1941 Cole Bros. Circus #17

In his autobiography CLOWN, Emmett Kelly relates how he happened to be on the Cole Bros. Circus in 1941. In 1940, he had been in a Broadway musical titled KEEP OFF THE GRASS with Ray Bolger, Jimmie Durante, and Jane Froman. The show didn’t do as well as everyone had expected and closed later that year, leaving Kelly to scramble for whatever work he could find. Ringling offered him a contract for 1941, but wouldn’t pay him what he thought he was worth. When Zack Terrell agreed to pay him more than Ringling had offered, Kelly signed with the Cole Bros. Circus. (According to Kelly, when he first arrived, Terrell put him to work lettering the cages and ticket wagons!) Towards the end of the 1941 tour, John Ringling North saw him perform and offered him a Ringling contract for 1942, agreeing to pay the salary that Kelly had named. Even though Terrell offered to top his Ringling salary, Kelly figured that it was time for him to move up and signed with Ringling. The rest is history.