Joe Keaton

Born: 1867-07-06

Joseph Hallie Keaton (July 6, 1867 – January 13, 1946) was an American vaudeville performer and silent film actor. He was the father of actor Buster Keaton and appeared with his son in several films. Keaton was born a few miles south of Terre Haute, Indiana, to Libbie Jane and Joseph Francis Keaton IV. Leaving home in 1889, the year of the Land Rush, he homesteaded in the Oklahoma territory for a time, securing a claim three and a half miles northwest of Edmond. A few months into Keaton's residency, the neighboring homesteader (a Canadian whom Keaton had befriended on their shared journey west) was murdered and partially buried by a claim jumper; the body was subsequently discovered, and "justice was meted out" to the murderer by Keaton and a group of three or four men that included Robert Galbreath Jr. On May 31, 1894, Joe Keaton eloped with Myra Edith Cutler, who became known as Myra Keaton. Myra performed with Joe in a vaudeville act called the Two Keatons. Joe and Myra's first child was Joseph Frank Keaton, who became known as the silent film actor Buster Keaton; their other children were Harry Keaton and Louise Keaton. When Buster was only a few years old, he joined the act, which became the Three Keatons. The act was a rough-and-tumble one, with Buster being thrown around on stage most of the time. As the years went by, Joe Keaton became an alcoholic; when Buster was 21, Myra left him, taking Buster with her. However, after Buster found success in silent film, he supported Joe and gave him small parts in several movies. Myra and Joe reunited, but eventually split up again. He lived alone in a Hollywood hotel for many years. He stopped drinking with the help of a girlfriend who was a Christian Scientist. Joe Keaton died on January 13, 1946, at his home in Hollywood after a long illness, according to the New York Times. However, Buster later said he was hit by a car, and state death records show that he died in Ventura. He was buried in Inglewood Cemetery in Inglewood, California, in an unmarked grave. In 2018, Keaton fans around the world raised the necessary funds and had the grave marked with a headstone.


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The General

as Union General
Released: 1926-12-25

During America’s Civil War, Union spies steal engineer Johnny Gray's beloved locomotive, 'The...

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Sherlock Jr.

as Girl's Father / Man on Film Screen
Released: 1924-04-17

A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is...

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Our Hospitality

as The Engineer
Released: 1923-11-19

A young man falls for a young woman on his trip home; unbeknownst to him, her family has vowed...

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The Electric House

as Buster's Father in Prologue
Released: 1922-10-01

Botany major Buster mistakenly graduates in electrical engineering and is hired to wire a new home.

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The Goat

as Minor Role (uncredited)
Released: 1921-05-15

A series of adventures begins when Buster is mistaken for Dead Shot Dan, the evil bad guy.

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The Bell Boy

as Guest
Released: 1918-03-18

At the Elk's Head Hotel bellhops torment the lobby, each other and guests. The elevator is...

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Neighbors

as His Father (uncredited)
Released: 1920-12-12

The Romeo and Juliet story played out in a tenement neighborhood with Buster and Virginia's...

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Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. with R.E.M.'s Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi: A Silents Synced Film

as Girl's Father / Man on Film Screen
Released: 2025-02-05

Silents Synced pairs classic silent movies with epic rock music. Created by an independent...

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Go West

as Man in Barber Shop (uncredited)
Released: 1925-11-01

With little luck at keeping a job in the city a New Yorker tries work in the country and...

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Convict 13

as Prisoner
Released: 1920-10-27

A young golfer is mugged by an escaped convict and finds himself in a prison where he foils a...

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The Scarecrow

as Farmer (uncredited)
Released: 1920-11-07

Two farmhands compete for the love of the farmer's daughter.

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Day Dreams

as The Girl's Father
Released: 1922-11-27

In order to impress the father of a girl he is keen on, a young man goes to the city in search...

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Out West

as Man on Train
Released: 1918-01-20

The story involves Arbuckle coming to the western town of Mad Dog Gulch after being thrown off a...

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Good Night, Nurse!

as Man in Bandages
Released: 1918-06-30

Roscoe's wife, tired of his endless drunkenness, reads of an operation that cures alcoholism and...

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A Country Hero

as Cy Klone, Garage Owner
Released: 1917-12-10

Fatty plays a village blacksmith in “Jazzville,” an imaginary rural village. There is a rivalry...

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Palooka from Paducah

as Pa Diltz
Released: 1935-01-11

A hillbilly family, hard-hit by the end of Prohibition, decide to set the biggest brother up as...

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