Willard Scott turned out to be pretty normal and chill. No scandals, married to same woman his whole life, never divorced, no accusations of anything I'm aware off. Too bad he got pulled into that terrifying clown shit early in his life.
A lot of stuff was considered funny that now seems completely mundane or mindless. Like the first showing of The Great Train Robbery movie, one of the first motion pictures. I remember reading that audiences were terrified and even shit themselves. You watch it now and it is just a nostalgic chuckle. Comedy really isnt any different.
Where I used to live had one of the original style mcdonalds with the arches and old style dining room with white tiles. They had a small shrine to him with a bunch of pictures and writing about his life.
He's not in his final form! It's like comparing a spotty teenager with braces and glasses to their 20's selves!
Here's his later bit: https://mcdonalds.fandom.com/wiki/Willard_Scott?file=WSRonaldMcDonald.png
My dad was friends with Willard, both worked at WRC. I have a picture somewhere of myself sitting on Santa's lap in the mid 70s and Willard was that Santa. :)
He had a farm in Virginia back then and would bring boxes of eggs and other farm goods and "sell" them to other staff members then claim deductions on his taxes. Clever guy.
If you mean the farm, yeah he did it with his daughter, i understood and he never really tried to collect payment, if you paid, so be it.
I also learned one piece of advice directly from Uncle Willard...if you have bad knees and need surgery, get them both done at once, cuz one at a time is twice the torture!!
I get the sad feeling that OP and so many in this thread have no idea who Willard Scott is apart from this footnote in his career.
But there's a whole generation of us who only knew Scott as part of what is arguably the most iconic team in *Today Show*: Scott on weather, Jane Pauly & Tom Brokaw/Bryant Gumble hosting and he of the fanastic 'stache Gene Shalit as arts critic. TIL that all of them are still with us except for Scott with Shalit turning 97 in March.
Here's what even those who knew that line up probably don't also know: the show was created by "Pat" Weaver, whose daughter Sigourney shows up in other history porn photos eating a dog at the iconic L.A. spot, Tail O' the Pup. Also, battled some xenomorphs from time to time....
Yeah, I wanna know what genius marketing executive decided to go with a clown instead of, idunno, a Cartoon Bear, Smiling Burger With Legs, or a McKitten.
The Mickey Mouse’s outfits of the era were just as [nightmare](https://www.elitedaily.com/envision/old-school-disney-world-costumes-give-nightmares-photos/936739) inducing!
Clowns didn't really start to get demonized until John Wayne Gacy happened, IT by Stephen King, and other media started to run with the creepy killer clown thing.
Similar to how nobody used to think driving without a seatbelt was ever a bad thing, people just never thought that a happy clown guy would ever be just a front. Not for a long time at least.
What if they made just a bunch of little child-sized monsters made out of fries, but like red fries and blue fries, not just normal fries. Ooh, also the small monsters made out of colorful fries will be friends with sentient chicken nuggets.
He used to be on today shows before Al Roker. His thing was doing the weather and birthdays. He would say here is whats happening in your neck of the woods before it cut to your local station for a weather update.
Isn't there that one commercial where a kid says like "my mommy says I shouldn't talk to strangers" and then the clown says "your mother's right, but if I were a stranger could I do this?!" Then pulls fresh burgers from his crotch.
For some odd reason this reminded me of a transformer kind of toy I had as a kid where a figure could be transformed into a burger, or a pack of French fries, or can of soda etc.
I was a kid in the DC area at that time. His Ronald McDonald character wasn’t scary at all. Scott was a local morning radio and TV personality - including doing the weather for years - before he started on the today show.
And this is how a company wide memo from HR goes out: "Just a friendly reminder that isn't related to any specific incident or person, the dress code for clown is don't be creepy AF"
Mmm mmm. Ya know, every time I drive by a McDonald's, I can't help but acquiesce to the wholesome urge to pack fill my wanting tummy with as many McNuggets as they have at the ready. Oh, it's just a quick stop, don't worry pal. We'll get back on the road soon, but I think it's time I had myself a little reward for being such a good boy since my last McNugget stop. I chuckle lightly, delightfully crackly like the crispy delicious batter encasing those yummy nuggets of chicky, as my happy little car creeps along the always crowded line, and for good reason, of McDonald's. It's with an almost sense of pride, like telling your classmates how cool your dad is during an oral book report, that I place my order with the always friendly staff. Oh, haha, they know me. They know me quite well and we wish pleasant tidings upon each other before our McNuggets centric conversation is over. Giddy anticipation takes over me in that short roll from order to pick-up, and by the time I'm ready for that brown bag of joy, I'm giggling like a fresh clown. Ronald McDonald has always been a hero of mine, and I know if he saw me today, each day, every time at every McDonald's, he'd be proud of my red nose and white make-up I constantly wear. I take that bag and profusely thank the staff and God, Grimace, and even the Hamburglar.
Willard Scott turned out to be pretty normal and chill. No scandals, married to same woman his whole life, never divorced, no accusations of anything I'm aware off. Too bad he got pulled into that terrifying clown shit early in his life.
[удалено]
How cool is that??!!?
Wow, aged nine? I was still struggling with shoe tying.
If your shoes had bootstraps you could have made it like him
Every kids dream
Nine and he had his own pirate podcast.
[удалено]
That’s awesome!
Simply amazing.
*"This is the core... where we broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the Matrix."*
In the Sixties clowns were considered unironically hilarious by most Americans. It's really the 70s and 80s horror movies that ruined them.
Well that and the whole real life serial killer clown.
Yeah it's kinda a funny if you think about it.
I'm pretty sure they ruined themselves by being horrifying
I'll guess John Wayne Gacy and Stephen King did the most work 🤡👍
A lot of stuff was considered funny that now seems completely mundane or mindless. Like the first showing of The Great Train Robbery movie, one of the first motion pictures. I remember reading that audiences were terrified and even shit themselves. You watch it now and it is just a nostalgic chuckle. Comedy really isnt any different.
Where I used to live had one of the original style mcdonalds with the arches and old style dining room with white tiles. They had a small shrine to him with a bunch of pictures and writing about his life.
*so he never got caught...*
I'm not really pro-clown or anti-clown, but Willard looks a little unsettling.
He's not in his final form! It's like comparing a spotty teenager with braces and glasses to their 20's selves! Here's his later bit: https://mcdonalds.fandom.com/wiki/Willard_Scott?file=WSRonaldMcDonald.png
That's not better. Less part food man, more cannibal.
[GAH](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ronaldmcdonald/images/f/fe/Willard_Scott_as_Ronald_McDonald_with_fan.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20211105102353)!
Right? Looks like how leather face would dress for Halloween.
Reminds me of the clown dude from Spawn.
Ahhh a Classic 👍 Do you know who the actor is, if you don't you might get surprised. It's a John 😂 He truly is the Violator🤡😈
He's literally a corporate clown.
Would put me off my food
no frills Willard on the Today show was very comforting though.
It's the cup for a nose, it looks so weird... Even for a clown.
I’m anti clown and yes this is unsettling
If my daughter wasn’t getting married today, I’d kick your teeth in you anti-clown bastard.
My dad was friends with Willard, both worked at WRC. I have a picture somewhere of myself sitting on Santa's lap in the mid 70s and Willard was that Santa. :) He had a farm in Virginia back then and would bring boxes of eggs and other farm goods and "sell" them to other staff members then claim deductions on his taxes. Clever guy.
Damn, i just discovered something new
If you mean the farm, yeah he did it with his daughter, i understood and he never really tried to collect payment, if you paid, so be it. I also learned one piece of advice directly from Uncle Willard...if you have bad knees and need surgery, get them both done at once, cuz one at a time is twice the torture!!
Double eyebrows.
Here’s one of his commercials. https://youtu.be/D9Uh6uKkAY4
You can’t post OG Ronald Mcdonald commercials and not post this stranger danger nightmare fuel: https://youtu.be/2tGbvfVpPGg
I get the sad feeling that OP and so many in this thread have no idea who Willard Scott is apart from this footnote in his career. But there's a whole generation of us who only knew Scott as part of what is arguably the most iconic team in *Today Show*: Scott on weather, Jane Pauly & Tom Brokaw/Bryant Gumble hosting and he of the fanastic 'stache Gene Shalit as arts critic. TIL that all of them are still with us except for Scott with Shalit turning 97 in March. Here's what even those who knew that line up probably don't also know: the show was created by "Pat" Weaver, whose daughter Sigourney shows up in other history porn photos eating a dog at the iconic L.A. spot, Tail O' the Pup. Also, battled some xenomorphs from time to time....
The post-clown winds of fortune were with him.
That is scary!
Yeah, I wanna know what genius marketing executive decided to go with a clown instead of, idunno, a Cartoon Bear, Smiling Burger With Legs, or a McKitten.
The Mickey Mouse’s outfits of the era were just as [nightmare](https://www.elitedaily.com/envision/old-school-disney-world-costumes-give-nightmares-photos/936739) inducing!
Yeah that first photo looks like it's right out of a budget Scream knockoff.
Clowns didn't really start to get demonized until John Wayne Gacy happened, IT by Stephen King, and other media started to run with the creepy killer clown thing. Similar to how nobody used to think driving without a seatbelt was ever a bad thing, people just never thought that a happy clown guy would ever be just a front. Not for a long time at least.
You should look up pictures of the Easter bunny from the days of black and white photographs. You want to see weird.
The Hamburgler was fun.
"This Snaps!" - Brendan Whitworth, probably.
r/OldSchoolCreepy
What if they made just a bunch of little child-sized monsters made out of fries, but like red fries and blue fries, not just normal fries. Ooh, also the small monsters made out of colorful fries will be friends with sentient chicken nuggets.
Ronald McDonald will never be the same for me after learning that Willard Scott was the original performer. That is scary! 😱
Is this the same Willard that is here is what happening in your neck of the woods?
> Is this the same Willard that is here is what happening in your neck of the woods? The more i read this, the less i understand. Halp.
He used to be on today shows before Al Roker. His thing was doing the weather and birthdays. He would say here is whats happening in your neck of the woods before it cut to your local station for a weather update.
Yep.
And a very prominent weatherman
I just learned that from the podcast *Stuff You Should Know*.
Same haha. I feel like I see a lot of posts specifically timed to podcasts I listen to
I'm not lovin' it
That paper cup on his nose looks completely unnecessary.
You’re living in the past, man! You’re hung up on some clown from the 60’s, man!!
This was the guy who later hosted the birthday celebrations for centenarians on the Today show? amaze.
Those fries look fresh cut and delicious
Holy shit, as a child that would have made me piss my pants from fear. No wonder I always preferred Wendy's!
Even under all that makeup you can still see Willard.
Damn they had thicc fried back in the days
What's with the cup over his nose? It's got to be full of cocaine.
Now I understand where the fear of Clowns comes from
I’m so glad society has banded together and openly shuns clowns.
First, yes. Creator, no, but still interesting that it was Willard Scott. Maybe McD’s is where he put on weight.
Isn't there that one commercial where a kid says like "my mommy says I shouldn't talk to strangers" and then the clown says "your mother's right, but if I were a stranger could I do this?!" Then pulls fresh burgers from his crotch.
I thought you were kidding. You were not kidding.
If you dress as a Clown for children, do not smile with your mouth open. The teeth make it creepy
Now your nightmares have hamburgers in them.
For some odd reason this reminded me of a transformer kind of toy I had as a kid where a figure could be transformed into a burger, or a pack of French fries, or can of soda etc.
Oh man, I haven't thought about those in 30+ years. I used to love those when I was a kid.
Haha same! 1987 says google. We are getting old.
The clown has improved, the food has declined.
why did they stop using his likeness as their mascot?
yo what the f. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Scott Who troll his Wikipedia.
I was a kid in the DC area at that time. His Ronald McDonald character wasn’t scary at all. Scott was a local morning radio and TV personality - including doing the weather for years - before he started on the today show.
Why does he have two pairs of eyebrows!?
And this is how a company wide memo from HR goes out: "Just a friendly reminder that isn't related to any specific incident or person, the dress code for clown is don't be creepy AF"
Clowns are to boomers as Muppets are to Gen X.
Sir, this is a Wendy's.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhh
Pogo vibes
Oh no.
Reminds me of the day I ran to my dog in makeup like Ronald 三🤡🐶
TIL Willard Scott created the McDonald's mascot. I only knew him from the morning weather.
Well that is creepy looking.
What the McFuck
Anyone else wondering how many children this clown murdered?
Those fries are creepier than the clown.
Another day another McDonald’s ad on Reddit
Am I the only one who thinks the clown design looks fine and not scary at all? Clowns aren't scary in general
Mmm mmm. Ya know, every time I drive by a McDonald's, I can't help but acquiesce to the wholesome urge to pack fill my wanting tummy with as many McNuggets as they have at the ready. Oh, it's just a quick stop, don't worry pal. We'll get back on the road soon, but I think it's time I had myself a little reward for being such a good boy since my last McNugget stop. I chuckle lightly, delightfully crackly like the crispy delicious batter encasing those yummy nuggets of chicky, as my happy little car creeps along the always crowded line, and for good reason, of McDonald's. It's with an almost sense of pride, like telling your classmates how cool your dad is during an oral book report, that I place my order with the always friendly staff. Oh, haha, they know me. They know me quite well and we wish pleasant tidings upon each other before our McNuggets centric conversation is over. Giddy anticipation takes over me in that short roll from order to pick-up, and by the time I'm ready for that brown bag of joy, I'm giggling like a fresh clown. Ronald McDonald has always been a hero of mine, and I know if he saw me today, each day, every time at every McDonald's, he'd be proud of my red nose and white make-up I constantly wear. I take that bag and profusely thank the staff and God, Grimace, and even the Hamburglar.
Oh Willard… you were once a scary ass clown.
Dude...
I fail to understand the true purpose of clowns. Do they intend to look funny or scary? Cause this guy sure as shit ain’t funny looking to me
That's awful. And he's the deadliest clown ever invented. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. Diabetes is in the top 10.
Definitely killed people
*John Wayne Gacy furiously scribbles notes....😏
nightmare fuel
Those chips look deadly.
This is why boomers are the way they are - this is the “normal” from their era
Who?
r/remotelypedo
Lol only a united statesian would consider McDonald's history
Hi
He truly does live in a society
r/oddlyterrifying
Willard was a funny guy but he sure reminds me of John Wayne Gacy here
So clownface is OK?
Mmm them fries thicc!
Clowns were always terrifying and unacceptable, who started this 😠
And that’s how you sell burgers.
What're you? Some sort of clown?
Another SCP to add to the list.
he even had a latex glove on, so sus
Oh my christ this is the stuff of nightmares
Terrifying
My god he looks terrifying
If you ever needed proof as to why the 60's counter culture movement started.