“Everybody Loves a Clown” reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965.  But I can’t necessarily say “I love” the singer of that hit song – Gary Lewis. OR his father Jerry.  (You can read about my in-person encounters with them: like father, like son.  Not fun.) 

But Emmett Kelly WAS the clown that everybody loved.  Always a little sad, his character was one that was a familiar icon for generations.  And he set the stage for all clowns to follow within the circus landscape, including his own son, Emmett Kelly, Jr. 

On film, I loved to see him play alongside Jimmy Stewart’s excellent portrayal as the circus clown in “The Greatest Show on Earth”.  It was very keen and savvy for DeMille to cast Emmett.  As quoted from Tony Thomas in “The Career and Films of James Stewart”: 

“Stewart’s role as the sweet-natured but sad clown with the dark past was about the only genuinely appealing character in the film and he claims having enjoyed learning about the life of circus clowns, and especially working with the great Emmett Kelly, who coached Stewart in his part ...” 

I don’t think Stewart’s character of “Buttons” would even have existed if Emmett Kelly hadn’t created such a similar persona in real life 30 years earlier. 

“Send in the Clowns”.  Which leads to me to the time that I saw Judy Collins in person …