Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Smith Center, Kansas, USA

1887-03-22

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.

Movies:

The Masquerader

Hollywood

Back Stage

The Bell Boy

Coney Island

Good Night, Nurse!

His Wedding Night

Zip, the Dodger

Out West

The Hayseed

The Rough House

Oh, Doctor!

Moonshine

The Cook

The Garage

The Butcher Boy

A Film Johnnie

Tango Tangles

His Favorite Pastime

The Knockout

The Rounders

His New Profession

Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day

A Country Hero

Stars of Yesterday

When Comedy Was King

Fatty and Mabel Adrift

Fatty's Tintype Tangle

Brewster's Millions

Crazy Days

A Flirt's Mistake

Fatty Joins the Force

Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition

Leading Lizzie Astray

Fatty's New Role

Murphy's I.O.U.

Love and Bullets

Fatty's Finish

The Baggage Smasher

Those Happy Days

That Minstrel Man

Caught in a Flue

A Suspended Ordeal

Our Country Cousin

Fatty's Gift

Fatty and the Heiress

A Brand New Hero

A Rowboat Romance

The Sky Pirate

Bombs and Bangs

Their Ups and Downs

Fatty Again

How Old Are You?

Shotguns That Kick

A Village Scandal

Fatty's Wild Night

Buzzin' Around

Mabel's New Hero

Peeping Pete

A Bandit

The Other Man

A Creampuff Romance

The Late Lamented

Listen Lena

My Stars

Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers

Those Country Kids

Fatty's Magic Pants

Mabel’s Wilful Way

Wished on Mabel

A Glimpse of the San Diego Exposition

Fatty’s Chance Acquaintance

When Love Took Wings

That Little Band Of Gold

The Little Teacher

Mabel, Fatty and the Law

Fatty’s Reckless Fling

Fatty and Mabel’s Simple Life

Mabel and Fatty’s Married Life

Fatty’s Plucky Pup

Fatty’s Faithful Fido

He Did and He Didn’t

Love

Leap Year

Fatty and Minnie He-Haw

A Scrap of Paper

His Wife's Mistakes

Fatty's Jonah Day

Lover's Luck

In the Dough

The Gangsters

A Voice from the Deep

Alas! Poor Yorick!

The Sanitarium

Ben's Kid

Mrs. Jones' Birthday

Passions, He Had Three

Making It Pleasant for Him

The Speed Kings

Help! Help! Hydrophobia!

The Waiters' Picnic

A Noise from the Deep

Love and Rubbish

Safe in Jail

Professor Bean's Removal

Love and Courage

For the Love of Mabel

Almost a Rescue

Rastus and the Game Cock

The Telltale Light

The Riot

Mabel's Dramatic Career

The Fatal Taxicab

Fatty's Day Off

The Gypsy Queen

When Dreams Come True

Mother's Boy

A Quiet Little Wedding

Two Old Tars

The Milk We Drink

Fatty at San Diego

A Small Time Act

A Ride for a Bride

Wine

His Sister's Kids

He Would a Hunting Go

Fatty's Flirtation

The Woman Haters

Some Nerve

In the Clutches of the Gang

Twixt Love and Fire

Rebecca's Wedding Day

The Under-Sheriff

A Robust Romeo

A Misplaced Foot

A Bath House Beauty

The Chicken Chaser

A Rural Demon

Barnyard Flirtations

Where Hazel Met the Villain

Go West

A Reckless Romeo

Chaplin Today: 'The Gold Rush'

The Waiters' Ball

Hey, Pop!

The Chaplin Puzzle

Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

The Round-Up

Gasoline Gus

The Life of the Party

The Dollar-a-Year Man

Traveling Salesman

Crazy to Marry

The Fast Freight

So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM

Buster Keaton: From Silents to Shorts

Days of Thrills and Laughter

How've You Bean?

Close Relations

Tomalio

Character Studies

Fatty's Debut

Fatty's Wine Party

Buster Keaton The Shorts Collection 1917-1923

Happy Times and Jolly Moments

Looking for Mabel Normand

Fickle Fatty's Fall

Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco

Arbuckle & Keaton, Volume Two

Arbuckle & Keaton, Volume One

Fatty and the Broadway Stars

Camping Out

The Sheriff

The Bank Clerk

The Pullman Porter

A Desert Hero

An Incompetent Hero

The Sea Nymphs

Lovers' Post Office

Bright Lights

The Alarm

The Water Dog

Hogan's Romance Upset

Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)

Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies

Murders of Hollywood

Profiles: