The General premiered on Jan. 22, 1927, with high hopes. Buster Keaton's ambitious comedy-adventure was a labor of love and a dangerous one, as much of the action took place on a moving train. "He famously never used a stuntman," says James Curtis, author of Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life. "His reasoning was that stuntmen didn't know how to be funny."
Buster, who was born Joseph Keaton in 1895, learned how to be funny before he learned to read. As a child performer in vaudeville, where his family toured with illusionist Harry Houdini, he discovered that a deadpan expression earned the most laughter, no matter what chaos was going on around him. "The audience was invited to imagine what was going through his mind," Curtis explains to Closer of Buster's famous "stone-faced" look.
This story is from the May 09, 2022 edition of Closer US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 09, 2022 edition of Closer US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
HER RULES to Live By
THE SiLVERSSCREEN LEGEND BELIEVED IN WORKING HARD AND LIVING LARGE
Murder, She Wrote SECRETS FROM THE SET
FRIENDS AND CO-STARS SHARE BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORIES FROM THE BELOVED SERIES
We're All CONNECTED
The Touched by an Angel alum shares her thoughts on marriage, aging, faith and her new TV series, The Baxters
Amazing UNTOLD STORY
FRIENDS AND FAMILY SHARE MEMORIES OF THE ACTOR AND DANCER NEARLY 15 YEARS AFTER HIS UNTIMELY PASSING
DOUBLE INDEMNITY Secrets from the Set
AFTER YEARS OF PLAYING NICE, FRED MACMURRAY AND BARBARA STANWYCK SHOCKED FANS WITH THIS CLASSIC FILM NOIR THRILLER
STEVE MARTIN 5 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ME
THE COMIC LEGEND ON HIS EARLY YEARS, FATHERHOOD AND HOW BAD REVIEWS MADE HIM BETTER!
WHOOPI GOLDBERG - MAKING PEACE with My Past
THE VIEW CO-HOST AND OSCAR WINNER SHARES HER LOVING BUT PAINFUL FAMILY STORY IN A NEW MEMOIR
GEORGE TAKEI GO Boldly
The Star Trek alum opens up about his favorite Hollywood co-stars and his new book
Dyan Cannon - My Life BEFORE & AFTER CARY GRANT
MARRIAGE TO A HOLLYWOOD ICON WAS JUST THE START OF HER INSPIRING STORY
CATE BLANCHETT MY LIFE IN 10 Pictures
AFTER GROWING up “trying to be Nancy Drew,” Catherine Elise Blanchett wanted to investigate what was beyond her life in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.