The resulting scandal destroyed Arbuckle's career along with his personal life. The role: Fatty Arbuckle In 1997, Chris Farley began planning his first dramatic film, a biopic about silent film star Fatty Arbuckle, a heavyset actor who was falsely accused of. Sharing the Spotlight A young British stage actor. 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. Dr. Beardslee admitted that Rappe had never mentioned being assaulted while he was treating her. Good". Hubbard's husband was a lawyer who did business with the D.A. In fact it is loosely based on the 1926 poem by Joseph Moncure March. 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. Mugshot of Fatty Arbuckle. 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. Miss . 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. Arbuckle later wrote a premise for a film parodying Hart as a thief, bully, and wife beater, which Keaton purchased from him. [35] The divorce was granted the following January. "Arbuckle was just a film star who was in the wrong place at the wrong time," says Pearson. Fans also called Roscoe "The Prince of Whales" and "The Balloonatic". Hollywood's First Scandal: The Tainted Legacy of Fatty Arbuckle 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. The Lost Roles of Chris Farley - Vulture Rosenberg, Jennifer. The defense was so convinced of an acquittal that Arbuckle was not called to testify. During the silent era, comedian Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle once raked in the big bucks. At the hospital, Rappe's companion at the party, Bambina Maude Delmont, told a doctor that Arbuckle had raped her friend. During cross-examination, Norgard's testimony was called into question when he was revealed to be an ex-convict who was currently charged with sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl, and who was also looking for a sentence reduction from Brady in exchange for his testimony. [53] In this film, James Coco portrays a heavy-set silent film comedian named Jolly Grimm whose career is on the skids, but who is desperately planning a comeback. Rooms 1219 and 1221 were for them, and room 1220 was to be used for a party room. Any trauma in the abdominal area could have caused the rupture. It is reported that the jurors voted in favour of the indictment by twelve votes to two. After five days and over forty hours of deliberation, the jury returned on February 3, deadlocked with a 102 majority in favour of conviction, resulting in another mistrial. [64], NOFX's 2012 album Self Entitled has a song called I, Fatty about Arbuckle. "Scandal hits industry," blared a Sept. 16, 1921, Variety. "[26] Morality groups called for Arbuckle to be sentenced to death. Miss Jessie Williams and the Chicken Ranch. [11], The exact events of the party remain unclear, with witnesses relating numerous versions of what happened. [48] That night he went out with friends to celebrate his first wedding anniversary and the new Warner Bros. contract when he reportedly said: "This is the best day of my life." 237K views 1 year ago In 1921 Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was charged with the murder of a young actress called Virginia Rappe. He discovered Buster Keaton and Bob Hope. [55], In the Gumby movie entitled Gumby: The Movie, the supporting character Fatbuckle is an affectionate reference to Arbuckle. He had been very nice and sweetly dead ever since the scandal that ruined his career. Rappe was not taken to the hospital on that day. Among the guests was Virginia Rappe, a 30-year-old struggling actress who suffered from chronic cystitis, a bladder inflammation. [33] It was eventually released in Europe. But then Rappe uttered the words that would damn the star: "He did this to me.". In early 1917, she was hired by director Fred Balshofer and given a prominent role in his film Paradise Garden, opposite screen star Harold Lockwood. [6], Arbuckle was nearly two when his family moved to Santa Ana, California. He would appear in several more Selig shorts before signing with Universal Studios in 1913. After Arbuckle was arrested, the San Francisco D.A., one Matthew Brady, a man who wanted to be governor of California, pursued the case with a vengeance. On April 18, 1922, six days after Arbuckle's acquittal, Hays banned him from ever working in U.S. movies again. Director: Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. He had also requested that all showings and bookings of Arbuckle films be canceled, and exhibitors complied. The jury began deliberations April 12 and took only six minutes to return with a unanimous not-guilty verdict; five of those minutes were spent writing a formal statement of apology to Arbuckle for putting him through the ordeal, a dramatic move in American justice. Like many experts on the case, Pearson is convinced Arbuckle did not harm Rappe. "The "Fatty" Arbuckle Scandal." 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Hollywood's first scandal - BBC News fatty arbuckle funeral - shibataunyu.com [4][5] At 18, she began working as a commercial and art model. The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal. Perhaps even more than the specific charges of rape and murder, Arbuckle became a symbol of Hollywood's immorality. Meanwhile, although Arbuckles lawyers showed that the autopsy had concluded that there were no marks of violence on the body, no signs that the girl had been attacked in any way and various witnesses corroborated the actors version of events, it took three trials before Arbuckle was acquitted after the first ended with hung juries. During the deliberations, some jurors joined Hubbard in voting to convict, but they all recanted except for Thomas Kilkenny. The young woman's fiance, film director Henry Lehrman, introduced her to Arbuckle, and according to . The "Fatty" Arbuckle Scandal. Though the newspapers of the day reveled in the gory, rumored details, juries found little evidence that Arbuckle was in any way connected with her death. Silent-film comedian Al St. John (Arbuckle's nephew) and actors Lionel Stander and Shemp Howard appeared with Arbuckle. THE DEATH OF VIRGINIA RAPPE American Hauntings The Untold Story of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle by Andy Edmonds are other books on Arbuckle's life. According to Buster Keaton, Hearst boasted that Arbuckle's story sold more papers than thesinking of the Lusitania. Because alcohol was consumed at the party, Arbuckle was forced to plead guilty to one count of violating the Volstead Act and had to pay a $500 fine. Good). In her case it wasn't due to the public censure brought on by American clubwomen and clergymen. [32], The second trial began January 11, 1922, with a new jury, but with the same legal defense and prosecution as well as the same presiding judge. He suffered a heart attack later that night and died in his sleep. He directed most of his output from 1914 and onwards. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2021, thoughtco.com/fatty-arbuckle-scandal-1779625. The trial was thorough and Arbuckle took the stand to share his side of the story. Virginia Rappe And Fatty Arbuckle: The Facts Behind The Scandal Wikipedia, 25 Jan. 2012. "A grave injustice has been done.". Fatty Arbuckle Scandal and Trials - ThoughtCo Delmont later made a statement incriminating Arbuckle to the police in an attempt to extort money from Arbuckle's attorneys. Delmont then told police that Arbuckle had raped Rappe; the police concluded that the impact of Arbuckle's overweight body lying on top of Rappe had eventually caused her bladder to rupture. We like the whole world to look upon America as the place where every man gets a square deal. [17], In 1914, Paramount Pictures made the then unheard-of offer of US$1,000 a day plus twenty-five percent of all profits and complete artistic control to make movies with Arbuckle and Normand. 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. ", a song by comedy metal band GWAR on their album America Must Be Destroyed. [14] Witnesses also testified that Rappe had previously suffered from venereal disease, so there were allegations that her death was brought on by her health rather than by an assault.[13]. Zukor was faced with the moral outrage of various groups such as the Lord's Day Alliance, the powerful Federation of Women's Clubs and even the Federal Trade Commission to curb what they perceived as Hollywood debauchery run amok and its effect on the morals of the general public. Then, one by one, the 12-person jury plus the two jury alternates walked up to Arbuckle's defense table, where they shook his hand and/or embraced and personally apologized to him. The first two trials . His stage name was Fatty Arbuckle, and he was a big, graceful actor with acrobatic ingenuity and a befuddled. The papers went wild with thestory. We feel that a great injustice has been done him. His highest-profile project was arguably The Red Mill, also released in 1927, a Marion Davies vehicle. Arbuckle became the main act and the group took their show on tour. However, the name Fatty identifies the character that Arbuckle portrayed on-screen (usually a naive hayseed), not Arbuckle himself. The death of an actress in San Francisco. What happened in room 1219? "[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. Between 1924 and 1932, Arbuckle directed a number of comedy shorts under the pseudonym for Educational Pictures, which featured lesser-known comics of the day. [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. Public safetyLast week a 34-year-old mother was killed in North Rhine-Westphalia when a German-born man with Serbian roots pushed her into the path of an oncoming train. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. The poor man was completely framed for the murder of Vriginia Rappe. https://www.thoughtco.com/fatty-arbuckle-scandal-1779625 (accessed March 4, 2023). Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding his possible guilt and the case as a whole continues on. 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. When he was a teenager, Arbuckle traveled the West Coast on the vaudeville circuit. On the heels of million-dollar comedian Fatty Arbuckle's manslaughter charge, and actor Wallace Reid's drug-related death, Taylor's murder spurred a newfound interest in Hollywood scandal. McNab also managed to get in still more evidence about Rappe's lurid past and medical history. In their deal, Keaton promised to give him 35% of the Buster Keaton Comedies Co. profits. Fatty Arbuckle's mug shot. What was the Fatty Arbuckle Scandal and how did it influence Hollywood [4][5] He weighed in excess of 13 pounds (5.9kg) at birth and his father believed that he was illegitimate, as both parents had slim builds. Arbuckle denied any wrongdoing. Another hole in the prosecution's case was opened because Prevon, a key witness, was out of the country after fleeing police custody and unable to testify. He soon became one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. 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. William Randolph Hearst's nationwide newspaper chain exploited the situation with exaggerated and sensationalized stories. But by this time, the scandal had so devastated Arbuckles career that the jury who acquitted him felt obliged to read an apologetic statement that concluded with We wish him success and hope that the American people will take the judgment of fourteen men and women that Roscoe Arbuckle is entirely innocent and free from all blame.. [39], Arbuckle tried returning to filmmaking, but industry resistance to distributing his pictures continued to linger after his acquittal. An infection that developed on his leg became a carbuncle so severe that doctors considered amputation. [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". But when Arbuckle left the room, Rappe remained lying on the bed writhing in pain. Four days later, she was dead of a ruptured bladder. As Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan says: "Stars still get into trouble and they still need help managing crises. She died four days later on September 9 from a ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis. After helping her onto the bed, he and several other guests summoned the hotel doctor, who determined that Rappe was just heavily intoxicated and took her into another hotel room to sleep it off. He made his first movie, a short comedy called Ben's Kid, in 1909. What happened at that party and why was the public so ready to believe "Fatty" was guilty? Babylon: Was 1920s Hollywood Really as Decadent as in the Film? - Variety When he was a teenager, Arbuckle traveled the West Coast on the vaudeville circuit. Publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst gleefully noted that the scandal had sold more papers than the sinking of the Lusitania. By the time Arbuckle went to trial for manslaughter, his public reputation was already ruined. Rappe was not hospitalized until two days after the incident.[3]. [54], In Ken Russell's 1977 biopic Valentino, Rudolph Nureyev as a pre-movie star Rudolph Valentino dances in a nightclub before a grossly overweight, obnoxious, and hedonistic celebrity called "Mr. Fatty" (played by William Hootkins), a caricature of Arbuckle rooted in the public view of him created in popular press coverage of the Rappe rape trial. At age 8 he first appeared on the stage. Little or no effort was made to preserve original negatives and prints during Hollywood's first two decades. Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (/rbkl/; March 24, 1887 June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. [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]. He eventually began directing under the name William B. Goodrich (similar to the name his friend Buster Keaton suggested -- Will B. [citation needed]. [citation needed], During the whole trial, the prosecution presented medical descriptions of Rappe's bladder as evidence that she had an illness. Willich Florists - Germany The Fatty Arbuckle Trial: The Injustice of the Century A second Fatty Arbuckle's restaurant was opened in Bournemouth in 1985. "And he paid for it for the rest of his life. Maude Delmont Calisphere 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 . Today we continue with the ruination of Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle, circa 1921. The second trial also discredited some major evidence such as the identification of Arbuckle's fingerprints on the hotel bedroom door: Heinrich took back his earlier testimony from the first trial and testified that the fingerprint evidence was likely faked. After three trials Arbuckle was finally acquitted on April 12, 1922 but not until his reputation was destroyed and his movies were banned. It was then that she was taken to a hospital where doctors originally thought she had alcohol poisoning from the bootleg liquor. The happening at the hotel was an unfortunate affair for which Arbuckle, so the evidence shows, was in no way responsible. His lawyer, McNab, made no closing argument to the jury. It was determined that Rappe had died from a ruptured bladder. He was the first movie star in America to systematically direct his own films. Roscoe "fatty" Arbuckle - Turner Classic Movies [37] After a brief reconciliation, Durfee again filed for divorce, this time while in Paris, in December 1924. Guests to San Francisco's Westin St Francis Hotel still ask to see the room where an infamous bootleg-booze-soused party took place 90 years ago. Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Biography - IMDb [56] In 2007, director Kevin Connor planned a film, The Life of the Party, based on Arbuckle's life. most memorably, enables a scene in which a funeral procession passes out a window while a wedding goes on in the foreground. 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 1925, Carter DeHaven's short Character Studies, shot before the scandal, was released. Hearst was gratified by the profits he accrued during the Arbuckle scandal, and he later said that it had "sold more newspapers than any event since the sinking of the Lusitania. Keaton attempted to help Arbuckle by giving him work on his films. Although cleared, Arbuckle faced ruinous legal bills and a public still widely convinced of his guilt. Oh, I thought he was magnificent in films. She was 97. The entire jury proudly posed with Arbuckle for photographers after the verdict and apology. Balshofer hired her again to costar with early drag performer Julian Eltinge and newcomer Rudolph Valentino in Over the Rhine, for which she was awarded the title of "Best Dressed Girl in Pictures". They were on the twelfth floor in a suite that contained rooms 1219, 1220, and 1221 (room 1220 was the sitting room). The Skinny on the Fatty Arbuckle Trial - Smithsonian Magazine Paramount Pictures had paid him an unprecedented $3 million over three years to star in 18 silent films, and he'd just. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was born in Kansas in 1887. [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. "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. Read about our approach to external linking. [citation needed], Arbuckle was regarded by those who knew him closely as a good-natured man who was shy around women; he has been described as "the most chaste man in pictures". For Fatty Arbuckle's American Diners, see, However, according to the Motion Picture Studio Directory for 1919 and 1921, Arbuckle began his screen career with Keystone in 1913 as an extra for $3 a day (equivalent to approximately $82 in 2021 dollars, Last edited on 14 February 2023, at 13:48, Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America, List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars, "Fatty The Skinny on the Fatty Arbuckle Trial", "Fatty Arbuckle and the Death of Virginia Rappe", "Year: 1900; Census Place: Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California; Roll: 111; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0077; FHL microfilm: 1240111", "Roscoe Arbuckle | American actor and director | Britannica", "Roscoe Always Jolly But Weak: Stepmother", "Dies in His Sleep. On December 4, 1921, the jury returned five days later deadlocked after nearly forty-four hours of deliberation with a 102 not guilty verdict, and a mistrial was declared. In spite of the acquittal and the apology, his reputation was not restored and the effects of the scandal continued. Minta Durfee, Actress, 85, Dies; Former Wife of Fatty Arbuckle After a third trial in 1922, the jury took just a few minutes to unanimously acquit Arbuckle - he was found guilty only of drinking bootleg alcohol. The show consisted of the audience judging acts by clapping or jeering, with bad acts pulled off the stage by a shepherd's crook. He was a wonderful dancera wonderful ballroom dancer, in his heyday. McPhail, whose most recent . And though she didn't improve, she wasn't taken to the hospital for three days because most people who visited her considered her condition to be caused by liquor. Although Arbuckle was able to keep his leg, he was prescribed morphine against the pain; he would later be accused of being addicted to it. Probably assuming Rappe would simply sleep it off, Arbuckle drove Taub into town. View our statement on digital primary resources. His widow Addie requested that his body be cremated, as that was Arbuckle's wish. Mississippi-based Arbuckle historian David Pearson says the star was the inspiration to many overweight comics, such as John Belushi, Benny Hill, John Candy and Chris Farley. 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. 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. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, onscreen, discovered an empty whisky bottle and gives it a decent burial, using flowers he had gathered for his girlfriend. [n 1] Although his large size was undoubtedly part of his comedic appeal, Arbuckle was self-conscious about his weight and refused to use it to get "cheap" laughs like getting stuck in a doorway or chair. His early influence on American slapstick comedy is widely recognised. He was 46 years old. He also said: "The American nation prides itself upon its spirit of fair play. [citation needed] In December of the same year, under public pressure, Hays elected to lift the ban. [citation needed], This article is about the actor Roscoe Arbuckle. While Hubbard offered explanations on her vote whenever challenged, Kilkenny remained silent and quickly faded from the media spotlight after the trial ended. His first part was with the Webster-Brown stock company. But at the hospital, Delmont told police that Rappe had been raped by Arbuckle at the party and on September 11, 1921, the comedian was arrested. 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. On Thursday, Rappe was taken to the Wakefield Sanitorium, a maternity hospital known for giving abortions. He saw the crook emerging from the wings and somersaulted into the orchestra pit in obvious panic. "[16], Despite his physical size, Arbuckle was remarkably agile and acrobatic. The comedian supposedly said he wanted it to play a joke on the actress. Rappe had fallen ill at a party hosted by Arbuckle at San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel in September 1921, and died four days later. She died of a ruptured bladder. He stood trial 3 times and it destroyed his reputation and also his. M. Cohan's Masterpiece "THE MIRACLE MAN" A playand not a movie. She, along with Maude Delmont and Al Semnacher went to a party thrown by Arbuckle on Labor Day 1921. Truly exotic conditions, such as tuberculous cystitis weren't mentioned during the three trials. In view of Delmont's constantly changing story, her testimony would have ended any chance of going to trial. Showing Editorial results for fatty arbuckle. Arbuckle was one of the most famous actors in world at the time, second only to Charlie Chaplin. The trial began November 14, 1921, in the city courthouse in San Francisco. Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. The Fatty Arbuckle trial was marked by little strong evidence and dominated by unpre dictable testimony. 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. 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. Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter and rape in connection with her death, though he was ultimately acquitted of both charges. [3] Arbuckle hired as his lead defense counsel Gavin McNab, a competent local attorney. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Throwback Thursday | No more 'Fatty' Arbuckle films, actor says after Silent film star Fatty Arbuckle indicted - the Guardian Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter and rape in connection with her death, though he was ultimately acquitted of both charges. 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. Virginia Rappe died the following day from peritonitis, caused by a ruptured bladder. In the newspapers, Arbuckle was assumed guilty and Virginia Rappe was an innocent, young girl. The first two trials resulted in hung juries, but Keaton testified for the defense in the third trial,[citation needed] which acquitted Arbuckle. Arbuckle calmly maintained that he never physically hurt or sexually assaulted Rappe in any way during the party, and he also stated that he never made any inappropriate sexual advances against any woman in his life. Seventeen people in cast.