For the past 19 years, locals have celebrated pretty much all that’s known about silent comic genius and Piqua native Buster Keaton, as well as other film and stage stars from his era.
Starting Friday, the 20th annual Keaton celebration will take a special look, again at Keaton’s life in popular culture, as well as those who have helped organize the annual festival.
“The Timeless Comedy of Buster Keaton” will fill the Bowlus Fine Arts Center with a series of workshops, group discussions — and of course Keaton movies to cap both nights of the two-day celebration.
A number of special guests who have appeared in years past will return to Iola for the 20th annual festival, including James Karen, long-time Keaton friend and award-winning film, television and stage actor; film historians and preservationists Kevin Brownlow and David Shepard; and Keaton family members Melissa Talmadge Cox, Barbara Talmadge and Harry Keaton Jr.
Also marking its triumphant return to the Bowlus this year is the Mont Alto Orchestra, a five-piece chamber ensemble that has delighted audiences at past Keaton celebrations with its musical accompaniment of Buster’s masterpieces.
Each day will feature panel discussions of “20 Years of Keaton Celebrations,” featuring long-time Keaton Festival Committee members Mary Martin, Amy Specht, Clyde Toland, Fred Krebs, John Tibbetts and Frank Scheide.
SEVERAL OTHERS well versed in the history of silent film and Keaton will be on hand.
Guest speakers will talk about Keaton’s family tree, particularly on his mother’s side, and its affiliation with vaudeville; how Appalachian feud stereotypes influenced Keaton’s classic film “Our Hospitality;” a presentation on two of Keaton’s most renowned , “The Captain and The General;” a look at Keaton in the 1920s; practical jokes and wacky inventions; the Talmadge and Keaton families; and a discussion on “Preserving Buster.”
Friday evening’s screenings are “The High Sign” and “Our Hospitality;” Saturday’s are “Paradise For Buster” and “The General.”
And much like each of the previous 19 renditions, the 20th offers free admission to all Keaton events.
The free admission is made possible through financial contributions from the Kansas Humanities Council, the Sleeper Family Trust, The Clopton Family Trust, the Iola Convention and Tourism Committee and with help from other private donations.
