Completing his character with exaggerated tear drops a ludicrous hat, collar and tie, Emmett Kelly faces the camera and opines, "Yes, sir, a clown is a mighty serious fellow. See what I meanClowning is Serious Business! - The funny face of the clown oft masks a serious face and heart, as every audience of "I Pagliacci" knows. Perhaps the greatest exemplar extant, outside of the classic halls on opera and inside the realm of real life, is Emmett Kelly, who has kept circus fans in stitches for 30 years with his sad and solemn clowning. Creator of "Weary Willie," he is America's Number One clown, but he discusses his craft with the seriousness of a nuclear scientist talking over the atom bomb. January 01, 1950.