RIP… Art Cervi… aka Bozo the Clown has died from Cardiac problems at the age of 86. I first met Art back in the ‘70’s - and recently spent some time with him at the Robin Seymour Tribute in September of 2020 where the picture below was taken. About two weeks ago I heard he was ailing and gave him a call. He sounded a little weak - but was still upbeat. Just days later, I was shocked to get the call that he had passed away. My heart goes out to his wife of 47 years, Suzie and the family.

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Jackie here… I have two vivid memories of “Bozo” and his show… that came decades apart. The first was when my Brownie Troop won the Lottery… that is, we got tickets to appear on the Greatest, Most Important TV show in all of our lives…. BOZO!!! With freshly ironed sashes, we sat spellbound on the bleacher seats watching our hero walk around the set with his Big Nose, Big Shoes and even Bigger Hair. When his assistant, Mr. Whoodini handed out the “Lucky Numbers” that would determine who won the Coveted Treasure Chest full of riches (Orange Crush, a Giant Tootsie Roll and a Hula Hoop!) we were literally trembling. I got #17 (my favorite number!!!) and waited on the edge of my seat for Bozo to put his gloved hand into the Velvet Bag and announce to the world that I had won!! That the Orange Crush… Giant Tootsie Roll and Hula Hoop were Mine!!! Then, seconds before the drawing, the girl sitting next to me who shall remain nameless (Mary Witt) grabbed my #17 and gave me HER number… #18. Before I knew what was happening… Mary was rushing down to meet Bozo and collect her bounty - proudly waving #17. Let’s just say “Orange” wasn’t the only thing “Crushed” that day.

Many years later I was filling in on the Radio for my Dad and during a discussion about Scary Clowns on the air with Big Al, I admitted that I’ve always been scared of all Clowns. (C’mon…I didn’t even wear THAT MUCH make up to my Wedding). As the rest of Purtan’s People laughed at me, the Hot Line rang in the studio. I picked up the phone and a very upbeat, friendly voice said “Jackie?” “Uh, yes” I said hesitantly “. “It’s me… Art Cervi… Bozo the Clown! Don’t be afraid of Clowns! I love you!!!”

And just like that, my fear of clowns went out the window. Bozo loved me! And… to this day, I Love Bozo.

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Jackie’s story reminded me of something Art told me one time. He said that when he died, they’d have a heckuva time getting the casket closed because of his big shoes!

As Art said at the end of every show…“Remember, Just Keep Laughing!!!” Have a great day and I’ll see you back here Tuesday!

-Dick

Jackie here… I have two vivid memories of “Bozo” and his show… that came decades apart. The first was when my Brownie Troop won the Lottery… that is, we got tickets to appear on the Greatest, Most Important TV show in all of our lives…. BOZO!!! With freshly ironed sashes, we sat spellbound on the bleacher seats watching our hero walk around the set with his Big Nose, Big Shoes and even Bigger Hair. When his assistant, Mr. Whodini handed out the “Lucky Numbers” that would determine who won the Coveted Treasure Chest full of riches (Orange Crush, a Giant Tootsie Roll and a Hula Hoop!) we were literally trembling. I got #17 (my favorite number!!!) and waited on the edge of my seat for Bozo to put his gloved hand into the Velvet Bag and announce to the world what I so desparately… That the Orange Crush was Mine!!! Then, seconds before the drawing, the girl sitting next to me who shall remain nameless (Mary Witt) grabbed my #17 and gave me HER number… #18. Before I knew what was happening… Mary was rushing down to meet Bozo and collect her bounty - proudly waving #17. The rest, as you can imagine, is a blur.

Flash forward to a few (or maybe 30 some) years later and I’m filling in on the Radio for my Dad. While discussing a Scary Clown Story on the air with Big Al, I admitted that I’m terrified of Clowns. (I didn’t even where that much make up to my Wedding). As the rest of Purtan’s People laughed at me, the Hot Line rang in the studio - which usually meant you were in trouble with the Program Director. With trepidation, I answered. A very upbeat, friendly voice said “Jackie?” “Uh… yes” I said a bit confused. “It’s me… Art Cervi… Bozo the Clown! Don’t be afraid! I love you!!!”

And just like that, my fear of clowns went out the Window. Bozo loved me! And… to this day, I Love Bozo!

Disney+ has added an on-screen content advisory to films that include “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures” including Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo, Peter Pan and the Swiss Family Robinson.

- They’re also going to fact check everything that comes out of Pinocchio’s mouth.

- Or maybe they’ll just ban him from Twitter.

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One of Disney’s TV shows is also getting an “Offensive Content” disclaimer….. The Muppets.

- Disney says they applaud the “Inter-Species Coupling of a Frog and a Pig”… Going forward, Miss Piggy will be referred to as a “Plus-Sized Porcine”.

- And the two Cranky Old White Guys in the balcony will now identify as Young, Gay Hispanic Women.

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Ted Cruz posted pictures of himself handing out bottled water in Texas over the weekend in an effort to repair his image after going to Cancun on vacation with his family.

- But the move may backfire since Ted was handing out bottles of water he stole from the Hotel Mini-Bar.

*****

The NASA Perseverance Rover continued to transmit pictures from Mars over the weekend.

- In other Big Space News… fresh on the heels of announcing her Divorce, Kim Kardashian Mooned the Paparazzi.

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The tech undustry is buzzing with rumors that Apple could replace the iPhone with wearable glasses that project images in front of the viewer’s eye.

- Which is great news for millions of seniors who’d prefer to lose their phone and their glasses at the same time.

- That’s just great. Combine the two things I am guaranteed to lose in any given day. My glasses and my phone.

*****

A study published in the Wall Street Journal found that men who pose with Cats in their online dating profile are lseen as “less masculine” and are less likely to get dates with women.

- Apparently women want to put off meeting the stand-off-ish, judgmental woman in his life until he takes her home to meet his Mom.

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In order to be "More inclusive" Professors at the Australian National University are being encourage to replace the terms "mother" and "father" with "Gestational Parent" and "Non-Birthing Parent".

- I can hear it now, Your Gestational Parent saying to you… "Just wait til your Non-Birthing Parent gets home!"

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Scientists at Harvard now say that the Dinosaurs WERE NOT killed by an Asteroid after all, but were taken out by a Comet that "Pinballed" off Jupiter before slamming into Earth 66 Million years ago.

- There haven't been this many theories about how somebody bit the dust since Jimmy Hoffa.

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In order to be "More inclusive" Professors at the Australian National University are being encourage to replace the terms "mother" and "father" with "Gestational Parent" and "Non-Birthing Parent".

- I can hear it now, Your Gestational Parent saying to you… "Just wait til your Non-Birthing Parent gets home!"

*****

Scientists at Harvard now say that the Dinosaurs WERE NOT killed by an Asteroid after all, but were taken out by a Comet that "Pinballed" off Jupiter before slamming into Earth 66 Million years ago.

- There haven't been this many theories about how somebody bit the dust since Jimmy Hoffa.

CNN is reporting that President Biden likes to warm himself by the fire in the Oval Office and then goes to bed early.

- And falls asleep halfway through Matlock.

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The CDC is out with new COVID PSA's where they digitally add masks to characters in classic films like “Casablanca.”

- In the PSA Bogart looks at Sam's hands on the Piano and says, "Wash 'em again, Sam".

- Then he hands Ilsa a mask and says, "You're wearing this on that plane. If you don't, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon... And for the rest of your life - until you get a Vaccine."

*****

Speaking of Harry and Meghan... CBS announced that Oprah is going to have an "intimate conversation" with the couple for a 90-minute primetime special airing Sunday, March 7.

- Harry says he wants to set the record straight and Meghan is doing it for the NEW CAR from Oprah!!

*****

A "Woke" group is calling for Shakespeare to be eliminated from College Curriculums because they claim his plays are "Tools of Imperial Oppression" and represent "White Supremacy and Sexism".

- Wasn't it the Bard who said, "An Idiot by any other Name would still be as Stupid"??

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Germany is tightening its border lockdowns to keep out variant strains of the Coronavirus.

- But the Biden Administration has vowed to keep OUR Borders Open... saying "This is AMERICA… We not only welcome ALL virus strains… We put ‘em on the path to CITIZENSHIP!”

*****

Researchers say that spending two hours a week in the woods - a practice the Japanese call "Forest Bathing" - offers the same benefits as walking 10,000 steps a day.

- I was going to get in my 10,000 steps AND spend time in the woods... but I didn't have an extension cord long enough for my Treadmill.

*****

The Pentagon admitted it’s been testing debris that was recovered from UFO crashes and a spokesperson said the findings "May change our lives forever".

- Didn't the Pandemic ALREADY do that??

- If we get any more "Change" we're gonna have to open a Bank.

*****

Cher is leading a group of celebrities supporting Native Americans calling for the Dakota Access Pipeline to be shutdown.

- Cher feels a special affinity for Indians because as we all know, She was born in the Wagon of a Traveling Show. Her Momma Used to Dance for the Money They'd Throw… Daddy would do whatever he could. Preach a little Gospel. Sell a couple bottles of Doctor goods.

*****

CNN is reporting that President Biden likes to warm himself by the fire in the Oval Office and then goes to bed early.

- And falls asleep halfway through Matlock.

*****

The CDC is out with new COVID PSA's where they digitally add masks to characters in classic films like “Casablanca.”

- In the PSA Bogart looks at Sam's hands on the Piano and says, "Wash 'em again, Sam".

*****

Germany is tightening its border lockdowns to keep out variant strains of the Coronavirus.

- But the Biden Administration has vowed to keep OUR Borders Open... saying "This is AMERICA… We not only welcome ALL virus strains… We put ‘em on the path to CITIZENSHIP!”

*****

Speaking of Harry and Meghan... CBS announced that Oprah is going to have an "intimate conversation" with the couple for a 90-minute primetime special airing Sunday, March 7.

- Harry says he wants to set the record straight and Meghan is doing it for the NEW CAR from Oprah!!

*****

A "Woke" group is calling for Shakespeare to be eliminated from College Curriculums because they claim his plays are "Tools of Imperial Oppression" and represent "White Supremacy and Sexism".

- Wasn't it the Bard who said, "An Idiot by any other Name would still be as Stupid"??

*****

Germany is tightening its border lockdowns to keep out variant strains of the Coronavirus.

- But the Biden Administration has vowed to keep OUR Borders Open... saying "This is AMERICA… We not only welcome ALL virus strains… We put ‘em on the path to CITIZENSHIP!”

*****

Researchers say that spending two hours a week in the woods - a practice the Japanese call "Forest Bathing" - offers the same benefits as walking 10,000 steps a day.

- I was going to get in my 10,000 steps AND spend time in the woods... but I didn't have an extension cord long enough for my Treadmill.

*****

The Pentagon admitted it’s been testing debris that was recovered from UFO crashes and a spokesperson said the findings "May change our lives forever".

- Didn't the Pandemic ALREADY do that??

- If we get any more "Change" we're gonna have to open a Bank.

*****

Cher is leading a group of celebrities supporting Native Americans calling for the Dakota Access Pipeline to be shutdown.

*****

A study by the University of Helsinki found that Singing in a Choir boosts Brain Function.

- Not to throw a wet blanket on this… but doing a crossword puzzle does the same thing and you don’t have to wear a special outfit.

*****

A Florida man who was arrested for indecent exposure told police he was protesting for Civil Rights.

- He says it was “No different than women burning their Bras in the ‘70’s”. Well, yeah except for the Shrinkage part.

*****

A Russian Doctor has reported the world’s first known case of a new form of Bird Flu.

- His “accidental fall from a hospital window” is scheduled for later this week.

*****

A new book claims that President Trump’s top Advisor Steve Bannon thought Trump had dementia.

*****

Officials in Nevada say that COVID restrictions have forced the states Prostitutes to turn to “Shady ways of making money”.

- Really?? Shadier than the REAL jobs??

*****

A California mom says she’s being bullied by other parents at her kid’s school for selling sexy pictures on OnlyFans.

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Novak Djokovic won his 9th Australian Open Title and 18th Grand slam overall on Sunday.

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Two Florida women aged 34 and 44 dressed up as “grannies” – wearing bonnets and gloves – in a failed attempt to pass as old enough to be eligible for coronavirus jabs. WFTV, an ABC-affiliated TV station in Orlando, reported that the pair had valid vaccine cards after having their first shots, but were denied their second ones.

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According to Greyson’s research, near-death experiences are fairly common. Some 10 percent to 20 percent of people who come close to death report them — about 5 percent of the population at large.

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The analysis also found poor and uneducated people are more likely to get the virus - partly because they don’t wear glasses as much.

According to the report, published in India, people touch their faces 23 times an hour and their eyes three times an hour on average.

Lead researcher Amit Kumar Saxena wrote: “Transmission occurs by touching the face, nose, mouth and eyes.

“Touching one’s nose and mouth is significantly reduced when wearing a face mask properly. But wearing a face mask does not protect the eyes.

“Touching and rubbing of the eyes with contaminated hands may be a significant route of infection for the virus.

“The risk of Covid-19 was two to three times less in the spectacles-wearing population than the population not using spectacles.

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The idea is not new: Charles Darwin hypothesized that humans evolved a sense of disgust to help avoid tainted food, but this is the first study to have directly tested whether greater pathogen disgust sensitivity is associated with fewer current infections, according to a Washington State University write-up on the study.

Aaron D. Blackwell, an associate professor of anthropology at WSU and co-author of the study, said participants from three indigenous Ecuadorian Shuar communities were asked to rate their level of disgust on things like touching a dead animal, stepping in animal droppings or drinking a fermented corn drink, chicha, made in this instance by someone with rotten teeth chewing the corn and spitting it into water to let it ferment.

“The higher the level of disgust, the lower the level of their inflammatory biomarkers indicative of infections,” he said. “While the study shows that disgust functions to protect against infection, it also showed it varies across different environments, based on how easily people can avoid certain things.”

*****

Woody Allen on Sunday slammed the new HBO documentary series about the sexual abuse allegations against him as a “hatchet job” that was “riddled with falsehoods.”

The decades-old accusations that Allen molested Dylan Farrow when she was a child are “categorically false,” the 85-year-old director and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, 50, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

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k about her rift with her father Thomas and her half-sister Samantha

Commonwealth service the following day has been cancelled - Queen now giving TV message day before

Oprah's two days with Meghan and Harry did not touch on stripping of patronages or Prince Philip's illness

The Queen 'blindsided' by the Sussexes' interview with the US talk show host, which has already been filmed

It also emerged that Oprah was with the couple immediately before they responded to monarch's statement

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Royals expert Omid Scobie soon shared a statement from the couple’s rep pushing back on Queen Elizabeth’s belief that “it is not possible” for them to be in service of the people while distancing themselves from the crown.

“As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to organizations they have represented, regardless of official role,” read the statement.

“We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”

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More than half of all Brits polled by The Sun say they’d change the channel rather than watch Oprah’s upcoming interview with the pair, the outlet reported.

The big television interview is set to hit the U.S. airwaves early next month between the once-royal couple and America’s royalty — Oprah.

But a significant number of Brits say the hotly anticipated sitdown is actually a huge turn off.

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DON’T FORGET! The 34th Annual Salvation Army Radiothon benefitting the Bed and Bread Program is coming up THIS FRIDAY - FEB. 26th and will be broadcast LIVE on WJR AM 760 and presented by Ford Motor Company. Paul W. Smith, Freank Beckmann, Steve Courtney and Mitch Album host their usual time slots… then I’ll join Guy Gordon to wrap things up from 4 to 7pm.

This Radiothon is THE Fundraiser for the Bed & Bread Program that provides 1.3 MILLION MEALS and provides 111,000 NIGHTS OF SHELTER each and every year to Men, Women and Children in our area.

You can even GIVE NOW by going to Donate.SalMich.org… by texting “BREAD” to 24365… or by calling 822-SAL-HOPE (833-725-4673).

This past year has been hard on all of us… and harder still for those struggling to find food and shelter for themselves… and in many cases, their children.

The Bed & Bread Program has

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provides

hosts The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit’s 34th Annual Bed & Bread Club Radiothon, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and News/Talk 760 WJR. We’re working to fight hunger and homelessness in our community! You can help by visiting Donate.SalMich.org, by texting “BREAD” to 24365, or by calling 833-SAL-HOPE (833-725-4673).

760 WJR hosts The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit’s 34th Annual Bed & Bread Club Radiothon, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund. Help us fight hunger and homelessness in our community. This year, The Salvation Army’s fundraising goal of $1.6 million will help the nonprofit continue serving more than 1.3 million meals and providing more than 111,000 nights of shelter throughout the year.

The event will kick off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 25 allowing supporters a head start to help the nonprofit provide meals and shelter to those in need. Night owls can be one of the first to donate to the Radiothon and follow The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to learn about the Bed & Bread program. News/Talk 760 WJR will share success stories and Radiothon donation information to those tuning in overnight.

Then, at 6 a.m. on Friday, February 26 we’ll switch to a live broadcast featuring:

Paul W. Smith: 6 – 10 a.m.

Frank Beckmann and Steve Courtney: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Mitch Albom: 2 – 4 p.m.

Guy Gordon and Dick Purtan: 4 – 7 p.m.

Jim Vella, Salvation Army Metro Detroit and National Advisory Board member and longtime Bed & Bread Club supporter will return for the fifth straight year as the Radiothon corporate champion and join the WJR hosts throughout the day.

Local and national celebrities and musicians, along with civic and business leaders will join the conversation throughout the Radiothon, encouraging listeners to make a difference for the hungry and homeless in metro Detroit.

Please make a donation to the Bed & Bread Club Radiothon:

DONATE ONLINE

Text BREAD to 24365

Call 833-SAL-HOPE (833-725-4673)

Listeners can donate $120 to feed five people for nearly a month. Those who donate $240 will provide meals to 10 people for nearly a month and receive an embroidered, limited edition Bed & Bread Club Radiothon blanket for supporting The Salvation Army’s Bed & Bread program. For a $255 donation, individuals can donate an extra blanket to a Bed & Bread friend in need to help keep them warm during the brutal, Michigan winter.