(All photos courtesy of the International Buster Keaton Society)
Today, Saturday, June 16, 2018, at 4:00 p.m., the International Buster Keaton Society, in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, will unveil and dedicate a bronze plaque commemorating the original film studio of iconic Hollywood silent filmmaker and comedic actor Buster Keaton.
With his life in entertainment beginning in vaudeville, Keaton went on to star in many films – most notably The Cameraman (1928) and The General (1926), with the latter largely regarded as his masterpiece.
In a move to television, Keaton starred in his successful television series, The Buster Keaton Show in 1950, then went to guest star in many others, including a favorite where he played a time traveler in a 1961 episode of The Twilight Zone, “Once Upon a Time,” which combined elements of both silent and talking pictures in the plot.
The new plaque, to be located at 1021 Lillian Avenue near the intersection of Eleanor Avenue and Lillian Way in Los Angeles, will supersede a sidewalk plaque that was inadvertently placed on the wrong corner 30 years ago.
Keaton Studio, 1920. (Photo courtesy of the International Buster Keaton Society/Bison Archives)
The funding came from $18,107 donated by contributors to an international Indiegogo campaign for the new plaques. The remaining costs were covered by the International Buster Keaton Society, a nonprofit organization established in 1992 in “fostering understanding and perpetuating appreciation of the life, career, and films of Buster Keaton.”
The dedication will be part of a full weekend of Buster Keaton events. Special guests include actor David Arquette, Los Angeles Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, members of Buster Keaton’s family, including his granddaughter, Melissa Talmadge Cox, and his great-granddaughter, actress Keaton Talmadge, and film historian Leonard Maltin.
The ceremony will be open to the public at 1021 Lillian Avenue near the intersection of Eleanor Avenue and Lillian Way in Los Angeles, Saturday, June 16, 2018, at 4:00 p.m., . For more information, please visit www.keatonweekend.com.
