lucky. The Lord blessed me with. This is really how to handle children. If the child was a problem it was no problem. I don't know how I would always have some little way to make him the Guardian or whatever it might be. This was a kernel cloud my goodness and some long time ago. Go right ahead all right. Oh yeah yeah you know. You remember everything. I'll

tell you my announcer at the time was a man who later went on to great fame as a rock and roller then. If the name means anything to you or to the crew that's here. Dan then went on to ABC and he was an announcer on the radio. And Dan was my announcer. We had a call where I go visit some child not knowing the full circle sense of a child. I said I was going to go it was December 20th I always remember that. Nineteen hundred and fifty six. And Dan was the announcer. So I said why don't you come along. You'll be Santa Claus. So we went to my wife's custom desired shop and we just him up and I dressed up and we went out. We went to something 10 Connecticut and there was a child look like a ghost. Lange on the bed.

And the mother and father it's in how you think you're from when you walk in a child. And then he might actually go away oh oh oh oh oh what we want to set it in Connecticut. Doctrine and all over notice when the mother said that child was a Leukemia victim and was a day to day operation. In fact the doctor was then the doctor said that it might even be tomorrow which would be December 21. That child laughed so much I began to think of the laughter is laughter is the best medicine it is that just says that child lived well into March and always talked to became a celebrity because Santa Claus and happy the clown came to visit that child

personally. And what were you going to ask me that question. All right. Now you knew you were really really popular with your bakery. Yeah that was. We were only three weeks into the show. It was a hand in my Francis bakery I original sponsor. And I want to tell you we went up there boom had a call out the police 5000 kids here was a different world in those days. I don't know about now they get away from from personalities now all they want. The cartoon because it's much cheaper for them they run and they run them over and over and over. You know it's just kind of makeup I'm using some like the old days. I don't have to put a big sign on the needs or anything just put on a little

bit like this. Tell me about the studios who are saying I'm Channel 8 New Haven going to beautiful the olds now and they're very they're major league now. In those days we took over an old funeral home. And I came in I was so proud to get a dressing room and I stress single except in the middle was a hole and the the floor was slanted you know didn't know anything about it. After eight weeks we moved and somebody said by the way are you aware of your dressing room what it was I don't know. You ready for this. It was the blood draining room for the funeral home. That's what it is. Oh. Oh yeah the kids they loved it very happy because every day Monday through Friday 8:30 in the morning 30 children after the first three or four weeks we had a waiting list of nine months before you could get on to the show.

Don't ask me what it was. It was a thing when it was a thing we were ahead of my time. There was no violence on the show. It was like Sesame Street. We had a big map one time and time. I remember once one when we had products that came from the west and we showed the kids the yellow apple from Washington and we shoulda been in Washington. We sang songs we sang Happy sticks which made everybody feel good we had a prayer at the end. I prefer your lower guidance in our way. And today we still find people of we still find people who remember the songs I was telling Mr. Langmore and my manager about our trip to Israel last week and there was the Reverend grits and some hand in Connecticut. I recognized my voice and remembered the songs how about that. It was very empowering. Now one thing which we did we change it after the first day are no ones thinking we have a big false nose but we find and lucky we found that readily.

But before you start. Yes. Oh I certainly do. OK. What actually happened. The show is a 30 children. Little interviews with the kids and I want to tell you every once in a while if not more than every once in a while we were very lucky to find the trial who would come up with some great lines I mean a funny line that a writer put into my book it was very. We were lucky with 30 kids to find someone like that. We tried to do things that the parents like and that churches like the synagogues like and the temples like like for instance prior to the show Paddy Barrett the producer would get all the children together and tell them about their behavior and the meaning and I would be looking through in a one way mirror and I would always make sure that not the Bombo y beautiful child gets all the attention but maybe

like the heavy child or one with the glasses because children are cool and would make fun of them Joe would sit on my knee at all times so the camera was always being there for the commercials etc.. And we did quite a bit. One of the four letters which I wish I could say. We made celebrities out a little. Little boys and little girls who hadn't the fun kids in the neighborhood. They made fun of these kids. How about that. Look where we are my goodness. We have put my nose on at the very beginning. Incidentally you notice it's red and white because we aren't color red and white. We were black and white when we started you know. And Frank the red washed out we noticed that the first show I had to go on get an entire new kid to make up all black and white. And then we had a big nose as clowns would have. But the very first time we had a very first day some little child rich that was trying to get it at

that point we said we don't need these kind of problems. So what we did was this we made a trying on those in those days Channel 8 was owned by triangle publications. If you remember them. And so it came up that everything was going to be into the triangle even Aha here we would come this way. You got a point right there that we would fill it in. This is our makeup. This is it. The old days used to have to put a base on underneath and they probably let it said we have to take power to let it set. But today's make up is fine you can stay under all your lights. The colonel Clough we left we left channel 8. They decided at the time that they didn't want to stay with the clown in the morning anymore that they were running something I don't know something about.

So I immediately call my manager sitting over there called Channel 3 channel 30 channel 3 said well we'll take it up to committee etc and channel 30 says you can start tomorrow if you wish. Which we did. We waited for the summer from June 21 when we left and we went immediately to number 29. Over to the Channel 38 in in Hartford Corbin's corner. It was then called WE H and B. We have no bananas something like this. Anyway I went there and stayed at the Nineteen Eighty-Four. After a while I was getting a little tired of the kernel same thing same format except except we now have an area for a commercial as we called it the PBX and every child. We really love mark and there's every child got a little overseas cap and paper and every child became an a cadet and that's when I

was quite We see what we did losing. Believe it or not you see you frame it but how did the framing actually outline it. I call it a frame. Just because there's a very good ceiling to do these because I don't was a clown any more. I still look forward to this. CARNEY I was off camera. You know I love to teach children this thing. I go to schools know from stuff you know going in the morning you know we do a little bit of pleasure. This right here how one company was never became I don't know that was Mr. Annenberg. Which means about the makeup we used to do with a teardrop up one on right now

for you. We put it up but then we stopped it because it gave the effect of I'm happy happy. That's what my head was but I had. Are you OK. Well there we are. Make up his regular hollering five minutes Mr. Russell quietly. And one more thing. I had the original hat from the first day of October 15. I think you just have so much fun with this. And there we are. We had the black hair and. We're ready to go here. No way yeah. Happy steaks happy snakes all your troubles they will thanks all you've got to do is smile

with a hat. Be happy that's it. Thank you very much. I'm sorry we're sitting here like a breath of real Yeah yeah OK OK we got the red and I can put that back in you're going to grab the other color. I just want to put your hands grabbing him and now he's going to cut away from that. You know he's actually put a face the other way. If you go like you are yeah we have to really. Oh the kids love that. They used to love to come. Here.

That's what we do know. You know I teach this I John from our high school I called middle schools for the name are you all OK. I need every penny. Now I say one of my and the one on this money. So I figure maybe I buy property in Falmouth Massachusetts or something I don't know. Something that make you good. I know. How's that. You know everything else. Oh the kids had so much fun. I didn't care they wrecked they had me but I would.