TV Quote of the Day (‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ As Ted Delivers an On-Air Obit for Chuckles the Clown)

Ted Baxter [played by Ted Knight]: [ad-libbing an on-air obituary]: “Ladies and gentlemen, sad news. One of our most beloved entertainers, and close personal friend of mine, is dead. Chuckles the Clown died today from - from uh - he died a broken man. Chuckles, uh, leaves a wife. At least I assume he was married, he didn't seem like the other kind. I don't know his age, but I guess he was probably in his early sixties; it's kind of hard to judge a guy's face especially when he's wearing big lips and a light bulb for a nose. But he had his whole life in front of him, except for the sixty some odd years he already lived. I remember, Chuckles used to recite a poem at the end of each program. It was called 'The Credo of the Clown,' and I'd like to offer it now in his memory - 'A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.' That's what it's all about, folks, that's what he stood for, that's what gave his life meaning. Chuckles liked to make people laugh. You know what I'd like to think, I'd like to think that somewhere, up there tonight, in his honor, a choir of angels is sitting on whoopee cushions.”— The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Season 6, Episode 7, “Chuckles Bites the Dust,” original air date Oct. 25, 1975, teleplay by James L. Brooks, Allan Burns, and David Lloyd, directed by Joan Darling