Facts About Buster Keaton
He was a master of physical comedy.
When I was a kid, I vaguely remember a TV showed that featured comedians from the silent film era. Comedians from that time frame were often brilliant physical comedians, obviously out of necessity. One I especially enjoyed was Buster Keaton.
I hadn’t thought about Keaton for some time, but recently saw him in an episode of The Twight Zone. He played a time traveler, and the episode was filled with physical humor. So, motivated by that episode of The Twilight Zone, here are some things you didn’t know about Buster Keaton.
1: Buster was known as, “The Great Stone Face.”
And this was before the days of Botox.
2: He was born Joseph Frank Keaton but given the name “Buster” by Harry Houdini.
He was given that nickname when he was six months old and fell down a flight of stairs. Keaton was apparently uninjured, and Houdini, who was present at the time said of the fall, ‘That was a real Buster.” And the name stuck. And DHS wasn’t notified.
3: Buster didn’t use very many title cards.
Most silent movies used about 240 cards, whereas Buster never used more than 56. Buster conveyed the…
