MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO SCREENING SERIES, THE:
THE RETURN OF THE MAN IN THE PORKPIE HAT: BUSTER
KEATON ON TELEVISION, PACKAGE 3, TAPE 1 OF 2: SCENE
STEALING (1958-1962)
Summary
Scene Stealing
(1958Ð1962)
Born on October 4, 1895, into one of the rowdiest
knockabout families on the vaudeville circuit, Keaton
was taking pratfalls before he was out of diapers. His
nickname came from Harry Houdini, who exclaimed ÒMy,
what a Buster!Ó when the tyke tumbled down a flight of
stairs. In the late fifties, BusterÕs hangdog face
became a fixture on television as he successfully
parlayed his screen persona into a steady roll of
commercial work. Reworking prized gags for these
spotsÑand pulling new ones out of his hat for shows like
"Candid Camera"Ñenabled Keaton to regain the creative
control of earlier days.
Northwest Orient Airlines commercials (1958; 1 minute)
Eleanor claimed that Buster never saw any of the spots
in this campaign because at the time the airline did not
fly to Los Angeles.
Alka-Seltzer commercials (1958; 3 minutes)
ÒRelief is just a swallow away,Ó with Buster and his
friend Speedy.
Simon Pure Beer commercials (1958; 6 minutes)
Six vignettes for the Òhappier, hoppier beer.Ó
"Candid Camera" (1960; 4 minutes)
Keaton had no problem playing the little guy for whom
everything goes wrong: "All of my life I have been
happiest when the folks watching me said to each other,
ÔLook at the poor dope, wilya?'"
"The Twilight Zone: 'Once Upon a Time'" (1961; 25
minutes)
Richard Matheson wrote this time-traveling tale
especially for Keaton. The scenes set in 1890 were
filmed at normal speed and then step-processed to
simulate early hand-cranked moving pictures.
RCA commercials (1960; 4 minutes)
BusterÕs colorful shenanigans, such as this after-hours
frolic in a department store, made advertisements more
entertaining and less reliant on talking heads.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1995
- RUNNING TIME: 0:42:43
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: T:45698
- GENRE: N/A
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Buster Keaton