[6] However, studio executives, fearing negative publicity by association, ordered Arbuckle's industry friends and fellow actors (whose careers they controlled) not to publicly speak up for him. William Randolph Hearst, the symbol of yellow journalism, had hisSan Francisco Examinercover the story. After five days and over forty hours of deliberation, the jury returned on February 3, deadlocked with a 102 majority in favour of conviction, resulting in another mistrial. The couple eventually became engaged and lived together, but in the United States Census of 1920, the young actress is listed as a "Boarder" in Lehrman's home in Los Angeles. In 1913, at the age of 26, Arbuckle hit the big time when he signed with Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company and became one of the Keystone Kops. Courtroom trials are rarely cut and dry. Arbuckle's rehabilitation was finally complete when Warner Bros offered him a feature-film contract in 1933. He retreated into alcoholism. In fact, witnesses testified that Arbuckle rubbed the ice on Rappe's stomach to ease her abdominal pain. According to Buster Keaton, Hearst boasted that Arbuckle's story sold more papers than thesinking of the Lusitania. Arbuckle testified, repeating his side of the story. Girls win big. [6], In 1904, Sid Grauman invited Arbuckle to sing in his new Unique Theater in San Francisco, beginning a long friendship between the two. He had also requested that all showings and bookings of Arbuckle films be canceled, and exhibitors complied. He arranged bail after nearly three weeks in jail. And as for the events of September 5, 1921, the accounts of the night vary wildly. 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. Arbuckle discouraged anyone from addressing him as "Fatty" off-screen, and when they did so his usual response was, "I've got a name, you know. In his testimony, Arbuckle claimed that Rappe (whom he testified he had known for five or six years) came into the party room (1220) around noon that day, and that sometime afterward he went to his room (1219) to change clothes after Mae Taub, daughter-in-law of Billy Sunday, asked him for a ride into town. [citation needed]. Additionally, the jury wrote an apology to Arbuckle: Being acquitted was not the end to Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's problems. [11], The exact events of the party remain unclear, with witnesses relating numerous versions of what happened. Delmont was touring the country giving one-woman shows as, "The woman who signed the murder charge against Arbuckle", and lecturing on the evils of Hollywood. [3], The scandal and trials had greatly damaged Arbuckle's popularity among the general public. Few know he was eventually acquitted of his crimes (after three trials). The Untold Story of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle by Andy Edmonds are other books on Arbuckle's life. Although cleared, Arbuckle faced ruinous legal bills and a public still widely convinced of his guilt. During the silent era, comedian Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle once raked in the big bucks. 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 restaurant was named after Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, one of the most successful silent film actors in the 1910s. In view of Delmont's constantly changing story, her testimony would have ended any chance of going to trial. [citation needed], Arbuckle and Dan Coombs, one of Culver City's first mayors, re-opened the Plantation Club near the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios on Washington Boulevard as Roscoe Arbuckle's Plantation Caf on August 2, 1928. "Arbuckle was just a film star who was in the wrong place at the wrong time," says Pearson. Arbuckle allegedly co-directed scenes in Keaton's Sherlock Jr. (1924), but it is unclear how much of this footage remained in the film's final cut. During the carousing, a 30-year-old aspiring actress named Virginia Rappe was found seriously ill in room 1219 and was examined by the hotel doctor, who concluded her symptoms were mostly caused by intoxication and gave her morphine to calm her. The jury was hung with a 10 to 2 vote for acquittal. 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. [3] The defense had also obtained a letter from Delmont admitting to a plan to extort payment from Arbuckle. However, some jurors interpreted the refusal to let Arbuckle testify as a sign of guilt. Evidence can be lost, witnesses change their stories, and criminals can lie, making cases very difficult to decide. 237K views 1 year ago In 1921 Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was charged with the murder of a young actress called Virginia Rappe. At this point in time she came to know Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle who had worked at Keystone with her fiance Henry Lehrman. She never took the stand. [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. The second such death in a week has sparked soul-searching in Germany about public safety, particularly in train stations. A second Fatty Arbuckle's restaurant was opened in Bournemouth in 1985. The service at East Lawn Memorial Cemetery was arranged by Gable's sister, Kayley, who. There she met dress designer Robert Moscovitz and they became engaged, but shortly afterward he was killed in a streetcar accident, and Rappe moved to Los Angeles. Arbuckle's rehabilitation was finally complete when Warner Bros offered him a feature-film contract in 1933. [18], By 1916, Arbuckle was experiencing serious health problems. Virginia Rappe was a 26-year old aspiring actress and model, originally from Chicago, who had a reputation as something of a party girl. The second trial also discredited some major evidence such as the identification of Arbuckle's fingerprints on the hotel bedroom door: Heinrich took back his earlier testimony from the first trial and testified that the fingerprint evidence was likely faked. He died of a heart attack in 1933 at age 46, having never fully restored his reputation. One of the rooms occupied by Arbuckle and his guests in the days after the infamous party. He eventually began directing under the name William B. Goodrich (similar to the name his friend Buster Keaton suggested -- Will B. 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. The scandal that followed her death had nothing to do with the fame, or lack of it, of the pretty actress - it was her link to the man who was known as "America's Funnyman . 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. What happened in room 1219? On December 4, 1921, the jury returned five days later deadlocked after nearly forty-four hours of deliberation with a 102 not guilty verdict, and a mistrial was declared. Further, in contrast to the first trial, Rappe's history of promiscuity and heavy drinking was detailed. 's office,[31] and expressed surprise that she was not challenged when selected for the jury pool. Delmont claims that Rappe managed to gasp Arbuckle did it before she was taken away into a different hotel room. 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. [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. Arbuckle was charged with first-degree murder, eventually reduced to manslaughter. Though as Fatty Arbuckle was taking the world by storm with his movie career, a new face was just beginning to make the rounds in Hollywood. [37] After a brief reconciliation, Durfee again filed for divorce, this time while in Paris, in December 1924. Arbuckle was the defendant in three widely publicized trials between November 1921 and April 1922 for the rape and manslaughter of actress Virginia Rappe. Arbuckle was soon arrested and charged with the murder of Virginia Rappe. By Friday of that week, Virginia had died in the hospital and Arbuckle was charged with her murder. Fatty Arbuckle, a silent-film era performer at the height of his fame, is arrested in San Francisco for the rape and murder of aspiring actress Virginia Rappe. Like many experts on the case, Pearson is convinced Arbuckle did not harm Rappe. Raquel Welch portrays his mistress, who ultimately goads him into shooting her. Perhaps even more than the specific charges of rape and murder, Arbuckle became a symbol of Hollywood's immorality. One report had stated that while raping her, Arbuckles weight had caused Rappes bladder to rupture. Fatty Arbuckle's was modelled on American diners, and had a retro Hollywood theme. By 1916, at the age of 21, she was earning $4,000 a year ($66,000 today) from her dress designs. Arbuckle's father had always treated him harshly[8] and now refused to support him, so he got work doing odd jobs in a hotel. The principal witness was Prevon. Ultimately, the judge found no evidence of rape. At a raucous, three-day party in September 1921, a young starlet became severely ill and died four days later. The third jury took the unusual step of giving Arbuckle a written statement of apology for his treatment by the justice system. Dr. Beardslee admitted that Rappe had never mentioned being assaulted while he was treating her. Today, even people familiar with the name of Fatty Arbuckle believe the worst of him. It was alleged that Rappe had died as a result of a violent sexual assault by Arbuckle. Arbuckle hated the nickname "Fatty" and insisted that his friends and acquaintances always address him by his real first name, Roscoe. Miss . Keaton co-wrote, directed and starred in the picture; consequently, Hart refused to speak to Keaton for many years. However, the name Fatty identifies the character that Arbuckle portrayed on-screen (usually a naive hayseed), not Arbuckle himself. But then Rappe uttered the words that would damn the star: "He did this to me.". He was simple, direct, and unflustered in both direct and cross-examination. [32], The second trial began January 11, 1922, with a new jury, but with the same legal defense and prosecution as well as the same presiding judge. Video, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal, Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, Ukraine repels 'numerous attacks' in Bakhmut, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Biden had skin cancer lesion removed - White House, US sues Exxon over nooses found at Louisiana plant. [2] Hays lifted the ban within a year, but Arbuckle only worked sparingly through the 1920s. It was to star Chris Kattan and Preston Lacy. [19][20] Following his recovery, Arbuckle started his own film company, Comique, in partnership with Joseph Schenck. During the party in question, witnesses recalled that an intoxicated Rappe complained she could not breathe and then started to tear off her clothes. And this was not the first instance of Virginia Rappe stripping while intoxicated. Arbuckle was fond of the "pie in the face", a comedy clich that has come to symbolize silent-film-era comedy itself. There was a focus on large portions served on 13-inch plates. The pun being too obvious, Arbuckle adopted the more formal pseudonym "William Goodrich". "[15] Nevertheless, Arbuckle's reputation and career were ruined because of the scandal. [24] By the time the story was reported in newspapers, the object had evolved into a Coca-Cola or champagne bottle rather than a piece of ice. [7] Arbuckle enjoyed performing and continued on until his mother's death in 1898, when he was 11. Who Was Fatty Arbuckle? In 1919, Rappe began a relationship with director/producer Henry Lehrman. [44], In 1929, Doris Deane sued for divorce from Arbuckle in Los Angeles, charging desertion and cruelty. The third trial began March 13, 1922, and this time the defense took no chances. Bakhmut attacks being repelled, says Ukraine, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, US lawyer jailed for murdering wife and son, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping is unveiling a new deputy - why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. While Arbuckle saw a resurgence in his popularity immediately after his third trial (in which he was acquitted) Zukor decided he had to be sacrificed to keep the movie industry out of the clutches of censors and moralists.