Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was one of the greatest stars of American silent movies. He was brought up in vaudeville with his parents and siblings, who perfected an act known as "The Three Keatons: The Roughest Act That Was Ever in the History of the Stage" - young Buster was regularly tossed, thrown, dropped, chucked into the audience, and told to come crashing down stairs as though he were going to be killed. The only requirement was that he not get killed. Buster soon learned to execute fantastic stunts while (mostly) avoiding serious injury; and when his father's alcoholism forced him to leave the act in his early twenties, he found an instant niche performing his hilariously funny but demanding and dangerous stunts in film.
Buster began working in short, 30- to 40-minute comedy films, partnered with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, an established comedy star at the time. Their partnership was brilliant. Sometimes Arbuckle was the helpless victim of Buster's dizzy schemes; sometimes Arbuckle would rescue Buster from one calamity or another; often, Arbuckle was the slow-witted friend of the happy-go-lucky Buster. And sometimes, they were just equal partners in silliness.
Eventually, Buster began to star in his own films, and eventually to direct them. He wrote, acted in, and directed 20 films between 1917 and 1923 alone, including classic films such as Neighbors, Hard Luck, and The High Sign.
Buster's acting trademark, besides his porkpie hat, was his characters' ability to endure everything the movies threw at him - adventure, danger, romance, and comedy - without smiling. He had learned during his vaudeville days that the audiences found it funnier when outrageous things happened to him, but he didn't laugh. He became known as "The Great Stone Face" for his deadpan expression and apparent lack of emotion; but with the advent of film, audiences could enjoy his gift for expressing subtle emotions through his enormous eyes.
In 1926, Buster co-directed and starred in The General. This silent adventure-romance movie about a steam locomotive engineer in the Civil War was a flop at the time, and in fact contributed to Buster's then-failing career; but is now regarded by many film critics as one of the greatest movies ever made.
During the late 1920's and into the 1930's and 40's, however, Buster's career began to decline. Although he was excited about the advent of "talkies" and eager to try out his talents in sound films, he also had to sell out to another company - he could no longer direct his own films. His personal life was suffering as well, from alcoholism and his failed marriage. As a result, he was cast in goofy, slow-witted roles that sharply contrasted with his persona of the lovable schemer of the 1920's. An example is this 1930's film about Prohibition, What! No Beer?, in which he was cast alongside another popular comedian, Jimmy Durante.
Buster went through a black period in his life in the late 1930's. Things began to turn around when he married Eleanor Norris in 1940. Eleanor was 23 years younger than Buster, but she helped him break free of alcoholism and begin rebuilding his career, little by little; and by the late 40's, he had begun appearing once again in movies, including cameo roles in well-loved movies such as In the Good Old Summertime (1949).
As a matter of fact, Buster's talent for directing comedy was so revered that director Robert Leonard requested that Buster direct one of the funniest scenes in In the Good Old Summertime. The scene that Buster produced unmistakeably reflects his style from his 1920's comic shorts.
Buster turned his attention to television in the 1950's and 60's, with his own weekly TV show, regular cameos on other shows, and occasional film appearances. He became something of a living legend to American viewers and was once again well-known and loved.
Buster Keaton died of lung cancer in 1966. His legacy, however, continues to live on. His use of props and sets pioneered the way for later innovations in stunt acting, and his skillful combination of comedy, love, loneliness, attitude, and optimism drew audiences to the theater in a critical time of cinema's early development. Even today, his movies draw thousands of views on YouTube, and he was recently featured in a Turner Classic Movies tribute week showcasing some of his best-loved films. He was truly one of the most important actor/directors in motion picture history.
Dates and information cited from Wikipedia.
