Product Details
My Wonderful World Of Slapstick

My Wonderful World Of Slapstick
By Buster Keaton, Charles Samuels

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Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #187798 in Books
  • Published on: 1982-08-21
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 340 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Samuels, a New York newspaperman, wrote biographies of Jody Garland, Lizzie Borden, and Evelyn Nesbit. He worked with Buster Keaton on My Wonderful World of Slapstick (also available from Da Capo Press). Donald Bogle is the author of Brown Sugar: Eighty Years of America's Black Female Superstars (also available from De Capo Press), Blacks in American Film & Television: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, and Toms, Coon, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks: An Interpretive Histroy of Blacks in American Films. He has been called "the dean of black film history."

Customer Reviews

A basic primer for Keaton study4
Long thought to have been only a pie throwing clown, (which he was NOT) Buster Keaton was and still is one of the great comics. In this book, he relates his early years as part of the stage act, THE THREE KEATONS. It's a miracle that he didn't suffer permanent damage the way his father tossed him about. The insights into life in vaudville and his comments about his father are worth a closer look. From there, Buster tells how he got into films, his friendship with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and his rise to fame. I was disappointed that he mentioned his masterpiece; THE GENERAL only in passing. This is a CLASSIC! It might have been a financial failure, but in terms of quality, it reigns supreme. Far better than Chaplin's works. But there is still much to hold the reader's interest, especially the era of the "talkies". Pairing Buster with Jimmie Durante was a disaster in my opinion, but Keaton holds no malice towards him. Buster's career took a dive during the forties, but he managed to stay afloat as a comedy writer. And, Keaton is honest about his drinking and his failed marriages. Let it be said that Buster is still a hard act to follow.

A Rare Glimpse into A Creative Genius' Mind5
Reading the words of Buster Keaton gives great insight into how he was able to create his unique form of comedy.

His first hand telling of his fascinating life story may be a bit romanticized and a bit simplified, but then so were his films.

I came away with a clearer picture of what the world of silent film making was like, and how even a genius like Keaton could be dragged down by things beyond his grasp, including his own insecurities.

Keaton reveals himself to be a rather humble man. He makes clear that he never saw his work as anything more than the job of making people laugh. But he was a skilled acrobat and a great mime.

What is really missing from this book can only be found in the films themselves.

My Wonderful World of Slapstick3
I was dissapointed. Buster does not get into the kind of detail I was expecting. Some of the dates don't make sense. For example Buster states that in 1940 he returned to MGM as a gag writer. At The Circus (The Marx Brothers) was released in 1939. So how could that be? That's just one example. The question really is- how much was ghost written? Get this book if you are a Buster fan, but don't expect to be thrilled.