Top 5 Quotes & Sayings by Emmett Kelly

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American entertainer Emmett Kelly.

Last updated on December 24, 2024.

Emmett Leo Kelly was an American circus performer, who created the clown figure "Weary Willie," based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s. According to Charles W. Carey, Jr.:

Kelly’s creation of Weary Willie revolutionized professional clowning and made him the country’s most familiar clown. The sad-sack, shuffling antics of his unkempt, downtrodden hobo offered a complete contrast to the madcap cavorting of brightly colored, white-faced conventional clowns and has served as an alternate model for professional clowns ever since.

American - Entertainer | December 9, 1898 - March 28, 1979

Source: Wikipedia

'Weary Willie' is very real to me. He is a man who has given up. The boat has gone and left him. The cards are stacked against him. He's content to make out with what he's got. He knows he'll go no further.

Emmett Kelly

Incongruity, they say, is one of the main ingredients of humor. Maybe it's because everybody can feel superior to me. I honestly don't know.

Emmett Kelly

I haven't had a stationary home since going with the circus, but since my parents lived in Lafayette about 25 years ago and my sister lives here now, I always claim it as home.

Emmett Kelly

A clown's makeup and character, that's all he has to sell. He loves and believes in that character.

Emmett Kelly

By laughing at me, the audience really laughs at themselves, and realizing they have done this gives them sort of a spiritual second wind for going back into the battles of life.

Emmett Kelly

Top 5 Quotes & Sayings by Emmett Kelly

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