diff --git a/src/bozo/bosserver.c b/src/bozo/bosserver.c
index de3e49155d..6277c8ac2a 100644
--- a/src/bozo/bosserver.c
+++ b/src/bozo/bosserver.c
@@ -1121,6 +1121,10 @@ main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
     code = LWP_CreateProcess(BozoDaemon, BOZO_LWP_STACKSIZE, /* priority */ 1,
 			     /* param */ NULL , "bozo-the-clown",
 			     &bozo_pid);
+    if (code) {
+	bozo_Log("Failed to create daemon thread\n");
+        exit(1);
+    }
 
     /* try to read the key from the config file */
     tdir = afsconf_Open(AFSDIR_SERVER_ETC_DIRPATH);