Charles Runyon -- a.k.a. Chucko the Birthday Clown on L.A. TV -- dies at 86
As Chucko the Birthday Clown, Runyon hosted kids' TV shows in L.A. in the 1950s and '60s. He also opened TV coverage of the Santa Claus Lane Parade in Hollywood.
Charles M. Runyon, who as Chucko the Birthday Clown was a popular Los Angeles children's TV show host in the 1950s and '60s, has died. He was 86.
Runyon died Saturday of respiratory failure in an assisted living facility in Grants Pass, Ore., said his son, Randy Runyon.
On KABC Channel 7 from 1955 to 1963 and on KTTV Channel 11 from 1963 to 1964, Runyon's merry Chucko the Clown was a familiar -- and welcome -- sight to thousands of Southern California youngsters.
He wore a spinning merry-go-round hat, a red-and-white-striped clown suit with a fluffy Elizabethan collar and big blue pompon buttons, and white gloves, and he had arching blue eyebrows on a white face with a rhinestone-tipped nose and an upturned red smile.
His live, hourlong show included cartoons and games with his studio audience, which consisted of two children celebrating their birthdays and their young guests.
At the end of the show, the camera would show a large birthday cake, and Chucko the Birthday Clown would sing: "Here's a hap, hap, happy birthday from (that's me), to you (that's you) ....."
During his heyday, Runyon's Chucko would open the television coverage of the annual Santa Claus Lane Parade in Hollywood by jumping through a bass drum head.
"They'd say, 'And now from Hollywood, the Santa Claus Lane Parade' -- and BOOM! -- he'd bust through the drum head and usually bow and salute," recalled Randy Runyon, who said his father spent most of his time in the parade outside the car with the marching bands.
Chucko also made countless personal appearances at supermarkets and shopping centers.
"He'd pull into, say, the Topanga Plaza or whatever and there'd be thousands of people as far as you could see," said Randy Runyon.
His father enjoyed being a clown, Randy Runyon said.
"It was a combination of enjoying the kids and comedy," he said. "One of his favorite sayings was, "If you can see life through the eyes of a child, they'll allow you into their world. And through the clown, you can do that.'"
dennis.mcclellan@latimes.com
