Michael Keaton Biography

Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor who became popular for his early comedic film roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, and later gained international fame for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne / Batman in Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns. He has appeared in various other films, including Night Shift, Mr. Mom, Clean and Sober, Pacific Heights and Jackie Brown, and has also provided voicework for Pixar's Cars and Toy Story 3.

Early life

Keaton, the youngest of seven children, was born in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, and lived in Robinson Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. His father, George A. Douglas, worked as a civil engineer and surveyor, and his mother, Leona Elizabeth (née Loftus), a homemaker, came from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. Keaton was raised in a Catholic family, and is of Irish and Scottish ancestry. He attended Montour High School in Pennsylvania. Douglas studied speech for two years at Kent State, before dropping out and moving to Pittsburgh.

Career

Early career

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 Pittsburgh-based public television programs, including "Where the Heart Is" and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1975), as one of the "Flying Zucchini Brothers." He also served as a full-time production assistant on the show. In 2004, following Fred Rogers' death, Keaton hosted the PBS memorial tribute program, Fred Rogers: Everybody's Favorite Neighbor. Keaton also worked as an actor in Pittsburgh theatre; he played the role of Rick in the Pittsburgh premiere of David Rabe's Sticks and Bones with the Pittsburgh Poor Players.

Keaton left Pittsburgh and moved to Los Angeles to begin auditioning for various TV parts. He popped up in various popular TV shows including Maude and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. Around this time Keaton decided to use an alternative surname to avoid confusion with well-known actor Michael Douglas and daytime host Mike Douglas, as well as to satisfy SAG rules. The rumor that Keaton changed his surname because of an attraction to actress Diane Keaton is incorrect. He chose Keaton because of an affinity for the physical comedy of Buster Keaton.

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

Keaton's role as the title character in Tim Burton's 1988 horror-comedy Beetlejuice, which co-starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara and Winona Ryder, earned Keaton widespread acclaim and boosted him to movieland's A list. He originally turned down the role, then reconsidered like most of the cast. He now considers Beetlejuice his favorite of his own films. That same year, he 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

Michael Keaton's career was given another major boost when he was again cast by Tim Burton, this time as the title comic book superhero of the 1989 film Batman. Burton cast him because he thought that Keaton was the only actor who could 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 Keaton was the wrong choice to portray Batman, 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's dramatic performance earned widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike, and Batman became one of the most successful films of the year.

According to Les Daniels' reference book, Batman: The Complete History, Keaton wasn't surprised when he was first considered as Batman as he initially believed the film would be similar to the 1960s television series starring Adam West. It was only after he was introduced to Frank Miller's comic book mini-series, The Dark Knight Returns, that Keaton really understood the dark and brooding side of Batman that he portrayed to much fan approval. Keaton later reprised the role in the sequel Batman Returns (1992), which was another critically acclaimed success, though also controversial for being darker than the previous film.

He was set to reprise the role again for Warner Bros.' third live-action Batman film, even going as far as to show up for costume fitting. However, when Burton was dropped as director of the film, Keaton left the franchise. He was reportedly dissatisfied with the screenplay approved by the new director, Joel Schumacher, which Keaton considered to be too light-hearted in tone. According to the A&E Biography episode on Keaton, after he had refused the first time (after meetings with Schumacher), Warner Bros. offered him $15,000,000, but Keaton steadfastly refused. He was subsequently replaced by Val Kilmer in Batman Forever (1995).

Later career

Keaton remained active during the 1990s, appearing in a wide range of films including Pacific Heights, One Good Cop, My Life, and the star-studded Shakespearean story Much Ado About Nothing. He also starred in another Ron Howard film, The Paper, as well as with Andie MacDowell in Multiplicity and twice in the same role, Elmore Leonard character Agent Ray Nicolette, in Jackie Brown and Out of Sight. The actor also made the family holiday movie Jack Frost and the thriller Desperate Measures.

Keaton starred as a political candidate's speechwriter in 1994's Speechless with Geena Davis (his co-star in Beetlejuice) and Christopher Reeve (who, like Keaton, had also previously portrayed a famous DC Comics superhero on film: Superman).

Since 2000, Keaton has appeared in several films with mixed success including Live From Baghdad (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe award), First Daughter, White Noise, and Herbie: Fully Loaded. While he continued to receive good notices from the critics (particularly for Jackie Brown), he was not able to re-approach the box-office success of Batman until the release of Disney/Pixar's Cars (2006), in which he voiced the character Chick Hicks. 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. Keaton was announced to be the lead in Media 8 Entertainment's film Reaper, a supernatural thriller. He reportedly agreed to star as John Target in the Matt Evans scripted No Rule To Make Target, and he has directed a drama, The Merry Gentleman.

Keaton reportedly was cast as Dr. Jack Shephard in the series Lost, with the understanding that the role of Jack would be a brief one. Once the role was retooled to be a long-running series regular, Keaton withdrew. The part was then given to actor Matthew Fox. The show ran for six seasons, with the Jack Shephard role continuing throughout.

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 (who was absent from the Batman films Keaton starred in) in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.

Keaton provided the voice of Ken in Toy Story 3 (2010). The movie received overwhelmingly positive acclaim and grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it one of the most financially successful films ever. He announced in June 2010 his interest in returning for a Beetlejuice sequel. He also played the minor role of Captain Gene Mauch in the comedy The Other Guys.

In early 2013, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Keaton would be starring " alongside Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis in Birdman, a movie based on a Raymond Carver short story, scheduled for 2014 release. The comedy is the latest project from 21 Grams and Biutiful director, Alejandro González Iñárritu. In the movie, Keaton will play a former actor, famous for playing an iconic superhero, who puts on a Broadway play to regain his former glory. Stone plays his fresh-out-of-rehab daughter/assistant. Watts is his co-star and Galifianakis is the play's producer. He is also starring in the upcoming thriller Penthouse North, alongside Michelle Monaghan.

Personal life

Keaton was married to actress Caroline McWilliams from 1982 until 1990. They have one son, born in 1983. He also had a relationship with actress Courteney Cox from 1989 to 1995.

Keaton, a long-time Pittsburgh resident, is a big Pittsburgh Pirates fan and negotiated a break in his Batman movie contract in case the Pirates made the playoffs that year. He is also often seen at Pittsburgh Penguins games. He is also a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan. An avid fisherman, Keaton can be seen on the saltwater fishing series Buccaneers & Bones on Outdoor Channel, along with Tom Brokaw, Zach Gilford, Thomas McGuane and Yvon Chouinard.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1978	Rabbit Test	Sailor	Film Debut
1982	Night Shift	Bill Blazejowski	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
1983	Mr. Mom	Jack Butler
1984	Johnny Dangerously	Jonathan "Johnny" Kelly (a.k.a. Johnny Dangerously)
1986	Gung Ho	Hunt Stevenson
	Touch and Go	Robert "Bobby" Barbato
1987	The Squeeze	Harold "Harry" Berg
1988	She's Having a Baby	Himself	uncredited cameo
	Beetlejuice	Beetlejuice	Nominated " Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Clean and Sober	Daryl Poynter	National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
1989	The Dream Team	William "Billy" Caufield
	Batman	Bruce Wayne / Batman
1990	Pacific Heights	Carter Hayes
1991	One Good Cop	Arthur "Artie" Lewis
1992	Batman Returns	Bruce Wayne / Batman	Nominated " MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Michelle Pfeiffer)
	Porco Rosso	Porco Rosso	voice in 2003 English dubbed version
1993	Much Ado About Nothing	Dogberry
	My Life	Robert "Bob" Jones
1994	The Paper	Henry Hackett
	Speechless	Kevin Vallick
1996	Multiplicity	Douglas "Doug" Kinney
1997	Inventing the Abbotts	Narrator / Older Doug	uncredited
	Jackie Brown	Raymond "Ray" Nicolette
1998	Desperate Measures	Peter McCabe
	Out of Sight	Raymond "Ray" Nicolette	cameo
	Jack Frost	Jack Frost
2000	A Shot at Glory	Peter Cameron
2002	Live from Baghdad	Robert Wiener
2003	Quicksand	Martin Raikes
2004	First Daughter	President Mackenzie
2005	White Noise	Jonathan Rivers
	Game 6	Nicholas "Nicky" Rogan
	Herbie: Fully Loaded	Raymond "Ray" Peyton, Sr.
2006	Cars	Chick Hicks / Security Guard	voice only
	The Last Time	Ted "Theodore"
2009	The Merry Gentleman	Franklin "Frank" Logan	director, actor
	Post Grad	Walter Malby
	Noah's Ark: The New Beginning	Noah	voice only
2010	Toy Story 3	Ken
	The Other Guys	Captain Gene Mauch
2011	Hawaiian Vacation	Depri Ken	voice only
2013	Penthouse North	Hollander
2014	RoboCop	Raymond Sellars
	Need for Speed
	Birdman	Riggan Thomson	Filming

Television

Year	Production	Role	Other notes
1976	All's Fair	Lannie Wolf
1977	Klein Time	Various
	Maude	Chip Winston
1978	Mary	Skit characters
	The Tony Randall Show	Zeke
1979	The Mary Tyler Moore Hour	Kenneth Christy
	Working Stiffs	Mike O'Rourke
1982	Report To Murphy	Murphy
2001	The Simpsons	Jack Crowley (voice)	1 episode guest star
2002	Frasier	Blaine Sternin
	Live from Baghdad	Robert Wiener	Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
	King of the Hill	Trip Larsen	1 episode guest star
2007	The Company	James Angleton	Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2011	30 Rock	Tom	1 episode guest star
2013	Clear History	Joe Stumpo

Video Games

Year	Production	Role	Other notes
2006	Cars	Chick Hicks	Voice only
2009	Cars Race-O-Rama	Chick Hicks	Voice only
2012	Call of Duty: Black Ops II	Jason Hudson	Replacing Ed Harris