The Grave of Iconic Emmett Kelly/Weary Willie

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. Kelly's first professional appearance as a clown was with Howe's Great London Circus on July 14, 1921, in Mason City, Iowa. Although he originally performed as a white face clown, it was during that tour that he first appeared as a hobo character. After only a few performances as a tramp Kelly returned to more traditional makeup, but not before a photograph was made of the character which would later be identified as "Weary Willie". 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". On December 9, 1978, Emmett Kelly celebrated his 80th birthday, and although he had been growing visibly weaker, he never stopped working. In February 1979, Emmett appeared in a segment on NBC's Today Show, and director Mario Pellegrini cast him in a film with Tony Bennett.
A Gift of Love was scheduled to begin production in Sarasota on April 2, 1979, and although the picture was later dedicated to Emmett, he did not appear in it. 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.
Kelly's son, Emmett Kelly Jr., did a similar "Weary Willie" character; the two were estranged for many years as a result. Kelly Jr. died in 2006.
Kelly's boyhood town of Houston, Missouri, named Emmett Kelly Park in his honor and hosted an annual Emmett Kelly Clown Festival, which attracted clowns from across the region, including Kelly's grandson, Joey Kelly, who returned to perform as a special guest. The festival ended its original 21-year run in May 2008, and returned in April 2022. According to the documentary Halloween Unmasked, the choice for the mask of the film's fictional serial killer Michael Myers was down to two: a modified Captain Kirk mask and an Emmett Kelly mask. While the Emmett Kelly mask was unsettling and eerie, it did not quite evoke the creepy feeling they were seeking. The Kirk mask did, resulting in the crew selecting it for the film. Join this channel to get access to perks:
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