Buster Keaton (1895-1966): One of the towering talents of the silent era, Keaton was known as the supreme clown-poet, the great stone face. He wrote, directed, choreographed (the dangerous stunts), and performed in his films, evolving a balletic style of comedy that pitted a put-upon young man against the forces of evil and, more often, gravity. Buster said this about the art of comedy: “A comedian does funny things. A good comedian does things funny.”