Located outside the entrance to the
Frauenthal Center of the
Performing Arts,
Emmanuel
Snitkovsky's life-size bronze honoring
silent film star
Buster Keaton was originally on
display
in Hollywood.
With the closing of the
Hollywood Entertainment Museum,
Snitkovsky's
work has found new life in Muskegon, MI.
“The best
summers of my life were spent in the cottage Pop had built
on Lake Muskegon” Keaton wrote in his autobiography, “My
Wonderful World of Slapstick.”
Unveiled
to the public
at its new home
on June 30, 2010, the statue is a salute to a man who made
the world laugh.
The Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts houses the
majestic Frauenthal Theater, the intimate Beardsley Theater,
the Bettye Clark-Cannon Gallery. Formerly known as the
Michigan Theater, it was built in 1929 by Muskegon’s own
movie mogul, Paul Shlossman. Architect C. Howard
Crane's styling of the theater is Moorish, or Spanish
renaissance, and gleamed with extraordinary gold accents,
cherubs and griffins. A $16 million restoration of the
facility was begun in 1998. Returned to its former
glory, the Frauenthal Theater plays host numerous events
throughout the year, including the International Buster
Keaton Appreciation Society's annual presentation of Keaton
Films at the Frauenthal each October.
Emmanuel Snitkovsky (1933-2005)
enjoyed international acclaim for his imaginative artworks,
created the Keaton statue. He also crafted works honoring
Charlie Chaplin and Lucille Ball.
The Statue
Click on the images to
view |
| |
 |
| A Star is Born by Jamie Pesch |
| |
| |
Buster Rides Again by Dalliance with Light |
| |
Buster Keaton by Alissa Holland |
Statue Man by Ashley Veihl |
|
| |
 |
| Bridemaids by otisourcat |
Our silent film by MrsEmpty |
| |
Keaton Statue Unveiling by Eridony |
June 30, 2010, Muskegon, MI |
|
| |
Frau by Eridony |
Keaton revealed by Eridony |
|
| |
| |
|
|