
Joe Roberts
Biography
"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 called "The Cowboy, the Swell and the Lady." At this time, in the first decade of the twentieth century, Buster Keaton's father, Joe Keaton, had started a summer Actors' Colony for vaudevillians between Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake in Michigan. Roberts became acquainted with the Keaton family as a member of this community. When Buster Keaton's film apprenticeship years with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle came to an end, and Keaton began making his own shorts in 1920, he asked Roberts to join him. Roberts' hefty 6'3" frame, usually playing a menacing heavy or authority figure, made a striking and amusing contrast to the thin, 5'6" Keaton. IMDB shows that Roberts made only two films without Keaton. He played the role of "Roaring Bill" Rivers in 1922's The Primitive Lover starring Constance Talmadge—Keaton's sister-in-law—and the silent film actor Harrison Ford; and a drill master in the Clyde Cook comedy The Misfit,[4] released in March 1924, after Roberts' death. When Keaton began making feature films in 1923, he apparently intended to continue working with Roberts. Roberts had roles in Keaton's Three Ages and Our Hospitality (both 1923). During the filming of the second feature, Roberts had a stroke but insisted on returning to the set to finish the film. After completion, Roberts suffered another stroke and died shortly afterwards.
Filmografi
Hard Luck1921 · Lizard Lip Luke
One Week1920 · Piano Mover (uncredited)
Our Hospitality1923 · Joseph Canfield
My Wife's Relations1922 · Brother
A Brave Engineer: Buster Keaton's Last Ride2026 · Self (Archival)
Three Ages1923 · The Girl's Father
The Misfit1924 · The Drill Master
The Blacksmith1922 · Blacksmith
The Play House1921 · Actor / Stage Manager (uncredited)
Day Dreams1922 · The Mayor
The Scarecrow1920 · Farmhand (uncredited)
Convict 131920 · The Crazed Prisoner
Cops1922 · Police Chief (uncredited)
The Goat1921 · Police Chief
The Electric House1922 · Millionaire
The High Sign1921 · Leader of Buzzards
The Frozen North1922 · The Driver
The Love Nest1923 · Captain of the Whaler
The Paleface1922 · The Indian Chief
Neighbors1920 · Her Father (uncredited)
Little Lord Fauntleroy1921 · Buzz Saw Brannigan (uncredited)
The Haunted House1921 · Bank Cashier
The Primitive Lover1922 · 'Roaring' Bill Rivers
Buster Keaton
Monte Collins Sr.
Wallace Beery
Sybil Seely
Joe Keaton
Natalie Talmadge
Bull Montana
Blanche Payson
Louise Emmons
Lionel Belmore
Red Skelton
Jack Duffy