Willard Scott portrayed Ronald McDonald in the character's first McDonald's television commercials.
Scott was a television personality who had played Bozo the Clown on Washington, D.C., television. McDonald's used his clown-performance experience when developing Ronald as a recognizable advertising figure in the early 1960s.
Ronald's first commercial appearance came in 1963, and the character later became the centerpiece of McDonald's child-focused branding. The role was subsequently performed by other actors as the character's design and advertising style evolved.
A common mix-up is confusing the actor who first portrayed Ronald with the character's later performers or with other McDonald's advertising figures. Willard Scott is specifically associated with the earliest television portrayal.