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Fatty Arbuckle

Born in 1887 Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of the best known and best loved screen comedians in the early days of silent cinema. Early in his career he worked for Mack Sennett at the Keystone Studios as one of the Keystone Cops. But it was soon obvious that Roscoe had a special talent He became a featured player and a mentor of other rising comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
As his world wide fame grew, he signed a lucrative contract with Paramount Studios believed to be worth $1,000,000 dollars a year which, at the beginning of the 1920's made him the highest paid performer in Hollywood.
Roscoe's world fell apart however when in 1921 he was accused of murdering bit part actress Virginia Rappe in his rooms at the St Francis Hotel in San Fransciso. Roscoe had driven there from Los Angeles with two friends to unwind after weeks of particularly hard work. What was to have been a quiet drinking session developed into a party with uninvited guests including an unsavoury character by the name of Maude Delmont.
Rappe became ill at the party and subsequently died. Delmont was the prime mover in accusing Roscoe of causing Rappe's internal injuries that resulted in her death.
Roscoe was charged with murder. Other people with the agenda of "cleaning up Hollywood" and making a name for themselves, jumped on the Delmont bandwagon including egotistical prosecutor Matthew Brady and meglomaniac newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. They wanted to make an example of Roscoe and they didn't want the truth to interfere.
The murder charge was subsequently reduced to manslaughter and the jury voted 11 to 1 in favour of acquittal.
After a second trial also split the jury,Roscoe was aquitted at the third trial with the jury making their feelings known in writing about how Roscoe had been the victim of a great injustice.
Although Roscoe was an innocent man, the damage had been done.His contract was cancelled and his films withdrawn from the theatres. He made a living throughout the rest of the decade by directing comedy shorts under another name.
In 1932 he was given the chance of appearing in front of the camera again by starring in a series of short comedies.They proved successful and he was on the verge of a major comeback in feature films when he died from a heart attack in 1933 at the age of 46.

Filmography

Fatty Arbuckle - filmography

When Comedy Was King on DVD (1959)
Starring: Harry Langdon, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin
Director: Robert Youngson
Certificate:
Documentary based around a compilation of excerpts from well-known silent comedies of the early 20th century. The clips feature most of the era's biggest stars, including Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.

72% from 36 members

The Complete Buster Keaton Short Films (4 discs)
Starring: Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle
Director: Buster Keaton
Certificate:
Containing 32 films, this collection documents Buster Keaton's short films between 1917 and 1923. Capturing Keaton's first steps in front of a camera, this box set charts his early association with ex-Keystone Kop Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle through to headlining, starring in, and directing his own box ..read more »

76% from 118 members
Not available for rental

Keystone Komedies - Vol. 2 on DVD
Starring: Keyston Kops, Mark Swain, Fatty Arbuckle
Director: Keystone Komedies
Certificate:
Features a compilation of the slapstick short movies associated with the Keystone Production Company.

41% from 54 members

Keystone Komedies - Vol. 1 on DVD
Starring: Keyston Kops, Mark Swain, Fatty Arbuckle
Director: Keystone Komedies
Certificate:
Features a compilation of the slapstick short movies associated with the Keystone Production Company.

46% from 69 members