Emmett Leo Kelly (December 9, 1898 – March 28, 1979) was an American circus performer, who created the clown character "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

In August 1920, Kelly returned to his adopted hometown of Houston, Missouri where he appeared as a "cartoonist and comedy specialist" at the town's annual "Old Settlers Reunion".

The photo appeared in the Howe's Great London Route Book of 1921 above a caption that read: "Emmett Kelly, The Novelty Clown, Cartoonist, Tramp".

It was at his European debut that he put his own spin on a routine that a veteran clown named Charlie "Shorty" Flem had performed years earlier at Madison Square Garden.

[13] When World War II broke out in September 1939, Kelly returned to the United States where he was cast in a new Broadway musical starring Jimmy Durante and Ray Bolger.

The show, titled Keep Off the Grass, was set in New York's Central Park, where Weary Willie appeared as one of several tramps, including an up-and-comer named Jackie Gleason, who was also making his Broadway debut.

Even though he would appear in rooms that were often noisy, Willie never uttered a word, but, as one newspaper noted, "with lightning speed he would knock out about eight cartoons in less time than you can write your name.

[16] In the five years since Kelly had appeared under canvas in the United States, he honed his craft and matured as a performer to the point that the Cole Bros. publicity department touted him as "the world's funniest clown."

"Leaving the showgrounds, I walked past the ruins of the big top and saw some charred shoes and part of a clown doll lying on what had been the hippodrome track.

"[19] The fire investigation delayed the show's departure from Hartford for nine days, but on July 15 the trains were headed back to Sarasota, Florida, and within a month, the circus had resumed its tour, playing in stadiums and ballparks.

[21] At the age of 51, the idea of starting a new career in motion pictures appealed to Kelly, and when the circus closed in Miami, Florida on November 25, he immediately left for California and Hollywood.

"[23] Following the release of The Fat Man, Kelly's agent reached out to Cecil B. DeMille who was in Sarasota filming early scenes for The Greatest Show on Earth.

By that summer, Fonda acquired the film rights and began making plans to produce the story, either as a television program or a full-length motion picture.

[26] Because Emmett's entire life story could not be told in a half-hour, the program focused on his transition from trapeze artist to clown, with Fonda wearing Willie's makeup and actress Dorothy Malone playing Kelly's first wife, Eva.

When, on November 6, Evi gave birth to their daughter Stasia, a news photographer named Frank Beatty snapped a picture of a grinning Weary Willie as he spoke by telephone to the new mother.

At the same time Beatty was shooting his picture of Emmett, a separate photographer had been dispatched to Sarasota where a photo of Evi and Stasia was also recorded, capturing both sides of the touching telephone conversation.

The circus was plagued with labor problems in 1956, and prior to its New York premiere, a picket line was set up outside of Madison Square Garden by both the Teamsters and the American Guild of Variety Artists.

"[29] Late in the 1957 season, on the same day that the Dodgers lost the opener during what would be the "Bums" final homestand ever in Brooklyn, Evi Kelly gave birth in New York to their second daughter, Monika.

[30] When the baseball season ended and the announcement was made that the Dodgers would be moving to Los Angeles, Kelly was cast in the film Wind Across the Everglades, a movie that was written, produced, and directed by Budd Schulberg, the same filmmaker who had won Best Picture with On the Waterfront in 1954.

The show was set up at Rosenthal's Palisades Amusement Park in Fort Lee, New Jersey and competed directly against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey at Madison Square Garden.

After spending five days in January with Cristiani Bros. in Miami, he traveled to both New York and Chicago in February where he made appearances at the big auto shows in those cities.

In March, Emmett returned to Palisades Park for the 45-day Beatty-Cole engagement, which again was presented day-and-date against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey at Madison Square Garden.

Pacific Ocean Park was created to compete directly with Disneyland, and in the summer of 1959, Emmett Kelly was hired for 19 weeks to serve as "Vice President in Charge of Fun."

The idea of performing in one place for an extended period appealed to Emmett and Evi, and in 1962, Kelly began a long-term relationship with casino owner Bill Harrah.

For the next 15 years, Weary Willie was a regular at the South Shore Room at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, co-starring with celebrities including Sammy Davis Jr., Lawrence Welk, Jack Benny, Andy Williams, the Smothers Brothers, Ed Sullivan and Carol Channing.

Although he never retired, he could now be very selective in his public appearances, and that flexibility allowed Emmett and Evi to become prominent citizens in Sarasota while at the same time embracing the area's circus heritage.

In the years that followed, Emmett became a sought-after speaker at circus symposia, and in 1976, he appeared in a one-man show at the new Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, accompanied by the Sarasota Concert Band.

While Willie was still regularly seen on television commercials and special programs, his last appearances in the circus ring came in a pair of shows produced by Paul Kaye in 1974 at the Capital Centre arena in Landover, Maryland.

The all-star production, Circus America, featured The Wallendas, Carol and Wayne Zacchini, Tarzan Zerbini, and The Nerveless Nocks, but the star of the show was Emmett Kelly.

On March 28, 1979, four days before filming was scheduled to begin, the man who had described himself as "just a farm boy," who had become a world-wide icon, died of a heart attack in the front yard of his home.