Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton
Keaton at the 2004 Dallas Convention
Born	Michael John Douglas September 9, 1951 (1951-09-09) (age 58) Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, USA
Spouse(s)	Caroline McWilliams (1982-1990)

Michael John Douglas (born September 9, 1951), better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor, known for his early comedic roles in films such as Night Shift, Beetlejuice, and his portrayal of Batman in the two Tim Burton-directed films of the series, as well as lead roles in the late 1990s and 2000's including Jackie Brown, The Paper, and White Noise.

Biography

Personal life

Keaton, the youngest of seven children, was born in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania in an Irish Catholic family, and lived in Robinson Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. His father worked as a civil engineer and surveyor^[1][2] and his mother, Leona, a homemaker, came from a Scots-Irish community in Pennsylvania.^[3] Keaton was raised in a large Catholic family^[4] and attended Montour High School in Pennsylvania. He studied speech for two years at Kent State, before dropping out and moving to Pittsburgh. Keaton was married to actress Caroline McWilliams from 1982 until 1990. They have one son, Sean Douglas (b. 1983). He also had a six-year relationship with actress Courteney Cox.

Keaton often returns to his hometown to attend sporting events to cheer on his favorite sports teams the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

1970s and 1980s

An unsuccessful attempt at stand-up comedy led Keaton to working as a TV cameraman at public television station WQED (TV) in Pittsburgh. Keaton first appeared on TV in the Pittsburgh-based public television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1975), as one of the "Flying Zucchini Brothers."^[5] He also served as a full-time production assistant on the show.^[6] (In 2003, following Rogers' death, Keaton hosted the PBS memorial tribute program, Fred Rogers: Everybody's Favorite Neighbor.)

Before his big break (while still credited as Michael Douglas), Keaton did a billboard ad for the Architect Jeans Company. In an interview in 2003 for Live from Baghdad, Keaton recalled how he and the director of the Architect commercial, Spike Jonze, became fast friends.

Keaton left Pittsburgh and moved to Los Angeles to begin auditioning for various TV parts. He cropped up in various popular TV shows including Maude (1977) and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (1979). Around this time Keaton decided to use an alternative surname to remove confusion with well known actor Michael Douglas, as well as satisfying SAG rules, and after reading an article on actress Diane Keaton, he decided on "Michael Keaton".

His next key break was working alongside James Belushi in the short-lived comedy series Working Stiffs (1979), which showcased his comedic talent and led to a co-starring role in the comedy Night Shift (1982) directed by Ron Howard. His role as the hilariously fast-talking schemer Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski alongside nerdish morgue attendant Henry Winkler earned Keaton some critical acclaim, and he scored leads in the subsequent comedy hits Mr. Mom (1983), Johnny Dangerously (1984), and Gung Ho (1986).

His role as the title character in the 1988 Tim Burton horror-comedy Beetlejuice, which co-starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara, and Winona Ryder, earned Keaton widespread acclaim and boosted him to the A-list. He was originally turned down for the title role in Beetlejuice but was reconsidered by director Burton. Keaton now considers Beetlejuice his favorite of his own films. That same year, Keaton also gave an acclaimed dramatic performance as a drug-addicted businessman in Clean and Sober. Newsweek featured him in a story during this time.

Batman

See also: Batman (1989 film) and Batman Returns

Keaton's career was given another major boost when he was again cast by Tim Burton, this time as the superhero Batman in the 1989 film Batman. Burton cast him because he thought that Keaton was the only actor who could believably portray someone who has the kind of darkly obsessive personality that the character demands. Warner Bros. received thousands of letters of complaint by fans commenting that the comedic Keaton was the wrong choice for Gotham City's creature of the night, given his prior work in comedies and the fact that he lacked the suave, handsome features and tall, muscular physicality often attributed to the character in the comic books. However, Keaton earned critical acclaim for his performance, and Batman became the highest-grossing film of the year.

According to Keaton, he was astounded when he was first considered as Batman since he was only familiar with the 1960s Batman television series starring Adam West, but it wasn't until Burton introduced Keaton to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns that Keaton really understood the dark and brooding side of Batman that he portrayed to much fan approval. Keaton returned to wear the black cape and cowl again in 1992's Batman Returns which was another financial success, though controversial for being darker than the original. Keaton originally turned down the leads in both Batman films. With the first movie, he didn't see himself in the role. The second time, he was dissatisfied with the screenplay—only agreeing after a serious hike in the salary.

He was prepared to return for 1995's Batman Forever, even going so far as to show up for costume fitting. However, when Burton was dropped by Warner Bros., Keaton left the series. He was reportedly dissatisfied with the screenplay approved by the new director, Joel Schumacher, which Keaton considered to be lighter in tone than the past two Batman movies. According to the A&E Biography episode on Keaton, after he had refused the first time (after meetings with Schumacher), Warner Brothers offered him $35,000,000 (one of the highest salaries offered to an actor at the time), but Keaton steadfastly refused. Keaton was subsequently succeeded by Val Kilmer. In marked contrast to their initial reaction, many fans complained about the following two Batman films (including 1997's Batman & Robin, starring George Clooney as Batman) often demanded not only that Tim Burton be rehired as director but that Keaton return as well.

1990s

Keaton remained in demand during the 1990s, appearing in a wide range of films including Pacific Heights (1990), One Good Cop (1991), My Life (1993), and the star-studded Shakespearian story Much Ado About Nothing (1993). He also starred in another Ron Howard comedy, The Paper (1994), as well as with Andie MacDowell in Multiplicity (1996) and twice in the same role as Elmore Leonard character Agent Ray Nicolette in Jackie Brown (1997) and Out of Sight. The actor also made Jack Frost and the thriller Desperate Measures (1998).

Keaton astarred in the 1994 film Speechless with Geena Davis and Christopher Reeve as a political candidate's speechwriter. As with Keaton and Batman, the actor Reeve had gained notoriety for playing an iconic comic superhero, in his case Superman. Out of Sight starred Clooney, who succeeded Keaton in the role of Batman (in 1997's Batman & Robin).

2000s

Since 2000, Keaton has appeared in several productions with mixed success including Live From Baghdad (2002), White Noise (2005), First Daughter (2004), and Herbie: Fully Loaded with Lindsay Lohan (2005). While he continues to receive good notices from the critics (particularly for Jackie Brown), with the exception of Cars, in which he played the part of Chick Hicks, he has not been able to approach the box-office success of the Batman film series. On New Years Day of 2004, he hosted the PBS TV special Mr. Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor. It was released by Triumph Marketing LLC on DVD September 28 that year.

In 2006, Keaton starred in an independent film called Game 6, a semi-thriller based around the infamous 1986 World Series bid by the Boston Red Sox. He had a cameo in the Tenacious D short film, Time Fixers, an iTunes exclusive. The 9-minute film was released to coincide with Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny (2006). Keaton was announced to be the lead in Media 8 Entertainment's upcoming film Reaper, a supernatural thriller, expected for a 2008 release. He reportedly agreed to star as John Target in the Matt Evans scripted No Rule To Make Target. And he is directing a drama, The Merry Gentleman.

Keaton reportedly was cast as Dr. Jack Shephard in the series Lost, understanding that the role of Jack would be a brief one. On finding that it would be a long-running role, Keaton withdrew. The part was given to actor Matthew Fox.^[8][9]

Keaton starred in the 2007 TV mini-series The Company, set during the Cold War, in which he portrayed the real-life CIA counterintelligence chief James Jesus Angleton. The role garnered Keaton a 2008 SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. The Company also starred Chris O'Donnell, who portrayed Batman's crime fighting sidekick Robin (the Boy Wonder was absent from the two Batman films that Keaton starred in) in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.

Keaton is slated to join the Toy Story animated film's cast for the upcoming Toy Story 3, where he would provide the voice of Ken, Barbie's friend.

Filmography

Television roles

References

External links

• Michael Keaton at the Internet Movie Database
• Story on Michael Keaton and his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates opening day controversy