Thought clowns were creepy? Meet the very first Ronald McDonald on his 1963 TV debut



If you grew up with a deep-seated fear of clowns, then it's probably best to look away now.

A newly-uncovered video has revealed Ronald McDonald as he made his 1963 debut - and he looks distinctly creepy.



With a drink cup for a nose and a food tray for a hat, the original Ronald resembles a scarecrow more than a clown.

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Disconcerting: Willard Scott sports a drink cup for a nose as he plays Ronald McDonald in the clown's first-ever television advert

If he looks familiar it's because he was played by Willard Scott, who went on to become the weatherman for NBC's Today programme.



Made long before a new health-conscious generation prompted the sale of salads and juice beneath the golden arches, the commercial shows off the clown's prolific hamburger-eating ability.

He sports a special belt which magically produces three hamburgers in a row, and at the end of the clip happily skips off to a McDonald's restaurant.

Like magic: The first McDonald's clown sported a belt which produced hamburgers from thin air

Skipping off into the sunset: At the end of the advert, Ronald disappears into a McDonald's restaurant. The commercial was made in 1963

The advert was published on YouTube in 2008 but came to prominence this week when it was rediscovered by The Consumerist.

Although he has long been beloved by children the world over, Ronald has also garnered an inadvertently creepy image, which isn't dispelled in two more adverts the website tracked down.



In one, Ronald, still wearing his food-tray hat, is introduced as 'Ronald McDonald, the happy hamburger-eating clown'.

Head gear: Ronald shows off his food-tray hat - and his original blond wig

Then and now: Willard Scott as Ronald in 1971, and pictured in 2010, right



He sits down to talk to a little boy, who says: 'My mom told me never to talk to strangers'.

Modern incarnation: The new slimline Ronald McDonald

Ronald responds: 'Well, your mum's right as always, but I'm Ronald McDonald! Now give me a McDonald's shake!'

The clown went on to become one of the world's best-known icons, appearing in a range of television adverts set in McDonaldland.

By 1971, Ronald had ditched the food tray hat and cup nose, and was sporting a more familiar red wig.

The official clown has been played by at least ten different actors since 1963, including Squire Fridell.

Mr Fridell starred as Ronald McDonald for seven years from 1984, after his famous role as Toyota Man in the long-running 'oh, what a feeling' adverts.

Ronald has undergone a series of makeovers, and in 2004 unveiled a more athletic look as a 'balanced, active lifestyle ambassador'.

But he came under fire last month when when 550 health professionals wrote an open letter to McDonald's, urging them to combat obesity by ditching the clown.

Ronald McDonald's 1963 television debut





Willard Scott reprises the role





Farewell to the hat: Ronald appears with a red wig in 1971