In an era that worshiped silent comedy and movie stars, Roscoe Arbuckle may have been the biggest star of all -- in every sense. Better known by the name of the character (“Fatty”) he played on screen, Arbuckle went from unknown bit player in 1909 to a 1914 contract offer of $1,000 a day (over $20,000 today), 25% of all profits, and complete artistic control of his films.
By 1921, he was at the height of his career, earning a million dollars a year and working on three features simultaneously. It all came crashing down, though, on a September afternoon in San Francisco. Behind the closed doors of his suite at the St. Francis Hotel, the popular star supposedly raped and brutalized a young actress named Virginia Rappe. When Rappe later died of peritonitis, Arbuckle was arrested on charges of manslaughter and brought to trial.
On December 4, 1921 the jury deliberating his case deadlocked on a decision and a mistrial was declared, setting the stage for a long, tormenting process of retrials. Immediately after the event the newspapers went wild with sensationalized stories. One popular story claimed that Arbuckle had abused Rappe with a Coke bottle.
In the frenzy of these half-truths and lies, the reality was obscured. Regardless of evidence that overwhelmingly supported Arbuckle's version of events, the newspapers of the day whipped up a frenzy of antagonism toward him. The second trial ended with the jury deadlocked 10-2 for acquittal. A third trial was ordered, and finally, that jury acquitted him of all charges in a six-minute deliberation, five minutes of which went into producing a statement of apology for the prosecutions.
Though Arbuckle had been exonerated in the courtroom, public sentiment had long since turned against him. He was blacklisted in Hollywood, and for the next decade couldn't find adequate work. Though several Hollywood notables rallied behind him, most notably his close friend Buster Keaton (to whom he had given his start), Arbuckle's career was doomed.
Eventually, he was able to find directing work (under the pseudonym "William Goodrich;" he avoided puckish puckish suggestion of “Will B. Goode”), and as the years passed, the public’s attitude toward him changed. He was even starred in a series of highly-successful shorts before his death in 1933. But as fate (and irony) would have it, he died in a hotel room after a night of celebrating a newly-acquired acting contract with Warner Brothers.
Suggested Sites...
- A Closer Look -- and Different Perspective -- on the "Arbuckle Scandal" - an in-depth perspective on the trial.
- Room 1219 - Greg Merritt's biography of Arbuckle and the night in question.
- Turner Classic Movies: Roscoe Arbuckle - biography, photos, clips, and filmography.
- 10 Scandalous Stars of the Silent Screen - famous scandals of the Silent Era.
- Wikipedia: Roscoe Arbuckle - the rise and fall and rise of Roscoe.
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