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Next door to the Keaton Museum is a peaceful field which was dedicated to the birth of Buster Keaton. In the middle stands a modest but regal plaque honoring Keaton's humble beginnings and comedic genius that would grow into international greatness. |
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The plaque reads: "Joseph F. 'Buster' Keaton was born in Piqua, Kansas on October 4, 1895. Buster's parents, Joseph and Myra Keaton, were appearing in a traveling medicine show with stock company on a bill which included the later famous magician Harry Houdini. According to the story Joseph later told interviewers, a cyclone struck Piqua and blew away the circus performance tent. When he returned to his boarding house after chasing around the countryside looking for a tent, he found his wife had given birth to their first child. Buster Keaton made his first stage when he was just 24 hours old in the Catholic Hall, which was serving as a substitute theater for the evening's performance. When he was five years old, his family began touring vaudeville as 'The Three Keatons'. . . ." |
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The plaque was dedicated in 1995 with a ceremony attended by Keaton's widow, Eleanor Keaton, actor friend James Karen, several officials of the local Keaton Film Festival and Keaton enthusiasts. |
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". . . In 1917, Keaton went to Hollywood to begin a career in the movies that lasted until his death in February, 1966. Many of Keaton's silent films are today recognized as classics in the genre. He starred in or directed more than 150 movies and was in 40 television shows. Keaton was known as 'the great stone face' because of his ability to maintain a serious demeanor while performing outrageous comedy routines." |
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