Alright, Colorado Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and early Millennials; today’s article is just for you! Remember when you were a kid and morning TV wasn’t your (now) regular news and weather reports, but rather a friendly clown who threw the BEST birthday celebrations in Colorado? The show I am referring to is — of course — Blinky’s Fun House, and here is the story behind the show that you never knew:

It was 1958 when Colorado Springs CBS affiliate KKTV debuted a new children’s program, starring local children, colorful (in terms of personality, as the show premiered in black and white) puppets, and a friendly clown named Blinky, created and portrayed by Russell Scott. After a successful 8-year run in Colorado Springs, Blinky’s Fun Club was picked up by Denver’s KWGN and ran every weekday from 1966 to 1998, resulting in Blinky (Russell Scott) holding the record for the longest-running television clown in history, as well as holding the record for the longest running children’s television host in the country.

Remembered for his distinct rendition of the “Happy Birthday” song, Blinky (Scott) was inducted into both the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado’s Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame and the Silver Circle of the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. After his 10,000-episode television run, Scott operated Blinky’s Antiques and Collectibles on South Broadway in Denver, which closed when his health began to decline. Russell Scott passed away in 2012 at a Morrison nursing home due to complications of pneumonia, leaving behind a Colorado legacy unlike any before (or after) him.

For even more local celebrities that you are sure to recognize, click on 12 People You Will Instantly Recognize If You Hail From Colorado.

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