Joe Keaton

Born

July 6, 1867

Died

1946

From

Terre Haute, Indiana, USA·Ventura County, California, USA

Height

1.80 m (5'11")

Credits on file

Decades active

In short · Acted for seven decades — 17 credits.

Remembered for

Ranked by community engagement + sustained interest across this person's credits in our database.

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Biography

Joe Keaton and his wife, Myra, were low-budget vaudeville performers in the early 1900s. Their son, Buster, joined their act when he was just a few months old. The performance style was physically demanding, often involving Buster being tossed around on stage. As Buster grew older, Joe Keaton developed an alcohol problem, which led Buster to leave the act by his teenage years. After Buster achieved success in silent film, he gave his father minor roles in several of his movies. Myra and Joe eventually divorced after Buster had become an adult, as she could no longer tolerate the ongoing verbal and physical abuse Joe inflicted on her. Joe lived alone in a Hollywood hotel for many years and reportedly stopped drinking after embracing Christian Science. Buster claimed that Joe died after being struck by a passing car.