McDonald's original mascot was Speedee.
Speedee was a smiling chef character used by Richard and Maurice McDonald after they redesigned their San Bernardino, California, restaurant around a faster self-service system in 1948. The character represented the restaurant's emphasis on speed.
Speedee appeared in early McDonald's signs and advertising before the company adopted the Golden Arches as its dominant visual symbol. The name is sometimes confused with Speedy, a later or unrelated cartoon-style character, but the McDonald's mascot was specifically called Speedee.
Ronald McDonald did not become the chain's principal clown character until the 1960s, and characters such as the Hamburglar were introduced later still.