For more than 40 years, Bozo was a staple of Chicago television. Under a few different names and formats, the program is recognized as the most popular and successful locally produced children’s program in the history of television. Last weekend I relived a large part of Bozo nostalgia when I met Joey D’Auria, the second and last person to portray Bozo.

When I heard D’Auria was appearing at Galaxy Con, my buddy Tony and I immediately made plans to go. After debuting as SuperCon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, it expanded to more than a dozen cities and was renamed Galaxy Con in 2019. Last weekend was its first Chicago event.

Despite featuring big names like William Shatner, D’Auria was my main focus. This was a rare appearance by him, and I wasn’t going to miss it. Good planning allowed us to be the first to meet him, which gave us much more time than a usual meet-and-greet. He revealed a couple interesting bits of Bozo trivia in our short interview.

D’Auria seemed very happy to meet his fans, and we were giddy like kids to meet a Chicago icon. Since the Bozo run ended, D’Auria is keeping busy doing voice-over work for cartoons, animated series and video games.

Joey D’Auria, Tony and me.

Our convention fun could have ended there and we would have been happy, but we had the whole weekend to meet other celebrities and creators. A few highlights were actor and director Brian O’Halloran; actor Clint Howard; illustrator Tim Jacobus, who has created covers for nearly 100 books in the Goosebumps series; and comic creator Michael Kingston.

Brian O’Halloran

Clint Howard

Tim Jacobus

Michael Kingston

Our weekend dining choice was nearby Murray Bros. Caddyshack. A longtime favorite, MBCS features a solid menu, highlighted by potato golf balls, which sound simple yet have layers of flavor and texture, making them a signature appetizer. The fun vibe is helped by memorabilia from the movie and a super attentive staff.

— John Wroblewski, online writer