[433] in Vegetarian_Support_Group
Ronald McDonald quits in disgust
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (elsiedee@MIT.EDU)
Wed Mar 22 21:18:52 1995
To: vsg@MIT.EDU
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 21:17:44
From: elsiedee@MIT.EDU
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To: Multiple recipients of list VEGAN-L
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Subject: Ronald McDonald quits in disgust
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 1995 16:57:21 GMT
From: Moonchild <coniberr@CS.MAN.AC.UK>
The Life and Times of Ronald McDonald
"The people who run McDonald's don't actually eat
at the place, they leave that to the kids"
"I want to apologize for participating in helping to brainwash
North America's young people into doing something that I now know
to be contrary to the purpose of life." For two years Geoffrey
Giuliano played Ronald McDonald for Mcdonald's of Canada. Prior to this
he also appeared as the Marvellous Magical Burger King. Life as a
corporate clown was comfortable with a 50,000 dollar yearly salary,
chauffeur driven car and penthouse office with a personal secretary.
Initiation into the Hindu religion and increasingly strong vegetarian
convictions led Giuliano to quit the job.
Born in Rochester, New York in 1953, Giuliano acted in minor roles as a
child and later, as a member of Equity, appeared in theatres in
Great Britian and the USA. On graduation from New York State University
in 1978 with a masters degree in acting, he was forced to take the only
work available - Playing the Marvellous Magical Burger King to support
his family and to pay back crippling student loans. "All Burger Kings
sit around the camp fire at night and dream of being Ronald McDonalds."
There are many Ronald McDonalds around the world, visiting stores and
hospitals, entertaining children, appearing on TV and masquerading as
child safety advocates as part of the `Ronald McDonald Appearance
Program.' Geoffrey Giuliano joined their ranks in 1980, hired by a
Canadian advertising company in Toronto. "They are very particular
who they hire. What if you were a child molester, drug addict or
even - God forbid - a vegetarian." He had been a vegetarian since 1972
but kept this a secret from his employers. Although he loved working
with children, Giuliano quit after two years; "I was doing a saftey
show for kids when I found a memo that said `The purpose of the Ronald
McDonald Safety Show is to increase awareness of McDonald's goods,
services and products.'" After being given a golden handshake,
McDonald's said he was just not `McDonaldized enough.'
Ten years later, watching TV, he saw an anti-smoking advert starring
the ex-Marlbooro Man. The actor had severe lung disease as a result
of smoking and is now campaigning against the industry which employed
him for years. Inspired by this, Giuliano hopes to create a new,
not-for-profit character promoting non-violent vegetarian values
and to document his experiences in a book to be titled `Confessions
of a Corporate Clown.'
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Thanks to Hinduism Today for providing the source materials for this
article. The article is based on an interview in 1990.
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