Michael Keaton

His father, George A. Douglas (1905–1977), worked as a civil engineer and surveyor, and his mother, Leona Elizabeth (née Loftus; 1909–2002), was a homemaker, and came from McKees Rocks.

Keaton was raised in a Catholic family.

His mother was of Irish descent, while his father was of Scottish, Scotch-Irish, German and English ancestry, and was originally from a Protestant family.

Keaton attended Montour High School in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania.

Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor.

He is known for his leading roles in a wide variety of genre films.

He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award.

Michael John Douglas, the youngest of seven children, was born at Ohio Valley Hospital in Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania, on September 5, 1951.

He was raised between McKees Rocks, Coraopolis and Robinson Township, Pennsylvania.

He graduated with the class of 1969, and studied speech for two years at Kent State University, where he appeared in plays, and returned to Pennsylvania to pursue his career.

Keaton first appeared on TV in the Pittsburgh public television programs Where the Heart Is and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1975).

For Mister Rogers he played one of the "Flying Zookeeni Brothers" and served as a full-time production assistant.

Keaton gained early recognition for his comedic roles in Night Shift (1982), Mr. Mom (1983), and Beetlejuice (1988).

Night Shift led to Keaton becoming a leading man in the 1983 comedy hit Mr. Mom.

Keaton was pigeonholed as a comic lead during this time with films like Johnny Dangerously, Gung Ho, The Squeeze, and The Dream Team, though Keaton tried to transition to dramatic leads as early as 1984, playing a hockey player in Touch and Go, which was shelved until 1986.

Woody Allen cast Keaton as the lead in The Purple Rose of Cairo the following year, but after filming began Allen felt Keaton was "too modern" and reshot his scenes with Jeff Daniels in the final film, further delaying his transition to drama in the public eye.

When Touch and Go was finally released in 1986 the studio was still unsure of how to market the film, making the poster, trailer and TV spots similar to Mr. Mom, which resulted in the film not finding its target audience.

1988 was the seminal year in Keaton's career where he landed two major unconventional roles, forever changing his image to audiences.

He played the title character in Tim Burton's horror-comedy Beetlejuice, earning Keaton widespread acclaim and boosting him to Hollywood's A list.

That same year, he also gave an acclaimed dramatic performance as a drug-addicted realtor in Glenn Gordon Caron's Clean and Sober.

He gained wider stardom portraying DC Comics superhero Batman / Bruce Wayne in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).

His subsequent films include Pacific Heights (1990), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), The Paper (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), and The Other Guys (2010).

On television, Keaton has starred as a journalist in the HBO film Live from Baghdad (2002).

He portrayed a drug addicted doctor in the Hulu limited series Dopesick (2021) for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

(In 2003, after Fred Rogers' death, Keaton hosted a PBS memorial tribute, Fred Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor; in 2018, he hosted a 50th anniversary special of the series for PBS, Mister Rogers: It's You I Like. ) Keaton also worked as an actor in Pittsburgh theatre; he played the role of Rick in the Pittsburgh premiere of David Rabe's Sticks and Bones with the Pittsburgh Poor Players.

He also performed stand-up comedy during his early years to supplement his income.

Keaton left Pittsburgh and moved to Los Angeles to begin auditioning for various TV parts.

He popped up in various popular TV shows including Maude and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour.

He decided to use a stage name to satisfy SAG rules, as there were already an actor (Michael Douglas) and daytime host (Mike Douglas) with the same or similar names.

In response to questions as to whether he selected his new surname due to an attraction to actress Diane Keaton, or in homage to silent film actor Buster Keaton, he has responded by saying "it had nothing to do with that."

Keaton has said in several interviews that he searched a phone book under "K," saw "Keaton" and decided to stop looking.

Keaton's film debut came in a small non-speaking role in the Joan Rivers film Rabbit Test.

His next big break was working alongside Jim Belushi in the short-lived comedy series Working Stiffs, which showcased his comedic talent and led to a co-starring role in the comedy Night Shift directed by Ron Howard.

This was his breakout role as the fast-talking schemer Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski and earned Keaton some critical acclaim.

He also performed voice roles in the animated films Cars (2006), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Minions (2015).

Keaton has also directed the films The Merry Gentleman (2009) and Knox Goes Away (2023).

Keaton experienced a career resurgence since taking a starring role as a faded actor attempting a comeback in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman (2014), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

He has since acted in the biographical films Spotlight (2015), The Founder (2016) and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020).

In 2016, he was named Officer of Order of Arts and Letters in France.

He also made a return to superhero films, portraying the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), as well as reprising his role as Batman in The Flash (2023).