Emmett Kelly Jr.

Emmett Leo Kelly Jr. (November 13, 1924 – November 29, 2006) was an American clown. He was the son of Emmett Kelly Sr., who was a legendary circus clown. Kelly Jr. copied his father's style.

Early life Kelly was born in Dyersburg, Tennessee on the day the John Robinson Circus, his father's employer, was doing its last show. Kelly Jr. spent his first few years traveling with his parents. When he reached school age he still traveled with his family during the summer and lived with his grandparents when school was in session. He finished school during World War II, and joined the Navy at age 18 and spent approximately three years in the Pacific participating in major operations in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Despite being raised around the circus, he pursued a career in the railroad business after the war, becoming a switch tender and also a mechanic.

Career In 1960, Kelly Jr., who had never been encouraged by his father, appeared as his father's character "Weary Willie" at the Circus Festival in Peru, Indiana. He was represented by their manager, Leonard Green, for the next four years. He toured a daredevil auto show called "Austin's Motor Derby" during the night and would arrive just hours before the next show. In 1963, Kelly was the featured performer of the Hagen-Wallace Circus as they traveled nationwide. The elder Kelly was not happy with his son's decision to play an almost identical character, although the latter claimed his version of Weary Willie was less sad, and the two were estranged for years.

While traveling to a Kodak performance in San Diego, California, Kelly drove to Tombstone, Arizona on a sightseeing detour. He said he had four days to get to San Diego and he was well ahead of schedule so he wanted to see Tombstone. He fell in love with the town and decided to retire there. Kelly would snowbird each year in Tombstone until he moved there in 1980. It was then that he joined the Arizona Rangers and the Tombstone Company.

In 1972, Kelly, with help from his manager, established his own circus which toured nationally and was the only circus to perform at the White House, not just once but twice—once in 1972 and again in 1973 during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Throughout his life, Kelly donated his time to several charities including The Make A Wish Foundation, The American Cancer Society, Save The Children Foundation, and FACES—The National Association for the Craniofacially Handicapped and was honored by Presidents, First Ladies, Kings and Queens, and numerous heads of state.

Death Kelly died November 29, 2006, in Sierra Vista, Arizona at the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center which is near his home in Tombstone, Arizona. His family, friends, and The Arizona Rangers were at his bedside when he died. A US Navy veteran of World War II, Kelly was interred at the Southern Arizona Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Sierra Vista, Cochise County, Arizona.