Buster Keaton caricature by Al Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903 - January 20, 2003)
“I started drawing silent film stars back in the Twenties, but this is one of more recent vintage. A retrospective of sorts. Buster is frozen here in one of his trademark comic dilemmas. He’s pushing his boat with the oar unaware that he’s about to fall in. He took quite a fall after sound hit the movies, as an actor and as a director. Probably the biggest pratfall of any of the great silent comedians. More than any of the others, his style depended on the fluidity of the camera. It’s also why his silent work seems more modern to us now than that of his peers. He was a great film maker as well as a sad clown.”
Happy birthday, Al Hirschfeld.
AHHHH! I LOVE LOVE LOVE AL HIRSCHFELD!