![Joe Roberts](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w185/4sgfVSnJqiPs3Pb9rlz1b5zE89U.jpg)
Joe Roberts
"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.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 3.665 |
Birthday | 1871-02-02 |
Place of Birth | Albany, New York, USA |
Also Known As | Joseph Henry Roberts, Big Joe Roberts, |
![Our Hospitality](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/cAEdL6RzfDSbPO51izl01Njzikx.jpg)
1923
![Our Hospitality](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/cAEdL6RzfDSbPO51izl01Njzikx.jpg)
Our Hospitality
7.508/259
A young man falls for a young woman on his trip home; unbeknownst to him, her family has vowed to kill every member of his family.
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Our Hospitality
![One Week](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/43KTefZOLOaXw4Rbywn3uu8BiJn.jpg)
1920
![One Week](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/43KTefZOLOaXw4Rbywn3uu8BiJn.jpg)
One Week
7.904/254
The story involves two newlyweds, Keaton and Seely, who receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift. The house can be built, supposedly, in "o...
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One Week
![The Paleface](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/psFOVcpTJRv0lYGirE5HEa26ZXd.jpg)
1922
![The Paleface](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/psFOVcpTJRv0lYGirE5HEa26ZXd.jpg)
The Paleface
6.092/87
A butterfly collector unwittingly wanders into an Indian encampment while chasing a butterfly, but the tribe has resolved to kill the first white man...
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The Paleface
![Three Ages](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/khadgoKp9eLBY4t0KcST5gzddk3.jpg)
1923
![Three Ages](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/khadgoKp9eLBY4t0KcST5gzddk3.jpg)
Three Ages
6.829/117
The rituals of courtship, romantic rivalry, and love play out three times as a man vies with a villain for the girl. In the Stone Age, the rivalry is...
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Three Ages
![The Blacksmith](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lHE7msaYiGhJr0VWhngM3Tz1b5H.jpg)
1922
![The Blacksmith](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lHE7msaYiGhJr0VWhngM3Tz1b5H.jpg)
The Blacksmith
6.579/89
Buster clowns around in a blacksmith's shop until he and the smithy get in a fight which sends the smithy to jail. Buster helps several customers with...
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The Blacksmith
![Convict 13](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1KHIWkD1jHMICyWsV00lghJXbn9.jpg)
1920
![Convict 13](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1KHIWkD1jHMICyWsV00lghJXbn9.jpg)
Convict 13
6.726/115
A young golfer is mugged by an escaped convict and finds himself in a prison where he foils a jailbreak.
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Convict 13
![Cops](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/oqJKibNo23Sdha10wpxKzWtXyB.jpg)
1922
![Cops](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/oqJKibNo23Sdha10wpxKzWtXyB.jpg)
Cops
7.164/180
Buster Keaton gets involved in a series of misunderstandings involving a horse and cart. Eventually he infuriates every cop in the city when he accide...
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Cops
![Day Dreams](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/55Sjvx1iZ4Ue7Q3fBMoa8Tnn6JF.jpg)
1922
![Day Dreams](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/55Sjvx1iZ4Ue7Q3fBMoa8Tnn6JF.jpg)
Day Dreams
6.5/79
In order to impress the father of a girl he is keen on, Buster goes to the city in search of work. In his letters home he writes of his various jobs w...
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Day Dreams
![Hard Luck](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/q0JoUtCg6TbeJg1bSCE4CQ8LWES.jpg)
1921
![Hard Luck](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/q0JoUtCg6TbeJg1bSCE4CQ8LWES.jpg)
Hard Luck
6.807/83
A down on his luck young man makes several attempts at committing suicide but fails them too. He then finds himself becoming more confident through a...
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Hard Luck
![My Wife's Relations](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1BCLvOXft6h40A3ZBDZonMl73ER.jpg)
1922
![My Wife's Relations](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1BCLvOXft6h40A3ZBDZonMl73ER.jpg)
My Wife's Relations
6.114/83
Buster and a woman are mistakenly married and her initially unfriendly family begins to treat him nicely when they come to believe he has a large inhe...
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My Wife's Relations
![The High Sign](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/tG24eorlAS60KcXly8fskOLklQg.jpg)
1921
![The High Sign](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/tG24eorlAS60KcXly8fskOLklQg.jpg)
The High Sign
7.115/104
Buster is thrown off a train near an amusement park. There he gets a job in a shooting gallery run by the Blinking Buzzards mob. Ordered to kill a bus...
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The High Sign
![The Scarecrow](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/uTrS56W99XsdeJTboae2Sozt3O1.jpg)
1920
![The Scarecrow](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/uTrS56W99XsdeJTboae2Sozt3O1.jpg)
The Scarecrow
7.434/137
Buster competes with another farmhand for the love of the farmer's daughter.
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The Scarecrow
![Neighbors](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/k1UjHdeHAIS3vlgmdiwP5ITKVu5.jpg)
1920
![Neighbors](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/k1UjHdeHAIS3vlgmdiwP5ITKVu5.jpg)
Neighbors
7.112/129
The Romeo and Juliet story played out in a tenement neighborhood with Buster and Virginia's families hating each other over the fence separating their...
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Neighbors
![The Haunted House](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/yKAgNQhI55Ennhd3SmU1UxvXiQ3.jpg)
1921
![The Haunted House](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/yKAgNQhI55Ennhd3SmU1UxvXiQ3.jpg)
The Haunted House
6.592/119
Buster Keaton is a bank teller who becomes involved with a hold-up, counterfeiters, and a theatrical troupe posing as spooks in a haunted house.
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The Haunted House
![The Goat](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/f7eRo94QVK6qmBHkMJz6cVjxhzd.jpg)
1921
![The Goat](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/f7eRo94QVK6qmBHkMJz6cVjxhzd.jpg)
The Goat
7.205/139
A series of adventures begins when Buster is mistaken for Dead Shot Dan, the evil bad guy.
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The Goat
![The Play House](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/txGAT0nx3k1Za8JSBErqdD5T78T.jpg)
1921
![The Play House](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/txGAT0nx3k1Za8JSBErqdD5T78T.jpg)
The Play House
6.776/123
After waking from the dream of a theater peopled entirely by numerous Buster Keatons, a lowly stage hand causes havoc everywhere he works.
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The Play House
![The Frozen North](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/gz0zcPq6oG27v23abgeZD5NzCW0.jpg)
1922
![The Frozen North](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/gz0zcPq6oG27v23abgeZD5NzCW0.jpg)
The Frozen North
6.133/75
This satirical parody of William S. Hart's melodramatic films finds Buster in the frozen north, "last stop on the subway." He uses a wanted poster as...
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The Frozen North
![The Electric House](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/bwOMk8LpiaMmGKLFuDcNUzmHNXd.jpg)
1922
![The Electric House](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/bwOMk8LpiaMmGKLFuDcNUzmHNXd.jpg)
The Electric House
6.7/89
Botany major Buster mistakenly graduates in electrical engineering and is hired to wire a new home.
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The Electric House
![The Love Nest](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/7a9i1jw1BE87l5yjZXsyCztoUh4.jpg)
1923
![The Love Nest](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/7a9i1jw1BE87l5yjZXsyCztoUh4.jpg)
The Love Nest
6.678/87
In an attempt to forget his lost sweetheart, Buster takes a long trip at the sea when he's caught by pirates.
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The Love Nest
![The Misfit](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/zJax5io4jIm4g0jdDlmCH9dVafE.jpg)
1924
![The Misfit](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/zJax5io4jIm4g0jdDlmCH9dVafE.jpg)
The Misfit
0/0
THE MISFIT - starring Clyde Cook, with Blanche Payson and Joe Roberts. A rarely-seen silent comedy short. Henpecked hubby Clyde totes groceries and pa...
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The Misfit
![The Primitive Lover](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/jm889slSzJn2OZxZW00YZVyydk0.jpg)
1922
![The Primitive Lover](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/jm889slSzJn2OZxZW00YZVyydk0.jpg)
The Primitive Lover
6/3
A free-spirited girl is caught between her love for her husband and her attraction to a handsome adventurer.
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The Primitive Lover
![Little Lord Fauntleroy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/8dGPDwry1BlM7Q2tQ2MBRQhIXT0.jpg)
1921
![Little Lord Fauntleroy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/8dGPDwry1BlM7Q2tQ2MBRQhIXT0.jpg)
Little Lord Fauntleroy
7/13
An American boy turns out to be the long-lost heir of a British fortune. He is sent to live with the cold and unsentimental lord who oversees the trus...
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