It was the summer of 1967 when Bob McNea was given the opportunity to produce a brand new children’s show which would air Saturday mornings on NBC to thousands of young viewers living in communities around the Great Lakes. It was the sixties and flower power was sweeping the nation as a national symbol for the hippie era. People were sticking daisy cutouts on the sides of VWs, store windows, garbage cans, you name it. Bob and Frances Kay liked the appeal of the daisy motif because it represented peace, love, and happiness. Grandma Christina Rodka used to say “Uupsy Daisy” whenever she picked little Bobby up for a cuddle. After fooling around with the expression, Oopsy Daisy the Clown was born. Bob already had a makeup design that he had used in the Moppets the Clown days. WWJ-TV colleague and graphic artist Harry Wayne helped Bob create the lime green costume and hat embellished with a daisy theme, taking the design sketches to a well-known theatrical costume shop in Detroit called Hirshfields. Mr. and Mrs. Hirshfield constructed the original jumpsuit and hat, also providing the bright orange wig and green and white checkered boots. The September 1965 television season introduced Oopsy Daisy by creating a split screen effect during a Bozo taping. The story line showed Bozo receiving an invitation to travel with a circus, prompting him to phone his cousin Oopsy Daisy and ask if he would mind looking after his place while he was touring. The transition created quite a buzz with the Bozo fan base! Oopsy Daisy went on to become one of the most popular kids shows ranking #1 for 12 years in the Detroit market.
Welcome to 50 years of the wonderful world of Oopsy Daisy and all his friends in Daisyville!
My brother and I were on the Oopsy show in the fall of 1968. We were part of the Optimist boys club choir. promoting our Christmas show at Cobo hall that December. I was hoping to find footage of that show to show my grandchildren. We had dinner with Oopsy. (Bob) the night before at the Top of the Flame and had a great time.
I remember Oopsy the clown when I was 6 years old and I remember right after watching Oopey Saturday morning I would turn on Sir Graves Ghastly at noon. It was a really great time to be young & enjoyed so much wonderful local tv shows.
I watched him as a boy. I watched Bozo for years and when the transition occurred, I knew it was the same man under the greasepaint. His distinct, slightly raspy voice was the dead give away!
Ahhh this brings up such warm childhood memories. There were two shows that all kids in the area watched religiously…. Oopsy the Clown & Sir Graves Ghastly. They made our Saturday mornings! Thank you to Bob and Kay for dedicating their professional lives to the enrichment of children.
My Grandma made me an Oopsy the Clown outfit for school as in 2nd grade we celebrated a day at the circus & I wanted to be a clown, but just not any clown, I wanted to be Oopsy.
Wow! I was 6 years old and remember when Oopsy started! Didnt realize for years that he was our Bozo!!
Great memories!!! Thanks for the site and uploading videos
Looking forward to watching Oopsy videos!