The first two trials . While Arbuckle saw a resurgence in his popularity immediately after his third trial (in which he was acquitted) Zukor decided he had to be sacrificed to keep the movie industry out of the clutches of censors and moralists. [citation needed], Arbuckle was a talented singer. "[21], On September 5, 1921, Arbuckle took a break from his hectic film schedule and, despite suffering from second-degree burns to both buttocks from an on-set accident, drove to San Francisco with two friends, Lowell Sherman and Fred Fishback. Dr. Heinrich's claim to have found fingerprints was cast into doubt after McNab produced a maid from the St. Francis Hotel who testified that she had thoroughly cleaned the room before the investigation took place. After over two weeks of testimony with sixty prosecution and defense witnesses, including eighteen doctors who testified about Rappe's illness, the defense rested. Funnyman FATTY ARBUCKLE was the biggest thing in Hollywood literally but when he was accused of the heinous rape and murder of a notorious party girl his adoring public wanted him strung up! He arranged bail after nearly three weeks in jail. Rosenberg, Jennifer. At the time of his acquittal, he owed over $700,000 (equivalent to approximately $11,300,000 in 2021 dollars[15]) in legal fees to his attorneys for the three criminal trials, and he was forced to sell his house and all of his cars to pay some of the debt. [citation needed] Several women were invited to the suite. By 1930, Arbuckle sold his interest and it became known as George Olsen's Plantation Caf, later The Plantation Trailer Court and then Foreman Phillips County Barn Dance. [6], Arbuckle was nearly two when his family moved to Santa Ana, California. However, since many of Lehrman's films are lost, the exact number of roles she performed for him cannot be determined. The public reaction to Arbuckle was fierce. He later worked as a film director under the pseudonym William Goodrich. Although that ban was later lifted, the actor remained blacklisted unofficially. Actor: Coney Island. [3], On September 17, 1921, Arbuckle was arrested and arraigned on charges of manslaughter. We feel that a great injustice has been done him there was not the slightest proof adduced to connect him in any way with the commission of a crime. This film was loosely based on the misconceptions surrounding the Arbuckle scandal, yet it bears almost no resemblance to the documented facts of the case. Virginia Rappe died the following day from peritonitis, caused by a ruptured bladder. Virginia Rappe was a 26-year old aspiring actress and model, originally from Chicago, who had a reputation as something of a party girl. [citation needed], Arbuckle and Dan Coombs, one of Culver City's first mayors, re-opened the Plantation Club near the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios on Washington Boulevard as Roscoe Arbuckle's Plantation Caf on August 2, 1928. Delmont claims that Rappe managed to gasp Arbuckle did it before she was taken away into a different hotel room. Allegedly, during the party, Rappe made several drunkenly statements such as, Arbuckle did it and He hurt me. Even today, publications re-examining the scandal often come to completely different conclusions regarding Fatty Arbuckles guilt or innocence. 237K views 1 year ago In 1921 Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was charged with the murder of a young actress called Virginia Rappe. [citation needed], The 2021 French graphic novel Fatty: le premier roi d'Hollywood, by Nadar and Julien Frey, portrays the period from Arbuckle's early days in Hollywood to his death. The Day the Laughter Stopped by David Yallop and Frame-Up! Any trauma in the abdominal area could have caused the rupture. During cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Leo Friedman aggressively grilled Arbuckle over the fact that he refused to call a doctor when he found Rappe sick, and argued that he refused to do so because he knew of Rappe's illness and saw a perfect opportunity to rape and kill her. [14], Arbuckle began his film career with the Selig Polyscope Company in July 1909 when he appeared in Ben's Kid. Pansy soon allowed the young Arbuckle to sing for tips on quiet nights. Minta Durfee, the actress who was married to Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle and became Charlie Chaplin's first motionpicture leading lady, died Tuesday in Woodland Hills, a Los Angeles suburb. Arbuckle later wrote a premise for a film parodying Hart as a thief, bully, and wife beater, which Keaton purchased from him. But silent film funnyman Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's good life burst like a balloon . [33] It was eventually released in Europe. The public was angry and they were using Arbuckle as a target. Fatty Arbuckle Nome completo Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle Outros nomes Fatty Arbuckle, William Goodrich Nascimento 24 de marode 1887 Smith Center, Kansas, Estados Unidos Nacionalidade norte-americano Morte 29 de junhode 1933 (46 anos) Nova Iorque, Estados Unidos Ocupao Ator, comediante, diretore roteirista Atividade 1904at 1933 Cnjuge With no concern for prejudicing the trial, the sensationalist "yellow journalism" Press churned out lurid stories of Tinseltown's depravity alongside coverage of the case. Fatty Arbuckle got his first break while working at the hotel. Perhaps even more than the specific charges of rape and murder, Arbuckle became a symbol of Hollywood's immorality. ", "Arbuckle case first true scandal in Hollywood", "Interesting facts about Roscoe Arbuckle", "When the Five O'Clock Whistle Blows in Hollywood", "Testify Regarding Early Life of Virginia Rappe", "Miss Rappe's Manager Tells Worst He Knows of Arbuckle", "Excerpts of Interview with Minta Durfee Arbuckle by Don Schneider and Stephen Normand", "Arbuckle, Star Film Comedian, Dies in Sleep", "More on Fatty Arbuckle: His Films and His Legacy", "Valentino. The first two cases ended in hung juries. She refused to look at the exhibits or read the trial transcripts, having made up her mind in the courtroom. The Fatty Arbuckle trial was marked by little strong evidence and dominated by unpre dictable testimony. His first part was with the Webster-Brown stock company. Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle was born in Smith Center, Kansas, on March 24, 1887, weighing more than 13 pounds. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd as well as with his nephew, Al St. John. Although Arbuckle is unsuccessfully brought to trial on three separate occasions, the legal fees drive him to poverty and public disapproval drives his once booming reputation down the drain. Arbuckle's father had always treated him harshly[8] and now refused to support him, so he got work doing odd jobs in a hotel. He made his first movie, a short comedy called Ben's Kid, in 1909. Arbuckle seemed to give up on his passion and took odd jobs to get by. Arbuckle hated the nickname "Fatty" and insisted that his friends and acquaintances always address him by his real first name, Roscoe. "A grave injustice has been done.". Arbuckle's rehabilitation was finally complete when Warner Bros offered him a feature-film contract in 1933. But as it turned out, she had peritonitis resulting from a ruptured bladder likely caused by her pre-existing condition. The show consisted of the audience judging acts by clapping or jeering, with bad acts pulled off the stage by a shepherd's crook. [64], NOFX's 2012 album Self Entitled has a song called I, Fatty about Arbuckle. Dr. Beardslee admitted that Rappe had never mentioned being assaulted while he was treating her. [3], Most exhibitors still declined to show Arbuckle's films, several of which now have no copies known to have survived intact. In their deal, Keaton promised to give him 35% of the Buster Keaton Comedies Co. profits. Mack Sennett, when recounting his first meeting with Arbuckle, noted that he "skipped up the stairs as lightly as Fred Astaire" and that he "without warning went into a feather light step, clapped his hands and did a backward somersault as graceful as a girl tumbler". [6] However, studio executives, fearing negative publicity by association, ordered Arbuckle's industry friends and fellow actors (whose careers they controlled) not to publicly speak up for him. 1977. Party guests tried a number of strange treatments, including covering Rappe with ice, but she still wasn't getting any better. Arbuckle was charged with first-degree murder, eventually reduced to manslaughter. [57] However, the project was shelved. The happening at the hotel was an unfortunate affair for which Arbuckle, so the evidence shows, was in no way responsible. The grand jury yesterday evening indicted Roscoe Arbuckle on a charge of manslaughter. Another witness who testified during the first trial, a former Culver Studios security guard named Jesse Norgard, testified that Arbuckle had once shown up at the studio and offered him a cash bribe in exchange for the key to Rappe's dressing room. But it was such an amazing thing for me to come in to make this broken-down picture, and to find my director was the great Roscoe Arbuckle. [3] As in the first trial, Arbuckle testified as the final witness and again maintained his denials in his heartfelt testimony about his version of the events at the party. [3], Roscoe Arbuckle was born on March 24, 1887, in Smith Center, Kansas, one of nine children of Mary E. Gordon and William Goodrich Arbuckle. Will H. Hays, who served as the head of the newly formed Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) censor board, cited Arbuckle as an example of the poor morals in Hollywood. The scandal that followed her death had nothing to do with the fame, or lack of it, of the pretty actress - it was her link to the man who was known as "America's Funnyman . [12] Delmont had a police record for extortion, prostitution and blackmail. He was 46. She died four days later on September 9 from a ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis. Rappe was not taken to the hospital on that day. Fatty Arbuckle's mug shot. [6] Arbuckle then joined the Morosco Burbank Stock vaudeville company and went on a tour of China and Japan, returning in early 1909. Paramount had just signed a giant $1 million ($13 million in today's money) deal with Fatty,. The poor man was completely framed for the murder of Vriginia Rappe. Addie McPhail, a former Hollywood actress who became the third and last wife of scandal-plagued silent-film comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, has died. He had merely carried her to the bed and she had fallen off, insisted Arbuckle. "Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915," database, FamilySearch (, Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 02:12, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7WC-F8M, "The Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920", "Sausalito News 12 November 1921 California Digital Newspaper Collection", "Fatty Arbuckle and the Death of Virginia Rappe", Crime Library Article on the Rappe/Arbuckle case, Film researcher discusses the Fatty Arbuckle trial, Allan Ellenberger blog entry on Virginia Rappe, 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Hollywood's first scandal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virginia_Rappe&oldid=1140848504, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 02:12. In his testimony, Arbuckle claimed that Rappe (whom he testified he had known for five or six years) came into the party room (1220) around noon that day, and that sometime afterward he went to his room (1219) to change clothes after Mae Taub, daughter-in-law of Billy Sunday, asked him for a ride into town. A day later Rappe died from peritonitis, caused by a ruptured bladder. Doing odd jobs around the place in exchange for room and board, author Stuart Oderman reports that Roscoe liked to sing, which caught the attention of the hotel's musician, Pansy Jones. In 1921, Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was the highest-paid actor in the world. Courtroom trials are rarely cut and dry. Rosenberg, Jennifer. He appeared sporadically in Selig one-reelers until 1913, moved briefly to Universal Pictures, and became a star in producer-director Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops comedies. It was like floating in the arms of a huge doughnutreally delightful. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Arbuckle allegedly co-directed scenes in Keaton's Sherlock Jr. (1924), but it is unclear how much of this footage remained in the film's final cut. [3] The defense had also obtained a letter from Delmont admitting to a plan to extort payment from Arbuckle. [2] Hays lifted the ban within a year, but Arbuckle only worked sparingly through the 1920s. Show More. He was one of the all-time greats.". His comedies are noted as rollicking and fast-paced, have many chase scenes, and feature sight gags. [24] By the time the story was reported in newspapers, the object had evolved into a Coca-Cola or champagne bottle rather than a piece of ice. Good). Succumbs at 46 After He and Wife Had Celebrated Their First Wedding Anniversary", "Minta Durfee, actress, 85, Dies; Former Wife of Fatty Arbuckle", "Home Video: Arbuckle Shorts, Fresh and Frisky", "The death of an actress in San Francisco. During a party held on Labor Day, September 5, 1921, in Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's suite at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, Rappe allegedly suffered a trauma. "Fatty" had also been Arbuckle's nickname since school; "It was inevitable", he said. Probably assuming Rappe would simply sleep it off, Arbuckle drove Taub into town. He was the first movie star in America to systematically direct his own films. Skully after being charged with the murder of Virginia Rappe, San Francisco, 1921. "The "Fatty" Arbuckle Scandal." I'm not. Guests rushed in to find Rappe, fully dressed, writhing in pain on the bed. In the words of his first wife, "Roscoe only seemed to find solace and comfort in a bottle". Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, onscreen, discovered an empty whisky bottle and gives it a decent burial, using flowers he had gathered for his girlfriend. It also didnt help Delmonts credibility that shed sent telegrams to attorneys saying WE HAVE ROSCOE ARBUCKLE IN A HOLE HERE CHANCE TO MAKE SOME MONEY OUT OF HIM.. 'Fatty' Arbuckle in silent film The Waiters' Ball, from 1916. Sharing the Spotlight A young British stage actor. Posters for his movies billed the 266-pound comedian as "worth his weight in laughs." An infection that developed on his leg became a carbuncle so severe that doctors considered amputation. A medical examination found no evidence of sexual assault. . Jury Nullification: Definition and Examples, Charles Manson and the Tate and LaBianca Murders, How Conservative Hollywood Became a Liberal Town, Profile of Death Row Inmate Brenda Andrew, Overview of the Jury Trial Stage of a Criminal Case, Profile of Husband Killer Kelly Gissendaner, Murder of Helen Jewett, Media Sensation of 1836, B.A., History, University of California at Davis. During the party in question, witnesses recalled that an intoxicated Rappe complained she could not breathe and then started to tear off her clothes. And this was not the first instance of Virginia Rappe stripping while intoxicated. In 1913, at the age of 26, Arbuckle hit the big time when he signed with Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company and became one of the Keystone Kops. Roscoe Arbuckle spent more than a decade on the comeback trail - during which time he worked under a pseudonym and discovered Bob Hope in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1927. The case led to the establishing of a Hollywood censorship board, which ruled that Arbuckle should never work in the industry again. [3] At a later press conference, Rappe's manager, Al Semnacher, accused Arbuckle of using a piece of ice to simulate sex with Rappe, thus leading to her injuries. [11], On August 6, 1908, Arbuckle married Minta Durfee (18891975), the daughter of Charles Warren Durfee and Flora Adkins. He retreated into alcoholism. One of Arbuckle's feature-length films known to survive is Leap Year, which Paramount declined to release in the U.S. owing to the scandal. By the early 21st century, some of Arbuckle's short subjects (particularly those co-starring Chaplin or Keaton) had been restored, released on DVD, and even screened theatrically. [11], The exact events of the party remain unclear, with witnesses relating numerous versions of what happened. Virginia Caroline Rappe ( / rpe /; July 7, 1891 - September 9, 1921) [2] was an American model and silent film actress. Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding his possible guilt and the case as a whole continues on. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. He eventually began directing under the name William B. Goodrich (similar to the name his friend Buster Keaton suggested -- Will B. The resulting film, The Frozen North, was released in 1922, almost a year after the scandal first emerged. THE LONG FALL OF ROSCOE "FATTY" ARBUCKLE. Charlie Chaplin, who was in Britain at the time, told reporters that he could not and would not believe Arbuckle had anything to do with Rappe's death; having known Arbuckle since they both worked at Keystone in 1914, Chaplin "knew Roscoe to be a genial, easy-going type who would not harm a fly. Fatty Arbuckle, a silent-film era performer at the height of his fame, is arrested in San Francisco for the rape and murder of aspiring actress Virginia Rappe. comment. The audience went wild, and he won the competition and began a career in vaudeville. [18], By 1916, Arbuckle was experiencing serious health problems. On Thursday, Rappe was taken to the Wakefield Sanitorium, a maternity hospital known for giving abortions. After being called, Arthur Beardslee, the hotel doctor, concluded that her condition was a result of intoxication. He had also requested that all showings and bookings of Arbuckle films be canceled, and exhibitors complied. [59], In April and May 2006, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City mounted a 56-film, month-long retrospective of all of Arbuckle's known surviving work, running the entire series twice. Prices $1.50, $1.00, 75 cents. [7] He first performed on stage with Frank Bacon's company at age 8 during their performance in Santa Ana. "And he paid for it for the rest of his life. The restaurant was named after Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, one of the most successful silent film actors in the 1910s. [6], Arbuckle disliked his screen nickname. His family moved to Santa Ana when he was about two, and with his mother's encouragement, he began to act and sing on stage. Rosenberg, Jennifer. On September 5, 1921, Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle, known as Fatty, a known comedian, actor, director and screen writer, and two others rented three rooms in the St. Francis Hotel. [6] This film was not released until 1920, when Balshofer recut it and released it under the title An Adventuress, and later in 1922, after Rappe's death, as The Isle of Love.[7]. With morality groups demanding he face the death penalty, movie moguls ordered Arbuckle's industry friends to disown him. When Arbuckle portrayed a female, the character was named "Miss Fatty", as in the film Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers. Then, at some point during the revelry, Arbuckle and Rappe were briefly in the same hotel room together. Arbuckle was arrested for first-degree murder, which according to California laws at the time, included the charge of rape. [3], On November 28, Arbuckle testified as the defense's final witness. After the reading of the apology statement, the jury foreman personally handed the statement to Arbuckle, who kept it as a treasured memento for the rest of his life. Rappe was not hospitalized until two days after the incident.[3]. Newspapers across the country went wild. He stood trial 3 times and it destroyed his reputation and also his. Arbuckle was able to stay in film by doing some directing, but even behind the camera, his career didnt have a chance of finding its footing. [34] With Arbuckle's films now banned, in March 1922 Keaton signed an agreement to give Arbuckle thirty-five percent of all future profits from his production company, Buster Keaton Comedies, in hopes of easing his financial situation. He then claimed Rappe told him she felt ill and asked to lie down, and that he carried her into the bedroom and asked a few of the party guests to help treat her. Fatty Arbuckle's was modelled on American diners, and had a retro Hollywood theme. The ruptured bladder and peritonitis are what killed her the next day, Sept. 9. During the silent era, comedian Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle once raked in the big bucks. William Randolph Hearst, the symbol of yellow journalism, had hisSan Francisco Examinercover the story. During the carousing, a 30-year-old aspiring actress named Virginia Rappe was found seriously ill in room 1219 and was examined by the hotel doctor, who concluded her symptoms were mostly caused by intoxication and gave her morphine to calm her. 1921. At age 8 he first appeared on the stage. Fatty Arbuckle's suite. What happened at that party and why was the public so ready to believe "Fatty" was guilty? Further, in contrast to the first trial, Rappe's history of promiscuity and heavy drinking was detailed. most memorably, enables a scene in which a funeral procession passes out a window while a wedding goes on in the foreground. [3], Arbuckle's attorneys later concentrated their attention on one woman named Helen Hubbard, who had told jurors that she would vote guilty "until hell freezes over". [56] In 2007, director Kevin Connor planned a film, The Life of the Party, based on Arbuckle's life. Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection. The jury statement as read by the jury foreman stated: Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. [58] Like Farley, comedians John Belushi and John Candy also considered playing Arbuckle, but each of them died before a biopic was made. The comedian supposedly said he wanted it to play a joke on the actress. Oh, I thought he was magnificent in films. He moved gracefully, threw pies, and humorously tumbled. Truly exotic conditions, such as tuberculous cystitis weren't mentioned during the three trials. From then until 1913, Roscoe was on the stage, performing as an . When he was a teenager, Arbuckle traveled the West Coast on the vaudeville circuit.