Joe Keaton Joe Keaton 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 of his 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
Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow from the best available sources (though without the benefit of modern digital remastering techniques), and clips from Keaton's silent films are shown at their original speed. Keaton's widow Eleanor and his business associate Raymond Rohauer worked closely with Brownlow and Gill in the production, and appear in the documentary. The series was shown in the U.S. as part of the "American Masters" series in 1987, and has more recently been aired on Turner Classic Movies. It is currently available on DVD in the United Kingdom as a companion to the "Buster Keaton Chronicles" movie box set. Buster Keaton: A Hard