The show consisted of the audience judging acts by clapping or jeering, with bad acts pulled off the stage by a shepherd's crook. What happened in the following ten minutes is disputed. Spite Work: The Trials of Virginia Rappe and Fatty Arbuckle William Desmond Taylor, The Unsolved Murder That Rocked 1920s Hollywood Balshofer hired her again to costar with early drag performer Julian Eltinge and newcomer Rudolph Valentino in Over the Rhine, for which she was awarded the title of "Best Dressed Girl in Pictures". Fatty Arbuckle Nome completo Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle Outros nomes Fatty Arbuckle, William Goodrich Nascimento 24 de marode 1887 Smith Center, Kansas, Estados Unidos Nacionalidade norte-americano Morte 29 de junhode 1933 (46 anos) Nova Iorque, Estados Unidos Ocupao Ator, comediante, diretore roteirista Atividade 1904at 1933 Cnjuge The restaurant was named after Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, one of the most successful silent film actors in the 1910s. [citation needed] In December of the same year, under public pressure, Hays elected to lift the ban. [42] Keaton himself told this story during a recorded interview with Kevin Brownlow in the 1960s.[43]. He had merely carried her to the bed and she had fallen off, insisted Arbuckle. But it was such an amazing thing for me to come in to make this broken-down picture, and to find my director was the great Roscoe Arbuckle. The conflicting accounts, tabloid exaggerations, and general furor surrounding the crime that ended Arbuckles acting career make it difficult to determine what actually happened that fateful day. [4][5] At 18, she began working as a commercial and art model. The resulting scandal destroyed Arbuckle's career along with his personal life. The Fatty Arbuckle Trial: The Injustice of the Century . The earliest known pie thrown in film was in the June 1913 Keystone one-reeler A Noise from the Deep, starring Arbuckle and frequent screen partner Mabel Normand. One of the films (How've You Bean?) The first Arbuckle trial began on November 1921 and charged Arbuckle with manslaughter. In the words of his first wife, "Roscoe only seemed to find solace and comfort in a bottle". After it was signed, he reputedly said: "This is the best day of my life.". On Monday, September 5, the party started early. By . 'Fatty' Arbuckle in silent film The Waiters' Ball, from 1916. [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. Then, at some point during the revelry, Arbuckle and Rappe were briefly in the same hotel room together. Probably assuming Rappe would simply sleep it off, Arbuckle drove Taub into town. Then, one by one, the 12-person jury plus the two jury alternates walked up to Arbuckle's defense table, where they shook his hand and/or embraced and personally apologized to him. (2021, September 2). At the behest of Adolph Zukor, president of Famous Players-Lasky, his films were banned by motion picture industry censor Will H. Hays[1] after the trial, and he was publicly ostracized. These six short films constitute the only recordings of Arbuckle's voice. Minta Durfee, Actress, 85, Dies; Former Wife of Fatty Arbuckle A second Fatty Arbuckle's restaurant was opened in Bournemouth in 1985. Film Comedian, Central Figure in Coast Tragedy in 1921, Long Barred From Screen. He was 46. [51], Neil Sedaka references Arbuckle, along with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, and Oliver Hardy in his 1971 song "Silent Movies", as heard on his Emergence album. To celebrate just having finished three pictures at the same time and to celebrate his new contract with Paramount, Arbuckle and a couple of friends drove up from Los Angeles to San Francisco on Saturday, September 3, 1921, for some Labor Day weekend revelry. ", a song by comedy metal band GWAR on their album America Must Be Destroyed. In Good Company While at Universal, Arbuckle worked under comedy pioneer Mack Sennett. The sexual assault case that shocked Hollywood almost a century ago What happened at that party and why was the public so ready to believe "Fatty" was guilty? On September 9, 1921, the death of a young movie actress named Virginia Rappe would make newspaper headlines around the world. Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter and rape in connection with her death, though he was ultimately acquitted of both charges. He was in the habit of singing while he worked, and a professional singer heard him and invited him to perform in an amateur talent show. The first two cases ended in hung juries. William Randolph Hearst, the symbol of yellow journalism, had hisSan Francisco Examinercover the story. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Roscoe Arbuckle, the youngest of nine children, reportedly weighed 16 pounds at birth in Smith Center, Kansas on March 24, 1887. Roscoe Arbuckle in FATTY'S WILD RIDE TUESDAY Geo. Delmont claims that Rappe managed to gasp Arbuckle did it before she was taken away into a different hotel room. [44], In 1929, Doris Deane sued for divorce from Arbuckle in Los Angeles, charging desertion and cruelty. The main prosecution witness, Zey Prevon, had escaped house arrest and left the country. His stage name was Fatty Arbuckle, and he was a big, graceful actor with acrobatic ingenuity and a befuddled. Public safetyLast week a 34-year-old mother was killed in North Rhine-Westphalia when a German-born man with Serbian roots pushed her into the path of an oncoming train. At this point in time she came to know Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle who had worked at Keystone with her fiance Henry Lehrman. In response to the Arbuckle scandal, Hollywood established a self-policing organization that was to be known as the "Hays Office.". At age 8 he first appeared on the stage. Whatever happened that night, Virginia Rappes condition had still not improved three days afterward. Hollywoods highest-paid star was now box office poison: his movies were pulled from cinemas and he never worked onscreen again. Arbuckle sang, danced, and did some clowning around, but he did not impress the audience. We wish him success and hope that the American people will take the judgment of fourteen men and woman who have sat listening for thirty-one days to evidence, that Roscoe Arbuckle is entirely innocent and free from all blame. [citation needed] Several women were invited to the suite. [57] However, the project was shelved. These rumors were proven false by autopsy. [17], In 1914, Paramount Pictures made the then unheard-of offer of US$1,000 a day plus twenty-five percent of all profits and complete artistic control to make movies with Arbuckle and Normand. . The jury statement as read by the jury foreman stated: Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. In his testimony, Arbuckle denied he had any knowledge of Rappe's illness. And it emerged in court that the prosecution had used intimidation to force several witnesses to testify against Arbuckle. Addie McPhail, a former Hollywood actress who became the third and last wife of scandal-plagued silent-film comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, has died. Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding his possible guilt and the case as a whole continues on. [25], Arbuckle's trial was a major media event. However, the name Fatty identifies the character that Arbuckle portrayed on-screen (usually a naive hayseed), not Arbuckle himself. Addie McPhail, 97; Actress, Last Wife of 'Fatty' Arbuckle [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. Mississippi-based Arbuckle historian David Pearson says the star was the inspiration to many overweight comics, such as John Belushi, Benny Hill, John Candy and Chris Farley. "Scandal hits industry," blared a Sept. 16, 1921, Variety. Her organs had been destroyed and it was now impossible to test for pregnancy. With the scandal as front-page news on almost every newspaper, it was difficult to get an unbiased jury. [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. 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. "Rappe was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time because she wound up dead. For Tinseltown, of course, the show went on - it survived the Arbuckle affair, just like it has weathered many other scandals since then. [9][10] He then joined the Pantages Theatre Group touring the West Coast and in 1906 played the Orpheum Theater in Portland, Oregon, in a vaudeville troupe organized by Leon Errol. [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." . Delmont then told police that Arbuckle had raped Rappe; the police concluded that the impact of Arbuckle's overweight body lying on top of Rappe had eventually caused her bladder to rupture. 15,645 were here. They were on the twelfth floor in a suite that contained rooms 1219, 1220, and 1221 (room 1220 was the sitting room). Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (/rbkl/; March 24, 1887 June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. "[26] Morality groups called for Arbuckle to be sentenced to death. [3], Roscoe Arbuckle was born on March 24, 1887, in Smith Center, Kansas, one of nine children of Mary E. Gordon and William Goodrich Arbuckle. In 1921, Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was the highest-paid actor in the world. In 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was the highest-paid actor in the world. In fact, witnesses testified that Arbuckle rubbed the ice on Rappe's stomach to ease her abdominal pain. While Hubbard offered explanations on her vote whenever challenged, Kilkenny remained silent and quickly faded from the media spotlight after the trial ended. Louise Brooks, who played the ingenue in Windy Riley Goes Hollywood (1931), told Brownlow of her experiences in working with Arbuckle: He made no attempt to direct this picture. [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. He was manly throughout the case and told a straightforward story on the witness stand, which we all believed. Arbuckle hated the nickname "Fatty" and insisted that his friends and acquaintances always address him by his real first name, Roscoe. "A grave injustice has been done.". According to Buster Keaton, Hearst boasted that Arbuckle's story sold more papers than thesinking of the Lusitania. Fatty Arbuckle Scandal - FoundSF Fatty Arbuckles night club in Coventry 3rd December 20011 of 4. . Who Was Fatty Arbuckle? She never took the stand. However, some jurors interpreted the refusal to let Arbuckle testify as a sign of guilt. Mugshot of Fatty Arbuckle. [64], NOFX's 2012 album Self Entitled has a song called I, Fatty about Arbuckle. During cross-examination, however, Campbell revealed that Brady had threatened to charge her with perjury if she did not testify against Arbuckle. It was then that she was taken to a hospital where doctors originally thought she had alcohol poisoning from the bootleg liquor. [55], In the Gumby movie entitled Gumby: The Movie, the supporting character Fatbuckle is an affectionate reference to Arbuckle. When Arbuckle portrayed a female, the character was named "Miss Fatty", as in the film Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers. The case led to the establishing of a Hollywood censorship board, which ruled that Arbuckle should never work in the industry again. 2023 BBC. In the scene, Valentino picks up starlet Jean Acker (played by Carol Kane) off a table in which she is sitting in front of Fatty and dances with her, enraging the spoiled star, who becomes apoplectic. "[21], On September 5, 1921, Arbuckle took a break from his hectic film schedule and, despite suffering from second-degree burns to both buttocks from an on-set accident, drove to San Francisco with two friends, Lowell Sherman and Fred Fishback. His widow Addie requested that his body be cremated, as that was Arbuckle's wish. Allegedly, during the party, Rappe made several drunkenly statements such as, Arbuckle did it and He hurt me. The Death Of Virginia Rappe And The Trial Of Fatty Arbuckle. He would appear in several more Selig shorts before signing with Universal Studios in 1913. Arbuckle was charged with first-degree murder, eventually reduced to manslaughter. Tragic Facts About Fatty Arbuckle, The Star Who Lost It All - Factinate That night he died of a heart attack in the arms of his third wife. He also said: "The American nation prides itself upon its spirit of fair play. Though Arbuckle had begun a come-back and had signed with Warner Brothers in 1933 to act in some comedy shorts, he was never to see his popularity regained. When Arbuckle and a few of the guests re-entered the room, they found Rappe on the floor near the bed tearing at her clothing and going into violent convulsions. fatty arbuckle funeral - shibataunyu.com [63], The 2009 novel Devil's Garden is based on the Arbuckle trials. [47], On June 28, 1933, Arbuckle had finished filming the last of the two-reelers (four of which had already been released). Despite Arbuckle's acquittal, the scandal has mostly overshadowed his legacy as a pioneering comedian. 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. [7] He first performed on stage with Frank Bacon's company at age 8 during their performance in Santa Ana. Virginia Rappe was born in Chicago in 1891 to Mabel Rapp, who died when Virginia was 11. The funeral of Earl Hamilton Frye, of whose death at St. Paul, Jan. 18, we reported last week, was held last Thurs He soon became one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. [49], Many of Arbuckle's films, including the feature Life of the Party (1920), survive only as worn prints with foreign-language inter-titles. The Lost Roles of Chris Farley - Vulture [33] It was eventually released in Europe. "[27] Buster Keaton reportedly did make one public statement in support of Arbuckle's innocence, a decision which earned him a mild reprimand from the studio where he worked. With morality groups demanding he face the death penalty, movie moguls ordered Arbuckle's industry friends to disown him. "Roscoe Arbuckle." Virginia Rappe (1891-1921) - Find a Grave Memorial By 1930, Arbuckle sold his interest and it became known as George Olsen's Plantation Caf, later The Plantation Trailer Court and then Foreman Phillips County Barn Dance. Movie houses across the country almost immediately stopped showing Arbuckle's movies. [6], Arbuckle disliked his screen nickname. [6], In 1904, Sid Grauman invited Arbuckle to sing in his new Unique Theater in San Francisco, beginning a long friendship between the two. Delmont later made a statement incriminating Arbuckle to the police in an attempt to extort money from Arbuckle's attorneys. In early 1917, she was hired by director Fred Balshofer and given a prominent role in his film Paradise Garden, opposite screen star Harold Lockwood. [12] Delmont had a police record for extortion, prostitution and blackmail. He was a wonderful dancera wonderful ballroom dancer, in his heyday. We feel that a great injustice has been done him. had grocery-store gags reminiscent of Arbuckle's 1917 short The Butcher Boy, with vaudeville comic Fritz Hubert as his assistant, dressed like Buster Keaton. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was born into poverty in Kansas After it was signed, he. Between 1924 and 1932, Arbuckle directed a number of comedy shorts under the pseudonym for Educational Pictures, which featured lesser-known comics of the day. According to party guest Maude Delmont, after a few drinks, Arbuckle strong-armed Virginia Rappe into his room with the sinister utterance Ive waited for you five years, and now Ive got you. After 30 minutes or so, Delmont became concerned upon hearing screams from behind the closed door of Arbuckles room and started knocking. Roscoe Arbuckle - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Rappe was not taken to the hospital on that day. After being called, Arthur Beardslee, the hotel doctor, concluded that her condition was a result of intoxication. On the day of Taylor's funeral, February 7, Arbuckle returned to Los Angeles . By 1916, at the age of 21, she was earning $4,000 a year ($66,000 today) from her dress designs. 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 researcher Joan Myers describes the political climate and the media attention to the presence of women on juries (which had only been legal for four years at the time) and how Arbuckle's defense immediately singled out Hubbard as a villain; Myers also records Hubbard's account of the jury foreman August Fritze's attempts to bully her into changing her vote to 'not guilty'. Clark Gable's Grandson Laid to Rest After Being Refused - Yahoo! [7] Arbuckle enjoyed performing and continued on until his mother's death in 1898, when he was 11. Virginia Rappe had had many abortions in the past and was believed to have had one a few days before the party. When he was a teenager, Arbuckle traveled the West Coast on the vaudeville circuit. [citation needed]. Good). Farley's film was signed with Vince Vaughn as his co-star. Some 8,000 strangers attended her funeral at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in East Hollywood. He thought a victory in the Arbuckle case would send him on his way to . The jury was hung with a 10 to 2 vote for acquittal. Before Weinstein: Virginia Rappe and Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle Arbuckle greeted visitors in his pajamas and though this was during Prohibition, large quantities of liquor werebeing drunk. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2021, thoughtco.com/fatty-arbuckle-scandal-1779625. He was one of the all-time greats.". On Thursday, Rappe was taken to the Wakefield Sanitorium, a maternity hospital known for giving abortions. Arbuckle and friends checked into the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Today, even people familiar with the name of Fatty Arbuckle believe the worst of him. Arbuckle answered the door wearing his foolish screen smile and Virginia Rappe was on the bed, naked and moaning in pain. [65], The 2020 remake of Perry Mason features a minor character named Chubby Carmichael who is based on Arbuckle. 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Hollywood's first scandal - BBC News [12][13] They made a strange couple, as Minta was short and petite while Arbuckle tipped the scales at 300lbs. However, Arbuckle was still unable to secure work as an actor. In the second Arbuckle trial, the defense did not present a very thorough case and Arbuckle did not take the stand. HE was one of Hollywood's biggest stars and adored by millions. She died of a ruptured bladder. [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. The resulting film, The Frozen North, was released in 1922, almost a year after the scandal first emerged. In 1925, Carter DeHaven's short Character Studies, shot before the scandal, was released. Arbuckle calmly maintained that he never physically hurt or sexually assaulted Rappe in any way during the party, and he also stated that he never made any inappropriate sexual advances against any woman in his life. [14], Arbuckle began his film career with the Selig Polyscope Company in July 1909 when he appeared in Ben's Kid. His highest-profile project was arguably The Red Mill, also released in 1927, a Marion Davies vehicle. Fatty Arbuckle: What Really Happened? | by Anne Marble - Medium Perhaps even more than the specific charges of rape and murder, Arbuckle became a symbol of Hollywood's immorality. 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. Weekly quiz: Which house are Harry and Meghan vacating? 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. A friend of Rappe accused Arbuckle of raping and accidentally killing her. Will H. Hays, who served as the head of the newly formed Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) censor board, cited Arbuckle as an example of the poor morals in Hollywood. In his room, Arbuckle discovered Rappe in the bathroom vomiting into the toilet. [52], The James Ivory film The Wild Party (1975) has been repeatedly but incorrectly cited as a film dramatization of the ArbuckleRappe scandal. Showing Editorial results for fatty arbuckle. The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle - Grunge The third jury took the unusual step of giving Arbuckle a written statement of apology for his treatment by the justice system. [10] She was buried at Hollywood Cemetery (now Hollywood Forever Cemetery). He was more popular than even Charlie Chaplin and at the time of his downfall in 1921, he was earning over $1 milli With others looking after Rappe, Arbuckle left for the sight-seeing tour and then drove back to Los Angeles. Virginia Caroline Rappe ( / rpe /; July 7, 1891 - September 9, 1921) [2] was an American model and silent film actress. His family moved to Santa Ana when he was about two, and with his mother's encouragement, he began to act and sing on stage. From then until 1913, Roscoe was on the stage, performing as an . What was the Fatty Arbuckle Scandal and how did it influence Hollywood At some point, Arbuckle and Rappe ended up together in a bedroom from where, a few minutes later, her screams were heard. 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. 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. On April 18, 1922, Will Hays, the president of the new organization, banned Arbuckle from filmmaking. But the greatest moment is . 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 Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. Fatty Arbuckle's was modelled on American diners, and had a retro Hollywood theme. After this look at Fatty Arbuckle and the Virginia Rappe case, read up on other old Hollywood scandals including the murder of William Desmond Taylor and the tragic downfall of Frances Farmer. Another hole in the prosecution's case was opened because Prevon, a key witness, was out of the country after fleeing police custody and unable to testify. After this news was released, the public went wild with rumors about how Arbuckle was involved. Arbuckle however, testified that he had gone into his bathroom and found Rappe already there on the floor, vomiting. However, his father no longer encouraged his acting when his mother passed away. Virginia Rappe died the following day from peritonitis, caused by a ruptured bladder. https://www.thoughtco.com/fatty-arbuckle-scandal-1779625 (accessed March 4, 2023). Arbuckle denied any wrongdoing. Keaton co-wrote, directed and starred in the picture; consequently, Hart refused to speak to Keaton for many years. Im a writer and a copy editor with experience in editing science and engineering articles. Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. And hidden gems. Why Alex The Parrot May Have Been The World's Smartest Bird [VIDEO], Bill Gates Funds Diabolical Plot To Eliminate Malaria Using Genetically Modified Mosquitoes, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. 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. The story was fueled by yellow journalism, with the newspapers portraying Arbuckle as a gross lecher who used his weight to overpower innocent girls. In the newspapers, Arbuckle was assumed guilty and Virginia Rappe was an innocent, young girl. By the early 21st century, some of Arbuckle's short subjects (particularly those co-starring Chaplin or Keaton) had been restored, released on DVD, and even screened theatrically. Arbuckle, Fatty Crime--California--San Francisco Herald-Examiner Collection photographs Arbuckle, Roscoe,1887-1933 Rappe, Virginia,1896-1921 . Fatty Arbuckle Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Charlie Chaplin, who was in Britain at the time, told reporters that he could not and would not believe Arbuckle had anything to do with Rappe's death; having known Arbuckle since they both worked at Keystone in 1914, Chaplin "knew Roscoe to be a genial, easy-going type who would not harm a fly. Photo: File photo. Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle was born in Smith Center, Kansas, on March 24, 1887, weighing more than 13 pounds. [2] Hays lifted the ban within a year, but Arbuckle only worked sparingly through the 1920s. But overnight, the roly-poly buffoon adored by children across America was public enemy number one, and people were spitting in his face outside court. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, onscreen, discovered an empty whisky bottle and gives it a decent burial, using flowers he had gathered for his girlfriend. [13] Subsequent witnesses testified that Rappe had for some time suffered from cystitis, a condition which could have been aggravated by consuming alcohol. Search instead in Creative? He was often heckled in the street. An infection that developed on his leg became a carbuncle so severe that doctors considered amputation. 1921. Eventually, the hotel staff was contacted and Rappe was taken to another room to rest. Another witness who testified during the first trial, a former Culver Studios security guard named Jesse Norgard, testified that Arbuckle had once shown up at the studio and offered him a cash bribe in exchange for the key to Rappe's dressing room. It also didnt help Delmonts credibility that shed sent telegrams to attorneys saying WE HAVE ROSCOE ARBUCKLE IN A HOLE HERE CHANCE TO MAKE SOME MONEY OUT OF HIM.. [38] Arbuckle married Doris Deane on May 16, 1925. "Arbuckle was just a film star who was in the wrong place at the wrong time," says Pearson. Willich Florists - Germany Maude Delmont Calisphere The role: Fatty Arbuckle In 1997, Chris Farley began planning his first dramatic film, a biopic about silent film star Fatty Arbuckle, a heavyset actor who was falsely accused of. But her condition worsened and when she was finally taken to hospital three days later her friend, Bambina Maude Delmont, told the doctor Arbuckle had raped Rappe. Another tale credits Keaton, an inveterate punster, with suggesting that Arbuckle become a director under the alias "Will B. McNab also managed to get in still more evidence about Rappe's lurid past and medical history. "[16], Despite his physical size, Arbuckle was remarkably agile and acrobatic. Newspapers went wild with the story: popular silent-screen comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle had killed Virginia Rappe with his weight while savagely raping her.