R.I.P. Russell Scott – Blinky the Clown, Denver TV icon for more than 40 years




[Video Link] I spent many hundreds of hours enjoying Blinky the Clown's TV show on Denver's KWGN-TV. The good-hearted clown (real name Russell Scott) died today at the age of 91. I'm sorry to hear it.

NewImageScott's career as a clown grew from sketches he performed for children who came to see the elaborate miniature circus he maintained at his home.

"Dad was incredibly artistic," said daughter Linda Scott Ballas, who with her husband Steve, owns Steve's Snappin' Dogs in Denver.

"Everything was to scale, like one of those model train layouts. He hand-carved the elephants, a gorilla, put little motors under the plywood table that would move the animals in a circle, move the trapeze act and the barkers. It started out for me and my sister, but the more involved Dad got, we weren't actually allowed to touch it."

If this has made you nostalgic, you might enjoy reading the 594 comments in the 1960s and 1970s Denver pop culture open thread, where we discussed Jakes Jabbs, Starr Yelland, KWGN channel 2, Celebrity Sports Center, The Yum Yum Tree, Blinky's Fun Club, Buffalo Bill Museum, Heritage Square, and more.

Blinky the Clown, Denver TV icon for more than 40 years, dead at 91