I’m branching out into the male side of things today.

Buster Keaton–my all-time favorite comedian and actor.

I didn’t discover Keaton until college–hell, I waited until my senior year in college to discover Keaton.

It was in film class.  He was briefly mentioned in a lecture, and we saw a short clip.

I was transfixed.  I laughed so hard at just that little clip.

It helped that I found (and still find) him to be quite a good looking chap.

Too bad he was so short…..and long dead by the time I came along.

I did my final project on Keaton as a director for that class.  It didn’t even seem like work, sitting down and watching his fims.  Reading every single thing I could get my hands on that even briefly mentioned him.

I’ve heard you’re either a Keaton fan or a Chaplin fan.

I’m as far into Keaton territory as you can get.  Don’t get me wrong, Charlie Chaplin was a phenomenal talent, and had a by FAR greater business sense than Keaton (sadly) ever did.  Chaplin enjoyed much more success than Keaton, though there are some schools of thought that Keaton’s work is becomming more popular as time goes on.

Something I find with Keaton–he translates surprisingly well to now.  I don’t feel that with Chaplin.

He did all his own stunts.  Starting his career on stage in vaudeville with his parents, he learned pratfalls as a toddler.  The man had no fear.  No way would studios today allow big stars to take the risks he took.

Oh, and he’s so, so, so very funny. If you have yet to watch a Keaton film, I strongly suggest starting out with what many consider to be his masterpiece, “The General”.  Though, “Steamboat Bill, Jr” remains my favorite.