[kp11364]

Hi all,

I've been trying to figure out who this is ... my great-aunt made this little ragdoll in the 1950s and she had said it was a clown character on a television show; unfortunately, she's no longer with us, so I can't ask.

I thought it may have been Kukla, but he had brown hair; she had said she made the puppet to look just like the character.

Thanks in advance,

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by kp11364

Hi all,

I've been trying to figure out who this is ... my great-aunt made this little ragdoll in the 1950s and she had said it was a clown character on a television show; unfortunately, she's no longer with us, so I can't ask.

I thought it may have been Kukla, but he had brown hair; she had said she made the puppet to look just like the character.

Thanks in advance,

I think Kukla is a really good guess. Kukla did not dress like other clowns, and he did not wear hideous, exaggerated makeup like Bozo and Clarabell did. (especially Bozo — I always thought he was scary.)

From what I can see in the picture, your ragdoll’s eyebrows look pretty much like Kukla’s. I think Kukla sometimes worried or fretted a bit, and the doll looks a little worried.

I don’t think I ever saw the whole Kukla, so I don’t know what his whole outfit looked like. He was a 1950s puppet so he was not in the detailed Muppet-style. He was a simply made little puppet, behind his little puppet show stage, with Ollie. Fran stood beside them and talked to them. Maybe your aunt just used her imagination for the shoes, etc.


His nose was round, like the ragdoll. And as far as hair color goes, maybe she saw the show only in black and white. It was the really early days of television.

I can’t think of any other widely-known clowns from those days — except Kukla, Clarabell, and Bozo. Shari Lewis was a famous puppeteer, but she did not have any clowns. There were local stations that had kids’ shows so maybe it was a clown from one of those.

I have never liked clowns, but Kukla was OK. He was not obnoxious or creepy…….He must not have seemed like a clown to me at all or I would not be writing this post, late at night, all these years later — remembering Kukla rather fondly.

Oh well, you asked for the time and I built you a clock, here in the wee hours. Anyway, unless somebody knows for sure, I would go with Kukla as a best guess.

Boomer

[gatorbill1]

Red Skelton??

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Yes that's Kukla. It doesn't look "just like" Kukla but she did a pretty good job with the resemblance. Face shape, eyebrow shape, bulbous nose, hair placement, and mismatched gloves is all Kukla even though the nose should've been shaded red and the hair should've been brown.

[AZ SLIM]

Clowns scare me!