He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and The Fry Kids.

[1] Many people work full-time making appearances as Ronald, visiting children in hospitals and attending regular events.

[2] There are also Ronald McDonald Houses, where parents can stay overnight with their sick children in nearby chronic care facilities.

In his first television appearance in 1963, the clown was portrayed by Willard Scott.On March 28, 2000, Henry Gonzalez, McDonald's Northeast Division President, thanked Scott for creating Ronald McDonald during a taped tribute to Scott on the Today Show.

The character first appeared in national TV advertising in 1965, during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and followed with spots during the 1965 NFL Championship Game.

[5] Circus performer Coco the Clown (real name Michael Polakovs) was hired in 1966 to revamp Ronald's image, creating the now familiar costume and make-up.

[6] In 2010, the Corporate Accountability International in Boston, Massachusetts, suggested Ronald McDonald should retire due to childhood obesity.

McDonald's trains performers to portray Ronald using identical mannerisms and costume, to contribute to the illusion that they are one character.

An actor named Joe Maggard claimed to have performed as Ronald McDonald from 1995 to 2007, though these dates overlap with the portrayals by Jack Doepke and David Hussey.

In 1990, a 40-minute animated direct-to-video film titled The Adventures of Ronald McDonald: McTreasure Island and produced by DIC Entertainment was released on VHS by Hi-Tops Video.

Ronald McDonald is the protagonist of three video games: Donald Land, developed by Data East for the Famicom console, released only in Japan in 1988;[28] McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure, developed by Treasure for the Mega Drive console and released in 1993;[29] and Ronald McDonald in Magical World, developed by SIMS for the Game Gear handheld, released only in Japan in 1994.

[citation needed] His costume and iconography are often appropriated by protestors and artists wishing to subvert the icon and communicate an anti-corporate message.

[33] In 2010, the Oscar-winning animated short Logorama prominently featured a depiction of Ronald McDonald as a criminal on the run from the police.