KEATONS BACKGROUND CONTEXT

• Keaton = the son of the vaudevillians.
• Keaton gained nickname from Harry Houdini
• Added to parents vaudeville act when he was three years old.
• The three Keatons specialised in knockabout acrobatics, using Buster as their 'human mop.'
• Buster remained with the family act up until 21, when he left after being invited to play a small role in The Butcher Boy 1917, a two reel comedy directed and starring Fatty Arbuckle
• Keaton was fascinated with the technical aspects and creative possibilities of the movie medium. He went to work for Arbuckle as a supporting player at a weekly rate of $40
• Keaton inherited Fatty's production staff and in 1920 he launched his own two reel series with 'one week'
• Keaton's early films give voice to a desire to take back control of processes that were previously human-centred and self-organised.