Joe Roberts
Nascimento : 1871-02-02, Albany, New York, USA
Morte : 1923-10-28
História
"Big Joe" Roberts, as he was known in vaudeville, toured the country with his first wife, Lillian Stuart Roberts as part of a rowdy act known as Roberts, Hays, and Roberts. Their signature routine was called "The Cowboy, the Swell and the Lady." At this time, in the first decade of the twentieth century, Buster Keaton's father, Joe Keaton, had started a summer Actors' Colony for vaudevillians between Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake in Michigan. Roberts became acquainted with the Keaton family as a member of this community.
When Buster Keaton's film apprenticeship years with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle came to an end, and Keaton began making his own shorts in 1920, he asked Roberts to join him. Roberts' hefty 6'3" frame, usually playing a menacing heavy or authority figure, made a striking and amusing contrast to the thin, 5'6" Keaton.
IMDB shows that Roberts made only two films without Keaton. He played the role of "Roaring Bill" Rivers in 1922's The Primitive Lover starring Constance Talmadge—Keaton's sister-in-law—and the silent film actor Harrison Ford; and a drill master in the Clyde Cook comedy The Misfit,[4] released in March 1924, after Roberts' death.
When Keaton began making feature films in 1923, he apparently intended to continue working with Roberts. Roberts had roles in Keaton's Three Ages and Our Hospitality (both 1923). During the filming of the second feature, Roberts had a stroke but insisted on returning to the set to finish the film. After completion, Roberts suffered another stroke and died shortly afterwards.
The Drill Master
THE MISFIT - starring Clyde Cook, with Blanche Payson and Joe Roberts. A rarely-seen silent comedy short. Henpecked hubby Clyde totes groceries and paints floors for his wifey, escaping at last...by joining the U.S. Marines. The basic training sequence was shot at the Buster Keaton studios; this may be "Big" Joe Roberts' final screen role.
Joseph Canfield
Na viagem de volta para sua cidade natal, Willie McKay se apaixona pela jovem Virginia, sem saber que ela é de uma família inimiga da sua, os Canfield. Como em sua terra a hospitalidade é um valor muito prezado, ele decide se instalar na casa dos Canfield, que se vêem obrigados a tratá-lo da melhor forma.
The Girl's Father
Nesta sátira de "Intolerância", clássico de D. W. Griffth, um homem disputa o amor de uma bela mulher em três épocas diferentes. Dirigido por Buster Keaton, um dos grandes comediantes do cinema mudo.
Captain of the Whaler
In an attempt to forget his lost sweetheart, Buster takes a long trip at the sea when he's caught by pirates.
The Mayor
In order to impress the father of a girl he is keen on, Buster goes to the city in search of work. In his letters home he writes of his various jobs which her imagination expands into much nobler ones than those that he is actually attempting.
Millionaire
Botany major Buster mistakenly graduates in electrical engineering and is hired to wire a new home.
The Driver
This satirical parody of William S. Hart's melodramatic films finds Buster in the frozen north, "last stop on the subway." He uses a wanted poster as his partner in robbing a gambling house. When he thinks he spies his wife making love to another man he shoots them both only to learn it isn't his cabin after all.
Blacksmith
Buster faz palhaçadas na oficina de um ferreiro até que ele e o ferreiro entram em uma briga que manda o ferreiro para a prisão. Buster ajuda vários clientes com cavalos, depois destrói um Rolls Royce enquanto conserta o carro estacionado ao lado dele.
Brother
Buster is falsely accused of breaking a window by a woman and is taken into a courtroom. Thinking that Buster and the woman are engaged, the judge mistakenly marries them and Buster is quickly taken home by the woman to meet her family. At first unwelcoming, the family begins to treat Buster nice when they come to believe that he is going to inherit a large sum of money.
'Roaring' Bill Rivers
A free-spirited girl is caught between her love for her husband and her attraction to a handsome adventurer.
Police Chief (uncredited)
Em ritmo frenético, a polícia persegue um homem pela cidade após uma escalada de mal entendidos divertidos. Sua sorte depende de sua habilidade de lidar com os absurdos nessa perseguição.
The Indian Chief
A butterfly collector unwittingly wanders into an Indian encampment while chasing a butterfly, but the tribe has resolved to kill the first white man who enters their encampment because white oil tycoons are trying to force them from their land.
Actor-Stage Manager (uncredited)
After waking up from his wacky dream, a theater stage hand inadvertently causes havoc everywhere he works.
Buzz Saw Brannigan (uncredited)
An American boy turns out to be the long-lost heir of a British fortune. He is sent to live with the cold and unsentimental lord who oversees the trust.
Police Chief
A series of adventures begins when Buster is mistaken for Dead Shot Dan, the evil bad guy.
Leader of Buzzards
Buster é jogado de um trem perto de um parque de diversões. Lá ele consegue um emprego em uma galeria de tiro dirigida pela máfia Blinking Buzzards. Ordenado a matar um empresário, ele acaba protegendo o homem e sua filha, equipando sua casa com truques.
Lizard Lip Luke
A down on his luck young man makes several attempts at committing suicide but fails them too. He then finds himself becoming more confident through a series of petty adventures, to such an extent that this becomes his undoing.
Bank Cashier
Buster é um bancário. A cola virada fica com tudo, principalmente o dinheiro, grudado em todo o resto. Quando os ladrões aparecem, ele não pode "furá-los" porque suas mãos estão enfiadas nos bolsos. O esconderijo dos ladrões é uma casa assombrada projetada para assustar a polícia.
Her Father (uncredited)
The Romeo and Juliet story played out in a tenement neighborhood with Buster and Virginia's families hating each other over the fence separating their buildings.
Farmhand
Buster competes with another farmhand for the love of the farmer's daughter.
Prisoner / Prisonnier
A young golfer is mugged by an escaped convict and finds himself in a prison where he foils a jailbreak.
Piano Mover (uncredited)
The story involves two newlyweds, Keaton and Seely, who receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift. The house can be built, supposedly, in "one week." A rejected suitor secretly re-numbers packing crates. The movie recounts Keaton's struggle to assemble the house according to this new "arrangement."
