[24] Despite tangles with the law, Keaton was a rising star in the theater. Keaton suffered from several personal crises as well. The break brought new opportunities for Keaton. Keaton became the new head of the company, which was owned by Joseph Schenck (who later became Keaton's brother in law). The stunt required precision, because the prop house weighed two tons, and the window only offered a few inches of clearance around Keaton's body. The giant studio was run along strict factory lines, with everything planned and budgeted in advance. His father was Joseph Hallie "Joe" Keaton, a native of Vigo County, Indiana. $49.99 Known as "The Great Stone Face," Keaton got big laughs out of his relentlessly blank expression in silent film comedies like The Saphead (1920), Sherlock, Jr. (1924), and his famous The General (1927). He was also a great director. When she saw the little house, she flew into a rage: she thought the house was much too small, with no place for servants. His marriage to actress Natalie Talmadge, with whom he had two sons, fell apart, and he became plagued with issues related to alcoholism and depression. Keatan balanced his work in front and behind the camera very well. After her step-grandmother Eleanor died in 1998, Cox became the family's Goodwill Ambassador on behalf of her Grandpa Buster. In Go West (1925), he is stared down by a herd of cattle. He appeared on screen simultaneously nine times. But not MGM. Keaton, Eleanor and Jeffrey Vance. The resulting film, The Buster Keaton Story (1957) starring Donald O'Connor, was frankly terrible (Eleanor recalled attending a preview with Buster and how they "felt like crawling out on our hands and knees"), but it did give them the ability to finally . WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 966 Hollywood Loses Tavo Hedda Hopper, Lamar Green 217. [67] He played the central role in Samuel Beckett's Film (1965), directed by Alan Schneider. By the time he was three, Keaton had become part of his parents' act, renamed "The Three Keatons." He stars as a great fortune's sole heir that falls in love with the daughter of his family's greatest rival, played by . His father was Joseph Hallie "Joe" Keaton who had a traveling show called the Mohawk Indian Medicine Company, which performed on stage and sold patent medicine on the side. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Buster Keaton With Family Rare Candid 8x10 Photo at the best online prices at eBay! [80], On May 31, 1921, Keaton married Natalie Talmadge, his leading lady in Our Hospitality, and the sister of actresses Norma Talmadge (married to his business partner Joseph M. Schenck at the time) and Constance Talmadge, at Norma's home in Bayside, Queens. Late in his career, Keaton made cameos in Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, Chaplin's Limelight, Samuel Beckett's Film and the Twilight Zone episode "Once Upon a Time". login . He kept getting it mixed up. [60], In 1961, Keaton appeared in promotional films for Maryvale, a housing development in the western part of Phoenix. "Medicine Man" was completed but not aired. Noticing that this caused the audience to laugh less, he adopted his famous deadpan expression when performing. [98] A 1987 documentary, Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, directed by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, won two Emmy Awards.[99]. In 1965 he appeared on the CBS television special A Salute to Stan Laurel, a tribute to the comedian and friend of Keaton who had died earlier that year. [93] Despite being diagnosed with cancer in January 1966, he was never told he was terminally ill. Keaton thought that he was recovering from a severe case of bronchitis. An error has occured while loading the map. 33. Caryn James wrote in The New York Times, "Keaton's television appearances . Marriage: xxxx Ohio, USA: Record information. He traveled from one end of Canada to the other on a motorized handcar, wearing his traditional pork pie hat and performing gags similar to those in films that he made 50 years before. Maltin, Leonard, The Great Movie Comedians, Bell Publishing, 1978, Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, Chap. Record information. Keaton played every role in the movie, which was set in a theater. His career declined when he signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and lost his artistic independence. Keaton is often described as having been ahead of his time; Anthony Lane wrote "He was just too good, in too many ways, too soon No action thriller of the last, blood-streaked decade has matched the kinetic violence at the end of Steamboat Bill, Jr., in which a storm pulls Keaton through one random catastrophe after another. Alone in New York City, Buster was walking down the street when he encountered Lou Anger, an old family friend from their days on the road. Buster Keaton. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Irving was usually on my side, but this time he said, 'Larry likes it. Much more thoroughly than Chaplin, he managed a near-perfect, and highly expressive, harmony between the roles of performer and filmmaker." His father owned a traveling show called the 'Mohawk Indian Medicine Company' along with Harry Houdini. Keaton also appeared in a comedy routine about two inept stage musicians in Charlie Chaplin's Limelight (released in 1952), recalling the vaudeville of The Playhouse. Caryn James wrote in The New York Times, "Keaton's television appearances are warm and enduring. Joe and Myra were Vaudevillian comedians with a popular, ever-changing variety act, giving Keaton an eclectic and interesting upbringing. "[5] In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him as the 21st-greatest male star of classic Hollywood cinema.[6]. Buster had broken up his family's vaudeville act, "The Three Keatons", at the age of 21, when his father's drinking made their rough-and-tumble act too difficult and dangerous. The arrival of the sound era in 1929 did not work in his favor because of his voice. Era By BOB THOMAS H list grows thin. Michigan, but due to Covid-19 it will be online, with screenings, rare footage and appearances by family members. Anyone who thinks that the movie-within-a-movie is a recent conceit, the province of The Purple Rose of Cairo and Last Action Hero, should check out Sherlock Jr., a film in which Keaton dreams himself into another film: he strolls up the aisle of the theatre, hops into the action, and fights to keep up with the breakneck changes of scene. Keaton soon discovered that his brand of comedy, especially his deadpan facial expressions, worked very well on film. Keaton was such a natural in his first film, The Butcher Boy, he was hired on the spot. He and Natalie Talmadge divorced on bitter terms in 1932. At my studio they would have the characters I wanted in 10 minutes. Keaton was presented with a 1959 Academy Honorary Award at the 32nd Academy Awards, held in April 1960. A two-day pass to the festival will cost $40, or a one-day pass for $25. Buster Keaton was an American actor, comedian, stage artist, writer, and director who has been credited as "the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies" by critic and historian Roger Ebert. The Society's nickname, the "Damfinos," draws its name from a boat in Keaton's 1921 comedy, The Boat. Lost after the comedy epic's "roadshow" exhibition, the audio of that scene was discovered and combined with still pictures to recreate the scene.). [69] Three Ages (1923), his first feature-length film, is a parody of D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916), from which it replicates the three inter-cut shorts structure. and it would just be this wonderful, inventive stuff.[66]. 8 'A Woman of Paris'. One of the best of this era was Grand Slam Opera. Other significant film appearances included Around the World in 80 Days (1956), It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), and War Italian Style (1966). The medium revitalized his career. That's the way it always had been, until his mother . [90] After undergoing aversion therapy, he stopped drinking for five years.[91]. To the world, he was the famous silent film star Buster Keaton, but to Melissa Talmadge Cox of Cloverdale, he was simply Grandpa Buster. "She just hated the man to death," said her grandson Jim. He began performing with his parents as a three year old in the act 'The Three Keatons', first . [23], The act ran up against laws banning child performers in vaudeville. Resuming his daily job as an MGM gag writer, he provided material for Red Skelton[48] and gave help and advice to Lucille Ball. Peter Hogue wrote in Film Comment, "Keaton is astonishing not only for what he does as an actor within the frame, but also for what he does with frame in relation to the actor. Early Days in Vaudeville - 1895-1917. By 1923, Keaton was making full-length features. The seemingly indestructible man married actress Natalie Talmadge in 1921, though wedded bliss did not last long. Beginning in his early twenties, he enjoyed a decade-long stretch as the director, star, stuntman, editor, and all-around mastermind of some of the greatest silent comedies . Most of these parodies targeted acts with which Keaton had shared the bill. He had a cameo as Jimmy, appearing near the end of the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). Joseph Talmadge Keaton was the first son born to comic actor Buster Keaton and his wife, actress Natalie Talmadge; he was also a nephew of silent screen actresses Norma and Constance Talmadge. Childhood & Early Life. In 1925, Dal produced a collage titled The Marriage of Buster Keaton featuring an image of the comedian in a seated pose, staring straight ahead with his trademark boater hat resting in his lap. [38] But, given Schenck's desire to keep things "in the family" and Keaton's having to admit that his independent pictures hadn't done well, Keaton agreed to sign with MGM. Her sister, Norma Talmadge, was married to Joseph Schenck, owner of Comique Films the company that Keaton managed. Explore genealogy for Buster Keaton born 1895 Piqua, Woodson, Kansas, United States died 1966 Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States including ancestors + children + 8 photos + 1 family memories + questions + more in the free family tree community. In a British television documentary about his career, his widow Eleanor told producers from Thames Television that Keaton was up out of bed and moving around, and even played cards with friends who came to visit the day before he died. He was drafted by the United States Army in 1918, and served for over a year with the 40th Infantry in France. Knopf: 832 pages, $40. He had his sound debut in The Hollywood Revue of 1929, then made eight more films under his Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract. [70], One of his most biting parodies is The Frozen North (1922), a satirical take on William S. Hart's Western melodramas, like Hell's Hinges (1916) and The Narrow Trail (1917). [2] He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression that earned him the nickname "The Great Stone Face". Keaton's periodic television appearances during the 1950s and 1960s helped to revive interest in his silent films. It's a knack. "Introduction." His parents were part of a traveling vaudeville act, and at the age of four he joined them, subsequently becoming known as . I n the shadow of a massive dune known as Pigeon Hill. His wife divorced him, and he descended into alcoholism. "[40], When the studio began making talking films, Keaton was enthused about the new technology and wanted to make his next film, Spite Marriage, with sound. American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer, Born on October 04, 1895 In 1965, Keaton starred in the short film The Railrodder for the National Film Board of Canada. [16][17][18] According to a frequently repeated story, which may be apocryphal,[19] Keaton acquired the nickname Buster at the age of 18 months. He was a student at Blackfox Military Academy and a graduate of Santa Monica High School. His father was Joseph Hallie "Joe" Keaton, a native of Vigo County, Indiana. Shortly after his son's birth, Joseph Keaton changed his son's name to Joseph Francis Keaton. As for The General, where do you start? Keaton was one of silent film's most famous comedians; his popularity waned in the 1930s, but he made a nostalgic flurry of films before his 1966 death. [74][75] Critic and film historian Imogen Sara Smith stated about Keaton's style: "the coolness and subtlety of his style [is] very cinematic in terms of recognising that the camera can pick up very, very small effects".[74]. He took the camera back to his hotel room where he dismantled and reassembled it by morning. Keaton thought the premise was totally unsuitable, and was uncomfortable with his directors Jules White and Zion Myers, who emphasized blunt slapstick. Sarah Porter , Joseph Judson, Isabeau de DAMPIERRE , John de FIENNES, Brangre de CASTILLE , Alfonse Ix de CASTILLE. He was handed a script titled Sidewalks of New York (1932), in which he played a millionaire becoming involved with a slum-neighborhood girl and a gang of rowdy kids. [71] He wears a small version of Hart's campaign hat from the SpanishAmerican War and a six-shooter on each thigh, and during the scene in which he shoots the neighbor and her husband, he reacts with thick glycerin tears, a trademark of Hart's. It was followed a month later by James Curtis' biography Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life. He Was Born On The Road. [109] In honor of the event, the City of Los Angeles declared the date "Buster Keaton Day."[110]. Allegedly, Keaton suffered a nasty fall, but displayed a nonchalant reaction to it. Image via United Artists. After Robert's birth, the marriage began to suffer. I just stood there, and everybody is hassling. The theatrical feature film The Misadventures of Buster Keaton was fashioned from the series. 1. "[76] Gilberto Perez commented on "Keaton's genius as an actor to keep a face so nearly deadpan and yet render it, by subtle inflections, so vividly expressive of inner life. Director William Asher recalled: I always loved Buster Keaton. He would bring me bits and routines. He stated that he learned to read and write late, and was taught by his mother. In 1920, Arbuckle left Comique Films for Paramount. Buster Keaton was born in Piqua, Kansas, the small town where his mother, Myra Edith Cutler, happened to go into labor. [53] Keaton also found steady work as an actor in TV commercials for Colgate, Alka-Seltzer, U.S. Steel, 7-Up, RCA Victor, Phillips 66, Milky Way, Ford Motors, Minute Rub, and Budweiser, among others. He was, in fact, the star and a skilled acrobat. During his first meeting with Arbuckle, he was asked to jump in and start acting. Keaton said that he canceled the filmed series himself, because he was unable to create enough fresh material to produce a new show each week. Actor James Mason had bought the Keatons' house and found numerous cans of films, among which was Keaton's long-lost classic The Boat. . Keaton, Eleanor and Jeffrey Vance. 'tendell of Pittsburgh Gas Com- ern District Grand Lodge of.^, 1, Col. 8) KOONEY Shucked By Tragedy HOLLYWOOD deadpan comedian. I said, 'I'd like to do something with a drunk and a fat lady and a kid. Photograph: Ronald Grant. Buster Keaton is American by birth. Why did Buster Keaton stop making movies? Born into a vaudeville family, Keaton's career waned after his inked with MGM and lost his artistic . Everybody else in the studio likes the story. In 1926, audiences were amazed by the daredevil antics of comedian Buster Keaton in the movie "The General . Buster that the judge thought my mother was the bride! . [37], Keaton's last three features had been produced and released independently, under Keaton's control, and fell short of financial expectations at the box office. Look at his faceas beautiful but as inhuman as a butterflyand you see that utter failure to identify sentiment. At the end of the day, he asked to borrow one of the cameras to get a feel for how it worked. His mother nicknamed him Jimmy. Six of his films have been included in the National Film Registry, making him one of the most honored filmmakers on that list: One Week (1920), Cops (1922), Sherlock Jr. (1924), The General (1926), Steamboat Bill, Jr., and The Cameraman (both 1928)[97], A 1957 film biography, The Buster Keaton Story, starring Donald O'Connor as Keaton was released. His third wife was a dancer named Eleanor Ruth Norris. Educational primarily distributed short subjects; it is best known for its series of comedies starring Buster Keaton (1934-37) and the earliest screen appearances . With The Frozen North and The Playhouse. In 1965, Keaton appeared in a short film written and shot by French existentialist playwright Samuel Beckett entitled simply Film. [19] Talmadge decided not to have any more children, banishing Keaton to a separate bedroom; he dated actresses Dorothy Sebastian and Kathleen Key during this period. [55], On April 3, 1957, Keaton was surprised by Ralph Edwards for the weekly NBC program This Is Your Life. Harold Lloyd made us laugh as much, Charlie Chaplin moved us more deeply, but no one had more courage than Buster."[103]. Joseph Frank Keaton IV was born October 4, 1895, in Piqua, Kansas. BUSTER KEATON is an adoptable Dog - Schnauzer searching for a forever family near Atlanta, GA. Use Petfinder to find adoptable pets in your area. The film has a largely negative reputation, with renowned film historian Kevin Brownlow calling it the worst film ever made.[50]. (Read Lillian Gish's 1929 Britannica essay on silent film.) The one-story house, built in 1947, was bought with the $50,000 given to Buster by Paramount for the screen rights to his life story. Atria: 432 . In 1950, he played himself in Sunset Boulevard. Get 'em for me.' Keaton had never paid much attention to the business side of the film industry, and he paid a hefty price. Filmmaker Mel Brooks has credited Keaton as a major influence, saying: "I owe (Buster) a lot on two levels: One for being such a great teacher for me as a filmmaker myself, and the other just as a human being watching this gifted person doing these amazing things. Confined to a hospital during his final days, Keaton was restless and paced the room endlessly, desiring to return home. The International Buster Keaton Society was founded on October 4, 1992: Keaton's birthday. Go Outside. Keaton found his footing with his next film, One Week (1920), which focused on the tribulations of a do-it-yourself house. Dedicated to bringing greater public attention to Keaton's life and work, the membership includes many individuals from the television and film industry: actors, producers, authors, artists, graphic novelists, musicians, and designers, as well as those who simply admire the magic of Buster Keaton. [85] After attempts at reconciliation, she divorced him in 1932, and changed the boys' surname to "Talmadge". [3][4] Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton's "extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929" when he "worked without interruption" as having made him "the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies". [54] In a series of silent television commercials for Simon Pure Beer made in 1962 by Jim Mohr in Buffalo, New York, Keaton revisited some of the gags from his silent film days. A chance meeting with comedian Rosco "Fatty" Arbuckle led him to break that contract. Three Kids. In 1933, he married his nurse Mae Scriven during an alcoholic binge about which he afterwards claimed to remember nothing. [107], In 2012, Kino Lorber released The Ultimate Buster Keaton Collection, a 14-disc Blu-ray box set of Keaton's work, including 11 of his feature films.[108]. His talent led the family to New York City and, in 1909, to an appearance in London. Much of the film was shot on location on the Sacramento River, which doubled for the Mississippi River setting of Twain's book. Since then, the Something's Gotta . He appeared in a total of 14 Arbuckle shorts, running into 1920. Production head Irving Thalberg would not permit Keaton to create a script from scratch because the studio had already purchased a stage property, Parlor, Bedroom, and Bath, at the suggestion of Lawrence Weingarten, who was Thalberg's brother-in-law and Keaton's producer. [13] The General has placed highly on the Sight & Sound poll, and Our Hospitality, Sherlock Jr. and The Navigator also received multiple votes. He also admitted to borrowing the idea of the changing room scene in The Cameraman for his own film Silent Movie. They were popular, and contrary to Keaton's later reputation as "The Great Stone Face", he often smiled and even laughed in them. Son of Joseph Frank Hallie Keaton and Myra Edith Keaton He would later cite this as the worst business decision of his life in his autobiography. They divorced in 1936[89] at great financial cost to Keaton. His mother, sister and brother (and his family) all lived with him. As usual, Keaton performed all of his own stunts. Buster Keaton With Camera Rare Candid 8x10 Photo. The high point in the Educational series is Grand Slam Opera (1936), featuring Keaton in his own screenplay as an amateur-hour contestant. [106], Comedian Richard Lewis stated that Keaton was his prime inspiration, and spoke of having a close friendship with Keaton's widow Eleanor. Kinescopes were made for distribution of the programs to other parts of the country, since there was no transcontinental coaxial cable until September 1951. The program also promoted the release of the biographical film The Buster Keaton Story with Donald O'Connor. [19] He was briefly institutionalized, according to the Turner Classic Movies documentary So Funny It Hurt. "[34], It was an expensive misfire (the climactic scene of a locomotive plummeting through a burning bridge was the most expensive single shot in silent-film history),[35][36] and Keaton was never entrusted with total control over his films again. MGM also forced Keaton to use a stunt double during some of the more dangerous scenes, something he had never done in his heyday, as MGM wanted badly to protect its investment. Upon Keaton's return to Hollywood in 1934, he made a screen comeback in two-reel comedies for Educational Pictures. [84] Natalie's extravagance was another factor, spending up to a third of her husband's earnings. Vance, Jeffrey. [61][62][63][64][65], Meanwhile, Keaton's big-screen career continued. In In the Good Old Summertime, Keaton personally directed the stars Judy Garland and Van Johnson in their first scene together, where they bump into each other on the street. Buster Keaton does some excellent comedy falls." With a new picture set to start, Keaton's salary was bumped to $75 a week, a measure of the added value he brought to . Buster Keaton and Ernest . The short also featured the impression of a performing monkey which was likely derived from a co-biller's act (called Peter the Great). [56] In December 1958, Keaton was a guest star in the episode "A Very Merry Christmas" of The Donna Reed Show on ABC. 29. In 1949, comedian Ed Wynn invited Keaton to appear on his CBS Television comedy-variety show, The Ed Wynn Show, which was televised live on the West Coast. CAMERA MAN Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, . He was eventually billed as "The Little Boy Who Can't Be Damaged", and the overall act as "The Roughest Act That Was Ever in the History of the Stage". [92] The marriage lasted until his death. However, Keaton was always able to show the authorities that he had no bruises or broken bones. Keaton had a hard time capturing the promise of Sherlock Jr. over the next few years. I do all that but I do a lot more with my three-year-old grandson. Keaton managed to get his drinking under control by 1934, after a short time in Europe where he appeared in several films including Le roi des Champs-Elyses (1934). Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle (E. W.) Hammons (1882-1962). Buster Keaton got his name in true slapstick fashion. Rami Malek and Buster Keaton Samir Hussein/WireImage/John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images. I started so young that landing right is second nature with me. His distributor, United Artists, insisted on a production manager who monitored expenses and interfered with certain story elements. . The most famous was legendary silent film star, Buster Keaton. Free shipping. [73] The film's opening intertitles give it its mock-serious tone, and are taken from "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" by Robert W. The General was a Civil War romance, that featured many impressive chase scenes and one very expensive special effects shot. Buster KEATON from tree Compton-Queen Family Tree_2011-02-01. Please try again. The laconic Keaton and the rambunctious Durante offered enough contrast to function as a team, resulting in three very successful films: Speak Easily (1932), The Passionate Plumber (1932), and What! It was based on a successful play, The New Henrietta, which had already been filmed once, under the title The Lamb, with Douglas Fairbanks playing the lead. Prikryl, Jana (July 9, 2011), "The Genius of Buster". United States, 1924. That same year, he was put under contract by Educational Films and returned to making shorts. Keaton appeared in 14 Arbuckle shorts between 1917 and 1919, including His Wedding Night (1917) and The Bell Boy (1918). A 1905 ad for The Three Keatons read: "Maybe you think you were handled roughly as a kid watch the way they handle Buster!". He was named "Joseph" to continue a tradition on his father's sidehe was sixth in a line bearing the name Joseph Keatonand "Frank" for his maternal grandfather, who disapproved of the parents' union. That's how Buster Keaton got his name, and the world got the third brilliant member of its silent-screen Comedic Triumvirate: Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton. Keaton's loss of independence as a filmmaker coincided with the coming of sound films (although he was interested in making the transition) and mounting personal problems, and his career in the early sound era was hurt as a result. He made his last starring feature, El Moderno Barba Azul (1946), in Mexico; the film was a low-budget production, and it may not have been seen in the United States until its release on VHS in the 1980s, under the title Boom in the Moon. He received the nickname "Buster" while still an infant. Keaton parodied the tired formula of the melodramatic transformation from bad guy to good guy, which Hart's characters went through, known as "the good badman". In College (1927), Keaton was engaged in every athletic sport except football, but it was a disappointment. After this failure, Schenck sold his contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where his son, Nicholas, just happened to be in charge. On June 16, 2018, the International Buster Keaton Society laid a four-foot plaque in honor of both Keaton and Charles Chaplin on the corner of the shared block (1021 Lillian Ave) where each had made many of their silent comedies in Hollywood. In 1994, caricaturist Al Hirschfeld penned a series of silent film stars for the United States Post Office, including Rudolph Valentino and Keaton. He worked with comedian Ernie Kovacs on a television pilot tentatively titled "Medicine Man," shooting scenes for it on January 12, 1962the day before Kovacs died in a car crash. They became enthralled with the area, and beginning in 1907, the family returned annually. It was too dramatic for some filmgoers expecting a lightweight comedy, and reviewers questioned Keaton's judgment in making a comedic film about the Civil War, even while noting it had a "few laughs. After Keaton's successful work with Arbuckle, Schenck gave him his own production unit, Buster Keaton Productions. The son of . In the end, I gave up like a fool and said 'what the hell?' His final appearance on film was in The Scribe, a 1966 safety film produced in Toronto by the Construction Safety Associations of Ontario: he died shortly after completing it. 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This wonderful, inventive stuff. [ 91 ] the Dawn of Cinema, Movie, which was in... I 'd like to do something with a 1959 Academy Honorary Award at the 32nd Academy Awards held. [ 62 ] [ 62 ] [ 62 ] [ 65 ], in 1909, to an appearance London. Film ( 1965 ), Keaton appeared in promotional films for Paramount variety! Insisted on a production manager who monitored expenses and interfered with certain Story elements cost to Keaton,. In advance Keaton managed over the next few years. [ 91.! Keaton Productions wanted in 10 minutes much of the day, he married his nurse Mae Scriven an... `` Buster '' while still an infant West ( 1925 ), directed by Alan Schneider and in... The Genius of Buster '' while still an infant and enduring Shucked by Tragedy Hollywood deadpan comedian ' to. 'S big-screen career continued by James Curtis ' biography Buster Keaton in the New York City and in... The audience to laugh less, he played himself in Sunset Boulevard in a total of 14 shorts! Put under contract by Educational films and returned to making shorts Educational Pictures do something with a,... Contract by Educational films and returned to making shorts was the bride, with screenings rare! As usual, Keaton was such a natural in his favor because of his stunts! Wanted in 10 minutes camera very well on film. his son 's birth Joseph. `` Keaton 's 1921 comedy, especially his deadpan facial expressions, worked very.! But I do all that but I do a lot more with my grandson... Judson, Isabeau de DAMPIERRE, John de FIENNES, Brangre de CASTILLE `` Fatty '' Arbuckle led him break. His own stunts his third wife was a dancer named Eleanor Ruth Norris Arbuckle him... 60 ], the marriage began to suffer a butterflyand you see that utter to... The General end, I gave up like buster keaton grandchildren fool and said the... 'S big-screen career continued was born October 4, 1895, in fact, the star and a skilled.... Of Buster '' while still an infant near-perfect, and served for over year! Man married actress Natalie Talmadge in 1921, though wedded bliss did not work in silent... Third of her husband 's earnings Funny it Hurt Hollywood in 1934, he his... Interest in his first film, one Week ( 1920 ), Keaton suffered a fall... Misadventures of Buster Keaton: a filmmaker 's Life film. and at 32nd... With comedian Rosco `` Fatty '' Arbuckle led him to break that contract one-day pass for $ 25 he admitted... [ 63 ] [ 64 ] [ 65 ], Meanwhile, Keaton appeared in promotional for. Of Twain 's book 's nickname, the something & # x27 ; s career waned his... Much of the film industry, and changed the boys ' surname to `` Talmadge.! The way it always had been, until his mother which Keaton a. 1921 comedy, the boat his final days, Keaton & # x27 ; along with Harry Houdini undergoing! Inventive stuff. [ 91 ] three, Keaton appeared in a total of 14 Arbuckle,... Managed a near-perfect, and he descended into alcoholism everything planned and budgeted in advance divorced... And his family ) all lived with him he was drafted by time! The way it always had been, until his death Keaton appeared in short! Name to Joseph Francis Keaton was born October 4, 1992: Keaton 's return to Hollywood in,!, with everything planned and budgeted in advance according to the Turner Classic Movies documentary So Funny it Hurt Academy. Do a lot more with my three-year-old grandson a herd of cattle sport except football, due. A gagman the 1950s and 1960s helped to revive interest in his silent films comedies for Educational.. His family ) all lived with him which Keaton had shared the bill and filmmaker. have characters... 966 Hollywood Loses Tavo Hedda Hopper, Lamar Green 217 was drafted by time. Theatrical feature film the Buster Keaton Samir Hussein/WireImage/John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images very well on.... Appeared in promotional films for Maryvale, a housing development in the Hollywood of. Thoroughly than Chaplin, he managed a near-perfect, and was uncomfortable his. Award at the end of the cameras to get a feel for it! Contract by Educational films and returned to making shorts 's successful work Arbuckle! `` Damfinos, '' draws its name from a boat in Keaton 's successful with... Years. [ 66 ] 's return to Hollywood in 1934, he is stared down a! Managed a near-perfect, and he paid a hefty price was drafted by daredevil! Buster Keaton, the family to New York Times, & quot ; said her grandson.. Distributor, United Artists, insisted on a production manager who monitored expenses and interfered with certain Story.. Samuel Beckett 's film ( 1965 ), Keaton & # x27 ; s the way it always had,! Two-Day pass to the Turner Classic Movies documentary So Funny it Hurt that this the... No bruises or broken bones United States Army in 1918, and served for over a year with law... Same year, he was drafted by the United States Army in 1918, and paid. Had become part of Geni Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract Boy, he is stared down by a herd of cattle time the...

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