Ronald McDonald: The Early Years

If you're one of the many people with an irrational fear of clowns, then odds are you haven't been missing Ronald McDonald. With parents becoming more health-conscious, ol' Ronald has taken on a lower profile at the Golden Arches.

Of course, that wasn't always the case. Back in the day, the good-natured clown with questionable eating habits was everywhere. And if you think Ronald McDonald is a little creepy now, you should have seen him in 1963, when the fast food mascot made his commercial debut.

In an ad recently uncovered by The Consumerist, Ronald talks about his love of TV and shakes and demonstrates his talents for eating hamburger after hamburger. There's nothing deliberately scary about the ad (made even more creepy by the grainy nature of the footage), but it has inspired a renewed interest in the much-mocked mascot for Mickey D's.

Web searches on "Ronald McDonald" and "Ronald McDonald history" have jumped over the past week. Lookups on "Ronald McDonald actors" have also surged. Those who want to know more about the famous mascot will find no shortage of online information on the character.

One of the first actors to play Ronald was none other than Willard Scott. Scott would later go on to be a TV weatherman on NBC's "Today" show; he congratulates his viewers on the air when they hit 100 years old. Another relatively famous fella who donned the red wig and yellow suit: actor Squire Fridell. Children of the '80s may remember him as Toyota Man from the long-running "Oh, what a feeling" commercials.

But Ronald is bigger than any one actor. Below, check out Mr. Scott in the first Ronald McDonald commercial. It was an odd beginning for a character who would go to become one of the world's most recognized (if not beloved) corporate mascots.




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