Tag Archives: Buster Keaton

“All my life I have been happiest when the folks watching me said to each other, `Look at the poor dope, wilya?” — Buster Keaton

Posted on October 4, 2025 by sheila

It’s Buster Keaton’s birthday today. As a small boy with a talent for acrobatics (and a high tolerance for pain), Keaton performed with his parents in a family act (an act notorious for its wild violence) before launching off on … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , | 10 Comments

“The camera is always where it needs to be with him.” — Interview with Dana Stevens, author of Camera Man

Posted on February 18, 2022 by sheila

I interviewed Dana Stevens about her wonderful book Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century, after a screening of Keaton’s The General last week at the Jane Pickens Theater in Newport, Rhode … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Books, Directors, Movies, writers | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Books: The Fun of It: Stories from The Talk of the Town, edited by Lillian Ross; ‘Beckett’, by Jane Kramer

Posted on June 3, 2013 by sheila

Next up on the essays shelf: The Fun of It: Stories from The Talk of the Town (Modern Library Paperbacks) is a collection of “The Talk of the Town” pieces in The New Yorker, grouped by decade, which is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Books, Movies, writers | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Buster Keaton Running

Posted on February 9, 2011 by sheila

Mike D’Angelo has a wonderful piece up about the glories of Buster Keaton running, especially in that unforgettable chase scene at the end of Seven Chances, which I’ve written about before. He nails it. I love how he delves into … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Directors | Tagged | 1 Comment

Johnny Depp: The Mad Hatter’s Context

Posted on March 16, 2010 by sheila

I have always felt that context was decisive, when it came to acting styles. I have heard it said that an actor should approach King Lear in the same way he approaches a French farce, and while I understand the … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Movies | Tagged , , , , , | 42 Comments

Sergio Leone presents:

Posted on July 18, 2009 by sheila

Professor Serverus Snape’s Sorcerer-Tastic, Muggalicious Mid-Summer Movie Quiz. Long anticipated. Questions are awesome, thought-provoking (your SECOND favorite Francis Ford Coppola movie? Love it!) – and the answers are even better. I was unable to participate in the last two quizzes … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

The Books: “Buster Keaton: Tempest in a Flat Hat” (Edward McPherson)

Posted on October 2, 2008 by sheila

Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Buster Keaton: Tempest In A Flat Hat, by Edward McPherson I loved coming back to the house on Cape Cod on a drizzly day, and seeing Cashel curled up in a chair with his laptop … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Directors | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Posted on August 15, 2007 by sheila

typed in from blackberry … hence, the serial killer typing style: mad libs pilates with the o’malley siblings ocean – the beautiful beautiful ocean stubbies boggle reading crossword puzzles sunblock daily red sox game the mason jar ipods being charged … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged , , , , | 39 Comments

Buster Keaton

Posted on August 2, 2006 by sheila
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies | Tagged , | 7 Comments

The Books: “The Last Great Revolution : Turmoil and Transformation in Iran” (Robin Wright)

Posted on April 9, 2006 by sheila

And here is my next excerpt from my history bookshelf: Next book on the shelf is The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran, by Robin Wright. Wright, a reporter who first started covering Iran in 1973, writes this … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment