Deaths elsewhere

Last update: July 3, 2008 - 8:37 PM

Larry Harmon, above, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure, said his publicist. He was 83. Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of TV stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos. Harmon was responsible for Bozo's distinctive look: orange-tufted hair, bulbous nose and outlandish red, white and blue costume.

Michael Turner, a leading contemporary comic-book artist who was known for the highly stylized covers he created and for drawing shapely female characters, died June 27 in Santa Monica, Calif., of bone cancer. He was 37. Turner created online comic adaptations for the NBC series "Heroes" and published his own titles, including "Fathom," a female superhero with water-based powers.

NEWS SERVICES