Buster Keaton [1895-1966] at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

Joseph Frank Keaton VI was born 4 October 1895 in Piqua, Kansas. His parents – father Joe and tiny, dark-haired mother Myra – performed in vaudeville, where Harry Houdini is said to have given the kid, a performer from the age of 5, the nickname 'Buster'. The family toured around the country, billed as 'The Three Keatons', and Buster spent a total of one day in formal school. By 1905, he had two siblings; neither performed onstage. Joe threw young Buster around as part of the act, and in later years took to drink and beat the boy if he showed any sign of fear. Life on the vaudeville stage was not all abuse: Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson taught Buster to dance, and Harry Houdini taught him card tricks. Buster loved the stage, but in 1916 he left his uncaring family, first for Broadway and then off to Hollywood.

A chance meeting with comic Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle led to film acting, then writing and directing. After serving in France during World War I, Buster returned to Hollywood in 1920, making a series of two-reelers that catapulted him to fame in just two years. Arbuckle's career was ruined by scandal in 1922, though he was ultimately acquitted; Buster remained a friend until Arbuckle's untimely death in 1933.

Buster's career blossomed, and he formed a company to write, produce and direct shorts and features that displayed his comic stunt and acting skills, making 19 shorts and 11 feature films from 1920 to 1929. Against the advice of pals Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, Buster made a deal to work for M.G.M. in 1928, but studio executives were unable to understand his genius. Thwarted by terrible scripts, Buster found solace in alcohol, then recovered and found work on the legitimate stage, where he was a success in both America and Europe. A September 1949 cover story in Life Magazine by James Agee revived Buster's career; he appeared in "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), starred in a television series (1951), acted in Chaplin's "Limelight" (1953), and in "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956) . During the 1960s, he acted in mostly low-budget films, including roles as a stone-faced Indian in beach-and-bikini movies of the period.

He married Natalie Talmadge (sister of screen stars Norma and Constance) in May 1920, and she bore him two sons. In-laws soon ruled the Keaton home, however, forcing him to sleep in his own room from 1924; the marriage finally collapsed in 1932. He married his second wife, Mae Scrivens, the same year – while inebriated and before the divorce was final; alcoholism hastened the end of the second marriage as well. Confined to a sanitarium in 1934, Buster escaped his straitjacket using a secret learned from Harry Houdini. Buster later achieved control of his drinking, and in 1940 married dancer Eleanor Norris, 21 years his junior; she stayed with him to the end. He died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, California on 1 February 1966; his widow Eleanor died 19 October 1998.

Buster Keaton was lauded during his lifetime for his mastery of stunts and acting in silent films, receiving an Honorary Oscar in 1960 "for his unique talents which brought immortal comedies to the screen", and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He stated near the end of his life that he had lived the happiest and luckiest of lives. The U.S. Postal Service has issued several Keaton postage stamps, as have other countries. The first year of the National Film Registry named "The General" [1927] to the list, and "Sherlock Jr." [1924] followed two years later.

Buster Keaton won an Honorary Oscar® in 1960
and has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

"Industrial Strength Keaton" [Laughsmith Ent. 2006]

Directed by Paul E. Gierucki with Bruce Lawton
Mackinac Media color DVD [1/2006] 2 discs for $21.99

includes b&w silent feature "The Playhouse" [1921], recently discovered silent short "Character Studies" [1927], b&w sound feature "Parlor, Bedroom & Bath [1931]; b&w promotional shorts "Seein' Stars" [1922], "The Voice of Hollywood #10" [1929], "Hollywood On Parade #A-6" [1933], "An Old Spanish Custom" [1935]; 7 tv shows, 21 tv commercials, 3 short industrial films, and many bonus features

"Buster Keaton - 65th Anniversary Collection"

Sony b&w DVD [3/2006] 2 disks for $21.99

includes Columbia sound shorts "General Nuisance" [1941], "His Ex Marks the Spot" [1940], "Mooching Through Georgia" [1939], "Nothing But Pleasure" [1940], "Pardon My Berth Marks" [1940], "Pest From The West" [1939], "She's Oil Mine" [1941], "So You Won't Squawk" [1941], "The Spook Speaks" [1940] & "The Taming of the Snood" [1940] plus featurette "Buster Keaton: From Silents To Shorts"

The Buster Keaton Laser Collection [MGM 1994]
includes "Free & Easy", "Doughboys", "Sidewalks of New York", "The Passionate Plumber",
"What! No Beer?", "Speak Easily", "Parlor, Bedroom & Bath"

Buster Keaton Talkies [on video; source unknown]
Vol 1: "One Run Elmer", "Tars & Stripes", "Ditto"
Vol 2: "Three on a Limb", "Grand Slam Opera", "Mixed Magic"
Vol 3: "Jail Bait", "The Chemist", "Gold Ghost"

The Best Arbuckle / Keaton Collection [2002]

Image Ent b&w DVD [10/2002] 2 disks for $22.99
includes "The Butcher Boy" [1917], "The Rough House" [1917], "His Wedding Night" [1917], "Oh Doctor!" [1917], "Coney Island" [1917], "Out West" [1918], "The Bell Boy" [1918], "Moonshine" (fragment) [1918], "Good Night, Nurse" [1918], "Back Stage" [1919], "The Hayseed" [1919] & "The Garage" [1920]

Arbuckle & Keaton: The Original
Comique Paramount Shorts

	Volume 1: "The Butcher Boy" [1917], "The Bell Boy" [1918], "Out West" [1918], "Moonshine" [1918] & "The Hayseed" [1919] Kino Video VHS [4/2001] for $24.95 Kino Video DVD [4/2001] for $26.96
	Volume 2: "Coney Island" [1917], "The Rough House"[1917], "Good Night, Nurse!" [1918], "Back Stage" [1919] & "The Garage" [1920] Kino Video VHS [4/2001] for $24.95 Kino Video DVD [4/2001] for $26.96

Volume 3, perhaps? [shorts not included above]
"Oh Doctor!" [1917], "A Country Hero" [1917], "His Wedding Night" [1917], "The Cook" [1918] & "A Desert Hero" [1919]

Later Shorts
co-written & co-directed by Edward F. Cline [unless otherwise noted]

"The Scarecrow" [1920]
with Al St. John, Edward F. Cline & Joe Keaton; full credits from IMDb

"Neighbors" [aka 'Backyard' or 'Mailbox'; 1920]
with Edward F. Cline & Joe Keaton; full credits from IMDb

"The Goat" [1921] co-written & co-directed by Malcolm St. Clair
with Malcolm St. Clair & Edward F. Cline; full credits from IMDb

"The Blacksmith" [1922] co-written & co-directed by Malcolm St. Clair
full credits from IMDb

"Day Dreams" [1922] co-written by Edward F. Cline
with Renée Adorée, Joe Keaton & Edward F. Cline; full credits from IMDb

"The Iron Mule" [Educational 1925]
directed by Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle & Grover Jones
starring Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

	"The Navigator", "The Boat" & "The Love Nest" b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [11/99] for $26.99
	"Seven Chances", "The Balloonatic" & "Neighbors" b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [1/2000] for $26.99
	"Go West", "The Scarecrow" & "The Paleface" b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [11/99] for $26.99
	"Battling Butler", "The Haunted House" & "The Frozen North" b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [10/99] for $26.99

	"The Saphead", "One Week" & "The High Sign" b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [11/2001] for $26.99
	"The Three Ages", "The Goat" & "My Wife's Relations" b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [11/99] for $26.99
	"Our Hospitality" & "Sherlock Jr." b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [11/99] for $26.99

	"The General", "The Playhouse", "Cops" b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [10/99] for $26.99
	"College", "Hard Luck", "The Electric House" & "The Blacksmith" b&w VHS [6/95] for $29.95 ** b&w DVD [1/2000] for $26.99
	"Steamboat Bill Jr.", "Daydreams" & "Convict 13" b&w VHS [11/2001] for $19.95 b&w DVD [10/99] for $26.99

Magic Lantern Video & Book StoreBUSTER KEATON

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
BUSTER KEATON