All Movies List
Our Hospitality

as Joseph Canfield

1923
The Paleface

as The Indian Chief

1922
The Electric House

as Millionaire

1922
The High Sign

as Leader of Buzzards

1921
The Haunted House

as Bank Cashier

1921
The Goat

as Police Chief

1921
The Play House

as Actor / Stage Manager (uncredited)

1921
One Week

as Piano Mover (uncredited)

1920
Neighbors

as Her Father (uncredited)

1920
Joe Roberts Joe Roberts

Birthday

1871-02-02

Place of Birth

Albany, New York, USA

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.
AD

WATCH FREE FOR 30 DAYS

All Prime Video
Cancel anytime
Watch Now