Willard Scott first played Ronald McDonald in a 1963 Washington, D.C., television commercial.
Scott, then a Washington television personality and weather presenter, appeared as the clown character in an early McDonald’s advertisement. The commercial helped introduce Ronald McDonald as a friendly figure intended to appeal especially to children and families.
Ronald’s design and costume changed over time. The early version was less standardized than the later character, and subsequent performers shaped the appearance audiences came to associate with McDonald’s. The character eventually became the center of a much larger advertising universe.
A frequent mistake is to confuse the character’s first performer with the later Ronald McDonald performers who appeared in national campaigns and public events. The answer concerns the original 1963 television portrayal, not the actor most associated with later decades.