The Downfall of Fatty Arbuckle
Fatty Arbuckle, Virginia Rappe On this day in 1921, silent-film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was arrested for the rape and murder of aspiring actress Virginia Rappe. He was later acquitted, after three separate trials, but his career and reputation were irreparably damaged. Roscoe Arbuckle was born in 1887 in the town of Smith Center, Kansas. When he was two years old, his family moved to Santa Ana, California. His mother encouraged him to perform and by age eight he was singing on stage with the Frank Bacon Company. When he was twelve, his mother passed away, and his father, who never believed that Roscoe was actually his child, refused to support him. Roscoe started working odd jobs at a local hotel and was encouraged to compete in a talent show by a customer who had heard him sing. He won the competition and began his career in vaudeville which then led to starring roles in silent films. After appearing in Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops comedies, Roscoe Arbuckle for...