One of Buster Keaton’s most famous (and dangerous) gags was standing obliviously in the path of a falling side of a house in Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928).
Yes, the stunt was real and was based on precise measurements. The wall could have killed him.
Fast forward to season 2, episode 2 of the tv show Arrested Development, where a character named Buster tries to have a house fall on him to get out of going into the army, but again a (larger) window saves him.
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Buster’s one of the regular characters on the show, so the name wasn’t created for this episode. In fact, maybe the character’s name gave them the idea.
Thanks to Riley Kellogg for the link!
UPDATE (Nov. 29, 2012): Click here for a new post on more revivals of this classic Keaton stunt!
