Bill Britten earned a degree in drama at Temple University.
20 Facts About Bill Britten
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Bill Britten taught speech and drama at a Seattle high school, performed on local television, appeared as a clown for a local gas station franchise and trained with two puppet theaters funded by the University of Washington.
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Bill Britten later was employed by a resort in New England.
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Bill Britten played guitar and likely included his musical talent as part of the entertainment.
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Bill Britten listened to popular radio comedy series of the 1930s and 1940s.
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Bill Britten watched Your Show of Shows and was inspired by the comedy skits and characters created by Sid Caesar.
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Bill Britten moved to New York City to work in nightclubs.
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Bill Britten received national publicity as the schoolteacher turned clown after performing a pantomime routine in which he attempted to sit in a collapsible chair.
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Bill Britten performed with the circus at Madison Square Garden during the spring of 1954.
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Bill Britten remained in the city when the circus moved to the next destination on its itinerary.
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Bill Britten made his first television appearance during 1955 on WJZ-TV for the "Jolly Gene And His Fun Machine" show.
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One of the skits that Bill Britten performed as "Johnny Jellybean" was his unsuccessful effort to obtain a drink of water from a malfunctioning water fountain.
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Bill Britten succeeded Herb Sheldon on August 10,1958 to become the host of WABD's "Wonderama" program.
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Bill Britten initially hosted the show as "Three Gun Willie The Kid" and he was accompanied by Doris Faye's "Princess Ticklefeather" character.
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Bill Britten's character proved unpopular and was dropped from the show.
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On Monday, September 14,1959, Bill Britten moved to WPIX-TV in New York City and began to portray the character "Bozo the Clown" for "The Bozo Show" that aired until March 1,1963.
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Bill Britten is mentioned in the book Freedomland USA: The Definitive History.
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Bill Britten appeared on Broadway, most notably as the Barber in the original Broadway production of Man of La Mancha alongside Robert Rounsville and Richard Kiley.
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Bill Britten appeared in the 1980 film Fame as drama teacher Mr England.
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Bill Britten was married to Mary Louise Jones for 48 years.