Willard Scott first played Ronald McDonald in a 1963 Washington, D.C., television commercial.
Scott was working as a television personality and weatherman when he appeared as the original Ronald McDonald. The early costume and makeup were simpler than the character's later standardized appearance, and the commercial helped establish the clown as a recognizable McDonald's representative.
Ronald McDonald quickly became a central part of the company's family-oriented branding. The character later appeared in national advertising, public appearances, and the wider McDonaldland setting.
The character's performer is often confused with later actors who portrayed Ronald McDonald in commercials and live appearances. Willard Scott's connection is specifically to the earliest television incarnation in the Washington, D.C., market.