Buster Keaton Stock Certificate
By Fred Fuld III at AntiqueStocks.com
Author of the book: Let Me Entertain You with Antique Stock Certificates
The above certificate is for Flamingo Films, Inc., issued to and signed as president by Buster Keaton, the famous comedian, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. The document is dated 1933, with a vignette of a government building. The company was incorporated in Florida.
In 1933, Keaton set up Flamingo as a production company in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he was living at the time. He lived in a Spanish-style five-bedroom house that overlooked Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, due to construction problems, producer and crew issues, and the weather, the studio was dissolved before making any movies.
Keaton was born Joseph Frank Keaton in Piqua, Kansas in 1895. He was a comedy actor, director, and producer who received an Academy Honorary Award. He was known as “The Great Stone Face” due to his lack of change of expression in movies. He was also known for his porkpie hat, the design of which he created himself. He would go though at least half dozen hats with each film.
Keaton appeared in numerous motion pictures, both silent and sound, and is most known for his acting in The General, The Navigator, and Sherlock, Jr.