Joseph Henry Roberts (February 2, 1871 – October 28, 1923) was an American comic actor who appeared in 16 of

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

's 19 silent

short films A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

of the 1920s. "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 "The Cowboy, the Swell and the Lady." At this time, the first decade of the twentieth century, Buster Keaton's father,

Joe Keaton Joseph Hallie Keaton (July 6, 1867 – January 13, 1946) was an American vaudeville performer, eccentric dancer and silent film actor. He was the father of actor Buster Keaton and appeared with his son in several films. Life and career Keaton ...

, had a summer

Actors' Colony Actors' Colony was a community for theatrical and vaudeville performers conceived by C.S. "Pop" Ford and located in Bluffton, near Muskegon, Michigan and Lake Michigan. Originally called the Artists' Colony Club, and it was founded on June 14, 19 ...

for vaudevillians between

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

and

Muskegon Lake Muskegon Lake is a fresh-water lake in Muskegon County, Michigan, USA. Located in the lower peninsula at the mouth of the Muskegon River, Muskegon Lake forms a broad harbor along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan, approximately wide by ...

in Michigan, where Roberts got to know the Keaton family. When Buster's apprenticeship with

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel ...

came to an end and Keaton began making his own short films in 1920, he asked Roberts to join him. The hefty Roberts, usually playing a menacing heavy or authority figure, made an amusing contrast next to thin, Keaton. Roberts played "Roaring Bill" Rivers in 1922's ''

The Primitive Lover ''The Primitive Lover'' is a 1922 American silent drama film produced by and starring Constance Talmadge and distributed by Associated First National (later First National Pictures). Sidney A. Franklin served as the director of the movie and F ...

'' starring Keaton's sister-in-law

Constance Talmadge Constance Alice Talmadge (April 19, 1898 – November 23, 1973) was an American silent film star. She was the sister of actresses Norma and Natalie Talmadge. Early life Talmadge was born on April 19, 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, to poor p ...

and silent film actor

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

. He also played a drill master in the Clyde Cook comedy ''The Misfit'', released in March 1924, after Roberts' death. When Keaton began making feature films in 1923, he apparently intended to keep working with Roberts. Roberts had roles in Keaton's ''

Three Ages ''Three Ages'' is a 1923 Black and white, black-and-white American feature-length silent comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery. The first feature Keaton wrote, directed, produced, and starred in (unlike ''The Saphead,'' ...

'' and ''

Our Hospitality ''Our Hospitality'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by Buster Keaton and John G. Blystone. Starring Keaton, Joe Roberts, and Natalie Talmadge and distributed by Metro Pictures Corporation, it uses slapstick and situational co ...

'' (both 1923). During the latter's filming, Roberts had a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

but insisted on returning to the set to finish shooting. After completion, he suffered another stroke and died shortly thereafter, aged 52.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Joe Roberts
at

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Online
Joe Roberts
at th
Actors' Colony in Muskegon, MI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Joe 1871 births 1923 deaths American male silent film actors American vaudeville performers 20th-century American male actors Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery