Willard Scott portrayed Ronald McDonald in McDonald's first television commercial featuring the mascot.
Scott appeared as the clown character in early McDonald's advertising in 1963. Before becoming widely associated with television weather reports, he worked as a radio and television personality and had experience portraying clown characters.
The early Ronald McDonald was not identical to the later standardized version. His original costume used food-related visual elements, including a tray-like hat and a cup-shaped nose, helping connect the character directly to McDonald's products.
McDonald's subsequently refined Ronald's appearance and made him the central figure of its family advertising. The character's public image developed over several campaigns, so photographs from the 1960s can look noticeably different from later versions.