He had cameos in such films as In the Good Old Summertime (1949), Sunset Boulevard (1950), and Around the World in 80 Days (1956). On February 1, 1966, Keaton died of lung cancer in Woodland Hills, California. [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. Buster Keaton's in laws: Buster Keaton's father in law was Ralph Norris Buster Keaton's mother in law is Lot Norris Buster Keaton's grandmother in law is Harriet Norris Buster Keaton's sister in law is Jane Norris Buster Keaton's father in law was Avert M Scriven Buster Keaton's mother in law was Lucy Scriven Buster Keaton's brother in law was . "[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. New York: St. Martin's Press. 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. . The Educational two-reelers have far more pantomime than his earlier talkies, and Keaton is in good form throughout. [20]:18, At the age of three, Keaton began performing with his parents in The Three Keatons. None of them were very good. The film is also notable for being his last silent screen performance. [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. Keaton played every role in the movie, which was set in a theater. Joe and Myra were Vaudevillian comedians with a popular, ever-changing variety act, giving Keaton an eclectic and interesting upbringing. With the exception of Seeing Stars, a minor publicity film produced in 1922, Limelight was the only time in which the two would ever appear together on film. 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". [72] Audiences of the 1920s recognized the parody and thought the film hysterically funny. In College (1927), Keaton was engaged in every athletic sport except football, but it was a disappointment. In 1926, audiences were amazed by the daredevil antics of comedian Buster Keaton in the movie "The General . Scriven claimed that she didn't know Keaton's real first name until after the marriage. [71] Keaton directed the film, along with Edward F. Cline. His father was Joseph Hallie "Joe" Keaton, a native of Vigo County, Indiana. [60], In 1961, Keaton appeared in promotional films for Maryvale, a housing development in the western part of Phoenix. He is the first action hero; to be precise, he is a small, pale-faced American who is startled, tripped, drenched and inspired into becoming a hero. His third wife was a dancer named Eleanor Ruth Norris. $49.99. Geni requires JavaScript! [61][62][63][64][65], Meanwhile, Keaton's big-screen career continued. 33. [96] Keaton has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: 6619 Hollywood Boulevard (for motion pictures); and 6225 Hollywood Boulevard (for television). in Woodland Hills, California, USA, This form allows you to report an error or to submit additional information about this family tree: Buster KEATON (1895), Copyright Wikipdia authors - This article is under licence CC BY-SA 3.0. The guest of honor and his bride Myra Keaton ride Minnie . "I took out 40 useless characters and a couple of subplots. Evolved from the knockabout upbringing of the vaudeville stage, Keaton's comedy is a whirlwind of hilarious, technically precise, adroitly executed, and surprising gags, very often set against a backdrop of visually stunning set pieces and locationsall this masked behind his unflinching, stoic veneer. Keaton had two shows of his own, including The Buster Keaton Comedy Show (1949) and The Buster Keaton Show from 1950 until 1951. In 2023, Keatons life and work was depicted in the graphic novel biography Buster: A Life in Pictures written by Ryan Barnett and illustrated by Matthew Tavares. "Medicine Man" was completed but not aired. [67] He played the central role in Samuel Beckett's Film (1965), directed by Alan Schneider. Realizing that his bride wanted a palace, he sold the cottage to MGM executive Eddie Mannix at cost, and commissioned Gene Verge Sr. in 1926 to build a 10,000-square-foot (930m2) estate in Beverly Hills for $300,000, which was later owned by James Mason and Cary Grant. [90] After undergoing aversion therapy, he stopped drinking for five years.[91]. 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. "[22], Keaton said he had so much fun that he sometimes began laughing as his father threw him across the stage. 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. That same year, he was put under contract by Educational Films and returned to making shorts. [23], The act ran up against laws banning child performers in vaudeville. "[5] In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him as the 21st-greatest male star of classic Hollywood cinema.[6]. Sarah Porter , Joseph Judson, Isabeau de DAMPIERRE , John de FIENNES, Brangre de CASTILLE , Alfonse Ix de CASTILLE. "[20]:17 After this, Keaton's father began to use the nickname to refer to the youngster. Brother of Harry Stanley Keaton and Louise J. Keaton. Michigan, but due to Covid-19 it will be online, with screenings, rare footage and appearances by family members. Keaton's contract with MGM was ended in 1933. Moviegoers and exhibitors welcomed Keaton's Columbia comedies. The Society's nickname, the "Damfinos," draws its name from a boat in Keaton's 1921 comedy, The Boat. [24] Despite tangles with the law, Keaton was a rising star in the theater. It soon. Record information. [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. [84] Natalie's extravagance was another factor, spending up to a third of her husband's earnings. Actor James Mason had bought the Keatons' house and found numerous cans of films, among which was Keaton's long-lost classic The Boat. The first of MGM's Keaton films was The Cameraman (1928), and Keaton sensed trouble immediately when he saw the script. 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". The seemingly indestructible man married actress Natalie Talmadge in 1921, though wedded bliss did not last long. His mother, sister and brother (and his family) all lived with him. He was, in fact, the star and a skilled acrobat. Buster Keaton's full name is Joseph Frank Keaton and his nickname is Buster Keaton. He would return often. Buster Keaton was born in Piqua, Kansas, the small town where his mother, Myra Edith Cutler, happened to go into labor. [94] He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, California.[95]. [22] Decades later, Keaton said that he was never hurt by his father and that the falls and physical comedy were a matter of proper technical execution. Actor: The General. He ran to meet misfortune and never failed to make connections. The audience roared. Several times I'd have been killed if I hadn't been able to land like a cat. "It was as long as War and Peace," Keaton recalled. Early Days in Vaudeville - 1895-1917. The International Buster Keaton Society was founded on October 4, 1992: Keaton's birthday. "The Three Keatons," a poor vaudeville family consisting of Joe, his wife Myra and their seven-year-old son Buster, arrive in Fargo, North Dakota on a snowy winter's day in 1904, with dreams of becoming stars. [106], Comedian Richard Lewis stated that Keaton was his prime inspiration, and spoke of having a close friendship with Keaton's widow Eleanor. He lost creative control of his pictures, and, like his father before him, developed a nasty drinking problem. He was named Joseph to continue a tradition on his father's side (he was sixth in a line bearing the name Joseph Keaton)[1] and Frank for his maternal grandfather, who disapproved of his parents' union. He Was Born On The Road. Whenever a TV show wanted to simulate silent-movie comedy, Keaton answered the call and guested in such successful series as The Ken Murray Show, You Asked for It, and The Garry Moore Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show. 'tendell of Pittsburgh Gas Com- ern District Grand Lodge of.^, 1, Col. 8) KOONEY Shucked By Tragedy HOLLYWOOD deadpan comedian. Born into a performing family, Keaton's father Joe owned a traveling vaudeville show with Born Joseph Keaton (the sixth in a line of Joseph Keatons) in Piqua, Kansas on October 1, 1895, Buster had the delightful fortune of being born in the right place at the right time. Keaton, Eleanor, and Vance, Jeffrey (2001). Their routine had relied on physical prowess and exact timing, and required reliable performers. Comedy director Leo McCarey, recalling the freewheeling days of making slapstick comedies, said, "All of us tried to steal each other's gagmen. Sgt. login . He was born in Piqua, Kansas on 1895-10-04. [21] In Keaton's retelling, he was six months old when the incident occurred, and Harry Houdini gave him the nickname (though the family did not get to know Houdini until later). He appeared in the early television series Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town. in Piqua, Kansas, USA , United States, Died on February 01, 1966 "She just hated the man to death," said her grandson Jim. [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]. Between 1947 and 1954, the couple appeared regularly in the Cirque Medrano in Paris as a double act. In 1939, Columbia Pictures hired Keaton to star in 10 two-reel comedies; the series ran for two years, and comprise his last series as a starring comedian. Within the family it had become a joke. Joe Keaton disapproved of films, and Keaton also had reservations about the medium. Diane Keaton knew she made the best decision of her life when she pursued adoption more than two decades ago. 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. In this film, he broke his neck, but did not discover it until ten years later. Keaton, however, did not own any part of the company. [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. Unfortunately, his one attempt at a strong dramatic role, the lead in the weak biopic The Buster Keaton Story (1957) proved to be . I n the shadow of a massive dune known as Pigeon Hill. In Seven Chances (1925), he faces a rockslide. With complete artistic control, he developed his own working methodology and made about two pictures per year. Maltin, Leonard, The Great Movie Comedians, Bell Publishing, 1978, Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, Chap. Reaction was strong enough for a local Los Angeles station to offer Keaton his own show, also broadcast live, in 1950. Jimmy assists Spencer Tracy's character, Captain C. G. Culpepper, by readying Culpepper's ultimately-unused boat for his abortive escape. The director was usually Jules White, whose emphasis on slapstick and farce made most of these films resemble White's famous Three Stooges shorts. It was not released until 1921. 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