Bozo the Clown is the name of a clown whose widespread syndication in early television made him the best-known clown character in the United States. Partly as a result, the word "bozo" has become synonymous with a generic clown or a foolish person: For example, "I Think We're All Bozos on this Bus" was the title of a 1971 album by the comic group Firesign Theater. The word is said to have originated earlier among carnival entertainers.

Bozo was created in 1946 by Alan W. Livingston. He released a children's record titled Bozo at the Circus for Capitol Records, along with an illustrative read-along book. Pinto Colvig narrated this record and subsequent read-along records. They were extremely popular and by 1949, KTTV in Los Angeles was broadcasting a children's show featuring Pinto Colvig as Bozo with his blue-and-red costume, oversized red hair and classic "whiteface" clown makeup, appearing on the then-new medium of "television."

Bozo became even more famous after Larry Harmon purchased the licensing rights to the character in 1956, and franchised it to local television stations in 1959 as a daily half-hour show with a live Bozo the Clown — a different man in each city in front of a studio audience of children — as well as five-minute cartoons. Many people became famous locally such as Frank Avruch (1959-1970) at WHDH-TV (now WCVB-TV), in Boston, and Bob Bell (1960-1984) and later Joey D'Auria (1984-2001) at WGN-TV in Chicago. Willard Scott (1959-1962) at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. later became nationally known as a weatherman on NBC's Today Show.

Helped along by the widespread local publicity, Bozo-themed toys and novelties were sold widely. By the mid-1960s, Bozo was reportedly grossing over
$150 million in merchandise worldwide.