5f. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (recurring in-jokes and threads - alt.movies.silent)
Description
This article is from the alt.movies.silent FAQ, by Rick Levinson Rick.Levinson@sympatico.ca and Emily Way emily@vex.net with numerous contributions by others.
5f. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (recurring in-jokes and threads - alt.movies.silent)
You may have heard of the famous scandal involving the death of a
young actress at a party thrown by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Once and
for all, Arbuckle absolutely did not rape, kill, or harm anyone.
An unemployed actress named Virginia Rappe took ill during a party
held in Roscoe Arbuckle's suite at the St. Francis Hotel in San
Francisco. Arbuckle found her in his bathroon, and called for a
doctor. Four days later, Rappe died of acute peritonitis, while in a
maternity hospital. Many experts today believe she died from a botched
abortion done a short time before the party.
Another party guest, Maude Delmont, declared that Arbuckle had raped
Rappe at the party. Yellow journalistic newspapers, led by the Hearst
newspaper chain, used Delmont's story to paint Arbuckle as a murderer.
Tabloid-like banner headlines attacked Arbuckle's reputation daily
over several months.
On Delmont's statement, Arbuckle was arrested by the police for
murder. However, the state prosecution found that Delmont was an
unusable witness because of her criminal record and her being a
complusive liar. Nevertheless, pressured by the public, the
prosecution pushed forward and tried Arbuckle for the reduced charges
of manslaughter.
After two hung juries, Arbuckle was found not guilty by a third jury
in five minutes. Arbuckle's jury then made this statement to the
press:
"Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great
injustice has been done him. 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. He was manly throughout the case, and told a
straightforward story on the witness stand, which we all believed.
"The happening at the hotel was an unfortunate affair for which
Arbuckle, so the evidence shows, was in no way responsible. We wish
him success and hope that the American people will take the judgement
of fourteen men and women who have sat listening for thirty-one days
to the evidence, that Roscoe Arbuckle is entirely innocent and free of
all blame."
Despite this complete vindication, Arbuckle's reputation as a film
star remained in tatters. Arbuckle was effectively banned from acting
in Hollywood for a period of eleven years. Returning to the screen in
1932, Arbuckle died in 1933, immediately after celebrating his signing
of a new starring contract with Warner Brothers, and the completion of
six comedy shorts which re-established him as a comedian.
For more information, see Arbucklemania:
http://silent-movies.com/Arbucklemania/
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