Buster Keaton ever made. Keaton was recognized as the seventh-greatest film director by "Entertainment Weekly", and the American Film Institute ranked him in 1999 as the 21st greatest male star of classic Hollywood cinema. Keaton was born into a vaudeville family in Piqua, Kansas, the small town where his mother, Myra Keaton ("née" Cutler), was when she went into labor. 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 his parents' union. Later, Keaton changed his middle name to
International Buster Keaton Society International Buster Keaton Society The International Buster Keaton Society Inc.— a.k.a. "The Damfinos"—is the official educational organization dedicated to comedy film producer-director-writer-actor-stuntman Buster Keaton. According to the Damfinos, their mission is "to foster and perpetuate appreciation and understanding of the life, career and films of comedian/filmmaker Buster Keaton; to advocate for historical accuracy about Keaton's life and work; to encourage dissemination of information about Keaton; to endorse preservation and restoration of Keaton's films and performances; and to do all of the above with a sense of humor that includes an ongoing awareness of the surreal and absurd joy with which