Los Angeles ? Alan W. Livingston, the music executive who created Bozo the Clown and signed the Beatles during his tenure as president of Capitol Records, has died. He was 91.

Livingston died Friday of age-related causes in his Beverly Hills home, said his stepdaughter, Jennifer Lerner.

Livingston began his multifaceted career in show business as a writer and producer of children’s read-along record albums for Capitol Records. He came up with the Bozo the Clown character for the 1946 album “Bozo at the Circus,” which became a hit and spawned a cottage industry of merchandise and the television series featuring the wing-haired clown.

Livingston left the record label in the late 1950s to work in television, where he produced the western series “Bonanza.” He returned to Capitol Records as president in the 1960s, when he signed the Beach Boys and Steve Miller and the Band.

When Livingston heard the Beatles song “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” he agreed to release the single and brought the Fab Four to the United States in 1964 to promote it.