What Was Buster Keaton's Net Worth?
Buster Keaton was an American actor, comedian, director, producer, screenwriter, and stunt performer who had a net worth of $1 million at the time of his death in 1966. That's the same as $10 million after adjusting for inflation. Buster Keaton was best known for the slapstick comedy and humorous stunts he performed on stage and in dozens of silent films. Known as "The Great Stone Face," Buster's dry humor and blank facial expression became his professional trademark.
Some of his most celebrated works include "The General" (1926), a Civil War comedy-adventure often considered his masterpiece, "Sherlock Jr." (1924), which features groundbreaking special effects as Keaton's character enters a movie screen, and "Steamboat Bill Jr." (1928), famous for a breathtaking stunt where the facade of a house falls around Buster, who remains unharmed thanks to an open window. "The Navigator" (1924) and "Our Hospitality" (1923) are also highly regarded for their elaborate gags and Keaton's deadpan humor. These films exemplify his genius for visual storytelling and his willingness to risk life and limb for the perfect shot, earning him a lasting place in cinema history. Buster Keaton passed away on February 1, 1966, at 70 years old.
Earning and Losing a Fortune
At the peak of his career in the 1920s, Buster earned a fortune. He was earning $3,500 per week, the same as around $60k per week after adjusting for inflation. He spent $300,000, or $6 million in today's money, building a home in Beverly Hills. That was an unimaginable amount at the time. Unfortunately, the good times did not last, and Buster was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1934. His career eventually rebounded. Towards the end of his life, he could reliably earn $100,000 per year filming commercials.
Early Years
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was born October 4, 1895, in Piqua, Kansas. He was the son of Joseph and Myra (Cutler) Keaton. His parents were motion picture entertainers and had their own traveling vaudeville act, which Buster joined when he was a small child. The trio was called The Three Keatons. Buster and his father, clad in wigs and false beards, would perform a comedy routine while his mother stood to the side playing saxophone. The routine often involved the little boy being thrown around the stage by his father and was criticized by some spectators as being much too violent for a child. Keaton defended the act even as an adult, explaining that the falls were carefully executed to prevent injury. Still others publicly spoke out about Buster receiving very little schooling as he traveled around the country with his parents becoming a bona fide celebrity.
From the time he was 13 years old until the age of 21, Buster spent each summer at The Actor's Colony in Muskegon, Michigan. He continued sharing the stage with his parents until his last year at the colony when the act, as well as his family, was irreparably damaged by his father's addiction to alcohol. Taking his mother with him, he relocated to New York.
The Great War & United Artists
In 1917, while visiting Talmadge Studios in New York City, Keaton met American silent film director Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who invited him into the world of film. That year, Buster appeared in the silent two-reel comedy "The Butcher Boy," which was directed by Arbuckle. The quest for stardom then took a backseat as Keaton joined the American Expeditionary Forces as a member of the United States Army's 40th Infantry Division during World War I.
Buster had his first starring role in 1920 in "The Saphead," a full-length comedic drama film based on the play "The New Henrietta." Wanting to act, write, produce, direct, and take part in all areas of film production, Buster was given the opportunity to do it all by the president of United Artists, Joseph Schenck, who created Buster Keaton Productions. Between 1920 and 1922, Buster produced 19 two-reel comedies, including "One Week,' which he also wrote and directed, and "Playhouse," the opening scene of which he played every role. He then began producing full-length films.
Buster's most acclaimed work was his portrayal of Johnnie Gray in the film "The General." American director, producer, writer, and actor Orson Welles regarded the film as perhaps the greatest ever made. Released in 1926 by United Artists, "The General" was inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase – an event that occurred during the Civil War. Joseph Schenck had provided a budget of $750,000 for the film to be produced. A scene of a locomotive plowing across a burning bridge was the most expensive scene in silent film history. When the film wasn't well-received by audiences or critics, United Artists allowed Keaton to produce only two more films before encouraging him to sign with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. In 1989, the Library of Congress selected "The General" for preservation in the National Film Registry due to its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.
An adventurous and innovative stuntman, many of the gags Buster staged put him at great physical risk. The greatest example of this was a scene from the 1928 silent film "Steamboat Bill, Jr." released by United Artists. With Buster standing still, a two-ton wall of a two-story house façade fell over him, perfectly planned precision allowing him to emerge untouched and still standing through the facade's open window.
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Hired and Fired By MGM
Keaton's first film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios was "The Cameraman" in 1928, which he produced, directed and acted in. The film was a hit, but the studio made it subtly clear that they were more interested in Buster as an actor than as a producer or director. The atmosphere at MGM was stifling for him as his creative input and control were promptly arrested. When the technology of sound began to appear in films, Keaton intended to make his 1929 comedy "Spite Marriage" a "talkie." The powers that be at MGM were against the idea and argued that the film would profit from being silent. MGM authorities also began to insist that Buster use a stunt double for some of his physical gags – a decision that completely disheartened him.
Eventually, MGM allowed Buster to produce films with sound, and his 1931 comedic talkie "Parlor, Bedroom and Bath" became his most profitable film.
Things between Keaton and the studio heads at MGM went from bad to worse one day in March 1932 when MGM's co-founder, Louis Burt Mayer, summoned Buster to work on a Saturday afternoon. Keaton had already agreed to serve as the home team mascot at a local college baseball championship that day, so he sent word to Mayer that he was unable to oblige. Mayer responded by informing Buster that his pay would be suspended until he returned to work.
Deep in the chaos between MGM and Keaton, he began to find solace in alcohol and sometimes stepped in front of the camera in a state of intoxication. One day, after being caught hosting a wild party in his dressing room, Mayer ordered him out of the studio. On February 2, 1933, Mayer submitted a formal letter to Keaton informing him that he was being terminated from his position at MGM.
Foreign Films & Job Site Safety Videos
In 1934, Buster journeyed to Paris to star in the independent comedy "Le Roi des Champs-Elysees" and then to England to star in the comedy "The Invader." When he returned to America, he produced several 20-minute comedy reels for the Educational Pictures production company. As he commanded $2,500 per film, the studio finally had to let him go when financial concerns caused them to begin curbing their spending.
In 1939, Buster was contracted by Columbia Pictures to star in two-reel comedies and was taken back into MGM as a gag writer. In 1950, he contracted with television station KTTV in Los Angeles to star in the series "The Buster Keaton Show."
From 1950 to 1965, Buster made guest appearances on approximately 70 television shows, including an episode of "The Twilight Zone" in 1961. He also starred in several films, including 1964's "Beach Blanket Bingo" with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. His last film appearance was in the construction site safety film "The Scribe," produced in 1966 by the Construction Safety Associations of Ontario.
Accolades
Keaton has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film and one for television.
The International Buster Keaton Society was founded in 1992 to bring attention to his life and work.
In 1996, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked Buster as the 7th greatest film director of all time. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the 21st greatest male star of classic Hollywood cinema.
Personal Life
Buster married silent film actress and his co-star in the 1923 film "Our Hospitality," Natalie Talmadge, on May 31, 1921. They had two sons, Joseph in 1922 and Robert in 1924. The marriage eventually crumbled and resulted in divorce in 1932 as Keaton followed his father's footsteps down the dark road of alcoholism. In 1933, he married his nurse, Mae Scriven, and saw his contract with MGM terminated. He and Mae divorced in 1936 after she caught him with another woman. On May 29, 1940, Keaton married dancer Eleanor Norris, who has been credited with saving his life.
Buster died on February 1, 1966, of lung cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles, California. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.
