September fifth marks the 60th birthday of legendary actor Michael Keaton, and to celebrate a notable career, why not take a look back at some of his more noteworthy roles.
For people of my generation, Keaton will be remembered fondly, and perhaps most notably for his role as Batman in Tim Burton’s film adaptations of the Dark Knight. The films marked a transition from the campy, ambiguously gay Batman of the 70’s to a darker, more modern character, the kind written about by legendary comic scribe Frank Miller. While the films lacked the modern bravado and gritty realism of the more recent Christopher Nolan interpretations, they did mark an evolution for the franchise, and the center was none other than Mr. Michael Keaton.
Some clucked their tongues at the thought of a comedic actor who gets beat out by Kevin Costner for dramatic roles filling Batman’s black rubber codpiece, but Burton’s film fit Keaton like, well, a black rubber codpiece. But Keaton, much like the more fittingly brooding Christian Bale in “The Dark Knight”, was edged out by his villains Â-the iconic Jack Nicholson as the Joker in “Batman”, and the frighteningly disgusting Danny DeVito as the Penguin in “Batman Returns”.
Perhaps more notable than Keaton’s role in Burton’s “Batman” franchise was the role that truly brought him to stardom. I am, of course, referring to his star-making role as Beetlejuice in Tim Burton’s appropriately titled “Beetlejuice”. Back before Burton was hopelessly in love with Johnny Depp, he was doing everything he could to make Keaton a star, and this film may have actually done it. Burton’s cartoonish, mad man’s fantasy landed Keaton squarely in the public eye, despite the fact that he wore Juggalo make up through the duration of the film, and it is still the role that many will identify the actor with to this day.
More recently Keaton’s best work may have been playing the role of Ken in the surprisingly insightful “Toy Story 3″”.
So celebrate the man’s accomplishments, and hope that when you turn 60 your regrets are less embarrassing than “Multiplicity” and “White Noise”.