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,
Joe Keaton Louise Keaton. When Buster was only a few years old, he joined the act, which became the Three Keatons. The act was a rough-and-tumble one, with Buster being thrown around on stage most of the time. As the years went by, Joe Keaton became an alcoholic; when Buster was 21, Myra left him, taking Buster with her. However, after Buster found success in silent film, he supported Joe and gave him small parts in several movies. Myra and Joe reunited, but eventually split up again. He lived alone in a Hollywood hotel for many years. He stopped drinking with the