Clyde Bruckman

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Clyde A. Bruckman (September 20, 1894 – January 4, 1955), was an American writer and director of comedy films during the late silent era as well as the early sound era of cinema. Bruckman collaborated with such legendary comedians as Buster Keaton, W.C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges and Harold Lloyd.

Bruckman may be best known for his collaborations with Buster Keaton, as Bruckman co-wrote several of Keaton's most popular films, including Our Hospitality (1923), Sherlock Jr. (1924), The Navigator (1924), Seven Chances (1925), The Cameraman (1928) and The General (1927), which Bruckman also co-directed.

[edit] Suicide

After years of severe alcoholism and very little work due to having been blackballed from the business, Bruckman took his own life in Hollywood, California with a pistol he had borrowed from Buster Keaton. Some reports claim he ended his life in the bathroom of a cafe on Santa Monica Boulevard after failing to pay for a meal, while others claim he was in a nearby phone booth.

[edit] Trivia

The X-Files Season 3 episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" features a character, played by Peter Boyle, who foresees how other people die. Two detective characters on that episode are named Havez and Cline, after Jean Havez and Eddie Cline, two other writers who also worked with Buster Keaton.