Melbourne Spurr portrait of Keaton

When Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was born on October 4th, 1895 in Kansas, his family was in vaudeville and had been playing in Kansas. His mother was Myra Cutler and his father was Joseph Hallie "Joe" Keaton. He had two siblings: a brother, Harry, and a sister, Louise. His father owned a traveling show with Harry Houdini. The show performed on stage and sold patent medicine on the side. Buster began performing with his parents at the age of 3 as "the Three Keatons". It was mainly a comedy show: Dad Joe tossing son Buster around the stage, into the audience, or even into the orchestra pit. Buster was never hurt - he learned how to fall safely - and even found it fun, often laughing. But because when he laughed, the audience laughed less, he adopted a "deadpan" face - which later became his trademark. He began acting in films around 1917 and continued throughout his adult years. He was one of the most popular comedians of all time, spanning several generations. "Buster" married Natalie Talmadge , a famous silent screen star in 1921. After having two sons, Robert Talmadge Keaton and Buster Keaton Jr, they were divorced eleven years later. The divorce was bitter and thereafter, Norma - who had custody of their sons - insisted on Robert and Joseph using the surname Talmadge and that they not see their father. Buster then married a nurse, Mae Scribbins, in 1932. They divorced in 1935. In 1940, he married a dancer, Eleanor Norris, to whom he was married when he died. Buster died at the age of 70 in Woodland Hills, California. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California. See Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton: Obituary.