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Emmett Kelly Jr. |
EMMETT KELLY JR.,
son of the world-renowned clown was born on Friday the 13, 1924
but his life was anything but unlucky. Son of the "Aerial Kellys,"
the fastest double trapeze in show business, he made his first
appearance the closing day of the season during a John Robinson
Circus performance in Dyersburg, Tennessee. |
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Emmett served
aboard LST 783 during WWII as a member of the United States
Navy. After the war, he moved from job to job, city to city
before settling down in Peru, Indiana. Even then, while working
on the Chesapeake Ohio Railroad, he traveled about the Midwest
as a brakeman. |
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In 1960,
Emmett made his first clown appearance during Peru, Indiana's
"Circus City Festival." Soon thereafter, he left his family to
travel the state fair circuit with Swenson's Thrillcade motor
show. In 1964, he joined Kodak at New York's World Fair, an
opportunity that spring boarded him to notoriety. |
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Emmett became
the most photographed clown in the 1960’s during his two-year
appearance at the Kodak Pavilion. After the fair, he visited
hospitals across the nation as Kodak’s "Ambassador of Goodwill"
for several years. |
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In the 1970’s
he starred in The Emmett Kelly Jr. Circus. For nearly two
decades, he provided entertainment with his one-ring, indoor
theater circus. Emmett even performed at the White House in
Washington D.C., appearing there twice. |
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Emmett Kelly
Jr. will be remembered both good and bad throughout the circus
industry. His legacy is tied to ill will and controversy over
appropriating his father’s make-up, costume and routines. In
the circus world, it is understood that a clown’s makeup,
character and appearance are copyrighted, not to be copied.
Emmett Kelly was the creator of Weary Willie. Emmett Kelly Jr.
was the most prominent of many that copied him. |
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As evidenced
by listings on EBay, nearly thirty years after his death, people
still do not know the difference between Emmett Kelly and Emmett
Kelly Jr. The confusion over identity aided my father’s
advancement as well as created angst for my grandfather and his
children. |
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I have many
truths and opinions to share about Emmett Kelly, Emmett Kelly
Jr., circus relatives as well as of my own circus life.
That book is currently on hold. In researching my father's
Naval career, I've become consumed by the research and found a
wealth of information, enough for a book in of itself.
With my father's notes and first hand accounts from his
shipmates, we are bringing LST 783 back to life. You may
read a sample of my first draft in
Ring One. |
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