TVSquad

Long before he was wishing 100 year-old people a Happy Birthday on Today, Willard Scott was a clown. A pathetic, oddly dressed clown.

After the jump is the very first commercial that McDonald's ran featuring Ronald McDonald. Sure, it's easy to dismiss the low-budget look of this ad because of the time it was created, the bad special effects, and the knowledge that later the character would be refined and would look a lot different (and better). But then you look closely and you see that the guy has a freakin' paper cup on his nose. It's like the last minute Halloween costume a father would put together to entertain his kids. He and the other parents think it's hilarious, but the kids are thinking "what's wrong with daddy?"

And does he really need two trays of food, one on his waist and one on his head?

Still, it's a cool look at a different TV era, and it's great to see how McDonald's television advertising started out. Hey, it's better than the "I'm Lovin' It" campaign.

So you were an adorable kid on a couple of hit TV shows (Gimme A Break and Blossom), an underrated show (Brotherly Love) and endless other shows and TV movies. You want to get away from your kid actor days because you're an adult, so you drop the whole "Joey" thing and start going by the name "Joseph." You want to graduate to meatier roles, more mature roles.

So why do you agree to star in an Ice Breakers commercial with the Duff sisters and say your famous "whoa!" line? I can understand why some TV stars might want to cash in on an old catch phrase - how many times have we had to sit through Gary Coleman saying "whatchoo talkin 'bout Wills? when he got older? - but why you, Joey? (Sorry, Joseph). You're a talented guy who could probably do a lot of things, and while I'm all for self-deprecation and even some nostalgia, I think you're too young to be looking backward like that. So stop saying "whoa" and grab a meaty character role or co-star in a nice ensemble drama.