Roscoe Arbuckle
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 (190 titles)
MovieA Brave Engineer: Buster Keaton's Last Ride
Self (Archival) · 2026
MovieWonder Dogs! Canine Stars of the Silent Era (1898-1928)
2025
8.0MovieCharlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty
archive footage · 2020
MovieLooking for Mabel Normand
Self (archive footage) · 2015
The Parrott Chase
(archive footage) (uncredited) · 2009
4.3MovieWhy Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Self (archive footage) · 2007
MovieBuster Keaton: From Silents to Shorts
(archive footage) · 2006
7.5MovieSo Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM
Self (archive footage) · 2004
5.3MovieChaplin Today: The Gold Rush
Self (archive footage) · 2003
5.0MovieMurders of Hollywood
Self (archive footage) · 2003
8.0MovieThe First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self (archive footage) · 1995
8.3MovieThe Casting Couch
1995
10.0MovieThe Chaplin Puzzle
(archive footage) · 1992
MovieHollywood Scandals and Tragedies
(archive footage) (uncredited) · 1988
5.8MovieCrazy Days
Various (archive footage) (uncredited) · 1962
6.0MovieDays of Thrills and Laughter
Self (archive footage) · 1961
6.5MovieWhen Comedy Was King
(archive footage) (uncredited) · 1960
7.5MovieHappy Times and Jolly Moments
(archive footage) · 1943
5.5MovieTomalio
Wilbur · 1933
6.5MovieIn the Dough
Slim · 1933
7.0MovieClose Relations
Wilbur Wart · 1933
8.0MovieHow've You Bean?
1933
6.6MovieBuzzin' Around
Cornelius · 1933
9.0MovieHey, Pop!
Fatty · 1932
9.0MovieStars of Yesterday
Self · 1931
6.2MovieCharacter Studies
Self (uncredited) · 1927
Listen Lena
Fat man with strategically covered face (unconfirmed) · 1927
6.3MovieMy Stars
Mailman (uncredited) · 1926
6.9MovieGo West
Woman in Department Store (uncredited) · 1925
5.2MovieLeap Year
Stanley Piper · 1924