Author: Suren Prasad
Michael Keaton is estimated to be worth £10 million.
Born Michael John Douglas on September 5, 1951 in Pennsylvania, Michael Keaton dropped out of a speech course at Kent State and moved to Pittsburgh to try his hand at stand-up comedy. He first appeared in Pittsburgh-based public television programmes such as Where the Heart Is and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
In his struggle to become an actor, Keaton moved to Los Angeles and started auditioning for TV roles. He earned screen time in popular TV shows such as Maude (1972) and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (1979). During this period, he changed his surname to satisfy SAG rules, given there was already the well-known actor Michael Douglas and talk show host Mike Douglas. The name Keaton was chosen due to his affinity with Buster Keaton’s comedy.
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Keaton got a key break in Working Stiffs (1979), a comedy series which led to him co-starring in the comedy film Night Shift (1982), bringing him critical acclaim. Subsequently, he scored hits with the comedies Mr Mom (1983), Johnny Dangerously (1984) and Gung Ho (1986).
In 1988, Keaton’s eponymous role in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, escalated him into Hollywood’s top strata. He followed this up with an acclaimed performance as a drug-addled businessman in drama Clean and Sober.
Tim Burton then cast him in his most famous role as Batman (1989, reported salary $5 million). Keaton reprised this role in the successful sequel Batman Returns (1992).
He also appeared in films such as Pacific Heights (1990), One Good Cop (1991), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), The Paper (1994), Multiplicity (1996), Jackie Brown (1997), Out of Sight (1998), Jack Frost (1998) and Desperate Measures (1998).
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Since the 2000s, he has acted in a range of movies with mixed success including the acclaimed Live From Baghdad (2002) for which he received a Golden Globe nomination and others including White Noise (2005) and Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). Success returned with the Disney/Pixar animation Cars (2006).
In 2007, Keaton then received a SAG nomination for his role in the CIA TV miniseries The Company. He also debuted as a director with the drama The Merry Gentleman in 2008.
The Hollywood legend also lent his voice to box office triumph Toy Story 3 (2010, $1 billion global gross). In 2014, after Need for Speed (2014) and RoboCop (2014), Keaton starred in the critically acclaimed Birdman. Industry insiders have tipped him as an Oscar favorite for his turn as former action hero Riggan Thomson.
Keaton owns ranches in Montana, California and Santa Barbara and a property in Pacific Palisades. His 1000-acre Montana cattle ranch comprises a cedar-and-stone four-bedroom house.
The acclaimed actor is also an ardent fly-fisher, golfer, snowboarder, mountain biker and horse rider. Keaton has been honoured with the Career Achievement Award at the Hollywood and Zurich Film Festivals.
