Hollywood Origins History - The Story of 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Hollywood's First Big Scandal

Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of the most popular actors in Hollywood during the silent film era. Known for his comedic performances and larger-than-life persona, Arbuckle was beloved by audiences around the world. However, in 1921, his career came crashing down after he was accused of a heinous crime that shocked the nation.

The story of ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle is the first big Hollywood celebrity scandal and it had a profound impact on the film industry and the public's perception of Hollywood celebrities. Before Arbuckle's arrest and trial, Hollywood was still a relatively new industry, and the public was still figuring out how to navigate the world of movie stars and celebrity culture.

The Arbuckle scandal was a perfect storm of tabloid journalism, public hysteria, and an emerging film industry that was still trying to establish itself as a legitimate art form. The media coverage of the trial was relentless, with sensational headlines and salacious details about Arbuckle's personal life dominating the news cycle for months.

On Labor Day weekend in 1921, Arbuckle and some friends decided to take a break from a chaotic film schedule to throw a big party on the 12th floor of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. One of the guests at the party was 30-year-old struggling actress named Virginia Rappe. Over the course of the night, Rappe became ill and at one point was screaming in agony in a bed. When guests rushed into the room they found Rappe in great pain.

According to witness and friend Bambina “Maude” Delmont, Rappe was “writhing in pain” and tearing at her clothing, and she screamed, “He did this! He hurt me! I’m dying!” Maude accused Fatty of the rape and murder of her friend.

Maude took care of Rappe over the course of several days and she was examined by multiple doctors, one of which said her bladder was injured and likely needed surgery. However, they didn’t take her to a proper hospital because they didn’t want the police involved. Why? Because alcohol was illegal at the time, and they had no time to clean it all up and get rid of the evidence. So, they took Rappe to the Wakefield Sanatorium, which served as a maternity hospital and sometimes an abortion clinic. Over the next few days, her condition declined and she eventually slipped into a coma and died. Virginia told her nurses that Fatty was the one who did this to her.

An unauthorized autopsy was done “at the request of friends of the deceased.” It was confirmed through this that Virginia’s bladder ruptured and the injury to the bladder was between one and twelve days old. It was determined that the cause of death was peritonitis, an infection of the membrane lining the abdominal wall. It was believed that her bladder had ruptured by some external force. They came to the conclusion that Arbuckle applied external force during the act of sexual assault. That day, Fatty Arbuckle was arrested and charged with the murder of Virginia Rappe.

The scandal quickly became national news, and the media began to report sensationalized stories about the incident. According to some reports, Arbuckle had raped Rappe with a champagne bottle, while others claimed that he had caused her death through some other violent means. One thing was made clear, Arbuckle, the man who discovered Buster Keaton and mentored Charlie Chaplin, was public enemy number one, and mortality groups wanted him to face the death penalty.

Arbuckle was initially charged with first-degree murder, but that was eventually reduced to manslaughter, and as you might imagine, his trial became a media circus. The prosecution painted Arbuckle as a sexual deviant, while the defense argued that Rappe had died from a pre-existing medical condition. It was also revealed in court that the prosecution had used intimidation to force several witnesses to testify against Arbuckle.

The trial ended in a hung jury, and Arbuckle was put on trial two more times before he was finally acquitted of all charges. The trials were a complete mess and Virginia’s fiancé said under oath that he would kill Arbuckle on site if he weren’t convicted.

His main accuser was Maude Delmont, but she was a convicted criminal who had admitted to plotting to extort money from him. She was never asked to take the stand because she would only hurt the case.

Fatty’s story, which never changed, was that when Virginia was in a hysterical state, he washed Virginia’s face and laid her on the bed. At one point, she fell on the floor, and he picked her up to put her back on the bed. He explained it wasn’t his fault that she tore her clothing to shreds. He said that all he did was try to help her.

Despite being found innocent, Arbuckle's career was completely ruined. He was blacklisted from Hollywood and struggled to find work for the rest of his life. After the trial, Hollywood established a censorship board, which ruled that Arbuckle should never work in the industry again. While that was eventually lifted, the actor still remained blacklisted.

Arbuckle spent more than a decade trying to make a comeback in which he worked under a pseudonym and during that time, in 1927, he discovered Bob Hope in Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1933 Warner Bros. ended up offering him a feature film contract. When he signed the deal he reportedly said, “This is the best day of my life.” That same night he died of a heart attack at his home in his wife’s arms. He was only 46 years old.

While it's impossible to know exactly what happened on that fateful night in 1921, the story of Fatty Arbuckle is a tragic one for everyone that was involved. After this, reporting on Hollywood gossip and creating scandals out of the personal problems that occurred in celebrities’ lives became a big business.

As you know, nothing has changed and it’s all amplified even more thanks to social media!

The Aftermath of Arbuckle’s Party.

Fatty Arbuckle with Lawyers and his brother.

This is Virginia’s casket, which is draped with flowers. Charlie Chaplin’s child wife at the time, Mildred, provided the dress that Virginia was buried in.

Source: BBC