Fatty Arbuckle

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle

How many of us have opinions on celebrities that we have never actually even met? When we hear and read the same stuff about a particular star over and over again, it often starts to sound like the truth, whether it is or not. This is hardly new. Fan magazines and newspapers have been writing about movie stars since the silent film era. In fact, they were responsible for destroying the career of silent film comedian Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle nearly 90 years ago.

In 1921, the press had a veritable field day reporting on the most salacious story to come out of Hollywood thus far; that of the alleged rape and death of actress Virginia Rappe. On September 9th, 1921 Rappe attended a party at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. This was a drinking party, which is worth noting because this was during prohibition. Arbuckle was the most famous person present at the party, yet it is in question wether or not he was the actual host. Rumors surround the story and some claim the party was also an orgy.

Rappe died at the party and Arbuckle was blamed for her death. Doctors at the time claimed she died from a ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis. No one ever saw Arbuckle do anything sexual to Rappe, yet he was considered the criminal. Why was the public so quick to condemn him? The answer may lie in his films.

Like most silent film comedians, Arbuckle had a stock character that he often played. His was a womanizer. In most of his films he chases after girls. Sometimes he plays a married man, yet still spends all kinds of time flirting with other women. He dressed in drag many times and fought off other men just to get the girl. Arbuckle was clearly overweight. In The Hayseed (1919) he makes fun of his own weight by having co-star Buster Keaton exaggerate his measurements when measuring him for a suit. The image he gave to the public through his movies was that of a fat, horny guy willing to go to great lengths to get the girl. So here was the image everyone had in their heads. This heavy, horndog jumped on top of this girl (named Rappe of all things) in the act of forced sex and, due to his weight, crushed her, causing her bladder to rupture.

There were no televisions for actors to go on and give interviews and defend themselves to the public. The only thing people knew of Arbuckle was what they saw on screen and what the newspapers reported. And report they did. One story claimed Arbuckle raped Rappe with a coke bottle. Some painted her as a slut, claiming she had several abortions in her past and her death was partially caused by her latest one going bad.

Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton

After three trials, Arbuckle was acquitted of the charges. He was exonerated. But what of his career? Arbuckle continued to do some work in Hollywood. He did a little directing and some times used a fake name. He died of a heart attack in 1933. According to the book, "The Movies" by Richard Griffith and Arthur Meyers published in 1979 (a veritable homage to silent film stars, "Arbuckle...was forcibly retired from the screen,..." and all of his current films, "were banned or withdrawn entirely." Arbuckle's films seemed to virtually disappear from existence. When searching for Arbuckle's movies, film historians were only able to find some of them and then they were mostly in Europe.

To this day, Arbuckle is not remembered for his work. He is most remembered for his association with two people. He discovered the great Buster Keaton, with whom he worked with on over a dozen short films. But, thanks to an overzealous press and a gullible public, he will also always be remembered for attending the same party as a girl with an inconvenient name.