My uncle took me to the circus in the 50's. I think it was at the old MSG, in NYC. We sat ringside watching Emmett Kelly try to sweep up the spotlight, I began to cry because he looked so sad. He came over and hugged me.
There's maybe a single moment when he breaks character, notice the vigor and pride in how he signs his name. Every other motion thudding, lumbering, about, but just for that brief moment in that clear autograph you can see the artist behind the mask
What an absolute gem. When I was very small and my sister still a babe in arms, we went to the circus where we saw him in person. He came over during his act and took my sister during the act, much to my outrage. My mother had to restrain me as I yelled "Bring back our baby! Bring back our baby!" Which brought forth chuckles from the crowd to my further consternation. Needless to say, she was returned totally unharmed. Perhaps his most famous routine: He seems to notice all of a sudden that a spot of light is following him around. After a few tries at eluding it, he grabs a broom and starts sweeping it up until it is just a small circle, and then he disposes of it.
Emmett Kelly (1898-79), Clown 'Weary Willie,' Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus from (1942-56.) I met him as a child of 6 on grounds in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. We carried water to the elephants! Then he gave me a small tour! "Turn all your thoughts toward bringing joy to hearts." ~ a Baha'i quote that flashes in my mind when I fondly think of him.
LearnEnglishESL Me too, it was great, I almost got hit by one of the elephants that day. Boy did my mom tan my britches I got away from her, and ran practically right in front of an elephant. Will never forget him, the clown, or the spanking I got. lol
I love that they panel is smart enough (and well-informed enough) to know what Broadway shows, acts, and other events are in town at the moment. They often use this knowledge to accurately guess the identify of the Secret Guests. A delightful panel, and I would love to see a version of this today. It would be a challenge to assemble such an erudite group, but it could be done (any ideas?). And of course, they absolutely would have to wear evening dress!
Glad to have found this! As a lid I saw Ringling Bros. on TV in the mid 70'2 and Kelly performed his "Sweepng the spotlights" bit..I was enchanted...and still am. Thank you Mr. Kelly.
Emmett Kelly was my great grandmas cousin, he grew up in Kansas while my grandma grew up in Oklahoma. It’s funny they both lived such exciting lives from why I’ve heard.
I came here hearing and learning about him for the first time after I found a emmet Kelly musical figure at good will today brand new working with tags for only 5.99! Same figure is on amazon for $135 now wanting to learn more about emmet Kelly and his son
I was lucky and got to meet Mr. Kelly in Cleveland where he spoke sans make-up to us young actors and was very erudite and inspiring. A great cartoonist. Thx for the clip..I always love when John and Arlene would banter back and forth..How they are all missed!
He inspired me for so many reasons. I have a clown ministry and two awesome characters and of course the hobo is one in memory of this incredible man and the art of silent hobo clowns every where. ❤️ 🤡 Love you Emmett Love always, Patches Can-String
He entertained and spoke(out of costume) with our actors and students in Cleveland in 1971 and there was a rift bewteen he and his son who was later impersonating him when he retired. So he lived on after this episode.
In 1956 when this show aired live, many American cities still had streetcar systems, and the term "motorman" is used (and understood) to mean the driver of a streetcar.
So very true. It is why I go back to watch shows, like this one, instead of the mind-numbing garbage that is called "television", today. Wonderful stuff!
Not only do the male members of the panel stand to shake his hand (as they do in every episode of course), Mr. Kelly removes his hat, like a proper gentleman, when shaking hands with the ladies. These small niceties have been lost.
mercurydude If Trumpism is the alternative to nice, civilized elitist politicians lying to your face all the time and never doing what they say they'll do, I'll take Trumpism. At least, he's making a good effort to do what he said he'd do, damn the elitists (on both sides of the aisle).
Red Skelton as Freddy the Freeloader reminds one of the great Emmett Kelly. Some names stand out over others; John Wayne, Andres Segovia, Enrico Caruso, Joe Louis, Babe Ruth, John Holmes... Emmett Kelly is a name that will forever be synonymous with the word "clown." He was truly an original.
He died of a heart attack. As it was, WML was on his doctor's short "OK list" of projects, as the grind of all those radio shows did a number on him through the years. He was also writing another book at this time. I sure wish he had lived longer...
Yes this is Fred Allen's last appearance on "What's My Line?" As this was filmed live on Sunday, the 11th of March, 1956 and sadly Fred Allen died of a heart attack, (I believe in the evening, on his way home) the following Saturday, the 17th of March, 1956 🕊💞 At the request of Fred Allen's wife, "What's My Line?" was filmed live on Sunday the 18th of March, before a live studio audience, as usual, not quite 24 hours after her husband's sudden death 💔
Ringling starts off their season every year at Madison Square Garden in NYC. The show was already publicized extensively at this point and well known that it was already in town. At the time, Emmett Kelly was one of the most recognized clowns, along with the fame of Ringling Bros. itself.
In Hartford a fire broke out when the Ringling Brothers Circus was playing, and 1600-something people died. There is a famous photo of Emmett Kelly carrying a bucket of water to help extinguish the flames. Pictures showing him were taken and put in the papers where he was crying. Some say it's one of the few times they've ever seen him cry.
There were approximately 8,000 people attending the circus that hot July afternoon in 1944. 167 people died, mostly women and children because it was during WWII and most men were in the Armed Forces. It took less than 10 minutes for the fire to consume the big top, which was treated with a mixture of paraffin wax jellied gasoline (Vaseline.) This mixture acted like napalm when pieces of the tent roof fell onto the frenzied crowd below as they tried to get out.
One of the greatest clowns who ever performed in the iconic three-rings, Kelly should be held in the same esteem as Chaplin, Keaton, and Laurel & Hardy for genius physical comic timing.
He indeed had a 'little clown' who later on stole his entire act against his father's wishes and performed it with little talent, cheapening his own father's one creation.
The little clown they were most likely referring to at that time was his daughter, Stacia. She was born right at about the time this originally aired. In fact, there is a photo out there of Emmett Kelly on the phone while in full Willie makeup, receiving the news that Stacia had been born... and it's the only known instance where Emmett Kelly broke character as Willie and SMILED... BEAMING, really... because he was so happy about his daughter's birth! Here's his daughter, Stacia's, story connected to that photo. It's really a BEAUTIFUL story about how God used that photo to comfort her when her father passed away: bolstablog.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/willie/
@awsomedudejacob He died of pneumonia complications on the 26th of november 2006, in sierra vista, he will be remembered forever, i am doing a school project on him, R.I.P
I believe the fear of clowns really started after a horror movie about killer clowns came out (It). However, uneasiness about clowns can also be due to the fact that all the factors that allow us to read someone (facial expressions, body language) are disguised by their costumes and face paint, making it difficult to determine what the clown is really saying (hence determine trustworthiness). I don't fear clowns, but I have only ever really enjoyed clowns from around Kelly and Skelton's time.
I am confused. According to the written box above, this was his last appearance on What's My Line (March 11, 1956) because he died on March 17, days later. Yet, all of the biographical information that I read about him, including from Ringling Brothers.... he died March 28, 1979? His son, Emmett Kelly, Jr. died in 2006. So the blurb above makes no sense.
Emmett Leo Kelly (9 de diciembre de 1898 - 28 de marzo de 1979), nacido en Sedan, Kansas, fue un artista de circo estadounidense, que creó el memorable payaso "Weary Willie," basado en el personaje de la persona sin hogar a causa de la época de la Gran Depresión. Kelly inició su carrera como trapecista. Hacia 1923 Emmett Kelly trabajaba en el trapecio del circo de John Robinson cuando conoció y se casó con Eva Moore, otra trapecista. Posteriormente trabajaron juntos como los "Aerial Kellys", con Emmett todavía actuando ocasionalmente como un payaso con la cara blanca.
Steve Martin used to say "I have a fear of clowns and I don't know why. Maybe its because of the time I was a little boy at the circus and a clown ran into the audience and stabbed my father to death."
I think Emmett Kelly was the inspiration for Freddie, just as Edgar Bergen's Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd inspired Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith.
This happened all the time where the gadfly socialites on the panel always knew who was in town or on broadway coincident to the guest. It still annoys me.
A real life hero who saved many lives in the 1944 Hartford Ct circus fire.
i met him when i was a child in the hospital....he made me laugh.
Wow same here... I miss him
Awwww cool I wish I met him
emmet kelly brought many smiles, a VERY RICH CLOWN! When he walked in i thought, what beautiful hand writing!
Danielle and Mia especially that capital E!
My uncle took me to the circus in the 50's. I think it was at the old MSG, in NYC. We sat ringside watching Emmett Kelly try to sweep up the spotlight, I began to cry because he looked so sad. He came over and hugged me.
There's maybe a single moment when he breaks character, notice the vigor and pride in how he signs his name. Every other motion thudding, lumbering, about, but just for that brief moment in that clear autograph you can see the artist behind the mask
When I was very small, I saw him at the circus sweeping up the spotlight. I will never forget it.
Emmett Kelly and Fred Allen on the same stage. Life is good.
What an absolute gem. When I was very small and my sister still a babe in arms, we went to the circus where we saw him in person. He came over during his act and took my sister during the act, much to my outrage. My mother had to restrain me as I yelled "Bring back our baby! Bring back our baby!" Which brought forth chuckles from the crowd to my further consternation. Needless to say, she was returned totally unharmed. Perhaps his most famous routine: He seems to notice all of a sudden that a spot of light is following him around. After a few tries at eluding it, he grabs a broom and starts sweeping it up until it is just a small circle, and then he disposes of it.
Emmett Kelly. God bless him. He was the best.
I had the privilege of seeing him in person 70 years ago.
I took care of his other son pat Kelly, a great friend of mine. We have so many books and pictures and history of all the boys. RIP to the Kelly's.
Emmett Kelly (1898-79), Clown 'Weary Willie,' Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus from (1942-56.) I met him as a child of 6 on grounds in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. We carried water to the elephants! Then he gave me a small tour! "Turn all your thoughts toward bringing joy to hearts." ~ a Baha'i quote that flashes in my mind when I fondly think of him.
I believe that they were talking about Fred Allen. You are correct, Emmett Kelly, as you said, died in 1979.
LearnEnglishESL Me too, it was great, I almost got hit by one of the elephants that day. Boy did my mom tan my britches I got away from her, and ran practically right in front of an elephant. Will never forget him, the clown, or the spanking I got. lol
Thanks
I love his signature!
Yes that was superb
It's amazing how he is so funny just by making simple expresions! Genius!!
Gone but not forgotten. Class acts all of them.
I love that they panel is smart enough (and well-informed enough) to know what Broadway shows, acts, and other events are in town at the moment. They often use this knowledge to accurately guess the identify of the Secret Guests. A delightful panel, and I would love to see a version of this today. It would be a challenge to assemble such an erudite group, but it could be done (any ideas?). And of course, they absolutely would have to wear evening dress!
Glad to have found this! As a lid I saw Ringling Bros. on TV in the mid 70'2 and Kelly performed his "Sweepng the spotlights" bit..I was enchanted...and still am. Thank you Mr. Kelly.
What a beautiful man to be able to tug at our heartstrings.
Real life hero❤
Emmett Kelly was my great grandmas cousin, he grew up in Kansas while my grandma grew up in Oklahoma. It’s funny they both lived such exciting lives from why I’ve heard.
I love and respect you ❤
I WAS 9YRS OLD AND IN THE HOSPITAL FOR SURGERY AND HE CAME AND VISITED ME!!!!! I LOVED IT AND I LOVE HIM!!!!!🤡🤡🤡🤡
I came here hearing and learning about him for the first time after I found a emmet Kelly musical figure at good will today brand new working with tags for only 5.99! Same figure is on amazon for $135 now wanting to learn more about emmet Kelly and his son
Poignant. A tear in my eye. Good night Fred.
Agreed... ... .. .. . .
Emmett Kelly is my Great Great Great Great Uncle. I SWEAR. My mom meet him before i was born. RIP ='(
Lady JPanda are you just as good looking?
I was lucky and got to meet Mr. Kelly in Cleveland where he spoke sans make-up to us young actors and was very erudite and inspiring. A great cartoonist. Thx for the clip..I always love when John and Arlene would banter back and forth..How they are all missed!
Normally I'm a hater of clowns and mimes but he's absolutely brilliant.
He was also a hero during the 1944 Hartford Circus Fire, trying to put out the fire and help people get out of the burning tent.
No reason to hate clowns
@@viktordickinson7844 I agree
He inspired me for so many reasons. I have a clown ministry and two awesome characters and of course the hobo is one in memory of this incredible man and the art of silent hobo clowns every where. ❤️ 🤡
Love you Emmett
Love always, Patches Can-String
His hand is among the most magnificent that I've ever seen, worthy of copperplate, yet written in chalk on a blackboard.
What silliness.
I’m happy that emmet was a happy person I believe underneath the makeup
What beautiful handwriting! The mark of a true artist...
A truly meaningful, insightful and articulate response.
I rest my case.
Be Well.
He entertained and spoke(out of costume) with our actors and students in Cleveland in 1971 and there was a rift bewteen he and his son who was later impersonating him when he retired. So he lived on after this episode.
Well said!
❤
All the W M L posts are wonderful, but this has my vote for BEST. We'll always love you, Miss Arlene.
In 1956 when this show aired live, many American cities still had streetcar systems, and the term "motorman" is used (and understood) to mean the driver of a streetcar.
So very true. It is why I go back to watch shows, like this one, instead of the mind-numbing garbage that is called "television", today. Wonderful stuff!
Sadly he died in 1979 but his son, Emmett Kelly Jr. carries on the tradition :)
He's well known for being the subject, of some very famous paintings as well. :)
He didn't say a word, but he still made me laugh
I bow to your greater knowledge. Thanks for the info.
Not only do the male members of the panel stand to shake his hand (as they do in every episode of course), Mr. Kelly removes his hat, like a proper gentleman, when shaking hands with the ladies.
These small niceties have been lost.
I had to go back and look, but, yes, you're right, he did!
I'm just barely old enough to remember this era of television. We were a much more civilized society back then.
yes, much more civilized. People drank from the right water fountains and knew their place within the class structure... /sarcasm.
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM
there were flaws but generally yes it was much more civilized back then
It's a preferable alternative to Trumpism as well.
mercurydude If Trumpism is the alternative to nice, civilized elitist politicians lying to your face all the time and never doing what they say they'll do, I'll take Trumpism. At least, he's making a good effort to do what he said he'd do, damn the elitists (on both sides of the aisle).
Who knew you could make people smile by frowning
He had a beautiful hand!!
Just Awesome!!!
Red Skelton as Freddy the Freeloader reminds one of the great Emmett Kelly. Some names stand out over others; John Wayne, Andres Segovia, Enrico Caruso, Joe Louis, Babe Ruth, John Holmes...
Emmett Kelly is a name that will forever be synonymous with the word "clown." He was truly an original.
I loved him. Still do
Awww I felt so bad for him I wanted to cryyyy :'(
i noticed that too it truly is a lost art...
What a charming show. :)
Flawless.
A native of Bazaar, Kansas, he was elected to the Kansas Hall of Fame a few years ago. Few were more deserving of the honor.
I believe that he is from Sedan, Kansas actually.
Beautiful signature
He died of a heart attack. As it was, WML was on his doctor's short "OK list" of projects, as the grind of all those radio shows did a number on him through the years. He was also writing another book at this time. I sure wish he had lived longer...
he is my hero
Very lovely indeed! :-)
love this
The word play is on point
That handwriting!
Yes this is Fred Allen's last appearance on "What's My Line?" As this was filmed live on Sunday, the 11th of March, 1956 and sadly Fred Allen died of a heart attack, (I believe in the evening, on his way home) the following Saturday, the 17th of March, 1956 🕊💞 At the request of Fred Allen's wife, "What's My Line?" was filmed live on Sunday the 18th of March, before a live studio audience, as usual, not quite 24 hours after her husband's sudden death 💔
Emmett, his son and grandson... There's an interesting story worth reading.
Kelly seems like such a folk here and legend of the circus business. It's crazy for me to think he's only been dead for 43 years.
I cannot figure out how she got the line of his costume and makeup, and then the circus. I just don't get it.
I thought she got that way too easily. That should have been hard!
The circus being in town probably gave it to her.
Ringling starts off their season every year at Madison Square Garden in NYC. The show was already publicized extensively at this point and well known that it was already in town. At the time, Emmett Kelly was one of the most recognized clowns, along with the fame of Ringling Bros. itself.
artist thy name is _Emmett Kelly_
In Hartford a fire broke out when the Ringling Brothers Circus was playing, and 1600-something people died. There is a famous photo of Emmett Kelly carrying a bucket of water to help extinguish the flames. Pictures showing him were taken and put in the papers where he was crying. Some say it's one of the few times they've ever seen him cry.
There were approximately 8,000 people attending the circus that hot July afternoon in 1944. 167 people died, mostly women and children because it was during WWII and most men were in the Armed Forces. It took less than 10 minutes for the fire to consume the big top, which was treated with a mixture of paraffin wax jellied gasoline (Vaseline.) This mixture acted like napalm when pieces of the tent roof fell onto the frenzied crowd below as they tried to get out.
“Are you wearing a costume of any kind, sir?”
“Mmmmmmmmmm hmm.” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
A maquiagem dele é otima. Essa boca, maravilhosa!!!
"Do people pay you to perform?"
And he looks at Fred, almost a bit pleading - it's pure genius :D
Holy shit, she is good at that game!
Amen to that!
I really believe that this is staged because, of all pathways to her questions, she chooses that of a costume.
I don't believe it's staged. I believe she already know the answer before the clown entered. I call she cheated, not that the show is staged.
I'm impressed with Arlene; first getting a refund on that 'no' from John, then getting the both occupation and man behind it all in one go.
my dads dad said Emmett Kelly is in my Family.
your grandfather? in what way is he in your family?
Fred Allen's last episode :(
One of the greatest clowns who ever performed in the iconic three-rings, Kelly should be held in the same esteem as Chaplin, Keaton, and Laurel & Hardy for genius physical comic timing.
He indeed had a 'little clown' who later on stole his entire act against his father's wishes and performed it with little talent, cheapening his own father's one creation.
Maybe his dad was wrong. Think about it.
The little clown they were most likely referring to at that time was his daughter, Stacia. She was born right at about the time this originally aired. In fact, there is a photo out there of Emmett Kelly on the phone while in full Willie makeup, receiving the news that Stacia had been born... and it's the only known instance where Emmett Kelly broke character as Willie and SMILED... BEAMING, really... because he was so happy about his daughter's birth!
Here's his daughter, Stacia's, story connected to that photo. It's really a BEAUTIFUL story about how God used that photo to comfort her when her father passed away:
bolstablog.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/willie/
Emmett is a hero❤🤡🎪
Wow Arlene was really sharp in this one haha she wasn't letting John get away from her :P
She had a hole in her blindfold, left eye. Cunning woman ;)
@awsomedudejacob He died of pneumonia complications on the 26th of november 2006, in sierra vista, he will be remembered forever, i am doing a school project on him, R.I.P
Charles Nelson Reilly, then 13 years old, was a spectator at that circus inferno, and because of the fire, he refused to sit in a theater house.
Ah, love.
I believe the fear of clowns really started after a horror movie about killer clowns came out (It). However, uneasiness about clowns can also be due to the fact that all the factors that allow us to read someone (facial expressions, body language) are disguised by their costumes and face paint, making it difficult to determine what the clown is really saying (hence determine trustworthiness). I don't fear clowns, but I have only ever really enjoyed clowns from around Kelly and Skelton's time.
Stephen King ruined clowns.
cam3lopard you’re right he did way more wrong
Wrong
Yeah I guess he did
I am confused. According to the written box above, this was his last appearance on What's My Line (March 11, 1956) because he died on March 17, days later. Yet, all of the biographical information that I read about him, including from Ringling Brothers.... he died March 28, 1979? His son, Emmett Kelly, Jr. died in 2006. So the blurb above makes no sense.
Sir, please read the blurb more carefully. I wrote that Fred Allen died days later, not Mr. Kelly.
Fred Allen died, not the clown Emmett Kelly
+iDreamzZ OG Emmet Kelly did eventually die. But I'm sure you knew that.
+reflecteddetcelfer payaso
he's gudd
Emmett Leo Kelly (9 de diciembre de 1898 - 28 de marzo de 1979), nacido en Sedan, Kansas, fue un artista de circo estadounidense, que creó el memorable payaso "Weary Willie," basado en el personaje de la persona sin hogar a causa de la época de la Gran Depresión. Kelly inició su carrera como trapecista. Hacia 1923 Emmett Kelly trabajaba en el trapecio del circo de John Robinson cuando conoció y se casó con Eva Moore, otra trapecista. Posteriormente trabajaron juntos como los "Aerial Kellys", con Emmett todavía actuando ocasionalmente como un payaso con la cara blanca.
Pain
I agree :)
I want an emmet Kelly tattoo
Steve Martin used to say "I have a fear of clowns and I don't know why. Maybe its because of the time I was a little boy at the circus and a clown ran into the audience and stabbed my father to death."
poignant, insightful
I know it's only makeup, but I felt so sad for him!
How bout Arlene figuring it out without any help??
I thought he was Red Skelton as Freddie the Freeloader.
I think Emmett Kelly was the inspiration for Freddie, just as Edgar Bergen's Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd inspired Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith.
I thought the same thing from the thumbnail
The difference was Kelly wasn't allowed to talk while Skelton couldn't shut up...
What year is this??
@EpicArianas I'm doing a project on him as well. It's rather honerable as well to do this.
This happened all the time where the gadfly socialites on the panel always knew who was in town or on broadway coincident to the guest. It still annoys me.
It's a signature dude.
I still don't understand what she meant by "recognizable"
Was it after that same fire that he added the tear in the corner of his eye? Was that Emmett who did that?
Emmett Kelly died at the age of 80 of a heart attack on March 28, 1979, at his home in Sarasota, Florida.
Jimmyfresshh okay? Not the guy OP was talkin about