Michael Keaton biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Actor, director. Born Michael Douglas on September 9, 1951, in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The youngest of seven children, he liked to joke around as a way to get attention. His father worked as a civil engineer, while his mother stayed home to take care of the kids. At school, Keaton displayed his interest in acting by performing humorous skits.

After attending Kent State University for two years, Keaton dropped out to pursue an acting career. He found work as a cab driver and an ice cream truck driver in his hometown for a while, as he tried his hand at stand-up comedy. In 1975, Keaton made his television debut on the children's series Mister Roger's Neighborhood, which was filmed in Pittsburgh. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he started to land some television work. Keaton changed his last name in order to prevent confusion between he and famous actor Michael Douglas. After seeing an article on actress Diane Keaton, Michael decided he liked the sound of her last name. He made it his as well.

Big Break

In 1977, Keaton joined the cast of the sitcom All's Fair. He played a presidential aide in the short-lived series, which starred Richard Crenna and Bernadette Peters. After appearances on such shows as Mary, Maude, and Family, Keaton landed a lead role in the comedy Working Stiffs. He and Jim Belushi played brothers who worked as janitors. The show only lasted a month. In 1982, Keaton tried again for television success with Report to Murphy, a sitcom in which he played a parole officer. The program aired for a month and a half before being canceled.

While he couldn't find fame on television, Keaton was starting to experience success in films. He starred with Henry Winkler and Shelley Long in Night Shift (1982), a comedy directed by Ron Howard. The film told the story of two morgue workers who start using their workplace as a brothel. The film was met with critical success; co-star Henry Winkler earned a Golden Globe for his performance, and Keaton was recognized with a Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. Box office attendance, however, was low.

The following year, Keaton had a career breakthrough with the domestic comedy Mr. Mom, a film about a man who becomes a stay-at-home dad after losing his job. The film became his first big hit, grossing more than $64 million domestically.

Hollywood Star

Keaton then starred in Johnny Dangerously (1984), a send-up of old gangster films. Unfortunately, the film received the cold shoulder from both critics and audiences alike. In 1986, Keaton again floundered with Gung Ho, which found humor in an American automotive plant after a takeover by a Japanese automaker. In 1988, however, Keaton proved his range as a performer with two very different films. He starred as a mischievous demon who helps a pair of ghosts (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) get rid of a family that moved into their old house in Beetlejuice. Directed by Tim Burton, the supernatural film became a popular hit. "Tim and I both have the same sensibility. He has this darkness and melancholy about him that's kind of funny. People weren't ready for that at the time," Keaton later explained to the Guardian newspaper.

Keaton showed off his ability to handle dramatic material in his next project, Clean and Sober. In the film, he played a real estate agent with a substance abuse problem. The National Society of Film Critics recognized Keaton for his nuanced performance by giving him the award for Best Actor in 1988.

Keaton moved to blockbuster fare in 1989, taking on the role of one of the country's most famous comic book characters in Batman (1989) and its sequel, Batman Returns (1992). The films reunited Keaton with director Tim