Roscoe Arbuckle

Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American illustrated song slide "model," silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd. He mentored Charlie Chaplin and discovered Buster Keaton and Bob Hope. He was one of the most popular stars of the 1910s, and soon became one of the highest paid, signing a contract to make $1 million a year in 1918.

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In 1921 Arbuckle threw a party during Labor Day weekend. Bit player Virginia Rappe became ill at the party and died days later. Soon Arbuckle was accused of raping and accidentally killing Rappe, enduring three widely publicized manslaughter trials. His films were banned, his career was ruined, and he was publicly ostracized. Though he was acquitted by a jury and received a written apology, the trial's scandal has mostly overshadowed his legacy as a pioneering comedian.

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Arbuckle had a "wonderful" singing voice and was extremely agile. At the age of eight his mother encouraged him to perform in theatres which he enjoyed until she died in 1899 when he was 12. His father, who had always treated him harshly, now refused to support him and Arbuckle got work doing odd jobs in a hotel. Arbuckle was in the habit of singing while he worked and was overheard by a customer who was a professional singer. The customer invited him to perform in an amateur talent show. The show consisted of the audience judging acts by clapping or jeering with bad acts pulled off the stage by a shepherd's crook. Arbuckle sang, danced and did some clowning around but did not impress the audience. He saw the crook emerge from the wings and to avoid it somersaulted into the orchestra pit in obvious panic. The audience went wild and he not only won the competition but began a career in vaudeville.

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On August 6, 1908 he married Minta Durfee (1889 – 1975), the daughter of Charles Warren Durfee and Flora Adkins. Durfee starred in many early comedy films under the name Minta Durfee, often with Arbuckle. They reportedly made a strange couple as Minta was short and petite while Arbuckle was tall and very large.

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American: :This page disambiguates the many uses of American. For an article about those various uses, please see Use of the word American....

Illustrated song: REDIRECT Illustrated songs...

Silent film: A silent film is a film with no accompanying, synchronized recorded spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as the motion picture itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, most films were silent before the late 1920s....

Roscoe Arbuckle related Images and Photos (experimental)

Love Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle Winifred Westover 1919	Chaplin Arbuckle Counted Out	Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins DVD (Widescreen)	Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins DVD (Full Frame)	Gambling Ship Jack La Rue Roscoe Karns Cary Grant 1933