Editing Emmett Kelly (section)

==Broadway and Hollywood==
When [[World War II]] broke out in September 1939, Kelly returned to the United States where he was cast in a new Broadway musical starring [[Jimmy Durante]] and [[Ray Bolger]]. The show, titled ''[[Keep Off the Grass]]'', was set in New York's [[Central Park]], where Weary Willie appeared as one of several tramps, including an up-and-comer named [[Jackie Gleason]], who was also making his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut.

Despite the star power of Durante and Bolger, ''Keep Off the Grass'' did not receive good notices. The only positive review came from the ''[[Time magazine|Time]]'' critic who wrote: "...and there's a bum, Emmett Kelly, who would leisurely proceed to eat a ham sandwich out of a paper poke while a bunch of other bums sang a park bench song; then he would lazily brush his teeth with the dry stub of a toothbrush, which provides the one moment of an otherwise uninspired show."<ref>"The Theatre: New Show in Manhattan", ''Time'', June 3, 1940.</ref>

''Keep off the Grass'' closed after only 44 performances, and Kelly returned to the nightclub circuit as a cartoonist dressed as a tramp. Even though he would appear in rooms that were often noisy, Willie never uttered a word, but, as one newspaper noted, "with lightning speed he would knock out about eight cartoons in less time than you can write your name."<ref>"Merry-Go-Round Show Features a Caricaturist", ''Dayton (Ohio) Daily News'', October 14, 1940, p. 11.</ref>