Roscoe Arbuckle
Acting
- Born:
- 1887-03-22
- Died:
- 1933-06-29
- Place of birth:
- Smith Center, Kansas, USA
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.
Known For
Filmography
A Brave Engineer: Buster Keaton's Last Ride
Wonder Dogs! Canine Stars of the Silent Era (1898-1928)
Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty
Looking for Mabel Normand
The Parrott Chase
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Buster Keaton: From Silents to Shorts
So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM
Chaplin Today: The Gold Rush
Murders of Hollywood
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
The Casting Couch
The Chaplin Puzzle
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
The Muppets Go to the Movies
Hollywood
Crazy Days
Days of Thrills and Laughter
When Comedy Was King
Happy Times and Jolly Moments
Tomalio
In the Dough
Close Relations
How've You Bean?
Buzzin' Around
Hey, Pop!
Stars of Yesterday
Character Studies
Listen Lena
My Stars
Go West
Leap Year
Hollywood
The Fast Freight
Crazy to Marry
Gasoline Gus
Traveling Salesman
The Dollar-a-Year Man
Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)
Brewster's Millions
The Life of the Party
The Round-Up
The Garage
The Hayseed
Back Stage
A Desert Hero
The Bank Clerk
Love
The Pullman Porter
Camping Out
The Sheriff
A Scrap of Paper
The Cook
Good Night, Nurse!
Moonshine
The Bell Boy
Out West
A Country Hero
Coney Island
Oh, Doctor!
The Late Lamented
His Wedding Night
The Rough House
A Reckless Romeo
The Butcher Boy
A Creampuff Romance
The Waiters' Ball
The Other Man
His Wife's Mistake
Bright Lights
He Did and He Didn’t
Fatty and Mabel Adrift
Fatty and the Broadway Stars
A Village Scandal
Fickle Fatty's Fall
Fatty's Tintype Tangle
Fatty’s Plucky Pup
The Little Teacher
Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers
Mabel’s Wilful Way
Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco
Wished on Mabel
When Love Took Wings
Fatty’s Faithful Fido
That Little Band Of Gold
Fatty’s Chance Acquaintance
Fatty’s Reckless Fling
A Glimpse of the San Diego Exposition
Hogan's Romance Upset
Mabel and Fatty’s Married Life
Fatty's New Role
Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition
Mabel, Fatty and the Law
Fatty and Mabel’s Simple Life
Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day
Fatty and Minnie He-Haw
Fatty's Magic Pants
Shotguns That Kick
Leading Lizzie Astray
The Sea Nymphs
Fatty's Wine Party
Fatty's Jonah Day
An Incompetent Hero
Lovers' Post Office
Zip, the Dodger
Their Ups and Downs
Fatty Again
Fatty's Debut
Bombs and Bangs
Lover's Luck
The Rounders
A Brand New Hero
The Baggage Smasher
His New Profession
The Masquerader
Fatty's Gift
Caught in a Flue
Those Country Kids
That Minstrel Man
Those Happy Days
The Sky Pirate
A Rowboat Romance
Love and Bullets
Fatty's Finish
Fatty and the Heiress
The Knockout
Our Country Cousin
The Alarm
A Suspended Ordeal
Where Hazel Met the Villain
A Bath House Beauty
The Chicken Chaser
Barnyard Flirtations
A Rural Demon
His Favorite Pastime
Tango Tangles
A Film Johnnie
Twixt Love and Fire
A Robust Romeo
The Water Dog
Making a Living
Rebecca's Wedding Day
In the Clutches of the Gang
A Flirt's Mistake
The Under-Sheriff
How Old Are You?
Fatty's Wild Night
A Misplaced Foot
He Would a Hunting Go
Some Nerve
Fatty's Flirtation
His Sister's Kids
A Ride for a Bride
The Woman Haters
Fatty Joins the Force
Wine
A Small Time Act
The Milk We Drink
Fatty at San Diego
The Speed Kings
A Quiet Little Wedding
Two Old Tars
Mother's Boy
When Dreams Come True
The Fatal Taxicab
The Gypsy Queen
Mabel's Dramatic Career
Fatty's Day Off
Mabel's New Hero
Almost a Rescue
The Riot
Professor Bean's Removal
Love and Courage
A Noise from the Deep
Love and Rubbish
The Telltale Light
Safe in Jail
Rastus and the Game Cock
For the Love of Mabel
Peeping Pete
A Bandit
The Waiters' Picnic
Passions, He Had Three
Help! Help! Hydrophobia!
The Gangsters
Alas! Poor Yorick!
Murphy's I.O.U.
A Voice from the Deep
The Sanitarium
Making It Pleasant for Him
Mrs. Jones' Birthday
Ben's Kid