By JOHN ROGERS
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Larry Harmon, who appeared as Bozo the Clown for decades and licensed the name to other Bozos around the world, had died at age 83.

Harmon died Thursday at his home of congestive heart failure, his longtime publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press.

Although not the first person to play Bozo, Harmon took on the famous clown's persona and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly TV stations. Those stations then recruited their own Bozos for local shows.

Harmon met his alter ego after answering a casting call to make personal appearances as a clown to promote records. He got the job and eventually bought the rights to Bozo.

Along the way, he embellished Bozo's distinctive look: the orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, the outlandish red, white and blue costume.

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