Roscoe Arbuckle

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (1887-1933) was an American stage and film actor and director, and one of the most famous Hollywood stars of the silent film era. Ranked with such comedians as Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd, he would be among the first to own his own production company and sign a contract with a major film studio worth a million dollars by 1919. Two years later his reputation and career were effectively ended as he was by implication involved in the rape and murder of a young actress, revealing to the world the dark side of Hollywood excess.

History

He was born Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle in Smith Center, Kansas on March 24, 1887, the son of William G. and Mollie Arbuckle. The birth resulted in severe complications for Mollie due to his large size, which may have played a role in her death twelve years later. A chubby kid, he had a gifted singing voice which led to an invitation to join an amateur talent show run by a traveling professional; his comical avoidance of the "shepherd's crook" meant to pull him off the stage after an otherwise bad showing enabled him to win the contest and begin a career with Vaudeville.