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| Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle |
| born: 24 March 1887 Smith Center, Kansas, United States of America |
died: 29 June 1933 New York City, New York, United States of America (heart attack, age 46) |
| Overweight American comedian whose successful film career was overshadowed by a manslaughter charge against him, of which he was found innocent. He married his first of three wives, actress Minta Durfee, in 1908. His last was Addie McPhail whom he married 1 year and 1 day before his death. On Labor Day, September 1921, he was arrested over the death of Virginia Rappe. Roscoe's roommate had thrown a party in their San Francisco hotel suite, which was crashed by the "starlet", who fell seriously ill and died three days later from a ruptured bladder. Rappe had accused Arbuckle of raping her prior to passing away, but Rappe had a history of accusing men of rape. The newspapers, led by William Randolph Hearst, used this incident to generate Hollywood's first major scandal. Roscoe was tried not once but three times for the criminal charges; the trials began in November 1921 and lasted until April 1922; the first two ended with hung juries (the decision in the second trial was reached on February 22, the day Arbuckle's friend and fellow Paramount director William Desmond Taylor was found murdered, and Arbuckle was visibly affected by the news). At his third and final trial in April of 1922, the jury not only returned a "not guilty" verdict but excoriated the prosecution for pursuing a flimsy case with no evidence of Arbuckle having committed any crime; it was at this final trial that the jury went further, writing a personal letter of sympathy and apology to Arbuckle. He kept it as a treasured memento. His career never recovered. |
| Real name: Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle Height: 5'10" |
Films listed on this page: all films made with Charley Chase. |
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| ▼ NON-HAL ROACH FILMS |
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