[citation needed], Some experts later concluded that Rappe's bladder might also have ruptured as a result of an abortion she might have had a short time before the fateful party. From then until 1913, Roscoe was on the stage, performing as an . His chief accuser, Bambina Maude Delmont, was a convicted criminal who had admitted plotting to extort money from him. 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. [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. The trial was thorough and Arbuckle took the stand to share his side of the story. "This was the guy who discovered Buster Keaton; who helped mentor Charlie Chaplin," says Arbuckle biographer Stuart Oderman. The main character in the story is Dashiell Hammett, a Pinkerton detective in San Francisco at the time of the trials. The 12th floor hotel suite at the Westin St Francis where Arbuckle and friends partied on Labor Day, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was born into poverty in Kansas, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal. [3], The scandal and trials had greatly damaged Arbuckle's popularity among the general public. Fatty Arbuckle Follies (Silent) -- Volume 1 Various 16 DVD 5 offers from $3.68 The Vitaphone Comedy Collection Volume One - Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle/Shemp Howard (1932-1934) George B. Seitz 36 DVD 14 offers from $19.98 Charley Chase At Hal Roach: The Talkies Volume Four: 1929 Charley Chase 23 DVD 9 offers from $18.80 But a scandal and false rumors destroyed his career. 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. Arbuckle hated the nickname "Fatty" and insisted that his friends and acquaintances always address him by his real first name, Roscoe. [40] The same year, in Photoplay's August issue, James R. Quirk wrote: "I would like to see Roscoe Arbuckle make a comeback to the screen." Brady at first used Delmont as his star witness during the indictment hearing. He was one of the all-time greats.". It was like floating in the arms of a huge doughnutreally delightful. . [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". She was 97. [37] After a brief reconciliation, Durfee again filed for divorce, this time while in Paris, in December 1924. She died four days later on September 9 from a ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis. While much attention was paid to Hubbard after the trial, some former jury members told reporters that they believed that Arbuckle was indeed guilty, but not beyond a reasonable doubt. She, along with Maude Delmont and Al Semnacher went to a party thrown by Arbuckle on Labor Day 1921. He would appear in several more Selig shorts before signing with Universal Studios in 1913. The Forgotten Films of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle [DVD] But nine decades on, the mystery remains: why did Virginia Rappe die? ", a song by comedy metal band GWAR on their album America Must Be Destroyed. Fatty Arbuckle's suite. [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. Arbuckle answered the door wearing his foolish screen smile and Virginia Rappe was on the bed, naked and moaning in pain. McPhail, whose most recent . Although cleared, Arbuckle faced ruinous legal bills and a public still widely convinced of his guilt. 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. Virginia Rappe was born in Chicago in 1891 to Mabel Rapp, who died when Virginia was 11. What fueled the scandal at the time and what has remained a mystery ever since is just what role, if any, Arbuckle played in Rappes death. 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. 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. 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. Arbuckle and Fischbach then took her to room 1227 and called the hotel manager and doctor. [26], Brady's first witnesses during the trial included Betty Campbell, a model, who attended the party and testified that she saw Arbuckle with a smile on his face hours after the alleged rape occurred; Grace Hultson, a local hospital nurse who testified it was very likely that Arbuckle raped Rappe and bruised her body in the process; and Dr. Edward Heinrich, a local criminologist who claimed that the fingerprints on the door to the hallway proved that Rappe had tried to flee, but that Arbuckle had stopped her by putting his hand over hers. To calm Rappe down, they placed her in a bathtub of cool water. Arbuckle told them - it was a story he always stuck to - that he had gone to use the bathroom where he found Rappe in a drunken faint on the floor. His comedies are noted as rollicking and fast-paced, have many chase scenes, and feature sight gags. 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. He was simple, direct, and unflustered in both direct and cross-examination. The young woman's fiance, film director Henry Lehrman, introduced her to Arbuckle, and according to . When others then entered the room, they found Rappe tearing at her clothes (something that has been claimed she did often when she was drunk). In 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was the highest-paid actor in the world. [11], The exact events of the party remain unclear, with witnesses relating numerous versions of what happened. 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. Although that ban was later lifted, the actor remained blacklisted unofficially. Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. 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. [38] Arbuckle married Doris Deane on May 16, 1925. On Eve of his Comeback. "And he paid for it for the rest of his life. But then Rappe uttered the words that would damn the star: "He did this to me.". The papers excluded reporting that Rappe had a history of numerous abortions, with some evidence stating she might have had another a short time before the party. And it emerged in court that the prosecution had used intimidation to force several witnesses to testify against Arbuckle. Today we continue with the ruination of Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle, circa 1921. [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. 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. Tuesday, August 20, 2019. [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." The Fatty Arbuckle Trial: The Injustice of the Century But the greatest moment is . And as for the events of September 5, 1921, the accounts of the night vary wildly. His widow Addie requested that his body be cremated, as that was Arbuckle's wish. In his room, Arbuckle discovered Rappe in the bathroom vomiting into the toilet. During cross-examination, however, Campbell revealed that Brady had threatened to charge her with perjury if she did not testify against Arbuckle. 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. The restaurant was named after Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, one of the most successful silent film actors in the 1910s. Delmont claims that Rappe managed to gasp Arbuckle did it before she was taken away into a different hotel room. Are you sure Roscoe Arbuckle is getting one today? Throwback Thursday | No more 'Fatty' Arbuckle films, actor says after [46], In 1932, Arbuckle signed a contract with Warner Bros. to star under his own name in a series of six two-reel comedies, to be filmed at the Vitaphone studios in Brooklyn, New York. Whatever happened that night, Virginia Rappes condition had still not improved three days afterward. comment. During closing statements, McNab reviewed how flawed the case was against Arbuckle from the very start and how Brady fell for the outlandish charges of Delmont, whom McNab described as "the complaining witness who never witnessed". [28][29], The prosecutor, San Francisco District Attorney Matthew Brady, an intensely ambitious man who planned to run for governor, made public pronouncements of Arbuckle's guilt and pressured witnesses to make false statements. At this point all those present thought Rappe was just very drunk, including the hotel doctors. [42] Keaton himself told this story during a recorded interview with Kevin Brownlow in the 1960s.[43]. We feel also that it was only our plain duty to give him this exoneration, under the evidence, for there was not the slightest proof adduced to connect him in any way with the commission of a crime. Roscoe Arbuckle in FATTY'S WILD RIDE TUESDAY Geo. 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. Her organs had been destroyed and it was now impossible to test for pregnancy. [14], Arbuckle began his film career with the Selig Polyscope Company in July 1909 when he appeared in Ben's Kid. Virginia Rappe (1891-1921) - Find a Grave Memorial 's office,[31] and expressed surprise that she was not challenged when selected for the jury pool. [citation needed] Several women were invited to the suite. [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. In 1921, Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was the highest-paid actor in the world. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle had long been a performer. https://www.thoughtco.com/fatty-arbuckle-scandal-1779625 (accessed March 4, 2023). After a small one-year anniversary party with his new wife on June 29, 1933, Arbuckle went to bed and suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep. But the first two trials ended with hung juries and the third ended with an acquittal. The principal witness was Prevon. [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]. Arbuckle testified, repeating his side of the story. During the party one of the guests, Virginia Rappe, an aspiring actress, was found seriously ill in room 1219, the room in which Arbuckle was to stay. According to the 2008 biography The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, Farley and screenwriter David Mamet agreed to work together on what would have been Farley's first dramatic role. [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. Arbuckle however, testified that he had gone into his bathroom and found Rappe already there on the floor, vomiting. The papers went wild with thestory. Miss . However, his father no longer encouraged his acting when his mother passed away. Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle was born in Smith Center, Kansas, on March 24, 1887, weighing more than 13 pounds. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2021, thoughtco.com/fatty-arbuckle-scandal-1779625. Arbuckle greeted visitors in his pajamas and though this was during Prohibition, large quantities of liquor werebeing drunk. In the newspapers, Arbuckle was assumed guilty and Virginia Rappe was an innocent, young girl. Nicknamed Madame Black, Delmont already had a reputation for procuring girls for Hollywood parties, using those girls to instigate scandalous acts, and then blackmailing celebrities anxious to keep those acts quiet. 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. Bakhmut attacks being repelled, says Ukraine, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, US lawyer jailed for murdering wife and son, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping is unveiling a new deputy - why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. [citation needed]. [33] It was eventually released in Europe. [49], Many of Arbuckle's films, including the feature Life of the Party (1920), survive only as worn prints with foreign-language inter-titles. Dear Mick: You state, regarding the Fatty Arbuckle alleged rape-murder incident, "That crime never happened." However, since you were not there, you can't truthfully say it "never happened." The first two trials ended in hung juries, indicating that the evidence was not open and shut. At the hospital, Rappe's companion at the party, Bambina Maude Delmont, told a doctor that Arbuckle had raped her friend. 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. Evidence can be lost, witnesses change their stories, and criminals can lie, making cases very difficult to decide. Today, even people familiar with the name of Fatty Arbuckle believe the worst of him. 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. Posters for his movies billed the 266-pound comedian as "worth his weight in laughs." "A grave injustice has been done.". In 1919, Rappe began a relationship with director/producer Henry Lehrman. He moved gracefully, threw pies, and humorously tumbled. Although Arbuckle was never tried for sexual assault, this notion has endured, largely because of how the trial was reported at the time. [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. [3], Most exhibitors still declined to show Arbuckle's films, several of which now have no copies known to have survived intact.
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