Roscoe Arbuckle
Actor
Born March 22, 1887 in Smith Center, Kansas, USA
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.
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)
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
Hey, Pop!
Fatty
Niagara Falls
Hollywood Lights
Bridge Wives
Stars of Yesterday
Self
Queenie of Hollywood
That's My Line
The Lure of Hollywood
Windy Riley Goes Hollywood
Three Hollywood Girls
The Cuckoos
Character Studies
Self (uncredited)
Special Delivery
The Red Mill
His Private Life
Fool's Luck
Home Cured
My Stars
Mailman (uncredited)
The Fighting Dude
Cleaning Up
Go West
Woman in Department Store (uncredited)
The Movies
The Tourist
Curses
The Iron Mule
Dynamite Doggie
Lovemania
Stupid, but Brave
His First Car
Leap Year
Stanley Piper
Hollywood
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle
Day Dreams
The Fast Freight
Ras Berry
Crazy to Marry
Dr. Hobart Hupp
Gasoline Gus
Gasoline Gus
Traveling Salesman
Bob Blake
The Dollar-a-Year Man
Franklin Pinney
Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)
Himself
Brewster's Millions
Monte Brewster
The Life of the Party
Algernon Leary (as Roscoe Arbuckle)
The Round-Up
Slim Hoover
The Garage
Mechanic / Fireman
The Hayseed
Mailman
Back Stage
Stagehand
A Desert Hero
The Sheriff, the Desert Hero
Love
Fatty
Camping Out
The Sheriff
Cook
The Cook
The Chef
Good Night, Nurse!
Fatty
Moonshine
Revenue Agent
The Bell Boy
Bellboy, barber
Out West
Train Rider, Bartender
A Country Hero
Village Blacksmith
Coney Island
Fatty
Oh, Doctor!
Dr. Fatty Holepoke
The Late Lamented
Cameo Appearance (unconfirmed)
His Wedding Night
Gas station employee
The Rough House
Mr. Rough
A Reckless Romeo
The Husband
The Butcher Boy
Fatty / Saccharine
A Creampuff Romance
Fatty
The Waiters' Ball
The Cook
The Other Man
Fatty the Tramp (dual role)
His Wife's Mistakes
The Janitor
Bright Lights
Fatty
He Did and He Didn’t
The Doctor
Fatty and Mabel Adrift
Fatty
Fatty and the Broadway Stars
Fatty - Studio Janitor
A Village Scandal
Eddie - the Country Boy
Fickle Fatty's Fall
Fatty
Fatty's Tintype Tangle
Fatty
Fatty’s Plucky Pup
Fatty
The Little Teacher
Fat Unruly Student
Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers
Finnegan's Daughter
Mabel’s Wilful Way
Fatty
Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco
Himself
Wished on Mabel
Fatty
When Love Took Wings
Reckless Fatty
Fatty’s Faithful Fido
Fatty
That Little Band Of Gold
Fatty - the Husband
Fatty’s Chance Acquaintance
Fatty
Fatty’s Reckless Fling
Fatty
A Glimpse of the San Diego Exposition
Himself
Hogan's Romance Upset
Fight Spectator
Mabel and Fatty’s Married Life
Fatty
Fatty's New Role
Fatty
Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition
Fatty
Mabel, Fatty and the Law
Fatty
Fatty and Mabel’s Simple Life
Roscoe
Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day
Fatty
Fatty and Minnie He-Haw
Fatty
Fatty's Magic Pants
Fatty
Leading Lizzie Astray
Fatty
Zip, the Dodger
Zip
Lover's Luck
Fatty
The Rounders
Mr. Fuller
His New Profession
Bartender Smoking Cigar
The Masquerader
Film actor
Those Country Kids
Fatty
The Knockout
Pug (uncredited)
The Alarm
His Favorite Pastime
Shabby Drunk
Tango Tangles
Clarinetist
A Film Johnnie
Self
Twixt Love and Fire
The Iceman
The Water Dog
Fatty
Making a Living
Tough Guy (uncredited)
In the Clutches of the Gang
Cop
A Flirt's Mistake
Husband (uncredited)
He Would a Hunting Go
Count Chicori
Some Nerve
The Jealous Man
A Ride for a Bride
Fatty
The Woman Haters
1st Old Tar
Fatty Joins the Force
Fatty
Fatty at San Diego
Fatty
The Speed Kings
Masher
The Fatal Taxicab
Mabel's Sweetheart
The Gypsy Queen
Fatty
Mabel's Dramatic Career
Man in Audience
Fatty's Day Off
Fatty
Mabel's New Hero
Fatty
The Riot
Cohen - Jewish Neighborhood Leader
A Noise from the Deep
Bob
Love and Rubbish
Fat Boy
Safe in Jail
Neighbor Woman
For the Love of Mabel
Suitor
A Bandit
Bully
Peeping Pete
Pete's Wife
The Waiters' Picnic
Oscar - the Waiter
The Gangsters
Cop
Alas! Poor Yorick!
Player in Female Costume
Murphy's I.O.U.
(uncredited) (unconfirmed)
The Sanitarium
Charley Wise
Mrs. Jones' Birthday
Ben's Kid
Fatty Carter