Buster Keaton vs David Bowie
Two child prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Buster Keaton | David Bowie | |
| Field | Film | Film |
| Sub-field | Director | Actor |
| Born | 1895 | 1947 |
| Died | 1966 | 2016 |
| Country of birth | United States | United Kingdom |
| Star sign | Libra | Capricorn |
Who they are
Buster Keaton
Vaudeville at 3 · "The Great Stone Face" · The General — greatest silent film Born into a vaudeville family · Never smiled on screen · Performed every stunt himself Born October 4, 1895 · Piqua, Kansas · Died February 1, 1966
Full biography of Buster Keaton →
David Bowie
On June 6, 1972, a twenty-four-year-old Brixton-born musician named David Robert Jones — performing under the name David Bowie, inhabiting a character he had named Ziggy Stardust — appeared on the BBC television programme Top of the Pops to perform "Starman," draped his arm around his guitarist Mick Ronson's shoulders in a gesture that was, for British television in 1972, practically avant-garde, and stared directly into the camera. The performance reached approximately fifteen million viewers. Within a week, the Ziggy Stardust album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was…
Full biography of David Bowie →
What they share
- Both are held here under Film.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Born in different countries: United States and United Kingdom.
- 52 years separate their births (1895 and 1947).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Buster Keaton or David Bowie?
- Buster Keaton. Buster Keaton was born in 1895, David Bowie in 1947.
- What field is each of them in?
- Buster Keaton is filed under Film (Director). David Bowie is filed under Film (Actor).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.