In American film, the most prominent comic actors of the silent era were Charlie Chaplin ( although born in England, his success was principally in the U. S .), Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.

Lewis followed the legacy of such comedians as Keaton and Harold Lloyd, but his work was not well received by critics in the United States ( in contrast to France where he proved highly popular.

It was in these early years that Remi developed a love of cinema, particularly favouring Windsor McCay's pioneering animated film Gertie the Dinosaur and the films featuring Charlie Chaplin, Harry Langdon and Buster Keaton ; his later work in the comic strip medium would display an obvious influence from these early films in style and content.

However, during his own silent film career, the nearest Keaton had appeared in a " police comedy " was The Goat ( 1921 ) and Cops ( 1922 ).

His last work, in 1935, was as a producer-director for Educational Pictures ; he directed Buster Keaton in The Timid Young Man and Joan Davis in Way Up Thar.

She attempted two unsuccessful series in a row: Mary, which featured David Letterman, Michael Keaton, Swoosie Kurtz and Dick Shawn in the supporting cast and lasted three episodes, which was re-tooled as The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, a backstage show within a show, with Mary portraying a TV star putting on a variety show.

When the film opened in June 1989, it was backed by the biggest marketing and merchandising campaign in film history at the time, and became one of the biggest box office hits of all time, grossing well over US $ 250 million in the US alone and $ 400 million worldwide ( numbers not adjusted for inflation ) and earning critical acclaim for the performances of both Keaton and Nicholson, as well as the film's production aspects, which won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

The result was Batman Returns which featured Michael Keaton returning as the Dark Knight, and a new triad of villains: Danny DeVito ( as the Penguin ), Michelle Pfeiffer ( as Catwoman ) and Christopher Walken as Max Shreck, an evil corporate tycoon and original character created for the film ( similar to Superman IIIs Ross Webster ).

Joseph Frank " Buster " Keaton ( October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966 ) was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer.

Buster Keaton ( his lifelong stage name ) was recognized as the seventh-greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Keaton was born Joseph Frank Keaton into a vaudeville family.

He was named " Joseph " to continue a tradition on his father's side — he was sixth in a line bearing the name Joseph Keaton — and " Frank " for his maternal grandfather, who disapproved of the parents ' union.

His father was Joseph Hallie " Joe " Keaton, a native of Vigo County, Indiana.

Buster Keaton was born in Piqua, Kansas, the small town where his mother, Myra Keaton ( née Myra Edith Cutler ), happened to go into labor.

" According to Keaton, in those days, the word " buster " was used to refer to a spill or a fall that had the potential to produce injury.

The act evolved as Keaton learned to take trick falls safely ; he was rarely injured or bruised on stage.

However, Buster Keaton was always able to show the authorities that he had no bruises or broken bones.

" Decades later, Keaton said that he was never hurt by his father and that the falls and physical comedy were a matter of proper technical execution.

Keaton claimed he was having so much fun that he would sometimes begin laughing as his father threw him across the stage.

It is said that, when one official saw Keaton in full costume and makeup and asked a stagehand how old he was, the stagehand, aware of the situation with the Keatons, then pointed to the boy's mother, saying, " I don't know, ask his wife!

" According to one biographer, Keaton was made to go to school while performing in New York, but only attended for part of one day.

Despite tangles with the law and a disastrous tour of music halls in the United Kingdom, Keaton was a rising star in the theater.

Raised a Methodist, Keaton stated in an October 2002 television interview with Oxygen that although she currently believes in God, she considered herself an atheist for a period of her life.

* Jonathan D. Keaton ( M. Div., 1971 ; S. T. D., 1979 )-a Bishop of the United Methodist Church

In 1940, an RKO movie adaptation starred Granville Owen ( later known as Jeff York ) as Li ' l Abner, with Buster Keaton taking the role of Lonesome Polecat, and featuring a title song with lyrics by Milton Berle.

The scene appears to have taken the gothic name from an article published in UK rock weekly Sounds: " The face of Punk Gothique ", written by Steve Keaton and published in February 1981.

Film, directed by Alan Schneider written by Samuel Beckett and starring Buster Keaton also uses POV extensively, switching between the main character's point of view and the view of the camera as a way to illustrate Berkeley's quote " to be is to be perceived and to perceive ".

The young Keaton would goad his father by disobeying him, and the elder Keaton would respond by throwing him against the scenery, into the orchestra pit, or even into the audience.

Keaton stated that he learned to read and write late, and was taught by his mother.

In 1926, Keaton spent $ 300, 000 to build a home in Beverly Hills, which was later owned by James Mason and Cary Grant.

" Mason found numerous cans of previously " lost " Keaton films in the house in the 1950s ; the films were quickly transferred by Raymond Rohauer to safety film before the original cellulose nitrate prints further deteriorated.

In 1955, Keaton was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.

Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, which won two Emmy Awards and was directed by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, is considered a much more accurate telling of Keaton ’ s story.

Instead, the number was replaced by one featuring Buster Keaton, though Dressler did pose for stills wearing a Lady Godiva wig.

*" The Dance of the Sea ", an " underwater " dance performed by Buster Keaton

Based on Scott McPherson's screenplay adaptation of his own 1991 stage play of the same name, the film revolves around two sisters, played by Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton, who are reunited through tragedy after 17 years of estrangement.

Hanging Up, I'm Not Rappaport ( 1996 ) was also one of his best and a 2000 film directed by Diane Keaton, was Matthau's final appearance on screen.

" At the time, it was considered an " odd pairing " by many, Keaton among them, for Willis and Allen to work together.

This speech by Diane Keaton is as close to perfect as such a speech can likely be ... all done in one take of brilliant brinksmanship.

It was written and directed by Edward F. Cline and Keaton.

The singular event that triggered Mae filing for divorce in 1935 was her finding Keaton in flagrante delicto with the infamous Leah Clampitt Sewell on the 4th of July of that same year in a hotel in Santa Barbara.

In 1997, Hawn, along with her co-stars from The First Wives Club, Diane Keaton and Bette Midler, were recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Awards.

In 2001, Hawn was reunited with former co-stars Warren Beatty ( her co-star in $ and Shampoo ) and Diane Keaton for the comedy Town & Country, a critical and financial fiasco.

Coincidentally, Diane Keaton, whose birth name is Diane Hall, took her mother's maiden name as a stage name after learning that there was already a registered actress named Diane Hall in the Actors ' Equity Association.

Despite this, Keaton has stated that the relationship between Alvy and Annie was partly based on her relationship with the director.

His best friend, Yale ( Michael Murphy ), married to Emily ( Anne Byrne ), is having an affair with Mary Wilkie ( Diane Keaton ); her ex-husband and former teacher, Jeremiah ( Wallace Shawn ), also appears.

Later that year, she made her TV acting debut in the cable movie Wildflower, directed by Diane Keaton and starring Patricia Arquette.

Michael and Kay ( Diane Keaton ) have been divorced since 1960, and Michael gave her custody of their children, Anthony ( Franc D ' Ambrosio ) and Mary ( Sofia Coppola ).

Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970.

Keaton subsequently expanded her range to avoid becoming typecast as her Annie Hall persona.

Her mother, Dorothy Deanne ( née Keaton ; 1921 – 2008 ), was a homemaker and amateur photographer ; her father, Jack Newton Ignatius Hall ( 1921 – 1990 ), was a real estate broker and civil engineer.

Keaton has said that the theatricality of the event inspired her to become a stage actress.

Upon joining the Actors ' Equity Association, she adopted the surname of Keaton, her mother's maiden name, as there was already a registered Diane Hall.

After being nominated for a Tony Award for Play It Again, Sam, Keaton made her film debut in 1970's Lovers and Other Strangers.

Coppola noted that he first noticed Keaton in Lovers and Other Strangers, and cast her because of her reputation for eccentricity that he wanted her to bring to the role ( Keaton claims that at the time she was commonly referred to as " the kooky actress " of the film industry ).

Even though Keaton received widespread exposure from the films, her character's importance was minimal.

In 1977, Keaton starred with Allen in the romantic comedy Annie Hall, one of her most famous roles.