"SOME BUSTER!"
by Stan Griffin

1924  "Sherlock Jr."

The time was fall, 1918. The place was an encampment of the A.E.F. (American Expeditionary Force) near Amiens, France south of Paris. World War I was in its last days, but the U.S. Army remained on wartime alert.

A sentry was walking his post when a soldier returning from a late-night poker game came into that guard’s territory. Seeing an interloper, the sentry called out "Halt!" and asked for the official password.

Three times in a loud voice he asked for an answer, but there was none. So he aimed his rifle at this potential foe, worked the bolt of his Springfield which snapped a cartridge into the chamber, and prepared to fire. Just in time, an answer came from the trespasser: "Friend!" The guard lowered his rifle, and a tragic mistake was avoided. (Note: Another version claims the sentry actually fired a warning shot, just missing the other man’s
head!)

That night Fate intervened to protect a wayward young soldier from serious injury or death. Had he been killed or even disabled, post-war America would have been without a man who eventually played a vital part in the world of entertainment: Joseph Frank Keaton VI.

"Buster" Keaton lived through that night (and what was left of the war) to become " ... a popular and influential American silent-film comic actor and filmmaker ... His innovative work as a director made basic contributions to the development of the art of cinema ... (He was a) great comic innovator of the silent era ..." and was regarded by some as superior to either Charlie Chaplin or Harold Lloyd. His work influenced many actors and directors who followed.

But why was Keaton so slow in answering the guard’s challenge? The simple answer is: he didn’t hear it!

Buster Keaton grew up in a vaudeville family. In fact, he was born in a small Kansas town (Piqua) while the Houdini-Keaton traveling show was playing there. Buster became part of the act at the age of three year.

Father Joe’s alcoholism eventually caused the act to "crash and burn." His mother returned to their home in Michigan, and Buster moved to New York; he was 21 years old.

By the time he entered the Army a year later, his silent-film career had barely began to take shape. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle hired him (1917) as co-star, gagman, and eventually assistant director for the two-reel comedies being produced at his New York studio. It was 1918 when Keaton enlisted, and he soon sailed in a convoy of troop ships to England. Next he crossed the Channel to France in a crowded boat.

When his unit arrived (Aug-Sept. 1918), they found themselves in primitive quarters. They had no barracks or tents but had to sleep on the ground which an almost-constant rain turned into mud. When they had a dry place to stay, it was usually a stable or cellar or barn.

Keaton’s duty while in France was mainly to entertain troops, but he occasionally worked as cryptographer (one who writes or interprets secret code). In October, he came down with a bad cold and an accompanying ear infection. The latter ailment affected his hearing, and it continued to be a problem after the run-in with the guard.

Keaton was understandably shaken by that encounter, and he worried about his hearing. Even so, he tried to ignore the problem though the infection made him virtually deaf. At times, his superiors had to shout orders at him.

An armistice ending the "Great War" was signed on November 11, but Keaton remained in France for another four months. His superiors said he was invaluable in keeping troops diverted while they waited for orders home. He did this by organizing and directing a series of variety shows.

Keaton finally got HIS orders and returned to the U. S. in March, 1919. "He was thin, ill, and depressed." His first stop was Veterans’ Hospital in New York. Then the Army sent him to Johns Hopkins University Hospital (Baltimore, Maryland) for future evaluation; but after just three days, Keaton’s hearing improved. Doctors decided his hearing losses were only temporary and released him.

Throughout his life, Keaton had to deal with periodic hearing loss in both ears. As he got older, this condition worsened. When he would get a cold, he’d be virtually deaf until the infection cleared up. When he was in the midst of one of those times, co-workers had to raise their voices, much as his Army superiors did in France; and conversing with highly educated individuals made him nervous because of the difficulty in understanding what they were saying.

Once Keaton was ready to go back to work as filmmaker, his career skyrocketed. When Arbuckle was ready to make a move to California, he signed over his New York studio to Keaton.

1926  "The General"

During the decade of the 1920s Keaton was at his peak, producing films which today are considered classics. A 2002 world-wide poll by "Sight and Sound" ranked Keaton’s "The General" (1927) as the 15th best film of all time. Also receiving votes in that survey were three more of his 1920s output: "Our Hospitality" (1923); "Sherlock Jr." (1924), and "The Navigator" (1924).

Keaton himself was named the 21st greatest actor in the American Film Institute’s Greatest Screen Legends list. His screen trademark was " ... physical comedy with a stoic and deadpan facial expression ..." It earned him the nickname "The Great Stone Face."

Buster suffered many injuries since he did all of the large number of dangerous stunts used in his movies. He once fractured his neck and didn’t learn about it till many years later when a doctor conducting a routine physical exam saw x-rays of his neck. Keaton only recalled having a half-hour headache!

1955

There are two stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame with his name on them: one for motion pictures and one for television. Keaton was awarded a special Oscar for his life’s work in comedy (1959). His output was " ... well over 100 films ..." In 1994 Keaton appeared on a commemorative postage stamp.

Buster Keaton died in 1966 of lung cancer. He once said, "Tragedy is a closeup, Comedy is a long shot."
 

SOURCES

"Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase" by Marion Meade, 1995

"Buster: A Legend in Laughter" by Larry Edwards, 1995

"Buster Keaton Remembered" by Eleanor Keaton and Jeffrey Vance

"Movie Encyclopedia" by Leonard Maltin

Internet: Buster Keaton–www.bfi.org (Wikipedia)