Buster Keaton

A Filmmaker's Life

By: James Curtis

Narrated by: David Pittu

Length: 31 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

**One of Literary Hub’s Five “Most Critically Acclaimed” Biographies of 2022**

From acclaimed cultural and film historian James Curtis—a major biography, the first in more than two decades, of the legendary comedian and filmmaker who elevated physical comedy to the highest of arts and whose ingenious films remain as startling, innovative, modern—and irresistible—today as they were when they beguiled audiences almost a century ago.

"It is brilliant—I was totally absorbed, couldn't stop reading it and was very sorry when it ended."—Kevin Brownlow

It was James Agee who christened Buster Keaton “The Great Stone Face.” Keaton’s face, Agee wrote, "ranked almost with Lincoln’s as an early American archetype; it was haunting, handsome, almost beautiful, yet it was also irreducibly funny. Keaton was the only major comedian who kept sentiment almost entirely out of his work and . . . he brought pure physical comedy to its greatest heights.”

Mel Brooks: “A lot of my daring came from Keaton.”

Martin Scorsese, influenced by Keaton’s pictures in the making of Raging Bull: “The only person who had the right attitude about boxing in the movies for me,” Scorsese said, “was Buster Keaton.”

Keaton’s deadpan stare in a porkpie hat was as recognizable as Charlie Chaplin’s tramp and Harold Lloyd’s straw boater and spectacles, and, with W. C. Fields, the four were each considered a comedy king--but Keaton was, and still is, considered to be the greatest of them all.

His iconic look and acrobatic brilliance obscured the fact that behind the camera Keaton was one of our most gifted filmmakers. Through nineteen short comedies and twelve magnificent features, he distinguished himself with such seminal works as Sherlock Jr., The Navigator, Steamboat Bill, Jr., The Cameraman, and his masterpiece, The General.

Now James Curtis, admired biographer of Preston Sturges (“definitive”—Variety), W. C. Fields (“by far the fullest, fairest and most touching account we have yet had. Or are likely to have”—Richard Schickel, front page of The New York Times Book Review), and Spencer Tracy (“monumental; definitive”—Kirkus Reviews), gives us the richest, most comprehensive life to date of the legendary actor, stunt artist, screenwriter, director—master.

©2022 James Curtis (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

A New Yorker Best Book of the Year

"Others can, and will, continue to write about Buster Keaton and offer their own interpretations... but I can't imagine anyone else tackling his life. This volume can lay claim to being definitive."—Leonard Maltin

"Comprehensive ... Curtis, who has also written mighty biographies of Preston Sturges, James Whale, W.C. Fields, and Spencer Tracy, does a delightful job of capturing the old, weird America in which the Keatons plied their trade ... Keaton was as much a technical innovator as he was a comic, and Curtis's book goes into painstaking detail about how these effects were achieved ... As definitive an account of the sad-faced comedian as one could hope for."—David Kamp, The New York Times Book Review

"A landmark biography ... Keaton's career in the limelight (he started performing at age 3) and his innovations in motion pictures should keep readers riveted."—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times

great book for all interested in Keaton & his film

Great book. Buster Keaton's films are a joy to watch and an inspiration to film creators still today. Recommend.

If you want to know more about Buster K.

This book appears to be the correct story. Or at least most of the stories seem correct.
Several biographical books have been written about Buster. Including an autobiography. Several movies have been made. Many important details vary between stories.
The movies have been edited.
I am not sure which version of his life is true. I don’t really care. I’m a devout fan.
This book makes Keaton a real man with pimples and flaws. But his genius comes through it all.
The films survive! Special treasures from a wild creative man who had a gift to make you laugh, be awed and enjoy.

must listen for any film buff

this book gives the whole buster Keaton story (with all of the involved players) in a very personal and intimate way.

A well-researched, entertaining expose

"He was, as we're now beginning to realize, the greatest of all the clowns in the history of the cinema." -- Orson Welles.
I've been a fan of Buster Keaton for awhile, so I felt compelled to get this in the hopes I'd learn new things. Soon into the audiobook I learned that Buster went to WWI. He also got on and off his first base with an amusing gag. Even though I've studied Keaton for awhile now, there is much I did not know.
Highly recommended. David Pittu does an excellent job calling up Buster's voice when needed.
Random item I didn't know: Buster liked doing parody. In one of his first, Houdini was doing a straitjacket escape on a theatre bill. At the age of six, he did a parody of the straitjacket escape.

Buster

This book was great, and chock full of information on the Keaton family.
The history of him growing up on stage during the Vaudeville era was
very informative.
Learning about his tutelage under Fatty Arbuckle on how to make movies.
This was a very long book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to the wonderful author and narrator.

Marathon narrator, Research oriented author

The narrator's Keaton impression is very good. The book has a great subject but could have used a great editor.

Watch the wonderful movies Keaton made.

Keaton deserves more attention. This book helps.

Of the great silent filmmakers, Keaton has been paid too little biographical and critical attention. This book goes some distance in rectifying the biographical and doing it well. The details from accounts at the time present a vivid image of the Keaton family in its vaudeville days. It also makes Buster a human being rather than a sight gag. It is too bad, though, that the cover picture could not have been one of the admittedly rare images of Buster smiling. Of course, is there even one available? Damfino.

Captivating!

So very, very educational and entertaining! I would highly recommend this book for film buffs and historians.

SO BAD I HAD TO STOP LISTENING

I really wish I'd seen the other reviews posted here about how awful the pronunciations are in this audiobook because I wouldn't have bought it. Joe Schenck is the worst: this guy is a huge name in 20th century Hollywood, a founding member of United Artists, not to mention the fact he discovered two of the greatest comedians of the silent era, Roscoe Arbuckle and Buster Keaton, so given how famous he is, why didn't the narrator find out how to say his name correctly? If his name was only mentioned a handful of times I could've dealt with it, but there's easily a hundred mentions in the book, and I actually found myself hoping against hope that he might get it right just once...! But no. And as bad as that was, the narrator gets tons of other things wrong: city/town names (Truckee and Merced, I'm from California and have been to both these locations numerous times, would it have been hard to maybe call their chamber of commerce or library or something and found out how they're supposed to be pronounced, or God forbid find a reference to someone saying the names on youtube??), other famous names like Irving Thalberg, a name that one of the Academy Awards is named for, how hard is that to find? And perhaps most awful of all, Chico Marx. It's CHICK-oh, not CHEEK-oh, as anyone even remotely familiar with Hollywood history could tell you. To be honest, there are probably more words/names that are mispronounced but I can't listen anymore, I have to buy the print version because this is just too terrible and this deserves to be read -- but NOT listened to. And to any of you reading this who think these are small issues, history matters and deserves to be done right.

Well Researched Bio

For those listeners interested in the life, the character, and especially the classic films of Buster Keaton, this listen is very educational. Perhaps, every personal stage engagement starting at the age of three, his adjusment to "talkies" and his rediscovery by younger generations is presented. A word of caution, while the narrator has a mellow voice he is apparently young and mispronounces several words. The two that bug the most are that he refers to Joseph Schenk (pronounced "Shenk") as "Skank" and Comique Film Company (pronounced "Comeek") as "Co Mi Kay"). It becomes extremely annoying!