EMMETT KELLY SR. - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED CHECK 05/01/1964 - HFSID 182648

EMMETT KELLY SR.
Signs a check for $175.00 payable to Amusement Business, Billboard Pub. Co.   in 1964
Check signed: "Emmett L. Kelly", 8¼x3. Sarasota, Florida, 1964 May 1. Check No. 1035; a photograph of Kelly as "Weary Willie" printed at upper left corner. Drawn on his personal account at Palmer First National Bank and Trust Company of Sarasota, payable to Amusement Business, Billboard Pub. Co. for $175.00. Emmett Lee Kelly (1898-1979) began his circus career, which spanned 55 years, after a starting out as a cartoonist. First performing as a trapeze artist, he later went into clowning, creating his most famous character, "Weary Willie", from a cartoon character he had drawn years earlier. In 1942, Kelly joined the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus, where he would star until 1956 (one of his most famous routines was "sweeping the spotlight"). In 1957, he joined the Shrine Circus and settled in Florida (Sarasota is the winter home of the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus). Kelly, America's most famous clown, continued appearing in commercials and performed in special shows until he was 80. His son, Emmett Kelly, Jr. (1923-2006), followed successfully in his father's footsteps and rivaled his fame, forming his own Emmett Kelly, Jr. Circus in 1972.Bank stamp touches the "Em" and first "t" of Emmett. Staple holes at upper left edge. Fine condition.