Blinky the Clown [Russell Scott]

Russell Scott (June 30, 1921 – August 27, 2012) aka. Blinky the Clown

Born in Enid, Oklahoma, Russell Scott (Blinky) inherited his love of the circus from his father. He began his entertainment career as Sears-O the Clown, performing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He began developing his clown persona while exhibiting a miniature handmade circus he built in while working at Sears in Oklahoma.

The popularity of his display as a marketing tool led to a sales job in Colorado Springs and the attention of the city’s television stations who wanted him to host a daily kids show. One station passed because Scott wanted to use the show as a way of educating kids and parents about safety. KKTV was the station that gave him the freedom to create the program format that was to last almost 4 decades.

Changing his hobo character’s name to Blinky, his success brought him to the attention of television station KKTV. There he began “Blinky’s Fun Club” in 1958. In 1966, the show moved to KWGN in Denver, where it remained until it’s end in 1998. Blinky performed in more than 10,000 episodes, giving him the longest career of any children’s T.V. personality in the United States.

“Blinky always stressed safety to his viewers: don’t play with matches, stay out of the streets, and mind mom and dad – were familiar themes. Russell’s love of performing is matched with his love and compassion for the children. Co-workers admit that they seldom saw Russell at the TV station, but Blinky was always there. Blinky the Clown was created by Russell for the sole purpose of entertaining children; for many of these children, appearing on Blinky’s Fun Club was so memorable that they returned as adults, bringing their own children on the show.”
Emmy Awards

Blinky’s Antiques and Collectibles

In 1986, he owned and operated Blinky’s Antiques and Collectibles on South Broadway in Denver, Colorado.

“He came to work one day to find that there had been a break-in, but nothing was missing. Instead he found a note of apology from the would-be burglar; it said, “I sat on your lap when I was five years old, I just couldn’t rob Blinky.”
Silver Circle of the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

After 22 years, the shop closed in 2008.

Death and funeral of Blinky

Russell Scott died on August 27, 2012, at the Bear Creek Nursing Center in Morrison, Colorado. He died from complications of pneumonia. He was 91 years old.

Following the funeral, he was laid to rest at Fort Logan National Cemetery with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, the family requested contributions be made in honor of Blinky to Shriners Burn Hospitals.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, Blinky was inducted into The Silver Circle of the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
He was inducted into the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado’s Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2005.
In 2006, he was the subject of a documentary titled Blinky, produced and directed by Brian Malone.