who played clarabell the clown on howdy doody
Clarabell the Clown Three actors played Clarabell on a regular basis. The first was Bob Keeshan, who later became Captain Kangaroo. Keeshan was succeeded by Robert "Nick" Nicholson,[1] who also played the character of J. Cornelius Cobb on The Howdy Doody Show. Lew Anderson[2] was the third and last person to play Clarabell. Anderson played the character from 1954 until the series' final episode on September 24, 1960. Anderson returned to play Clarabell in the short-lived 1976â€“77 New Howdy Doody Show and in the 1987 40th anniversary special, and in later years in many personal appearances with Buffalo Bob Smith. In addition, Dayton Allen, Bill LeCornec, and others played Clarabell in the early years if Keeshan was busy doing something else for the show.