Known For
Acting
Born
Mar 22, 1887
Died
Jun 29, 1933
Place of Birth
Smith Center, Kansas, USA
Credits
244 titles
Roscoe 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.
Known For
Filmography
A Brave Engineer: Buster Keaton's Last Ride
Self (Archival)
Wonder Dogs! Canine Stars of the Silent Era (1898-1928)
Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty
archive footage
Looking for Mabel Normand
Self (archive footage)
The Parrott Chase
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Self (archive footage)
Buster Keaton: From Silents to Shorts
(archive footage)
So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM
Self (archive footage)
Chaplin Today: The Gold Rush
Self (archive footage)
Murders of Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self (archive footage)
The Casting Couch
The Chaplin Puzzle
(archive footage)
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Crazy Days
Various (archive footage) (uncredited)
Days of Thrills and Laughter
Self (archive footage)
When Comedy Was King
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Happy Times and Jolly Moments
(archive footage)
Tomalio
Wilbur
In the Dough
Slim
Close Relations
Wilbur Wart
How've You Bean?
Buzzin' Around
Cornelius
It's a Cinch
Director
Hey, Pop!
Fatty
Niagara Falls
Director
Gigolettes
Director
Hollywood Lights
Director
Mother's Holiday
Director
Hollywood Luck
Director
Bridge Wives
Director
Keep Laughing
Director
Anybody's Goat
Director
Moonlight and Cactus
Director
Stars of Yesterday
Self
Smart Work
Director
Idle Roomers
Director
The Tamale Vendor
Director
Once a Hero
Director
Queenie of Hollywood
Director
One Quiet Night
Director
That's My Meat
Director
Take 'em and Shake 'em
Director
Beach Pajamas
Writer
Up Pops the Duke
Director
Honeymoon Trio
Director
That's My Line
Writer
The Lure of Hollywood
Director
The Back Page
Director
Windy Riley Goes Hollywood
Director