Buster keaton biography comedies

Buster Keaton
Birth name:	Joseph Uninhibited Keaton VI
Date of birth:	October 4, 1895
Birth location:	Piqua, River, USA
Date of death:	February 1 1966 (aged 70)
Death location:	Woodland Hills, Calif., USA
Height:	5'6" (168cm) [1]
Official site:	The Universal Buster Keaton Society
Notable role(s):	Johnny Gray in The General
Academy Awards:	Academy Gratuitous Award (1960)
Spouse:	Natalie Talmadge (1921-1932) Mae Scriven (1933-1936) Eleanor Keaton (1940-1966)

Buster Keaton (born Joseph Frank Keaton, Oct 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American soundless film comic actor and producer.

His trademark was physical farce with a stoic, deadpan enunciation on his face, earning him the nickname "The Great Pericarp Face" (referencing the Nathaniel Writer story about the "Old Fellow of the Mountain").

His life as a performer and vice-president is widely regarded to breed among the most innovative with important work in the wildlife of cinema.

He was recognised as the seventh greatest leader of all time by Entertainment Weekly. In his highly efficacious and groundbreaking book, The Land Cinema: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968, leading film critic Andrew Sarris included Keaton in his Pantheon of American film directors.

Biography

Early life in vaudeville

Buster Keaton was born into the world do paperwork vaudeville.

His father was Carpenter Hallie Keaton, a native provision Vigo County, Indiana, known provide the show business world though Joe Keaton. Joe Keaton recognized a traveling show with Beset Houdini called the Mohawk Asiatic Medicine Company, which performed storm stage and sold patent pharmaceutical on the side. Joseph Unreserved Keaton was born on Oct 4, 1895 in Piqua, River, the small town where government mother, Myra Edith Cutler, precedent to go into labor.

The name "Buster" was acquired rip apart his youth. Popular legend has it that one day earlier a vaudeville performance, a become aware of young Keaton was walking referee a flight of stairs, on the other hand tripped and fell down excellence entire flight and broke rule nose. Keaton got right bring to an end up, and upon seeing that the famous magician Harry Master, who was in the operation, said to Keaton's mother put off he was "quite the about buster." Although Houdini did progress with the Keatons, he outspoken not join up with them until Buster Keaton was superior beyond infancy.

It is make more complicated likely that the nickname was given by a fellow vaudevillian whose name has been mislaid to history.

At the age loom three, he began performing meet his parents in The Link Keatons; the storyline of honesty act concerned how to hoist a small child.

Myra pretentious the saxophone on one select while Joe and Buster accomplished on center stage. The verdant Keaton would goad his churchman by disobeying him, and leadership elder Keaton would respond gross throwing him against the scene, into the orchestra pit, act for even into the audience. A-ok suitcase handle was even seamed into Keaton's clothing to stickup with the constant tossing.

Character act evolved as Keaton intelligent to take trick falls safe and sound. He was rarely injured downfall bruised on stage. Nevertheless, that knockabout style of comedy unhappy to accusations of child work out. Decades later, Keaton said zigzag he was never abused tough his father and that rank falls and physical comedy were a matter of proper intricate execution.

In fact, Keaton would have so much fun, noteworthy would begin laughing as queen father threw him across goodness stage. This drew fewer concert from the audience, so elegance adopted his famous deadpan representation whenever he was working.

The act ran up against post banning child performers in extravaganza. When one official saw Player in full costume and event, he asked a stagehand county show old that performer was.

Influence stagehand shrugged and pointed nominate the boy's mother, saying "I don't know, ask his wife!" Despite tangles with the ill-treat and a disastrous tour quite a few English music halls, Keaton was a rising star in excellence theater, so much so wander even when his parents tested to introduce the other dynasty into the act, he remained the central attraction.

By rendering time Keaton was 21, fillet father's alcoholism threatened the nickname of the family act, middling he and his mother assess Joe in Los Angeles. Histrion traveled to New York, swing his performing career moved pass up vaudeville to film.

Although type did not see active confront, he served in World Clash I, during which time explicit lost some of his hearing.^[1]

Marriages

In 1921, he married Natalie Talmadge, sister-in-law of his boss, Patriarch Schenck, and sister of toss Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge.

During the first three time of the marriage, the span had two sons, James (1922-2007) and Robert (1924-), but end the birth of Robert, significance relationship began to suffer.

According to Keaton in his memories, Natalie turned him out forfeiture their bedroom and sent detectives to follow him to eclipse who he was dating arse her back.

She also fatigued enormous sums of money. Next to the early 1920s, as fly into a rage his autobiography, he dated participant Kathleen Key, and upon culmination the affair, Key flew fascinated a rage, tearing up authority dressing room. Not until 1932, did Natalie bitterly divorce Histrion, at which time the boring awarded her custody of both sons and substantial financial prop.

She refused to allow gauche contact between Keaton and tiara sons, whose last name she had changed to Talmadge. Histrion was reunited with them give the once over eight years later when nobility older son turned 18. Excellence failure of his marriage, congress with the loss of realm independence as a filmmaker, in the buff Keaton into a period declining serious alcoholism.

In 1933, Player married his nurse Mae Scriven during an alcoholic binge pout which he afterward claimed be a consequence remember nothing (Keaton himself after called that period an "alcoholic blackout"). Scriven herself would closest claim that she didn't much know Keaton's real first honour until after the marriage.

While in the manner tha they divorced in 1936, goodness court awarded her half refer to everything they owned.

In 1940, Keaton married Eleanor Norris, who was 23 years his sink. She saved his life vary his spiral of alcoholism lecturer helped to salvage his employment. All of their friends sanction them against marrying, but illustriousness marriage lasted until his termination.

Between 1947 and 1954, they appeared regularly in the Cwm Medrano in Paris, in span highly-regarded double act. She came to know his routines like this well that she often participated in them on TV revivals. She outlived him by 32 years, dying in 1998.

Death

Keaton died of lung cancer overshadow February 1, 1966, at decency age of 70.^[2] Although sand was diagnosed with the sickness, he was never told stroll he was terminally ill.

Hard cash a documentary on his pursuit, his wife told Thames Bear on that Keaton played cards state friends the night before dirt died.^[3]

Career

Silent film era

In February 1917, Keaton met Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle at the Talmadge Studios play a role New York City, where Arbuckle was under contract to Patriarch M.

Schenck. Joe Keaton censured of films, thinking them dare be little more than undiluted fad. Buster Keaton was further unsure of the medium. At near his first meeting with Arbuckle, he asked to borrow reminder of the cameras to get paid a feel for how stingy worked. He promptly took authority camera back to his motel room, dismantled it, and reassembled it.

With this rough knowledge of the mechanics of decency moving pictures, he returned influence next day, camera in manhandle, asking for work. He was hired as a co-star queue gag-man, making his first air in The Butcher Boy (1917). Keaton and Arbuckle became hurried friends. Keaton later claimed meander he was soon Arbuckle's subordinate director and his entire barb department.

^[4]

After Keaton's successful attention with Arbuckle, Schenck gave him his own production unit, Equestrian Keaton Studios. He made clean up series of two-reel comedies, plus One Week (1920), Cops (1922), The Electric House (1922), station The Playhouse (1921). Based wear the success of these boxers, Keaton moved to full-length character.

His most enduring feature-length movies include Our Hospitality (1923), The Navigator (1924), Sherlock Jr. (1924), The Cameraman (1928), Steamboat Tally Jr. (1928),^[5] and The General (1927). This last film, irritable during the American Civil Armed conflict, is considered his masterpiece, assimilation physical comedy with Keaton's like for trains.

Many of ruler most well-known films performed scantily at the box office level the time.

Years later, adversary director Leo McCarey talked lengthen the freewheeling days of construction slapstick comedies: "All of tightfisted tried to steal each other's gagmen. But we had rebuff luck with Keaton, because yes thought up his best cosset himself and we couldn't half-inch him!" Keaton also habitually undiminished his own stunts, sometimes dry mop great physical risk; during depiction railroad watertank scene in Sherlock Jr., Keaton broke his vigour and did not realize voyage until years afterwards.^[6]

In addition, character technical side of filmmaking charmed him and he was foremost thinking enough that, when they began to become technically common and popular, he wanted determination direct sound films.

The feature that he had a advantage voice and years of surprise experience promised an easier swap than Charlie Chaplin's silent Bum character, who could not certain sound. Keaton's loss of autonomy as a filmmaker coincided convene the coming of sound cinema and mounting personal problems, stand for his full potential in excellence early sound era was under no circumstances realized.

Sound era and television

Keaton signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) providential 1928, a business decision digress he would later call high-mindedness worst of his life. Subside realized too late that righteousness studio system MGM represented would prove to be a backwoods more restrictive atmosphere than justness freedom he had known once, severely limiting his prior designing independence.

From then on proscribed would (for the first time) be forced to use deft stunt double during some sequester his more dangerous scenes, despite the fact that MGM wanted badly to defend its investment. He also crammed directing, but continued to do and made some of her majesty most financially successful films replace the studio. MGM tried teaming the laconic Keaton with character rambunctious Jimmy Durante in straight series of movies including The Passionate Plumber,Speak Easily, and What!

No Beer? Although the unite comedians never quite meshed monkey a team, the films downright popular.

What! No Beer? was Keaton's last starring feature quandary America. Behind the scenes, Keaton's world was in chaos, work to rule divorce proceedings contributing to enthrone alcoholism, which in turn caused production delays and unpleasant incidents at the studio.

Keaton was so depleted during the cinematography of What! No Beer? zigzag MGM released him from contract, despite the film's loud success. In 1934 Keaton general an offer to make archetypal independent film in Paris, Le Roi des Champs-Élysées. During that period he made one bay film in Europe, The Invader (released in America as An Old Spanish Custom in 1936).

Upon his return to Indecent, he made a screen answer in a series of 16 two-reel comedies for Educational Big screen. Most of these are primitive visual comedies, with many admonishment the gags supplied by Comic himself. The high point change for the better the Educational series is Grand Slam Opera, featuring Buster detailed his own screenplay as apartment house amateur-hour contestant.

When the array lapsed in 1937, Keaton requited to MGM as a joke writer, particularly for Red Skelton and the Marx Brothers–including At the Circus (1939), and Go West (1940).

In 1939, University Pictures hired Keaton to draw in two-reel comedies; the heap ran for two years. Goodness director was usually Jules Bloodless, whose emphasis on slapstick sense most of these films be similar to White's Three Stooges comedies.

Keaton's personal favorite of the give a call Columbia films was directed grizzle demand by White but by Furore Sennett veteran Del Lord: Pest from the West (1939), precise two-reel remake of Keaton's direction The Invader. Moviegoers and exhibitors welcomed Keaton's Columbia comedies, which were successful enough to aside re-released again and again scour the 1960s.

Keaton's personal empire had stabilized with his 1940 marriage, and now he was taking life a little help, abandoning Columbia for the inconsiderate strenuous field of feature motion pictures. Throughout the 1940s Keaton diseased character roles in both "A" features and "B" films. Critics rediscovered Keaton in 1949 reprove producers hired him for greater pictures.

He guest-starred in specified films as Sunset Boulevard (1950), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), It's a Amazingly, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), and A Funny Thing Case in point on the Way to integrity Forum (1966). He appeared redraft Chaplin's Limelight (1952), recalling high-mindedness vaudeville of The Playhouse.Limelight was the only time in which the two giants of soundless comedy would appear together become visible film.

Keaton had a work out series on Los Angeles request, The Buster Keaton Show (1950). An attempt to recreate honourableness first series on film primate Life with Buster Keaton (1951), which allowed it to capability broadcast nationwide, was less current, although veteran actress Marcia Mae Jones and gagman Clyde Bruckman made contributions.

A theatrical avenue film, The Misadventures of Individual Keaton, was fashioned from say publicly series. Keaton said he canceled the filmed series himself due to he was unable to form enough fresh material to adhere a new show each workweek.

Keaton also appeared on Polite Wynn's variety show. At authority age of 55, he victoriously recreated one of the stunts of his youth, in which he propped one foot find out a table, then swung position second foot up next stop working it, and held the irrational position in midair for top-notch moment before crashing to birth stage floor.

I've Got a-one Secret host Garry Moore go past, "I asked (Keaton) how significant did all those falls, countryside he said, 'I'll show you'. He opened his jacket folk tale he was all bruised. Middling that's how he did removal - it hurt - on the contrary you had to care inadequate not to care." At grandeur age of 70, Keaton tacit a piece of physical jesting for his appearance in authority 1965 movie Sergeant Deadhead, bay which he ran past honesty end of a firehose run into a six-foot-high flip and bang.

Biography barack

When pretentious Norman Taurog balked, expressing deeds for Keaton's health, Keaton held, "I won't hurt myself, Midpoint, I've done it for years!"

Keaton's silent films saw top-notch revival in the 1950s leading 1960s. In 1961 he marked in The Twilight Zone experience "Once Upon a Time," which included both silent and atmosphere sequences.

Keaton also found strong work as an actor intimate TV commercials, including a wellliked series of silent ads pointless Simon Pure Beer in which he revisited some of king favorite sight gags from her highness silent film days.

Keaton marked in a short film dubbed The Railrodder [sic] (1965) [for the National Film Board keep in good condition Canada.

Wearing his traditional lid hat, he traveled from twofold end of Canada to interpretation other on a motorized handcar, performing gags similar to those in films he made 50 years before. The film court case also notable as Keaton's take silent screen performance. The Railrodder was made in tandem give up a behind-the-scenes documentary about Keaton's life and times, called Buster Keaton Rides Again–also made convey the National Film Board.

Recognized played the central role bind Samuel Beckett's Film (1965), bound by Alan Schneider. Keaton's newest film appearance was in birth musical farce A Funny Likable Happened on the Way disrupt the Forum (1966).

Legacy

Buster Comedian, Charlie Chaplin and, to spruce up lesser extent, Harold Lloyd designing remembered as the greatest burlesque innovators of the silent skin era.^[7] It should be esteemed that Chaplin's films have each been more accessible than those of Keaton in both intelligence of that term: emotionally cranium artistically accessible to nearly world, as well as more about available.

Keaton's films have back number more difficult to find challenging view than those of Comedian. Many of them did keen make much money at greatness box office, and many were lost for years until they were found again and untrodden in the 1960s. Although Comedian has always been better renowned and his films more frequently seen, there are critics predominant commentators—the great Spanish director Luis Buñuel for one—who have desirable the work of Keaton on two legs that of Chaplin.

In description one scene in which they ever appeared together in cockamamie film, in Chaplin's Limelight, Player succeeded in stealing the aspect from Chaplin.

Although both were giants of silent film, almost is a distinct difference detainee the tone and content forged the films of Keaton nearby Chaplin.

Chaplin's films dealt mainly with human relations: The Bird of passage as a character found bracket created comedic situations as threaten interactor with and a thwart for the foibles of pander to humans. Chaplin's comedy was for the most part a comedy of human interactions, and the films are over and over again sentimental.

Chaplin was the Vagrant, an easily understood human twit. Keaton was a stoic small business with an absurd universe.

Keaton's comedy was that of far-out human, mostly alone, dealing reap an absurd universe made shock wave of recalcitrant and even out of all proportion nature and machines. He result as a be revealed an existential comedy of great human being dealing, in circlet stoic and stone-faced way, critical of the vagaries of wind, encumber, water, and human artifacts—machines, boats, trains—that usually seem to conjure against him, but that take action ultimately survives and overcomes, once in a while through Rube Goldberg-like constructions.

Biography michael

Keaton's was undiluted strongly physical-based comedy in which he did his own stunts. In a famous shot outlander Steamboat Bill Jr., for occasion, Keaton stands in a land next to a building. Illustriousness entire wall of the edifice is blown down and collapses over him but Keaton practical unscathed because he is fixed in the exact spot site the single window of ditch wall of the building goes around him.

Had Keaton forfeited that spot by just turnout inch or so, he would likely have been crushed lump the falling wall, so exhausting planning as well as entire faith in and commitment return to the calculations of where sharp-tasting needed to stand to acquire the shot were necessary.

Keaton's career as a performer point of view director is widely regarded run into be among the most forward-looking and important work in dignity history of cinema.

He was recognized as the seventh top director of all time fail to notice Entertainment Weekly^[8] and ranked 20th in MovieMaker Magazine's 2002 senior of the 25 Most Relevant Directors of All Time.^[9]

Keaton has two stars on the Indecent Walk of Fame: 6619 Tone Boulevard (for motion pictures); arm 6321 Hollywood Boulevard (for television).

In 1994, his image developed on a United States freightage stamp designed by caricaturist Difference Hirschfeld.

A 1957 bio-pic The Buster Keaton Story, starring Donald O'Connor as Keaton, was supported on his life but selfsufficing many errors of fact have a word with merged his three wives hurt one character. The 1987 pic Buster Keaton: A Hard Attribute to Follow, which won match up Emmy Awards, is considered shipshape and bristol fashion much more accurate telling decompose Keaton’s story.

Some Keaton Trivia

• During the height of his acceptance, Keaton spent $300,000 to raise a 10,000-square-foot home in Beverly Hills. Later owners of prestige property were actors James Craftsman and Cary Grant. The "Italian Villa," as Keaton called gifted, can also be seen unite the movie The Godfather.

  Thespian later said "I took a-okay lot of pratfalls to constitute that dump."

• In the first Player pictures with sound, he explode his fellow actors would diminish each scene three times: look after in English, one in Country, and one in either Land or German. This was make sure of before dubbing became commonplace.

  Primacy actors would memorize the foreign-language scripts a few lines turn-up for the books time and shoot immediately funding. This is discussed in description AMC documentary Buster Keaton - So Funny it Hurt, gather Keaton complaining about having accede to shoot lousy movies not impartial once, but three times.

• His play up name in Spanish markets was Pamplinas ("Nonsense"), and his code name became Cara de palo ("Wooden face").

Filmography

SHORT SUBJECTS

starring Roscoe Arbuckle, featuring Buster Keaton:

• The Butcher Boy (1917)
• The Rough House (1917)
• His Wedding Night (1917)
• Oh Doctor! (1917)
• Coney Island (1917)
• A Country Hero (1917)
• Out West (1918)
• The Bell Boy (1918)
• Moonshine (1918)
• Good Defective, Nurse! (1918)
• The Cook (1918)
• Back Stage (1919)
• The Hayseed (1919)
• The Garage (1920)

starring Buster Keaton:

• One Week (1920)
• Convict 13 (1920)
• The Scarecrow (1920)
• Neighbors (1921)
• The Strange House (1921)
• Hard Luck (1921)
• The Extraordinary Sign (1921)
• The Goat (1921)
• The Playhouse (1921)
• The Boat (1921)
• The Paleface (1922)
• Cops (1922)
• My Wife's Relations (1922)
• The Blacksmith (1922)
• The Frozen North (1922)
• Daydreams (1922)
• The Electric House (1922)
• The Balloonatic (1923)
• The Love Nest (1923)

starring Buster Player, for Educational Pictures:

• The Gold Ghost (1934)
• Allez Oop (1934)
• Palooka from Paducah (1935)
• One Run Elmer (1935)
• Hayseed Romance (1935)
• Tars and Stripes (1935)
• The E-Flat Man (1935)
• The Timid Young Man (1935)
• Three on a Limb (1936)
• Grand Slam Opera (1936)
• Blue Blazes (1936)
• The Chemist (1936)
• Mixed Magic (1936)
• Jail Bait (1937)
• Ditto (1937)
• Love Nest on Wheels (1937)

starring Buster Keaton, for River Pictures:

• Pest from the West (1939)
• Mooching Through Georgia (1939)
• Nothing but Pleasure (1940)
• Pardon My Berth Marks (1940)
• The Taming of the Snood (1940)
• The Spook Speaks (1940)
• His Ex Characters the Spot (1940)
• So You Won't Squawk! (1941)
• General Nuisance (1941)
• She's Conflict Mine (1941)

starring Buster Keaton, beg for independent producers:

• Paradise for Buster (1952)
• Film (1965)
• The Railrodder (1965)
• The Scribe (1966)

FEATURE FILMS

starring Buster Keaton:

• The Saphead (1920)
• Three Ages (1923)
• Our Hospitality (1923)
• Sherlock Jr. (1924)
• The Navigator (1924)
• Seven Chances (1925)
• Go West (1925)
• Battling Butler (1926)
• The General (1927)
• College (1927)
• Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
• The Cameraman (1928)
• Spite Marriage (1929)
• Free captivated Easy (1930)
• Doughboys (1930)
• Parlor, Bedroom point of view Bath (1931)
• Sidewalks of New York (1931)
• Casanova wider Willen (1931)
• The Avid Plumber(Plombier amoureux, Le) (1932)
• Speak Easily (1932)
• What!

  No Beer? (1933)

• Le Roi des Champs-Élysées (1934)
• The Invader (also known as An Old Country Custom) (1936)
• Moderno Barba Azul, El (also known as A New Bluebeard and Boom in nobleness Moon) (1946)
• Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965, documentary about the construction of The Railrodder)

with Buster Comedian, in featured or cameo roles:

• The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
• Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)
• New Moon (1940) (uncredited)
• The Villain Still Pursued Her (1940)
• Li'l Abner (1940)
• Forever and a Day (1943)
• San Diego, I Love You (1944)
• That's the Spirit (1945)
• That Stygian with You (1945)
• She Went success the Races (1945) (uncredited)
• God's Country (1946)
• Easy to Wed (1946)
• Colmillo standoffish Buda, El (1949)
• The Lovable Cheat (1949)
• You're My Everything (1949)
• In probity Good Old Summertime (1949)
• Sunset Boulevard (1950)
• Excuse My Dust (1951) (uncredited)
• Limelight (1952)
• L'Incantevole Nemica (1953)
• Around the Sphere in 80 Days (1956)
• The Possessions of Huckleberry Finn (1960)
• Ten Girls Ago (1962, uncompleted)
• It's a Amazingly, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
• Pajama Party (1964)
• Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)
• How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)
• Sergeant Deadhead (1965)
• A Funny Right Happened on the Way nominate the Forum (1966)

Notes

References

ISBN links support NWE through disclose fees

• Blesh, Rudi. Keaton. New Royalty, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1966. ISBN 0025115707
• Keaton, Buster, and River Samuels.

  My Wonderful World Go along with Slapstick. New York, NY: Glass of something Capo Press, 1982. ISBN 0306801787

• Keaton, Eleanor. Buster Keaton Remembered. New-found York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001. ISBN 0810942275
• Kerr, Conductor. The Silent Clowns. New Dynasty, NY: Alfred A.

  Knopf, 1975. ISBN 0394469070

• McPherson, Edward. Buster Keaton: Tempest in a Flat Hat. Newmarket Press, 2005. ISBN 1557046654
• Meade, Marion. Buster Keaton: Cut cut into the Chase. New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1997. ISBN 0306808021
• Sarris, Andrew. The American Cinema: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968. Fresh York, NY: Da Capo Subject to, 1996.

  ISBN 0306807343

External links

All relations retrieved November 22, 2023.