Frank Wiziarde: Entertainer, Artist, Whizzo the Clown

Johnson County residents who were watching television between 1955 and 1987 will remember “Whizzo’s Wonderland,” a Sunday morning kid’s program. With his exaggerated clown makeup, beautifully eccentric costumes, and magical props, Whizzo enchanted children in the Kansas City and Topeka region for more than 30 years. Frank Wiziarde, the man behind the makeup and under the costumes, was an entertainer and an artist who understood his craft. He had one goal: entertain children and make them laugh.

Frank’s clown costume was a tribute to three or four distinct types of clowns, as well as famous clown characters. Frank knew the history of clowning well, and sometimes gave lectures on the topic. (Johnson County Museum)

Frank (1916 – 1987) was an entertainer from a young age. His father, Jack, was a trapeze artist with Ringling Brothers before starting the Wiziarde Novelty Circus in Westmoreland, Kansas, in 1930. Performing during the warm season, Frank’s father entertained on the tightrope, the trapeze, and as a clown. Frank and his brother, Jack Jr., joined the circus before it closed in 1936. Residents of Westmoreland remembered Frank lecturing in the 1930s and 1940s about the history and the craft of clowning.

When the Wiziardes were not performing in their family circus, they were running a successful bakery in Westmoreland, Kansas. (Johnson County Museum)

Following a stint in the military and a shorter stint in Hollywood, Frank next entertained on the radio. His radio shows, first in Atchison, Kansas, and later in St. Joseph, Missouri, featured interviews with listeners on the street. Frank bought a house in Prairie Village with the GI Bill in the early 1950s, and then hosted a radio game show on WHB in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1953, Frank moved to KMBC’s radio station and, later, its television station (Channel 9).

As a director of the KMBC-TV station, Frank was responsible for programming. He pitched the idea of a children’s show, and delivered in September 1955, when “Whizzo’s Wonderland” debuted. In the show, Frank combined his skills as an entertainer with his love of the art of clowning. With his wife, Kitty, the couple made almost all of Whizzo’s props and costumes. They used simple materials and household items, such as a vacuum cleaner for the Bubble Machine and a painted Styrofoam ball with feathers for the Whizzolark. Together, the Wiziardes worked to bring Frank’s vision of a “modern” clown to a television audience each week.

Frank and Kitty were inventive—they used household materials and machines and converted them into special props with specific purposes for “Whizzo’s Wonderland.” (Johnson County Museum)

The Whizzolark was just one of many “Whizzo’s Wonderland” characters, all made by hand from simple components. (Johnson County Museum collection)

In an interview with The Squire on February 19, 1976, Frank confessed, “I try to entertain. I feel if I can cause more laughter than gloom I’m fulfilling the franchise of a clown.” His passion was clowning, and his artistic expression made “Whizzo’s Wonderland” possible.

Whizzo’s clown feet were similar to the feet Frank’s father used in the Wiziarde Novelty Circus (toes and all!). (Johnson County Museum)

Frank and Kitty made the Whizzo costumes and props in their home in Prairie Village. Similarly, his mother, Laura, and their Westmoreland neighbors sewed his father’s clown and circus costumes during the winter months. (Johnson County Museum)

Frank’s acting philosophy was from the old school: when he was Whizzo, he was somebody else. Once the makeup was fully on, he ceased to be Frank and became Whizzo. (Johnson County Museum)

Frank entertained nearly to the end. “Whizzo’s Wonderland” filmed its last episode in May 1987. Within four months, Frank Wiziarde passed away. He left behind a legacy of laughter and simple entertainment. His image in the Johnson County Museum’s exhibit is recognizable for many visitors. The Whizzo the Clown Collection, containing over 100 artifacts, came to the Museum in the early 1990s. Some of Kitty and Frank Wiziarde’s hand-crafted, hand-sewn Whizzo artifacts will be on display in the main exhibit later this summer. We hope—as Frank would have—that they make you smile.

A photo opportunity in the “Becoming Johnson County” exhibit—your chance to put yourself in “Whizzo’s Wonderland!”