He spent his life after high school doing odd jobs until he enlisted first in the U.S. Marine Corps[1] and later in the U.S. Navy during World War II, though he did not see any combat action due to the loss of vision in his right eye.

[2][3] Bell was also a baseball player during his Flint high school years, but was limited due to his vision loss.

He joined the cast of the Wally Phillips Show and proved to have a gift for comedy, playing numerous characters.

[2] After WLW and WLWT's executive vice president took a position with Chicago broadcast giants WGN Radio and WGN-TV in 1956, Bell, Phillips and the show's writer/director/producer Don Sandburg came along, producing their own variety series, which included The Wally Phillips Show and Midnight Ticker.

[7][8] In 1960, station management asked the character actor and staff announcer to portray Bozo on a live, 30-minute show weekdays at noon, consisting of one-man sketches and cartoons, which debuted on June 20, 1960.

[10][11][12][13] In 1968, surgery for a brain aneurysm and needed recuperation forced Bell to take a leave of absence from the show.

[2][17][18] Larry Harmon, who owned the rights to the Bozo the Clown character, refused to congratulate Bell on the honor and also prohibited him from receiving it in costume, as was customary at inductions.