I’m not clowning around

If you’re a Boomer, and I ask you to name a clown, I’m willing to bet you’ll name one of three: Howdy Doody’s sidekick Clarabell; TV’s Bozo; or Emmett Kelly. 

My favorite was Emmett Kelly. Why? Because I saw him at the circus, I saw him at Brooklyn Dodgers games, and I saw him in one of the four movies he starred in. On top of that I met him. 

Although tramp clowns first appeared in the late 1800s it was during the great depression when hobos were everywhere and ragged homeless men became commonplace, that clowns took on the hobo persona in large numbers. In 1933, Emmett Kelly made hobo clowns famous with his appearance as a tramp clown with a sad face. 

Until 1941 Kelly made his living performing in nightclubs and indoor circuses. Then he received offers from both Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey and The Cole Brothers circuses. Kelly opted to go with Cole Brothers, because they offered a higher salary. He became so popular that Cole Brothers touted him as "The World's Funniest Clown." He garnered a national reputation and positive reviews that eventually caught the attention of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, and in 1942 he joined them. Eventually the character that Kelly had created was billed as the star of the “Greatest Show on Earth” where he performed for the next fourteen years.

Sadly, Kelly was present at the circus industry’s greatest tragedy. On July 6, 1944 Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey were performing in Hartford, Connecticut. The matinee performance was packed with over 6,000 spectators. While the famous Flying Wallendas high-wire act was performing, a small flame was spotted on a sidewall of the massive canvas "Big Top.” After spotting the fire the circus bandleader immediately ordered the band to play "The Stars and Stripes Forever." In the circus world, this song served as a universal distress signal to alert personnel of an emergency.

The Hartford Fire

When he saw the big top burning, Kelly helped the panicked crowd exit the tent.  Circus attendee Ralph Emerson captured Kelly's futile efforts to put out the fire in a famous photograph showing him in complete clown attire trying to put out the rapidly spreading fire with a small bucket.

Within a month after the fire, the circus had resumed its tour, playing in stadiums and ballparks. Emmett was among those impressed by the resilience of the big show, telling a reporter "We must entertain. In war time it is more important than ever." It reinforced the old show business maxim, “The show must go on!” which interestingly enough originated in 19th-century circuses when ringmasters and circus bandleaders used the rule to keep performances running, even if an animal escaped or a performer was hurt.

The fire was one of the worst fire disasters in U. S. history. It claimed the lives of 167 people (roughly two-thirds of whom were children) and more than 700 others were injured. It turned out it had been a disaster waiting to happen. To waterproof the canvas tent, the circus had coated it in 1,800 pounds of paraffin dissolved in 6,000 gallons of gasoline. Because of the highly volatile mixture, the fire flashed across the roof rapidly. The entire 19-ton tent burned and collapsed in under 10 minutes.

It remains the deadliest tent fire in history, prompting states and the federal government to enact strict fire safety regulations.

Kelly continued to work for Ringling Brothers until 1956, when he was fired as part of a labor dispute. Then the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team owner Walter O'Malley hired Kelly as the official team mascot. In his role, Weary Willie characterized the moods of the team. They wept when the Bums lost, and were happy when the Bums won. I have a vivid memory of attending a couple of baseball games at Ebbets Field and seeing Kelly taking over the umpire's role of brushing off home plate and then pretending to loosen up the players by squirting oil on their joints.

Emmitt as a Brooklyn Bum

When I was young my family befriended circus acrobat Nina Kapova and her daughter equestrian Lilly Kohler. As a result our family attended nearly as many circus performances as the ringmaster himself, transforming Madison Square Garden into a kind of second home. We saw the famous Wallenda Family high-wire act perform their spellbinding act without a net numerous times. I have the autograph of Hugo Zuchini, the man fired from a cannon. I shook the hand of Jay Silverheals AKA Tonto. All because we became friends with Nina and Lilly. 

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Nina Kapova Lilly Kohler

Around 1954 my family traveled into Manhattan to pick-up Nina and Lilly at Madison Square Garden, where Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed. My mom and two or three of the Drury kids, me included, tumbled out of the Ford Station Wagon and made our way into the performers’ entrance, where we were greeted by Nina. We walked through the bowels of MSG seeing elephants, trapeze artists, exotic-animals – and just-as-exotic artists. 

Five-years old and overwhelmed by tattooed ladies, hearing foreign languages, and scents ranging from cotton candy to tiger poop, I didn’t know what to make of Emmitt Kelly in full makeup. So when Nina introduced him to me and he said, “Hi Jack,” I burst into tears. I started sobbing so hard my shoulders shook, my chest heaved in convulsive gasps. Tears streamed down my cheeks and snot bubbled from my nose.

Me at the age I met Emmett Kelly

Nina tried to comfort me and calm me down. In her thick Russian accent she said, “Vat is wrong? Vhy you are crying?" 

After what seemed like hours I calmed down and got my breath back. Then, trying to explain my shock and awe I blurted out, “I didn’t know that clowns could talk!”