Keaton was born in 1895 to parents who shocked audiences by chucking their stony- faced toddler around the family's hit vaudeville show. Eventually, Keaton's father became too drunk to perform so, at 21, Buster found work in Hollywood where he produced, wrote, directed and starred in his comedies, performing most of the stunts himself. But in 1928 he signed up to MGM, effectively relinquishing his creative freedom.

The Thirties were Keaton's dark years, blacked-out by the few drinks it took to lose his memory. He was fired by MGM after refusing to work on shoddy films, went bankrupt, and illegally married his second wife while drunk. In 1935 Keaton was sectioned and put in a straitjacket, which he immediately escaped from using a trick he learnt from his godfather, Houdini. As a pro at recovering from knocks, Keaton managed to stop drinking with such success that he won the title of 'Hollywood's Grimmest Teetotaller' and lived through his own renaissance to the age of 70.