The Fatty Arbuckle Story: The Trial that Ended the Illustrious Career of the Creator of the Hollywood Comedy
Indeed, the United States was going through a plethora of changes. Newspapers, though, would soon come to focus on one great Hollywood actor and director, in a story William Randolph Hurst said would, “sell more papers than the sinking of the Lusitania.” His name? Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle.
Fatty Arbuckle, as he was commonly called due to his massive size, was among the most well-off members of Hollywood’s elite during 1921. His films, some of the best in comedy, are still revered today. But this was not on the minds of the people of 1921. When the name “Fatty Arbuckle” was mentioned, words such as “murder” and “rape” may have also sprung to mind. Why? One night at the St. Francis Hotel, a woman named Virginia Rappe was attending a party in the hotel’s ballroom. Fatty Arbuckle and a number of other Hollywood names were also present.
A good while into the party, Rappe runs out of the room screaming. She falls ill in a bedroom and dies four days later. After her death, a Maude Delmont, also known as “Madame Black,” told the police Arbuckle raped and killed Rappe. Arbuckle then became the star of the leading trial of 1921. Three times Arbuckle was tried for murder and rape, each time with the newspapers hyping the situation to the Scopes Monkey Trial level, and two times the jury could not produce a verdict. On the third attempt, Arbuckle was acquitted on all charges.
The facts that have been learned since the trial surely arouse enough excitement for a great Hollywood thriller. Maude Delmont, “Madam Black,” was apparently the leader of a fraudulent claims racket. Her tactic was to send girls to big Hollywood parties with instructions to, at some point during the party, run out screaming. Delmont would then choose a real victim, usually a key Hollywood figure, and charge him with rape.
The result, at least ideally, would be Delmont receiving a large sum of money to settle the case. Virginia Rappe did, in fact, die four days after the incident. Of an unrelated illness. Fatty Arbuckle’s career was ruined. He was forced to change his onscreen name to “William Goodrich” so as not to put moviegoers off by his slandered former personality. The man who was responsible, in many ways, for creating the comedic film standard of the 1920s was pushed into the darkness by a crime he did not commit. Arbuckle died a few years later.
Is there a wealth of fictitious legends passing the lips of Hollywood gossipers? Of course. But sometimes, truth can be more powerful than fiction. Arbuckle’s story is such a truth. The 1920s were a time of huge change for America. But, amidst this, the hugest actor/director of the time was torn down by a few small-time crooks.
