Whaley and Welsh Present Papers at Keaton Festival 

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University professors Donald M. Whaley and James M. Welsh both presented papers at a conference on screen comedy that was linked to the ninth annual Buster Keaton Festival in Iola, KS. 

Representing the English Department, Welsh, editor of Literature/Film Quarterly, was also co-director of the conference. His paper, “Toxic Comedy: When Woody Gets Weird,” was devoted to the more eccentric work of Woody Allen during the 1990s. 

Representing the History Department and American Studies Program, Whaley’s paper was  “Beavis and Butthead Find a Soul Mate: Richard Nixon as Comic Figure in Hollywood Films.” 

In addition to their presentations, Welsh chaired a panel on “Three Silent Film Comedians” and Whaley chaired a panel on “International Auteurs.” The conference also featured a retrospective of the films of the French comedian, actor and director Pierre Etaix that included two feature films, The Suitor (1962) and Yoyo (1965), as well as Buster Keaton silent features, presented with music provided by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra of Boulder, CO. 

The Keaton Festival, held annually in Kansas where Keaton was born in 1895, is funded in part by the Kansas Humanities Council and the Kansas Art Commission. Approximately 500 people, including scholars from nine states and Britain, attended the 2001 Keaton Festival and Comedy Conference.