Bob's first television appearance was in the late 40's promoting the Michigan State Fair Grand Stand Show on WXYZ-TV in Detroit Michigan. He became fixated on becoming a TV celebrity.
By 1954, he had his own summer “replacement” show called "Moppets” produced at CKLW-TV in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.At the same time he was a regular character actor on several local court shows including "Night Court", "Up for Appeal", and "Juvenile Court".
Early television was broadcast LIVE in black and white including commercial breaks. Bob became the Wonder Bread spokes-character for the “Mickey Mouse Club” (WXYZ) in 1959.
Then fate stepped in...
Bob McNea won an audition at WWJ-TV Detroit, Channel 4 to portray"Bozo the Clown".
It quickly became one of Detroit's favorite kids show televised in a 1/2 hour live-to-air format 6 days a week in front of a studio audience for the next eight years.
His family was very happy!
In 1965, WWJ executives strategically determine not to renew the licensing for Bozo. But gave Bob the chance to live his lifelong dream by filling the time slot with his own clown character
"Oopsy Daisy"
Every morning, as he had done since a teenager, Bob painted his face with white and red greasepaint, snapped on a big red nose, changed into the lime green jumpsuit, floppy checkered
boots and glittering green top hat embellished with daisies to become a KID icon in around the great lakes foranother 12 years until Bob negotiated a deal which relocated production to the Canadian CTV affiliate, CKCO-TV in Kitchener, Ontario.
Through Sumfun Productions Inc., Bob, his wife Frances Kay, daughter Kathy and son Michael wrote, produced, acted and developed the show for years to come.
Bob and Frances Kay also produced “Big Top Talent” with Oopsy as the on camera host. It showcased amateur talent of kids from cities, towns and rural areas surrounding the towns in Southwestern Ontario.
A thoughtful tribute to Bob. A dear friend and most interesting neighbour.
ReplyDeleteGrowing 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.
ReplyDeleteOopsy Daisy! What a wonderful tribute to Bob McNea! I'm looking forward to learning more about Detroit's original Bozo the Clown.
ReplyDeleteMy 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.
ReplyDeleteHaving 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!
I loved Oopsy as a child . This blog is a great tribute...
ReplyDeleteComing 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…
ReplyDeleteTo 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.
My 5 Kids grew up watching Big Top Talent Time, and Oopsy the Clown.
ReplyDeleteSaturday 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.
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).
ReplyDeleteThanks Oopsy,
Cary Crouch
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.
ReplyDeleteWonderful memories!
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?
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI used to love watching Oopsy T Clown as a kid. Even when I got older, I enjoyed watching him "ironically". Great fun.
ReplyDeleteNothing 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!
This man is my grandpa's (Bill McNea) brother. I know very little of Bob or Bill, this was intreseting.
ReplyDeleteLucas McNea
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
ReplyDeleteSo many happy memories growing up with this great show. Signed, a kid of the 70's. :)
ReplyDelete