18th Annual
 KEATON CELEBRATION
Buster Keaton, The Tragic Clowns &
America's Comic Melting Pot Sept. 24 & 25, 2010
Presenters | Staff & Lobby Activity | Candids | Jane's Photos |
| The Tragic Clowns Comments by Bill Shaffer, Keaton Committee There are several reasons why some of these funny actors were tragic... |
 Charley Chase never had a feature film career even though almost all of his short films are hysterically funny! He did try features, but was never able to get anything consistent going. Raymond Griffith had no voice and didn't last past a bit part as a dying soldier in ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT before his film career was over. He was a great example of a silent star killed by the coming of sound. Harry Langdon developed the problem of a big ego and wanted to be another Chaplin or Keaton by writing, producing and directing all of his own films. He wore those hats for many of his films from the late 1920's into the sound era and nobody liked them very much. The irony in all of this is that the writer/ director who really got Langdon started was Frank Capra. When Langdon dismissed him, Capra went on to have a great, long career in films. In spite of some ill feelings, in later years Capra referred to Langdon as a 'poor, little man' who couldn't handle stardom and destroyed his own career. There will be a few other comedians and we'll be showing bits from their films. Among them are Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle whose career was ruined by a scandal, unfairly hanging over his reputation to this day. Lloyd Hamilton, another rotund comic, simply got cheated out of his film career by vindictive managers. Max Davidson had a spectacular career in short films, but they never branched out into feature films or much else because they were always pegged as 'Jewish' or ethnic comedies. He had a career in bit parts through the 1930's and 1940's, but died virtually unknown in 1950. Syd Chaplin (Charlie's older half-brother) had a good comedy career going in shorts and features until a scandal shut him out and he became Charlie's manager. Karl Dane was a popular character actor in many films, but he had a tragically short life. He worked with John Gilbert (in BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT and THE BIG PARADE), Rudolph Valentino (in SON OF THE SHIEK) and Buster Keaton (in MGM's talkie, FREE & EASY). Finally, Mabel Normand (a great comic actress) died before the silent era ended. She was another victim of drugs and alcohol. The sub theme of America's Comic Melting Pot refers to the number of comedians (like Karl Dane and Max Davidson) who emigrated to the U.S. to enjoy long or short show business careers. Many of these comics got their starts in Vaudeville and other entertainment venues before slipping into films in New York or California. |
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Just to prove we can all live without Facebook for long enough for an evening of viewing silent films, this audience did without faces for a photo by Lisa Tatge, in Kansas from California for the Keaton Celebration! |
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The official Keaton Celebration News release is available here as a PDF file. Celebration Web Archives:
This event is funded by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit cultural organization encouraging the appreciation of history, heritage and values; the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Iola Convention & Tourism Committee; the Daniels Bequest and private donors. Sponsored by the Keaton Celebration Committee in cooperation with the Bowlus Fine Arts & Cultural Center. Also check the Kansas Silent Film Festival web site. KSFF is held each February in Topeka, KS.
Page by Carol Yoho Acme e-media See Acme Archives Send comments Keaton photos collage ©2010 by Carol Yoho
Ehotos collage ©2010 by Carol Yoho, unless otherwise credited
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2010 Schedule: FRI., Sept. 24, 2010
Evening films shown with live music by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
Evening films shown with live music by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra Guests and schedule are subject to change if circumstances warrant. See the Iola Keaton Celebration web site for updates.
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Keaton was born near Iola, KS at Piqua in 1895 