Monday, October 08, 2018

RIP Sandy the Tramp

From this morning's Robert Feder column...

Don Sandburg, the former WGN producer and writer who played Sandy the Tramp on “Bozo’s Circus” from 1961 to 1969 and was credited with creating “The Grand Prize Game,” died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease Saturday in Springfield, Oregon. He was 87. “Behind the scenes, Don Sandburg was the creative force that steered [‘Bozo’s Circus’] into one of the most enduring and loved children’s shows ever produced,” recalled WGN producer Jeff Hoover. Sandburg later was a producer for “The Banana Splits” and a writer for “New Zoo Revue” and the “Star Trek” animated series. He began his career in Cincinnati, where he worked with Bob Bell (Chicago’s original Bozo) and Wally Phillips before all three were hired at WGN.