Buster Keaton "Francis". His father was Joseph Hallie "Joe" Keaton, who owned a traveling show with Harry Houdini called the Mohawk Indian Medicine Company, which performed on stage and sold patent medicine on the side. According to a frequently repeated story, which may be apocryphal, Keaton acquired the nickname "Buster" at about 18 months of age. Keaton told interviewer Fletcher Markle that Houdini was present one day when the young Keaton took a tumble down a long flight of stairs without injury. After the infant sat up and shook off his experience, Houdini remarked, "That was a real buster!" According to Keaton,
Stage name Granger, born James Stewart; and Michael Keaton, born Michael Douglas. (The rumor that Michael Keaton changed his surname because of an attraction to actress Diane Keaton is incorrect; He chose Keaton because of an affinity for the physical comedy of Buster Keaton.) 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. "Ugly Betty" actress Vanessa Williams officially uses "Vanessa L. Williams" due to SAG guidelines, although the other actress with same first and last name