Buster Keaton (redirected from Joseph Francis Keaton)

Keaton, Buster 

(real name, Joseph Francis Keaton). Born Oct. 4, 1896, in Pickway; died Feb. 1, 1966, in Hollywood. American comic actor and motion picture director.

Keaton began playing in movie shorts with the well-known comic R. (Fatty) Arbuckle. In the 1920’s, Keaton’s film comedies The Three Ages, Our Hospitality (both 1923), Sherlock Junior, The Navigator (both 1924), and The General (1926) became world famous. Keaton played the leads in these films and was usually director as well. The comic essence of Keaton’s acting consisted in the incongruity of his deadpan expression with the exciting pace of events in the film. After the advent of sound films, Keaton lost his popularity and thereafter acted only occasionally in featured roles.

REFERENCES

Kaluzhinskii, Z. “Baster Kiton.” In Komiki Mirovogo ekrana. Moscow, 1966.
Robinson, D. Buster Keaton [2nd ed.]. London [1970].