His ludicrous orange-colored wool-crepe hair awry and adding a flame-colored latex nose, Emmett said, "It's the serious clown who's ludicrous. His sincere ideas get him into constant difficulty and untenable situations and this produces belly laughs. ***** takes concentration and hard work."Clowning 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 of opera and inside the realm of real life, is Emmett Kelly, who has kept circus fans in stitches for 30 years which his sad and solemn clowning. January 01, 1950.