Buster Keaton: The stuntman in front of whom even Jackie Chan and Akshay Kumar pale! broke my neck

Buster Keaton’s full name was Joseph Frank “Buster” Keaton. he/she was known in the industry as ‘The Great Stone Face’ because he/she never smiled in front of the camera. he/she was known for silent films in the 1920s, but he/she surprised the whole world with his/her stunts. Jumping down from the roof of a building, catching hold of a moving bus and flying, collapsing a wall on himself… he/she performed such dangerous stunts that the stunts of stars like Jackie Chan and Akshay Kumar would pale in comparison to them. Let us introduce you to this American actor, comedian and filmmaker today. Buster Keaton was born in a small town in America. At the age of just 3, he/she started performing with his/her parents in ‘The Three Kittens’. Even at that time he/she used to do stunts. In such a situation, allegations of child abuse were made and even arrests were made. But Buster never got hurt on stage. That’s why he/she came to be known as ‘The Little Boy Who Couldn’t Be Damaged’. he/she had learned skills for this and had taken training, due to which he/she never got injured when he/she fell.

Buster could not hear, his/her ears were damaged.

You will be surprised to know that during the First World War, Buster served in the American Expeditionary Forces in France with the 40th Infantry Division of the United States Army. While serving in uniform, he/she got an ear infection and his/her hearing power was lost forever.

How did your journey in films begin?

It was 1917, Buster met Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle at Talmage Studios in New York. Roscoe was then under contract to Joseph M. Schenck, who worked at a film studio. This is how Keaton got his/her first film ‘The Butcher Boy’ and after this Buster never looked back. he/she also became a friend of Charlie Chaplin, who is considered one of the great actors.

Neck was broken while doing stunts

Buster started doing dangerous stunts. he/she took risks and performed stunts. Once his/her neck was broken by a strong stream of water, but he/she did not even realize it for many years. There was another scene in which he/she had a two-ton wall fall on himself, through whose window he/she came out safely. If there had been even the slightest mistake in this scene, such a heavy wall would have fallen directly on Buster’s head.

buster’s movies

Buster’s films included Three Ages (1923), Our Hospitality (1923), The Navigator (1924), Sherlock Jr. (1924), Seven Chances (1925), The Cameraman (1928) and The General (1926). However, as times changed, the era of silent films started to end and talking films started coming in, Buster’s films gradually started to take a back seat.

Buster had married three times

Talking about personal life, Buster married actress Natalie Talmadge in 1921. They had two sons. This relationship broke. Due to this grief and failure as a filmmaker, Buster fell into alcoholism. In 1933 he/she married Nurse Scriven, but he/she remembers nothing about it. Then in 1940 he/she married Eleonore Norris, who was 23 years his/her junior.

Death was due to lung cancer

Buster died at the age of 70 on February 1, 1966 due to lung cancer. he/she never told about his/her illness. his/her last film ‘The Scribe’ which was released just a few days before his/her death.

have received an oscar

Buster was honored with an Oscar Award in 1959. There are two stars in his/her name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.