Oopsy Daisy’s creator, Robert (Bob) J. McNea was born in St. Thomas, Ontario Canada in the summer of 1929.
By the time he was 6 years old the Great Depression had swept through the country. Times were difficult, making feelings of pure joy and happiness seem illusive, even for a small child. One day, while paging through a magazine, little
Bobby found a clown photo of Ringling Brothers clown Felix Adler, and from that moment on he knew he wanted to be in show biz!
He had dreamed of becoming a famous clown for most of his life, so at 15 years young, he quit school, packed a suitcase and sandwich, and ran away with the circus. Bob McNea never looked back.
His first television appearance was in the late 40’s promoting the Michigan State Fair Grand Stand Show on WXYZ-TV in Detroit Michigan.He enjoyed the experience so much, that Bob became fixated on becoming a TV celebrity. Little by little opportunities presented themselves to the young man.
By 1954, he was married with children, had moved to Windsor Ontario and landed his own local summer “replacement” show called “Moppets” produced at CKLW-TV.
While he waited for his big break, he was a regular character actor on several shows in Detroit including “Night Court”, “Up for Appeal”, and “Juvenile Court”, back in the days when shows, including commercial breaks, were broadcast LIVE in black and white.
Then, fate stepped in and Bob won an audition at Detroit’s WWJ-TV to portray Bozo the Clown.
days a week in front of a studio audience for the next eight years. His family was very happy!
the lime green jumpsuit, floppy checkered boots and glittering green top hat embellished with daisies to become a kids celebrity icon in around the great lakes.
I was Mr. McNea’s Globe and Mail paperboy on Eastlawn in Windsor, ON in the early 1970’s. I was fascinated by the clown costumes he had hanging in the garage. He would use the Oopsy voice when I collected and make me laugh.
However I always kept his secret identity.
A very nice man and down to earth for a bona fide celebrity. ????
I was on Big Top Talent when I was a teenager, as a special guest I did magic and comedy. Today I’m a professional comedian and magician michaelpicard.com
I remember watching Oopsy particulary on Saturday (or Sunday?) mornings on Channel 4 in Detroit. I also remember him performing live during the Christmas shows at Cobo Hall in the ’60’s.
If I am remembering correctly I was in Grade 7 at Edith Cavell in Windsor with two of Bob’s sons. We had a talent show that school year and those two guys stole the show with their act!
I was lucky to see the show live through Starr elementary school field trip. It really opened my eyes on how they make those show!
I met Bob on the train in the 70s. He regaled us with wonderful stories and amazed us with magic for 4 hours. He was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and I still cherish the memory of meeting him.
My younger brother and I watched him every Saturday morning, when he was in Detroit, and we lived in Strathroy, Ontario, from 1975-76. We loved him. We coloured two pictures of him, and watched every week, when he showed all of the fan art. Three weeks later, he commented on the pictures, saying how good he look, as there were portraits of him. He sent us an autographed photo, which I still have, and I am 55 years old, and it still makes me feel good. Bless you and your family.
So many happy memories growing up with this great show. Signed, a kid of the 70's. 🙂
We loved Oopsy the clown. We also have an original hand painted and autographed puzzle of oopsy the clown and we were wondering if anyone knew the value of this puzzle. It is in excellent condition and put together. It was preserved in plastic wrap… if anyone knows anyone who can give us an idea on this puzzle we would appreciate it. Email contact is grover63 at hotmail.com In the subject line just put Oopsy puzzle. Thank you very much
We have one of his puzzles as well in mint condition. Signed.
This man is my grandpa's (Bill McNea) brother. I know very little of Bob or Bill, this was intreseting.
Lucas McNea
I used to love watching Oopsy T Clown as a kid. Even when I got older, I enjoyed watching him "ironically". Great fun.
Nothing has, or ever will, replace his shows. It's not just because he was so great at it, which he was. It's because nobody will ever again get the chance. Local Canadian TV programming was quietly murdered by greedy corporations looking to maximize profits and spineless regulators at the CRTC who allowed them to do it. As a result, so much Canadian creativity like Mr McNea's has been denied the chance to flourish.
I miss Oopsy and all he represented!
I peformed on the Big Top Talent Show starting at the age 4-8 twice a year and enjoyed every moment of it. I would dance on the show tap,ballet and acrobats my mom was my dance teacher and she would have many of her other students perform who attended Karen School of Dance in Port Huron Mi.
I performed on the Big Top Talent Show starting at the age 4-8 twice a year and enjoyed every moment of it. I would dance on the show tap,ballet and acrobats my mom was my dance teacher and she would have many of her other students perform who attended Karen School of Dance in Port Huron Mi.
I performed on Oopsy the Clown's show in 1970. I was in high school and I played guitar and sang, "Puff the Magic Dragon," "Johnny Robeck," and "Blowin' in the Wind." It was my first television and I would love to have a tape of that show…I was 17 years old at the time. I recall my E string broke on my guitar just before I was to go on the set to perform. The director told me, "You can play without one," and I did.
I just discovered that my husband was on big top talent sometime between 1980 and 1982. Does anyone know how I might be able to track down the episode?
hi, I was a teenage magician who had the opportunity 1978 -1981 to appear on I had done a lot of shows for CKCO in Kitchener on different shows with hosts Betty Thompson, Johnny Walters and Oopsy the Clown.
Wonderful memories!
I love this Clown! I spent a lot of Day's watching "Oopsy the Clown. We meet Him once at the circus, I was about, 7 or 8, and thought I had met the greatest Clown in the World ( I think I did).
Thanks Oopsy,
Cary Crouch
My 5 Kids grew up watching Big Top Talent Time, and Oopsy the Clown.
Saturday mornings were the quietest all week.
Little did I know at that time, That Bob McNea was my second cousin. I am grateful to Bob’s daughter Kathryn, for putting this all together for us, to have our past memories. His legend lives on.
Coming from a clown less society in a country where babies are born to hear either Lebanese music or the news, and watching here in Canada my nephew Jason mesmerized in front of the TV screen watching “Oopsy the clown” raised my interest so I decided to take a closer look…
To tell you the truth because all the kids in the show and in the room where there for the laugh, I was more surprised to what that closer look revealed to me…
Not only Oopsy the clown was not an ordinary clown; but also Oopsy the clown was a man on a mission, and his mission was the undeclared camouflaged with laughs education…
When I met Bob McNea my English wasn’t up to par yet, but he listened to me attentively as like nothing wrong with my English while asked me questions about Lebanon without racing his words out of his mouth as the other did.
He was certainly a great human.
May God bless his soul, and thank you for the laughs Bob.
Thanks to Kathy McNea for this opportunity.
I loved Oopsy as a child . This blog is a great tribute…
My dad (former WWJ-TV Weekend Weatherman & Booth Announcer Hugh Copland) always took the family to the Shrine Circus and to the J.L. Hudsons Thanksgiving Day Parade. When ever Oopsy would be going by us, my dad would count to 3, and we'd all holler "Hey Bob" as loud as we could to get his attention. He always waved, and if he could he'd hop off and came over to shake our hands and say hi.
Having been a reappearing guest on the Oopsy show before his children took over backstage (I think the puppeteer then was Bob Elnicky, or something that sounded like that), Bob was always supportive of me and my entertainging whether I was a guest as a kid magician, or for the childrens theatre. I thank Bob for giving me the best advice ever when I was a kid, but never sank in till I was about 28 yrs old. See, when I was 12 yrs old I was with Bob in his dressng room (he had his full make-up on) at WWJ-TV as he waited for the puppeteer to show up for taping that day. He called and told Bob that he'd been offered his own show at channel 7 (Mr. Patches?) and wouldn't be coming in to tape the Oopsy shows that day, or ever again (I think right after that is when Bob's kids stepped in and manned the puppets). Bob looked at me (looking like Oopsy, but talking to me like Bob) and said "Guy, don't ever shit on anyone on your way up the ladder, because you're bound to slip on them on the way back down". At age 12, the true meaning of what he said didn't really sink in… but I remembered those words all my life. Finally when my broadcasting career was taking off and I was seeing other guys "shiting on people", and getting what they deserved as a result of they're prior actions, it all sank in. It's because of what the man behind the make-up told me back in 1970 that I have never burned a bridge and always been one of the good guys in broadcasting and as a stand-up comedian. I have been telling this story ever since (about 23 years) to try and help others "see the light" so they don't ever slip on their way back down the ladder. Thanks Bob, there is a bit of you in in every thing I do.
Guy
ps.. Thanks to Kathy McNea for putting this together!
Oopsy Daisy! What a wonderful tribute to Bob McNea! I’m looking forward to learning more about Detroit’s original Bozo the Clown.
Growing up as a WWJ brat (my dad is Hugh Copland) destined to be an entertainer, I idolized this man and absorbed every bit of information and advice he offered. It was a pleasure and an honor to be a guest on his show as a magician, a child actor, and most of all… to get to know the man behind the greasepaint.
A thoughtful tribute to Bob. A dear friend and most interesting neighbour.