Willard Scott played Ronald McDonald in early television commercials.
Scott portrayed the character in McDonald's advertising in the early 1960s, helping establish Ronald as the chain's central human mascot. Before the character developed the familiar long-running look, early commercials presented him as a clown associated with McDonald's food and restaurant experience.
Scott later became widely known as a television weatherman and as a host on NBC's “Today” show. His connection to Ronald McDonald is therefore an important piece of the mascot's origin story, although many later performers also portrayed the character.
The character's visual design changed after the earliest commercials, and McDonald's eventually standardized Ronald's appearance and role within McDonaldland. That evolution can cause confusion about who “the original Ronald” was. Scott is specifically associated with the early television portrayal, not with every later actor who wore the costume.