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Joe Roberts
Joe Roberts
	Still from The Blacksmith (1922)
Born	Joseph Henry Roberts; February 2, 1871; Amsterdam, New York, U.S.
Died	October 28, 1923 (aged 52); Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Joseph Henry Roberts (February 2, 1871 – October 28, 1923) was an American comic actor who appeared in 16 of Buster Keaton's 19 silent short films of the 1920s.

"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 "The Cowboy, the Swell and the Lady."^[1] At this time, the first decade of the twentieth century, Buster Keaton's father, Joe Keaton, had a summer Actors' Colony for vaudevillians between Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake in Michigan, where Roberts got to know the Keaton family.^[2]

When Buster's apprenticeship with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle came to an end and Keaton began making his own short films in 1920, he asked Roberts to join him. The hefty 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) Roberts, usually playing a menacing heavy or authority figure, made an amusing contrast next to thin, 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) Keaton.

Roberts played "Roaring Bill" Rivers in 1922's The Primitive Lover starring Keaton's sister-in-law Constance Talmadge and silent film actor Harrison Ford. He also played a drill master in the Clyde Cook comedy The Misfit, released in March 1924, after Roberts' death.^{[citation needed]}

When Keaton began making feature films in 1923, he apparently intended to keep working with Roberts. Roberts had roles in Keaton's Three Ages and Our Hospitality (both 1923). During the latter's filming, Roberts had a stroke but insisted on returning to the set to finish shooting. After completion, he suffered another stroke and died shortly thereafter, aged 52.

Filmography

Film	Year	Character	Ref
One Week	1920	Piano Mover (uncredited)	Short
Convict 13		The Crazed Prisoner
The Scarecrow		Farmhand (uncredited)
Neighbors		Her Father (uncredited)
The Haunted House	1921	Bank Cashier
Hard Luck		Lizard Lip Luke
The High Sign		Leader of Buzzards (uncredited)
His Meal Ticket		Organ Grinder
The Goat		Police Chief
Who's Who
The Devilish Romeo
Little Lord Fauntleroy		Buzz Saw Brannigan (uncredited)
The Play House		Actor-Stage Manager (uncredited)	Short
One Moment, Please
The Paleface	1922	The Indian Chief (uncredited)
Cops		Police Chief (uncredited)
The Primitive Lover		'Roaring' Bill Rivers
My Wife's Relations		Brother (uncredited)	Short
The Blacksmith		Blacksmith (uncredited)
The Frozen North		The Driver
The Electric House		Millionaire (uncredited)
Day Dreams		The Mayor (uncredited)
The Love Nest	1923	Captain of the Whaler
Three Ages		The Girl's Father
Our Hospitality		Joseph Canfield
No Loafing			Short
The Misfit	1924	The Drill Master	Short