DEATH OF THE CLOWN EMMETT KELLY

HISTORY IN GENERAL

DEATH OF WEARY WILLIE AKA EMMETT KELLY

Sarasota, Florida, March 29, 1979:

“The Clown”, Emmett Kelley, aka Weary Willie, who helped make the world laugh for

50 or so years, is dead. Around the world, friends and fellow performers paused a few

moments to rember him, but not for long as Kelley would say, “the show must go on'

.

He died of a heart attack in Sarasota, a circus town, at age 80, and was buried in his hometown

of Layafette, Indiana. His wife, Evi, of 24 years survives him.

His good friend, Reds Skelton, told the world, Heaven , God, and the Angels, needed a good

laugh.

His widow said Kelley is gone, but the show must go on and hopes the memories of him will

do so too.

Abstract: Wilmington News Journal , Thursday, March 29, 1979, article by Pat Leisner.