Keaton, Buster (1895-1966), was an American actor who ranked among the most popular silent film comedians, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. Keaton also wrote and directed many of his films, alone or with others. He created a character, sometimes called “The Great Stone Face,” who rarely smiled but overcame obstacles through a naive determination and mechanical ingenuity. Keaton’s major silent films include Sherlock, Jr. (1924), The Navigator (1924), and The General (1927). With the arrival of talking pictures, Keaton’s career declined. But he reappeared in motion pictures, as well as on television, shortly before his death on Feb. 1, 1966.
Joseph Frank Keaton was born on Oct. 4, 1895, in Piqua, Kansas. He became part of his parents’ vaudeville act before he was 4 years old. He entered filmmaking in 1917 after a successful stage career.
