Emmett Leo Kelly was an American circus performer, who created the clown character "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Emmett Leo Kelly was born in Sedan, …Emmett Leo Kelly was an American circus performer, who created the clown character "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Emmett Leo Kelly was born in Sedan, Kansas on December 9, 1898. His father, Thomas, was a section foreman for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad. While he was still a child, the family moved to Southern Missouri where his father had purchased a farm in Texas County, near the community of Houston, Missouri. In the summer of 1909, he attended both the Mighty Haag and M.L. Clark and Son's circuses.