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Emmett Leo Kelly (December 9, 1898 – March 28, 1979), a native of Sedan, Kansas, was an American circus performer, who created the memorable clown figure "Weary Willie," based on the hobos of the Depression era. Kelly began his career as a trapeze artist. By 1923, Emmett Kelly was working his trapeze act with John Robinson's circus when he met and married Eva Moore, another circus trapeze artist. They later performed together as the "Aerial Kellys" with Emmett still performing occasionally as a white face clown.
Career development
He started working as a clown full-time in 1931, and it was only after years of attempting to persuade the management that he was able to switch from a white face clown to the hobo clown that he had sketched ten years earlier while working at an art firm. "Weary Willie" was a tragic figure: a clown, who could usually be seen sweeping up the circus rings after the other performers. He tried but failed to sweep up the pool of light of a spotlight. His routine was revolutionary at the time: traditionally, clowns wore white face and performed slapstick stunts intended to make people laugh. Kelly did perform stunts too—one of his most famous acts was trying to crack a peanut with a sledgehammer—but as a tramp, he also appealed to the sympathy of his audience.
From 1942–1956 Kelly performed with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, where he was a major attraction, though he took the 1956 season off to perform as the mascot for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. He also landed a number of Broadway and film roles, including the role of "Willie" in Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). He also appeared in the Bertram Mills Circus.
Kelly was a Mystery Guest on the March 11, 1956 broadcast of What's My Line? and answered the panelists' questions with grunts rather than speaking yes or no. When the round was over, panelist Arlene Francis mentioned that Kelly was not allowed to speak while in makeup.
Kelly is depicted in a famous photograph, still in full clown make-up and costume, trying to extinguish the flames of the devastating Hartford Circus Fire that struck the Circus on July 6, 1944, and killed 167 people during the afternoon performance in Hartford, Connecticut, according to eyewitnesses, it was one of few times in which he was seen crying.1
Emmett Kelly died at the age of 80 of a heart attack on March 28, 1979, at his home in Sarasota, Florida. Emmett Kelly is buried in the Rest Haven Memorial Park, in Lafayette, Indiana.
The Emmett Kelly Museum is located in Sedan, Kansas.
His son, Emmett Kelly, Jr., did a similar "Weary Willie" character; the two were estranged for many years, as a result. Kelly, Jr. claimed that his version of Willie was "less sad", but they seemed quite similar to most observers. Emmett Kelly, Jr. died November 29, 2006, in Sierra Vista, Arizona, at age 83. He had been a resident of Tombstone, Arizona. Emmett Kelly's grandson, Joey Kelly the son of Emmett Jr., who survives the two, was caught between the conflict of his father and grandfather, and sided with his grandfather, and became a professional clown in spite of the conflict. Joey Kelly still reveres his grandfather's legacy. His new creation, "Joey Kelly Circus," is how Joey spends his time with his second wife and her two children recapturing the original magic that Emmett was famous for. "Joey Kelly Circus" is a version of the old big top show available for special events. Joey Kelly resides in Saint Louis, MO. with his new family, and attends Houston, Missouri's Emmett Kelly Festival yearly tribute to his grandfather as an honored guest and performer.
References
- ^ "The Hartford Circus Fire—A Matter of Degree". Willow Brook Press. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
External links
- Emmett Kelly at findagrave
- Detailed biography of Emmett Kelly Sr. from Clown-Ministry.com
- Squire Rushnell tells Daughter of Emmett Kelly, Stasia Kelly's Story
- Emmett Kelly at the Internet Movie Database
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 11 December 2008, at 00:56.
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