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Joe Roberts is a Actor and Writer American born on 2 february 1871 at Albany (USA)

Joe Roberts

Joe Roberts
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Nationality USA
Birth 2 february 1871 at Albany (USA)
Death 28 october 1923 (at 52 years) at Los Angeles (USA)

Joe Roberts (February 2, 1871 – October 28, 1923) was an American comic actor, who appeared in 16 of Buster Keaton's 19 silent short films 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 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, 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.

Usually with

Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
(20 films)
Edward F. Cline
Edward F. Cline
(17 films)
Joseph Schenck
Joseph Schenck
(21 films)
Elgin Lessley
Elgin Lessley
(17 films)
Virginia Fox
Virginia Fox
(10 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Joe Roberts (26 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Crush
Crush (2002)
, 1h52
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton, Anna Chancellor, Kenny Doughty, Bill Paterson, Jeremy Gittins
Roles Brendan
Rating57% 2.850412.850412.850412.850412.85041
Forty-something schoolmistress Kate and her two best friends, police superintendent Janine and doctor Molly, live in rural Britain and share their single lives and dating exploits in weekly chats. Kate has recovered from ovarian cyst disease and fears a relapse; she hasn't been dating much. By chance, she meets Jed, a former student of hers, now a handsome twenty-something church organist. To her surprise, she ends up sleeping with him and the two embark on an unlikely relationship that's looked on with suspicion by Janine and Molly. Janine comes to believe in Kate and Jed's feelings for each other. But Molly is still dubious, showing Jed's criminal record and medical history to Kate, bringing adult dates to their dinner parties and taking her and Janine to Paris so that she will go off Jed. Conversely, this brings Kate and Jed closer together and they plan their wedding.
Shakespeare in Love, 2h3
Directed by John Madden
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romantic comedy, Historical, Romance
Themes Films about writers, Films about sexuality, Films about suicide, Films about television, Théâtre, LGBT-related films, Transgender in film, Musical films, Romeo and Juliet, Political films, Films based on plays, Films based on works by William Shakespeare, LGBT-related films, Films about royalty, LGBT-related film, Cross-dressing in film
Actors Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Tom Wilkinson
Roles John Webster
Rating70% 3.548733.548733.548733.548733.54873
In 1593 London, William Shakespeare is a sometime player in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and poor playwright for Philip Henslowe, owner of The Rose Theatre. Shakespeare is working on a new comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Suffering from writer's block, he has barely begun the play, but starts auditioning players. Viola de Lesseps, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, who has seen Shakespeare's plays at court, disguises herself as "Thomas Kent" to audition, then runs away. Shakespeare pursues Kent to Viola's house and leaves a note with the nurse, asking Thomas Kent to begin rehearsals at the Rose. He sneaks into the house with the minstrels playing that night at the ball, where her parents are arranging her betrothal to Lord Wessex, an impoverished aristocrat. While dancing with Viola, Shakespeare is struck speechless, and after being forcibly ejected by Wessex, uses Thomas Kent as a go-between to woo her. Wessex also asks Will's name, to which he replies that he is Christopher Marlowe.
The Love Nest, 20minutes
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Films about animals, Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors Buster Keaton, Joe Roberts, Virginia Fox
Roles Captain of the Whaler
Rating67% 3.3959653.3959653.3959653.3959653.395965
In order to escape from his life and his lost love, Keaton sets off on his small boat, Cupid, but runs into the whaling ship, The Love Nest. The whaler's merciless captain (Joe Roberts) throws crew members overboard for even the slightest offense.
Our Hospitality, 1h14
Directed by Buster Keaton, John G. Blystone
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance, Western
Themes Transport films, Rail transport films
Actors Buster Keaton, Joe Roberts, Francis X. Bushman, Jr., Monte Collins, Joe Keaton, Natalie Talmadge
Roles Joseph Canfield
Rating77% 3.895673.895673.895673.895673.89567
The Canfield and McKay families have been feuding for so long, no one remembers the reason the feud started in the first place. One stormy night in 1810, after family patriarch John McKay falls victim to the feud, his wife decides her son Willie (the infant Buster Keaton Jr.) will not suffer the same fate. She moves to New York to live with her sister, who after the mother's death raises him without telling him of the feud.
Three Ages
Three Ages (1923)
, 1h3
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy
Themes Mafia films, La préhistoire, Gangster films
Actors Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy, Wallace Beery, Joe Roberts, Lillian Lawrence, Lionel Belmore
Roles The Girl's Father
Rating69% 3.4962553.4962553.4962553.4962553.496255
Three plots in three different historical periods—prehistoric times, ancient Rome, and modern times (the Roaring Twenties)—are intercut to prove the point that men's love for woman have not significantly changed throughout history. In all three plots, characters played by Buster Keaton and Wallace Beery compete for the attention of the same woman, played by Margaret Leahy. Each plot follows similar "arcs" in the story line in which Keaton's character works for his beloved's attention and eventually wins her over.
The Electric House, 22minutes
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox, Joe Roberts, Joe Keaton, Myra Keaton
Roles Millionaire
Rating70% 3.540823.540823.540823.540823.54082
Keaton plays a botany student who is accidentally awarded an electrical engineering degree. He then attempts to wire a home using many gadgets. The man to whom the degree should have been awarded then exacts revenge by rewiring those gadgets to cause mayhem.
Day Dreams
Day Dreams (1922)
, 19minutes
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Buster Keaton, Renée Adorée, Edward F. Cline, Joe Keaton, Joe Roberts
Roles The Mayor
Rating67% 3.3936753.3936753.3936753.3936753.393675
Lorsqu'un jeune homme sans le sou fait sa demande en mariage au père de l'élue de son cœur, il se fait renvoyer pour chercher de quoi lui assurer un avenir financier. S'il ne se fait pas une situation, il devra mettre fin à ses jours avec un pistolet prêté par le père pour l'occasion.
The Paleface, 20minutes
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Western
Actors Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox, Joe Roberts
Roles The Indian Chief
Rating67% 3.3898153.3898153.3898153.3898153.389815
Crooked "oil sharks" led by a man named Hunt have stolen an Indian tribe's lease to their land and given them 24 hours to vacate. Furious, the Indian chief orders that the first white man who enters their encampment be killed. A butterfly collector (Keaton) unwittingly wanders in while chasing a butterfly. They tie him to a stake and collect wood. When he frees himself, the Indian warriors give chase. During the pursuit, he finds some asbestos and fashions himself some fireproof underwear. As a result, when they catch him and try to burn him at the stake, he remains unharmed. Awed by this, the Indians adopt him and give him the title "Little Chief Paleface".
The Blacksmith, 25minutes
Directed by Buster Keaton, Malcolm St. Clair
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox, Joe Roberts
Roles Blacksmith
Rating67% 3.3952953.3952953.3952953.3952953.395295
Malec est un simple employé chez le forgeron du village. Mais c'est à se demander quel métier il exerce vraiment. Est-il forgeron, maréchal ferrant ou bien mécanicien ? Malec est tout simplement présent au bon endroit au bon moment ; même s'il tombe, dans la situation, comme un cheveu sur la soupe. Ces hasards de circonstance provoquent un décalage qui nous renvoie directement au personnage de Charlie Chaplin.
Cops
Cops (1922)
, 18minutes
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Adventure
Actors Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox, Joe Roberts, Edward F. Cline
Roles Police Chief (uncredited)
Rating75% 3.7917753.7917753.7917753.7917753.791775
Paraissant sous les barreaux, Buster (alias Frigo pour les copies françaises d'époque) est en fait séparé de sa dulcinée par le portail en fer de sa résidence, symbole du fossé social qui empêche leur union. Elle demande ainsi à son soupirant de réussir d'abord dans les affaires. Après avoir subtilisé un portefeuille fourni, il est la victime d'un escroc opportuniste qui lui vend un stock de meubles sur le trottoir, en fait pour cause de déménagement. Le prenant pour un ouvrier déménageur, la famille l'aide à charger sa charrette. Parti dans les rues de la ville, son attelage se révèle peu fiable et le cheval n'avance pas. Il se retrouve bientôt au beau milieu d'un défilé de policiers. Un terroriste envoie une bombe sur le défilé, mais à côté de Buster, qui en profite alors pour allumer sa cigarette avec la mèche enflammée, puis se débarrasse de la bombe en la jetant sur le côté. Pris pour le terroriste, les policiers se mettent à le poursuivre.
The Frozen North, 17minutes
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Western
Actors Buster Keaton, Sybil Seely, Joe Roberts, Edward F. Cline, Freeman Wood
Roles The Driver
Rating64% 3.2432953.2432953.2432953.2432953.243295
The film opens near the "last stop on the subway", a terminal in Alaska, which appears to be emerging from deep snow in the middle of nowhere. A tough-looking cowboy (Buster Keaton) emerges. He arrives at a small settlement, finding people gambling in a saloon. He tries to rob them by scaring them with the cutout of a poster of a man holding a gun, which he places at the window, as if it is he is an accomplice. He tells the gamblers to raise their hands in the air. Frightened, they hand over their cash, but soon they find out the truth when a drunk man falls over the cutout. Keaton is thrown out through the window.
My Wife's Relations, 22minutes
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Buster Keaton, Wallace Beery, Monte Collins, Joe Roberts, Kate Price, Tom Wilson
Roles Brother
Rating65% 3.2905853.2905853.2905853.2905853.290585
Le personnage principal, un homme plutôt fin (joué par Buster Keaton), se marie sur un quiproquo avec une Irlandaise imposante : la femme, voulant accuser à tort le protagoniste d'avoir brisé une vitre, le porte devant l'autel pour réparer les torts et demander justice. L'interlocuteur des deux personnages ne maîtrisant que la langue polonaise, il les marie. Se succèdent alors plusieurs scènes comiques naissant du fossé des mœurs qui sépare le mari de sa belle-famille. Lorsque les frères de la mariée pensent avoir découvert que le personnage principal est un riche héritier, leur attitude change du tout au tout et ils couvrent d'attentions le nouveau membre de la famille. Seulement, après avoir déménagé dans un gigantesque penthouse, il s'avère que le personnage de Buster Keaton ne dispose d'aucune ressource financière. Le film atteint son point culminant dans une sauvage et mouvementée course-poursuite qui se termine par la fuite du jeune marié dans un train à destination de Reno.
The High Sign, 21minutes
Directed by Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Crime
Actors Buster Keaton, Bartine Burkett, Al St. John, Joe Roberts, Charles Dorety
Roles Leader of Buzzards
Rating75% 3.7892253.7892253.7892253.7892253.789225
Buster plays a drifter who cons his way into working at an amusement park shooting gallery. Believing Buster is an expert marksman, both the murderous gang the Blinking Buzzards and the man they want to kill end up hiring him. The film ends with a wild chase through a house filled with secret passages.