Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Houdini cameo in Buster biography

Here's one that slipped past when it was first released in 2008. The children's biography Keep Your Eye On The Kid: The Early Years of Buster Keaton by Catherine Brighton immortalizes the moment when baby Buster falls down the stairs and Houdini gives him his famous nickname.


Of course, Keaton historians dispute the veracity of this. Apparently Joe Keaton assigned the honor of his son's naming to various famous personalities in his lifetime. But Houdini is the one that history decided to keep. Of course!

Keep Your Eye On The Kid: The Early Years of Buster Keaton is available on Amazon.com.
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7 comments:

  1. DAVID SALTMANAugust 29, 2013 at 9:12 AM

    I'd have to doublecheck the source, but I believe Buster himself credited Houdini with the nickname.

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  2. Beth S.August 29, 2013 at 4:08 PM

    I really like the style of this drawing, by the way. It reminds me of "Little Nemo", by Windsor McKay, which is appropriately of the era that Houdini and Keaton inhabited.

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    1. John CoxAugust 29, 2013 at 9:59 PM

      Yeah, it's a nice little book. The author, Catherine Brighton, also did the illustrations.

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  3. UnknownSeptember 23, 2013 at 4:44 AM

    I appreciated the Josephine Baker narrative! I hope and pray Rih Rih can do it justice....from time to instance things are just enhanced left alone. Biography

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  4. JCOctober 10, 2013 at 10:12 AM

    It's not related with the book but it's curious how the Buster Keaton's short "Cops" begins with a quotation from... Houdini!:

    "Love laughs at locksmiths"

    Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmV4D_YCm6s (Quote at 0:21)

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    1. John CoxOctober 11, 2013 at 1:12 PM

      Wow! I never knew about this. Thanks JC. I think this one deserves its own post.

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