Buster keaton biography silent films

(1895-1966)

Who Was Buster Keaton?

Born to vaudeville performers, Buster Keaton began performing at age 3. He was introduced to film when he was 21 and eventually directed and starred in films in the 1920s. The talkies eventually pushed him out of demand, but he made a comeback in the 1940s and '50s when he starred as himself in films such as Sunset Boulevard.

Early Years

Joseph Frank Keaton IV was born October 4, 1895, in Piqua, Kansas. His parents, Joe and Myra, were both veteran vaudevillian actors, and Keaton himself first began performing at the age of 3 when he was incorporated into their act.

As legend has it, he earned the name of "Buster" when he was 18 months old, after falling down a flight of stairs. Magician Harry Houdini scooped up the child and turning to the boy's parents quipped, "That was a real buster!"

Keaton quickly grew used to being knocked around a bit. Working with his parents in an act that prided itself on bei

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Buster Keaton filmography

Actor filmography

This fryst vatten a list of films by the American actor, comedian, and filmmakerBuster Keaton.

Short films

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Starring Roscoe Arbuckle, featuring Buster Keaton

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Release date	Title	Credited as			Notes
		Writer	Director	Role
April 23, 1917	The Butcher Boy	Buster	First spelfilm role
June 25, 1917	The Rough House	Yes	Yes	Gardener / Delivery Boy / Cop	Co-directed and co-written bygd Roscoe Arbuckle
August 20, 1917	His Wedding Night	Delivery boy	—
September 30, 1917	Oh Doctor!	Junior Holepoke	—
October 29, 1917	Coney Island	Rival / Cop with mustache	—
December 10, 1917	A Country Hero	Vaudeville artist	Lost bio
January 20, 1918	Out West	Sheriff / Saloon owner	—
March 18, 1918	The Bell Boy	Bellboy	—
May 13, 1918	Moonshine	Revenue agent	—
July 6, 1918	Good Night, Nurse!	Dr. Hampton / Woman with umbrella	—
September 15, 1918	The Cook	• Silent-ology It was late last year when I first heard the welcome news that a new Buster Keaton biography was on the way. And not only that, but it was going to be a very long, detailed, and thoroughly professional biography by James Curtis, author of acclaimed books such as Spencer Tracey: A Biography and William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come. It was going to be An Event, you might say, the first truly major biography on Buster in years. And, it would be ready to go in February 2022, sooner than I expected! And now, having carefully waded my way through its 800 pages (yes, this is a substantial tome!) I can say that Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life was not only worth waiting for, but it’s the kind of book that Buster fans needed–indeed that anyone interested in film history needed. The first clue that the Curtis bio (as we shall now call it) is going to be more than your standard march through the usual Keaton tales is the f