Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle
Biography
Roscoe Arbuckle (March 24, 1887 - June 29, 1933), widely known to audiences as “Fatty” Arbuckle, was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd as well as with his nephew, Al St. John. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood at the time. In one of the earliest Hollywood scandals, Arbuckle was the defendant in three widely publicized trials between November 1921 and April 1922 for the rape and manslaughter of actress Virginia Rappe. Rappe had fallen ill at a party hosted by Arbuckle at San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel in September 1921, and died four days later. A friend of Rappe accused Arbuckle of raping and accidentally killing her. The first two trials resulted in hung juries, but the third acquitted Arbuckle. The third jury took the unusual step of giving Arbuckle a written statement of apology for his treatment by the justice system. Despite Arbuckle's acquittal, the scandal largely halted his career and has mostly overshadowed his legacy as a pioneering comedian.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (50)
Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923
2016
Looking for Mabel Normand
as Self (archive footage)
2015
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
2007
Buster Keaton: From Silents to Shorts
as (archive footage)
2006
So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM
as Self (archive footage)
2004
Chaplin Today: The Gold Rush
as Self (archive footage)
2003
Murders of Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
2003
Arbuckle & Keaton, Volume One
as Various
2001
Arbuckle & Keaton, Volume Two
as Various
2001
The Chaplin Puzzle
as (archive footage)
1992
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
1988
Crazy Days
as Various (archive footage) (uncredited)
1962
Days of Thrills and Laughter
as Self (archive footage)
1961
When Comedy Was King
as edited from 'Fatty & Mabel Adrift' (archive footage)
1960
Happy Times and Jolly Moments
as (archive footage)
1943
Tomalio
as Wilbur
1933
In the Dough
as Slim
1933
Close Relations
as Wilbur Wart
1933
How've You Bean?
1933
Buzzin' Around
as Cornelius
1933
It's a Cinch
Director (Directing)
1932
Hey, Pop!
as Fatty
1932
Niagara Falls
Director (Directing)
1932
Gigolettes
Director (Directing)
1932
Hollywood Lights
Director (Directing)
1932
Mother's Holiday
Director (Directing)
1932
Hollywood Luck
Director (Directing)
1932
Bridge Wives
Director (Directing)
1932
Keep Laughing
Director (Directing)
1932
Anybody's Goat
Director (Directing)
1932
Moonlight and Cactus
Director (Directing)
1932
Stars of Yesterday
as Self
1931
Smart Work
Director (Directing)
1931
Idle Roomers
Director (Directing)
1931
The Tamale Vendor
Director (Directing)
1931
Once a Hero
Director (Directing)
1931
Queenie of Hollywood
Director (Directing)
1931
One Quiet Night
Director (Directing)
1931
That's My Meat
Director (Directing)
1931
Take 'em and Shake 'em
Director (Directing)
1931
Beach Pajamas
Director (Directing)
1931
Up Pops the Duke
Director (Directing)
1931
Honeymoon Trio
Director (Directing)
1931
That's My Line
Director (Directing)
1931
The Lure of Hollywood
Director (Directing)
1931
The Back Page
Director (Directing)
1931
Windy Riley Goes Hollywood
Director (Directing)
1931
Crashing Hollywood
Director (Directing)
1931
Ex-Plumber
Director (Directing)
1931
Pete and Repeat
Director (Directing)
1931