He deserved a break.

Another sad passing was reported today in the Lexington Herald-Leader....the guy who we can all thank for Ronald McDonald went on to the big golden arches in the sky.

Michael Polakovs, best known as a clown named Coco and developer of Ronald McDonald, died Sunday in Ashland, KY. He was 86. His greatest fame came as the developer of Ronald McDonald, the clown face of McDonald's corporation. He designed the outfit and makeup that is worn by the character to this day.

Thanks to the clowntastic genius of Mr. Polakovs, people in my generation can remember with fondness the locally produced commericals in the 70s of Ronald McDonald's hit song "Friends."

And current generations can alternately gawk and/or shudder at the site of Ronald's daughter and son:





you'll be missed, Mr. Polakovs. but your creation's many, many....many reiterations will stay with us for decades to come.

Sad day in the world of Hokey Pokey

today in the Lexington Herald Leader, there was sad news of the passing of a musical giant:

Robert Degen, who copyrighted the song The Hokey Pokey Dance in 1944, died in Lexington, on Nov. 23, his 104th birthday. In the New York Times report on Degen's death, the authorship of "You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out," and on and on, is in question. The credit usually goes to Larry LaPrise and the musical group the Ram Trio. It is said that the song was created in Sun Valley, Idaho, as a novelty number to entertain vacationing skiers. The group recorded it in the late 1940s. Degen claimed that LaPrise had stolen the song from him.

the very next time this song comes on The Backyardigans, i'm going to grab a sippy cup and pour a little out for the homey.