Buster Keaton: One of the First Stuntmen

A Daredevil of His Time

When you think of a person who does their own stunts in movies, one name that would pop up would be Jackie Chan. However another name should come to mind, considering this individual inspired Jackie Chan himself; that name would be Buster Keaton.

While he was most likely not as well known as Charlie Chaplin, he delivered laughs and jaw dropping stunts to boot. Keaton's athleticism and work ethic when it came to making films was something you would almost never see again.

Humble Beginnings

Before people went to the movies, the entertainment would come from vaudeville. In layman's terms, vaudeville was a theater variety show. The shows would have multiple acts that have no relation to one another: musicians, magicians, singers, dancers, acrobats, etc.

At the age of three, Buster started to perform with this parents in vaudeville acts. They were mostly comedy sketches in which Buster would act up and his father would retaliate by throwing him around. This was when he learned how to fall safely. As would many future film stars of the era, this vaudeville star moved on to films.

The Man with the Stone Face

Buster Keaton's trademark was to keep a deadpan face no matter what was happening to him. Fly out a window? Deadpan. Face an avalanche of rocks? Deadpan. When he was younger, he realized that people laughed harder when he did this, so he stayed in that character.

His first film was with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in the film Butcher Boy. He introduced himself to the world by getting stuck on molasses and getting pelted by a flour bag.

Soon afterward, Buster Keaton began to make his own films such as Steamboat Bill, Jr. The Electric House, and Sherlock, Jr. As seen below is his most famous stunt involving a house.

Keep in mind that was a real, solid part of the house. If it missed, he probably would have died. Despite the danger and the abuse he put himself through, he loved his craft. The story goes that he would tell his crew "keep shooting unless I yell cut or I'm dead."

Unfortunately for his career, it took a swan dive during the sound era. Now the problem was not necessarily his voice, which actually was well suited for film. His real mistake was signing a contract with MGM in which he lost his creative freedom. The Camera Man would be the last film of his style.


Despite this sad ending, Buster Keaton is still influential to this day. Many sight gags of his seem to creep up in modern day. When you find the time, go and look for his films. It is worth your time.