Joseph Frank Keaton (October 4, 1895 â€" February 1, 1966), known
professionally as Buster Keaton, was an American actor, comedian, film
director, producer, screenwriter, and stunt performer. He is best
known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy
with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression that earned him the
nickname "The Great Stone Face". Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton's
"extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929" when he "worked without
interruption" on a series of films that make him "the greatest
actor-director in the history of the movies". His career declined
afterward with a loss of artistic independence when he signed with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, his wife divorced him, and he descended into
alcoholism. He recovered in the 1940s, remarried, and revived his
career as an honored comic performer for the rest of his life, earning
an Academy Honorary Award in 1959.Many of Keaton's films from the
1920s remain highly regarded, such as Sherlock Jr. (1924), The General
(1926), and The Cameraman (1928), with The General widely viewed as
his masterpiece. Among its strongest admirers was Orson Welles, who
stated that The General was cinema's highest achievement in comedy,
and perhaps the greatest film ever made. Keaton in 1996 was recognized
as the seventh-greatest film director by Entertainment Weekly, and the
American Film Institute ranked him in 1999 as the 21st greatest male
star of classic Hollywood cinema.Keaton was born into a vaudeville
family in Piqua, Kansas, the small town where his mother, Myra Keaton
(née Cutler), was when she went into labor. He was named "Joseph" to
continue a tradition on his father's side (he was sixth in a line
bearing the name Joseph Keaton) and "Frank" for his maternal
grandfather, who disapproved of his parents' union. Later, Keaton
changed his middle name to "Francis". His father was Joseph Hallie
"Joe" Keaton, who owned a traveling show with Harry Houdini called the
Mohawk Indian Medicine Company or the Keaton Houdini Medicine Show
Company, which performed on stage and sold patent medicine on the
side.
professionally as Buster Keaton, was an American actor, comedian, film
director, producer, screenwriter, and stunt performer. He is best
known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy
with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression that earned him the
nickname "The Great Stone Face". Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton's
"extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929" when he "worked without
interruption" on a series of films that make him "the greatest
actor-director in the history of the movies". His career declined
afterward with a loss of artistic independence when he signed with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, his wife divorced him, and he descended into
alcoholism. He recovered in the 1940s, remarried, and revived his
career as an honored comic performer for the rest of his life, earning
an Academy Honorary Award in 1959.Many of Keaton's films from the
1920s remain highly regarded, such as Sherlock Jr. (1924), The General
(1926), and The Cameraman (1928), with The General widely viewed as
his masterpiece. Among its strongest admirers was Orson Welles, who
stated that The General was cinema's highest achievement in comedy,
and perhaps the greatest film ever made. Keaton in 1996 was recognized
as the seventh-greatest film director by Entertainment Weekly, and the
American Film Institute ranked him in 1999 as the 21st greatest male
star of classic Hollywood cinema.Keaton was born into a vaudeville
family in Piqua, Kansas, the small town where his mother, Myra Keaton
(née Cutler), was when she went into labor. He was named "Joseph" to
continue a tradition on his father's side (he was sixth in a line
bearing the name Joseph Keaton) and "Frank" for his maternal
grandfather, who disapproved of his parents' union. Later, Keaton
changed his middle name to "Francis". His father was Joseph Hallie
"Joe" Keaton, who owned a traveling show with Harry Houdini called the
Mohawk Indian Medicine Company or the Keaton Houdini Medicine Show
Company, which performed on stage and sold patent medicine on the
side.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.