Lewis Burr Anderson (May 7, 1922 Kirkman, Iowa – May 14, 2006 Westchester, New York) was an American actor and musician. He is widely known by TV fans as the third and final actor to portray Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody between 1954 and 1960. He famously spoke Clarabell's only line on the show's final episode in 1960, with a tear visible in his eye, "Goodbye, kids." Anderson is also widely known by jazz music fans as a prolific jazz arranger, big band leader, and alto saxophonist.
In the late 1940s, he joined a singing group out of Chicago called the Honey Dreamers that appeared on radio and early television programs such as "The Ed Sullivan Show."
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He started a band while serving in the Navy during World War II and later toured the Midwest with bands before landing in New York. It was when he joined the Honey Dreamers, a singing group that appeared on radio and early television shows, that he met Buffalo Bob Smith and became a clown. As a musician and band leader, in recent years, his All-American Big Band appeared on Friday nights at New York's Birdland jazz club.
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Member of the All-American Big Band, made up of expert musicians from recording studios and Broadway shows.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The New Howdy Doody Show
1976
TV Series
Clarabell (1976-1977)
The Howdy Doody Show
1954-1960
TV Series
Clarabell the Clown / Clarabell Hornblower
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
It's Howdy Doody Time
1987
TV Special
Clarabell
Known for movies
The Howdy Doody Show (1954-1960) as Clarabell the Clown / Clarabell Hornblower
The New Howdy Doody Show (1976) as Clarabell (1976-1977)
$1.1 Million
