People
Buster Keaton
Directing · follow into films and chains
Biography
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname The Great Stone Face. He was recognized as the seventh-greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Keaton the 21st-greatest male star of all time.
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
The General
Appears in a KinoChain journey
The Cameraman
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Sunset Boulevard
As Buster Keaton
Sherlock Jr.
As Projectionist / Sherlock, Jr.
The Navigator
As Rollo Treadway
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
As Steamboat Bill Jr.
Our Hospitality
As William McKay
Hodgepodge
As Self (archive footage)
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
Silent Cinema's Lost Voices
A journey through the overlooked pioneers and rediscovered treasures of the silent era, from Hollywood's golden age to the avant-garde edges of early cinema.
8 films
When Slapstick Becomes Endurance Art
A chain that starts with grown men stapling themselves to each other and ends somewhere near Buster Keaton, via a Belgian postman and a man who actually ate his...
8 films
Topics
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Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Directed
Acted
Hodgepodge
2025 · Self (archive footage)
Sunset Boulevard
1950 · Buster Keaton
The Cameraman
1928 · Buster
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
1928 · Steamboat Bill Jr.
The General
1926 · Johnnie Gray
Go West
1925 · Friendless
The Navigator
1924 · Rollo Treadway
Sherlock Jr.
1924 · Projectionist / Sherlock, Jr.
Our Hospitality
1923 · William McKay