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 called The Cowboy the Swell and the Lady At this time in the first decade of the twentieth century Buster Keatons father Joe Keaton had started a summer Actors Colony for vaudevillians between Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake in Michigan Roberts became acquainted with the Keaton family as a member of this community When Buster Keatons film apprenticeship years with Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle came to an end and Keaton began making his own shorts in 1920 he asked Roberts to join him Roberts hefty 63 frame usually playing a menacing heavy or authority figure made a striking and amusing contrast to the thin 56 Keaton IMDB shows that Roberts made only two films without Keaton He played the role of Roaring Bill Rivers in 1922s The Primitive Lover starring Constance TalmadgeKeatons sisterinlawand the silent film actor Harrison Ford and a drill master in the Clyde Cook comedy The Misfit4 released in March 1924 after Roberts death When Keaton began making feature films in 1923 he apparently intended to continue working with Roberts Roberts had roles in Keatons Three Ages and Our Hospitality both 1923 During the filming of the second feature Roberts had a stroke but insisted on returning to the set to finish the film After completion Roberts suffered another stroke and died shortly afterwards
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