Comedian actor Keaton Buster: biography with photo

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Keaton Buster is a famous American comedian, director and producer, the great stone face of the silent screen. Known for his deadpan comic expressions, which are brilliantly displayed in complex scenes.

Like many great silent film actors, Buster remained unknown and unclaimed for several years. Only towards the end of his life was his activity rightfully rewarded. A psychologically astute actor, Keaton created dozens of short films that prove he was one of the most talented and innovative artists of his day.

Buster Keaton: date of birth and early years

Joseph Frank Keaton was born October 4, 1895 in Piqua, Kansas, USA. He was the eldest of three children of Joseph Halley Keaton and Myra Cutler. My father was the director of the traveling troupe Mohawk Indian Medicine Company, in which he brilliantly performed with his wife and famous magician Harry Houdini.

According to legend, Keaton got hisnicknamed "Buster" when he was 18 months old after falling down a flight of stairs. Fortunately, Harry Houdini managed to catch him then and, turning to his parents, quipped that Joseph Jr. was falling like a “real daring guy” (buster from the English “darling”).

Early on stage

Already at the age of three, he began performing at performances with his parents. During a comedic acrobatic performance, his father performed incredible stunts on him (even dangerous throws). After that, his family was accused by the US authorities of child abuse. But, as Keaton himself recalls, he actually never suffered from falls, as he simply played the role of a “mop man”. Even then, Buster really liked that all the audience laughed at him.

At such a young age, the future comedian noticed that when he cheerfully imitated his father, the audience did not react at all. Then Keaton Buster came up with the idea of using his deadpan expression to amuse the public. So he became a comedian. His talent brought the family to New York in 1909.

Career start

In 1917, his father, Joseph Keaton, began to have serious problems with alcohol, which caused the family to break up. Actor Buster Keaton did not appear on stage for a long time. But during this break, he was offered a role in a Broadway show with a staggering fee for that time - $ 250 a week. However, a chance meeting with comedian Roscoe Arbuckle led to the termination of this contract. He was persuaded to play the lead role inshort film The Butcher's Helper (1917).

After that, Buster noticed that his deadpan expression on the film looked very good. The only time he laughed was in Roscoe's Coney Island (1917).

Buster Keaton also starred in 14 short films of his friend, the best films are “His Wedding Night” and “The Corridor”. His excellent film career was interrupted when Buster joined an infantry division in France during World War I in 1918.

After returning to the US in 1919, he starred in several more films by Roscoe. They were a huge commercial success. In 1920, Buster Keaton, a comedian, makes his first feature film Balda, where he plays with Bertie Elstin. His work was adequately appreciated, thanks to the pleasant feedback from the audience. This film was considered the basis for Keaton's later career.

Director's work

In 1920, Roscoe Arbuckle stopped making comedy films, and Buster became the new head of a company owned by Joseph Schenk. His first directing efforts were unsuccessful. Then he decided to work hard both behind the camera and in front of it. His partner Eddie Kline claimed that Keaton always took on most of the work.

Film critic Peter Hogue wrote that Buster impresses everyone with his perfect and expressive work, as well as the harmony between the roles of performer and director. This equilibrium came into play with the film The Theater (1921). He's on his owndeveloped innovative special effects, which made him one of the first leaders in this field. Keaton began using moving cameras, while many of his colleagues continued to use fixed ones.

Peak career

May 31, 1921 Buster marries actress Natalie Talmadge. They have two sons, Joseph and Robert. Soon, thanks to the magnificent achievements of Buster and his undeniable success, Comic Films was renamed Keaton Buster Productions. It is important to note that he did not own any part of the shares. The actor became the artistic director of projects in which he developed his own working methodology, making two films a year.

In 1923 he starts producing only feature films. Buster Keaton makes a parody of D. W. Griffith's famous painting Intolerance (1916) called "Three Centuries". In 1924, two of his best films were made. The first is Sherlock Jr., in which he plays the role of a dreamy projectionist who wants to become a real detective. In the process of filming, Keaton performs all the stunts on his own. He even injures his neck, but discovers this only after 10 years. The second film is The Navigator: according to the plot, Buster is shot on an ocean liner.

At the peak of his career, Keaton became a celebrity. His salary was $3,500 a week. By working hard, he was able to build himself a $300,000 mansion in Beverly Hills.

Buster Keaton: filmographymid-20s

Thanks to interesting plots and ingenious acting, Buster's films continue to be very popular. The paintings Seven Possibilities (1925), Go West (1925) and Battling Buster (1926) were huge commercial successes. The film The General (1926), about the heroes of the Civil War, was ridiculed by many critics, but soon it was considered technically flawless. During filming, Keaton spent $42,000 sending a train across a burning bridge.

In 1928 he makes his last film with Keaton Buster Productions, Steamboat Bill Jr. It delighted critics but was not a commercial success.

Falling down

In 1928, Joseph Schenck, owner of Keaton Buster Productions, sells his shares to MGM. Keaton never paid much attention to the business side of the film industry and paid a heavy price for it. He lost control over the creative process of his paintings. The first film with the new owners was quite good (Cinematographer, 1928), but the last - "Marriage Out of Spite" (1929) - was a real failure in Buster's career. The advent of the "sonic age" in cinema did not work in Keaton's favor. And in 1933 the company breaks the contract with him.

Due to failures in his work, he also experienced several personal crises - a divorce from Natalie Talmadge, and problems with alcohol that began. Soon he marries again - to the nurse Elizabeth May Scriven. However, this marriage did not last long, and in 1935 he divorced again.

And again the "white stripe"

After a short trip to Europe, Buster was able to overcome his alcohol addiction. In 1937, he again signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but only as a writer of witticisms. He manages to amaze everyone again with his unparalleled talent.

In 1938, Buster Keaton became the new artistic director of United Artists. The short comedies that were made under his direction were an unimaginable success.

In 1940, Keaton marries for the last time to dancer Eleanor Ruth Norris.

In 1949, he first appeared on television and even began acting in commercials. Buster even performed in such shows: "Playhouse-90", "Rut-66" and "Twilight-show". Keaton holds his own concerts in 1949, the Buster Keaton Comedy Show, and in 1951, the Buster Keaton Show. The New York Times correspondent Caryn James wrote that Keaton's television appearances were warmly received by the audience. He has managed, after a decade of obscurity, to perpetuate his comic imagery by embracing a new medium.

In the mid-50s, Buster Keaton reappears on the screens. Best films with his participation: "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956), "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963), "Italian Style Wars" (1966) and others.

February 1, 1966, the actor dies of lung cancer in Woodland Hills, California.

Summing up, it's worthnote that the secret of the actor's lasting success lies in his amazing skill and talent. Few artists would also be able to fall so funny that all the audience laughed to tears, or make a deadpan expression that you will never forget again. Only the brilliant Buster Keaton could do this (the photos presented above confirm this). And even 50 years after his death, Keaton's films seem funny and relevant to the audience.