#this day in buster
This Day in Buster…May 7, 1957
Buster Keaton & wife Eleanor attend the world premiere of “The Buster Keaton Story” in Perry, Oklahoma. When interviewed by Oliver Lindsay Scott, Eleanor recalled a different theatre, “But we went to the first preview at a theater over in Glendale, and we practically crawled out on our hands and knees to get away, and just got away as quick as we possibly could, almost before the thing ended, it was so horrible.”
This Day in Buster…May 6, 1957
The Daily Oklahoman is excited about the upcoming world premiere of “The Buster Keaton Story” in Perry, Oklahoma. Buster Keaton & his wife would attend on the 7th…perhaps the photo they printed was a premonition of how they felt about the final movie.
This Day in Buster…May 5, 1915
Alice Faye, of “Hollywood Cavalcade,” 1939 is born. Buster Keaton has got a little present for you, Alice - hope you like it!
This Day in Buster…May 4, 1936
“The Invader,” with the title "En oäkta spanjor,” opens in Sweden. Buster Keaton may not have been Spanish but he played pastor in his own wedding to Lupita Tovar.
This Day in Buster…May 3, 1935
Goody, goody gun drops! “Tars and Stripes" is released by Educational Pictures.
This Day in Buster…May 2, 1957
The Morrison Transcript announces that May 7th 1957 will be “Buster Keaton Day” in honor of the world premiere of “The Buster Keaton Story,” in Perry, Oklahoma. It was declared a school holiday & among other festivities was a presentation to the city of Perry with a Bronze Pork Pie hat.
This Day in Buster…May 1, 1928
Buster Keaton officially begins filming “The Cameraman” for MGM. Note the crowds on the New York streets in this candid footage filmed in early April - they conveniently prevented Buster from filming the scenes as written which gave him reason enough to scrap the script & do it his way
This Day in Buster…April 30, 1928
“College,” with the title "Hyppyä, soutua, rakkautta,” meaning “Jump, Row, Love,” opens in Finland.
This Day in Buster…May 14, 1928
The Daily News, New York reports that Buster Keaton hits high with his newest comic offering, “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” However, they weren’t so keen on Marion Byron, describing her as “not particularly worthy of praise, but O.K.” Mr Canfield Jr seemed to think she was more than O.K.!
This Day in Buster…May 13th, 2018
Three years ago I began making posts on social media on behalf of the International Buster Keaton Society. In that time we’ve gained an audience of about 40k, had millions of likes, shares & comments, had a couple of posts go viral but most importantly we’ve kept Buster Keaton in people’s hearts & minds.
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped make this a reality & helped me navigate the sometimes stormy waters that the Internet can be. You know who you are.
And the biggest thank you to The Boss himself, Buster Keaton. We wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for you. Is this a good time to negotiate a raise? Or an actual salary? ;)
This Day in Buster…May 12, 1928
“Steamboat Bill, Jr.” has its World Premiere in New York. The movie took the place by storm.
This Day in Buster…May 11, 1924
“Sherlock Jr.” has its general U.S. release. The game was indeed afoot!
This Day in Buster…May 10, 1924
The News-Pilot reported that when Buster Keaton recently needed a birth certificate, his father Joe wrote a letter to Piqua, Kansas & had it returned with ‘no such place’ written on it. Nearby Cherryvale confirmed the town had been blown away in a cyclone & that what was left was repurposed in their town. The whole thing was a Keaton family tall story - today Piqua is the site of the Buster Keaton Museum kansastravel.org/busterkeatonmuseum.htm
This Day in Buster…May 9, 1951
“The Buster Keaton Show” premieres. The LA Times got a preview two days before & urged readers to “drag the kids away from the wild westerns at 7:30 tonight, twist the dials to KTTV (11) and sit back and enjoy a real slapstick Keaton show.”
This Day in Buster…May 8, 1964
Buster Keaton appears in season one, episode 32 “Who Killed ½ of Glory Lee?” of Burke’s Law. The once silent actor remains silent in the role of Mr Lovely…almost.
This Day in Buster…April 25, 1926
“Seven Chances,” with the title “Busterin miljoonat,” opens in Finland. We slowed down this clip to show with subtitles how Buster is actually directing Ruth Dwyer in this scene rather than just engaging in small talk or scripted dialogue.
This Day in Buster…April 24, 1932
“Sidewalks of New York,” with the title "New Yorkin katupoikia,” meaning “New York Street Boys,” opens in Finland. When Buster Keaton ends up at the mercy of gangsters, those street boys come to the rescue!
This Day in Buster…April 23, 1917
“The Butcher Boy,” Buster Keaton’s movie debut, is released. His first scene was for many years the longest single take debut in cinema history. We’re not sure who beat it. Do you know?
This Day in Buster…April 22, 1957
The Kingston Whig-Standard, a Canadian newspaper, prints a New York interview with Buster Keaton on the subject of his biopic, “The Buster Keaton Story.” Whilst the interview was being conducted a bystander chided Buster for laughing in public. “That’s all right,” he replied. “I’m not working.”
This Day in Buster…April 21, 1924
“Sherlock Jr.” is on general release. Buster Keaton goes to extremes to get himself a comfy seat ;)
This Day in Buster…April 20, 1935
“Le Roi des Champs-Élysées,” with the title "O Rei dos Campos Elísios,” opens in Portugal.
This Day in Buster…April 19, 1924
“Sherlock Jr.” has its U.S. opening in Boston. Did you know that Buster Keaton had a lucky escape when filming this scene? The newspapers took great delight in reporting how hungry the lions were & how quickly Buster had to exit!
This Day in Buster…April 18, 1930
“Free And Easy” opens in New York City, but it looks like Buster Keaton was having difficulty getting in to see it!
This Day in Buster…May 11, 1924
“Sherlock Jr.” has its general U.S. release. The game was indeed afoot!
