Room 1219: Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe, and the Scandal That Changed Hollywood

by Greg Merritt

  “Said rupture was caused…”“Arbuckle Accused of Manslaughter by Coroner’s Jury,” New York Times, September 15, 1921.

  a gang of at least eight young men … “All Assailants of Girls Known, Police Declare,” Oakland Tribune, November 27, 1920.

  “I, the undersigned juror …”“One Juror Files Dissenting Verdict,” Oakland Tribune, September 15, 1921.

  Understandably, headlines like … “Girl, 20, Sobs Recital of Attack by 19,” San Francisco Examiner, December 11, 1920.

  more than seventy-five San Francisco women’s clubs … Louis S. Lyons and Josephine Wilson, eds., Who’s Who Among the Women of California (San Francisco: Security, 1922), 197.

  ”no better than the Howard Street gangsters … “ “‘Like Howard Street Gang Case,’ Says Leader,” San Francisco Examiner, September 14, 1921.

  Another WVC member said… “Vigilant Women Condemn Wild Orgy of Arbuckle,” San Francisco Examiner, September 15, 1921.

  “Women After Arbuckle”… “Star to Be Vigorously Prosecuted,” Los Angeles Times, September 16, 1921.

  Pierce-Arrow was parked… “Probers Identify Men Who Carried Arbuckle’s Booze,” Oakland Tribune, September 17, 1921.

  Arbuckle’s net worth … “$5000 per Week Is Arbuckle’s Salary; Is Great ‘Spender,’” Evening News (San Jose), September 12, 1921.

  a furniture company had filed a lien … “Arbuckle Property Attached,” Schenectady Gazette, September 15, 1921.

  an interior decorator filed an attachment… Ibid.

  “For the sake of God and justice to men …” “Bail To-day for Arbuckle Is Forecast,” New York Tribune, September 16, 1921.

  “army of special police”… “Arbuckle to Go on Trial for Murder,” New York Tribune, September 17, 1921.

  Joyce “Dollie” Clark … “Arbuckle Guest Put on Probation,” Los Angeles Times, September 17, 1921.

  “The next case is number five …” “Arbuckle Will Be Tried for Murder,” San Francisco Examiner, September 17, 1921.

  “The people are ready to proceed…” Ibid. “We want to be courteous …” Ibid.

  “The District Attorney’s office … “ “Arbuckle to Be Tried on Murder Charge,” Los Angeles Times, September 17, 1921.

  “On the beautiful face …” “Golden Gate City Showers Virginia Rappe with Flowers,” Detroit Free Press, September 16, 1921.

  Per Lehrman’s wired instructions … “Body to Be Shipped To-day,” New York Tribune, September 16, 1921.

  11. Glory: 1917-18

  he loped about with a cane … Minta Durfee, unpublished manuscript, 102, Minta Durfee Arbuckle Collection, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, CA.

  The sendoff party … “Banquet for Arbuckle,” Los Angeles Times, February 11, 1917.

  An ad in a Salt Lake City newspaper … Scrapbook pages, undated, Minta Durfee Arbuckle Collection.

  “At night, there was always a banquet… “ Minta Durfee, interview by Stuart Oderman, July 1969, in Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle: A Biography of the Silent Film Comedian, 1887-1933 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994), 102.

  Arbuckle told an incredulous Chicago reporter … “Minus Pies and Torn Pants,” Chicago Tribune, February 28, 1917.

  “Arbuckle had a carbuncle … “ “Elgin Car Carries Fatty Arbuckle When He Visits Chicago,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City, UT), March 10, 1917.

  he placed a wreath on the Liberty Bell… “City Opens Its Arms for ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle,” Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia, PA), March 3, 1917.

  dinner was served at … “Fatty Arbuckle Greeted,” Boston Globe, March 7, 1917.

  What Fatty ate … “City Opens Its Arms for ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle.”

  She recounted one rampage … Tape-recorded 1958—59 memoirs of Minta Durfee, cited in Robert Young Jr., Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle: A Bio-Bibliography (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994), 55.

  “Well, if he can be stubborn … “ Minta Durfee, “The True Story About My Husband,” Movie Weekly, December 24, 1921.

  paid her $500 weekly … “Wife of Film Star who Starts Across Country to Aid Him,” Bakersfield Californian, September 14, 1921.

  A cyclone blew away the town … Buster Keaton with Charles Samuels, My Wonderful World of Slapstick (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960), 20.

  “a pretty strenuous day”… Keaton, My Wonderful World of Slapstick, 21.

  given to him by Harry Houdini … Buster Keaton, interview by Herbert Feinstein, October 6, 1960, in Buster Keaton: Interviews, ed. Kevin W. Sweeney (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2007), 128.

  the original version of the story … Marion Meade, Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase (New York: HarperCollins, 1995), 18.

  “The tiny comedian is perfectly at ease …” Theater review, New York Clipper, July 20, 1901.

  On October 4, 1909, an ad… Advertisement, Variety, October 4, 1909.

  He signed with Max Hart … Meade, Buster Keaton, 57.

  he ran into Lou Anger … Ibid., 60.

  watching Tillie’s Punctured Romance … “Anything Can Happen—and Usually Did,” Image, December 1974, 24.

  “Between one thing and another”… Keaton, My Wonderful World of Slapstick, 92—93.

  “Roscoe—none of us who knew him … “ Ibid., 93.

  “You’re late”… Rudi Blesh, Keaton (New York: MacMillan, 1966), 89.

  his “gross contour” and “supremely terrible face” … “Fatty Sheds Tear over Shakespeare,” Los Angeles Times, August 31, 1919.

  Keaton claimed he had never … Keaton, My Wonderful World of Slapstick, 94.

  Reisenweber’s … “J. Reisenweber Dies of Stroke,” Standard Union, August 10, 1931; William Grimes, Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York (New York: North Point, 2009), 179.

  the Motion Picture Charity Ball… “Big Film Ball,” Motography, May 5, 1917, 936.

  opening night of a minor league baseball game … “Portland Club to Whoop Things Up,” Day (New London, CT), May 9, 1917.

  “in doubt as to his practical usefulness …” “No Slackers with ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle,” Delmarva Star (Wilmington, DE), July 1, 1917.

  he and Keaton registered for the draft… Roscoe C. Arbuckle, World War I registration card, FHL roll number 1530898, draft board 17; Joseph F. Keaton, World War I registration card, FHL roll number 1766041, draft board 116; both at National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

  Arbuckle sold his Rolls-Royce … “Fatty’s Profit,” Variety, August 31, 1917.

  “Roscoe was a poor boy … “ Minta Durfee, interview by Walter Wagner, July 4, 1973, in You Must Remember This (New York: Putnam, 1975), 35.

  “Roscoe loves company”… Louella Parsons, In and Out of Focus, New York Morning Telegraph, March 3, 1919.

  “He likes nothing better… “ Durfee, “The True Story About My Husband.”

  “There’s nothing in the world…” “‘Fatty’ Arbuckle off the Screen,” Literary Digest, July 14, 1917, 41.

  the average annual household income … Michael L. Dolfman and Denis M. McSweeney, 100 Years of U.S. Consumer Spending: Date for the Nation, New York City, and Boston, US Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 991, 9.

  “Mr. Arbuckle has probably the most complete … “ New York Sun, July 29, 1917.

  Improvisation … “‘Fatty’ Arbuckle off the Screen,” 41.

  Acting… “The Solemn Mr. Arbuckle,” New York Tribune, May 6, 1917.

  Production … “‘Fatty’ Arbuckle off the Screen,” 42.

  Editing… Ibid.

  Comedy … First two paragraphs in “The Solemn Mr. Arbuckle”; third paragraph in “‘Fatty’ Arbuckle off the Screen,” 42.

  Balboa Studio … History via Jean-Jacques Jura and Rodney Norman Barden II, Balboa Films: A History and Filmography of the Silent Film Studio (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999).

  an exact reproduction … “Visiting Roscoe Arbuckle in Village of Jazzville,” Los Angeles Times, November 25,
1917.

  A typical Tuesday night… Louella Parsons, In and Out of Focus, New York Morning Telegraph, March 3, 1919; “Tea Parties at Vernon,” Los Angeles Times, September 21, 1919.

  “Some men might resent …” Parsons, In and Out of Focus, March 3, 1919.

  “It borders over much … “ Review of Good Night Nurse, Motion Picture Magazine, August 1918.

  “The longer I worked with Roscoe … “ Keaton, My Wonderful World of Slapstick, 95.

  gratis vaudeville shows … The Vaudeville Show, Los Angeles Times, December 23, 1917.

  Arbuckle was one of five … “Kings of Movies Raise $787,000 for Loan Bonds,” New York Tribune, April 18, 1918.

  Long Beach war bond parade … “Arbuckle Falls into Liberty Parade,” Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1918.

  “to gather in smokes for the boys …” “Fatty Receives Poem from ‘Over There,’” Bridgeport Telegram, June 22, 1918.

  article that focused on the latter practice … “Patriotic Arbuckle,” Los Angeles Times, December 2, 1917.

  Comique threw him a farewell dinner… New York Telegraph, August 11, 1918.

  Keaton was visited by Natalie Talmadge … Keaton, My Wonderful World of Slapstick, 98-99.

  He was transferred to a town near Bourdeaux … Meade, Buster Keaton, 81.

  “Roscoe Arbuckle shares comedy honors …” “An Analytical Review of the Year’s Acting,” Photoplay, November 1918, 106.

  Arbuckle spent two weeks … Shadow on the Screen, New York Tribune, December 29, 1918.

  the Arbuckle/Lake relationship … Viola Dana, interview by Stuart Oderman, July 1974, in Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle: A Biography, 131.

  “The people adored ‘Fatty’… “ “An Analytical Review,” 106.

  12. Preliminaries

  An angry mob of 150 … “Wyoming Mob Shoots Up Fatty,” Wyoming State Tribune, September 17, 1921.

  “Will do best I can”… William Randolph Hearst, telegram to Adolph Zukor, September 22, 1921, Adolph Zukor Collection, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, CA.

  He was visited by his brothers … “Brothers Visit Arbuckle,” Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1921.

  “Some of the mail …” Minta Durfee, interview by Walter Wagner, July 4, 1973, in You Must Remember This (New York: Putnam, 1975), 40.

  “to get the lay of the land”… “State Re-enacts Fatal Party in Arbuckle Suite,” New York Tribune, September 19, 1921.

  a sermon delivered that same Sunday … “Fatty Stands Before Nation with Leering Grin While His Hands Drip Blood—Straton,” Denver Post, September 19, 1921.

  “He has assaulted public decency …” “Pastors Show Peril of Arbuckle Party,” Los Angeles Examiner, September 19, 1921.

  “I feel sorry for ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle … “ “Billy Sunday Lays Blame on Actress, Thinks Charge Against ‘Fatty’ Unfounded,” Detroit Free Press, September 19, 1921.

  Virginia Rappe appeared angelic … Visitation details via “Thousands See Body of Dead Girl,” Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1921; “8000 See Rappe Girl’s Body,” New York Times, September 19, 1921.

  On Monday morning… Details of Rappe’s burial via “Virginia Rappe in Final Rest,” Los Angeles Times, September 20, 1921.

  The count varies … “Thousands See Body of Dead Girl”; “8000 See Rappe Girl’s Body.”

  “I’m ready for the defense… “ “Wife Pleads for Arbuckle,” Reading Eagle, September 19, 1921.

  she had admitted her testimony at the coroner’s inquest… Los Angeles Evening Herald, September 16, 1921, quoted in Rob Leicester Wagner, Red Ink, White Lies: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles Newspapers 1920—1962 (Upland, CA: Dragonflyer Press, 2000), 38.

  Arbuckle embraced his wife … “‘Hello Roscoe, Honey Dear!’: Wife’s Greeting, Strong Mutual Respect Revealed at Reunion,” San Francisco Examiner, September 20, 1921.

  “Ada Gillifillian … “ “Cash Plot Charge in Arbuckle Case,” Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia, PA), September 20, 1921.

  “There is money in this Arbuckle case … “ “Police Here Asked to Watch Witness in Arbuckle Case,” New York Tribune, September 21, 1921.

  ”Tell the truth” … Ibid.

  “forcibly applied a piece of ice … “ “‘Confession’ in Arbuckle Death Case Questioned,” Los Angeles Times, September 22, 1921.

  On the hysterical end… “Declares Arbuckle Told of Using Foreign Substance in Attack on Miss Rappe,” Lewistown Daily, September 22, 1921.

  in an automobile driven by a red-headed woman … “Sleuths Waiting for Sherman Get Only Merry Laugh,” New York Tribune, September 22, 1921.

  a deposition swearing that Arbuckle was never alone … “Sherman Aids Arbuckle,” New York Times, November 2, 1921.

  Universal became the first studio to institute a morality clause … “Morality Clause for Films,” New York Times, September 22, 1921.

  “The drunken orgy at the St. Francis …” “Crime That of a Fiend,” Ellensburg Daily Record, September 22, 1921.

  “Women began showing up at the Hall of Justice …” “Women Throng First Hearing of Arbuckle Case,” New York Tribune, September 23, 1921.

  “Men are being excluded everywhere … “ “Arbuckle Hit Hard,” Los Angeles Times, September 23, 1921.

  “some force from outside”… “With Puzzled Air, Arbuckle Hears Evidence,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 23, 1921.

  Al Semnacher was the only witness … Semnacher’s testimony via People v. Arbuckle, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, preliminary hearing transcript, 165-68.

  Red-faced Arbuckle … “Testimony Is Vulgar,” Los Angeles Times, September 25, 1921.

  fussing with a long stream … Ibid.

  The United Press correspondent described… “Witness Testifies Arbuckle Confessed He Tortured Actress,” Sunday Morning Star, September 25, 1921.

  Dominguez got Semnacher to admit … “Testimony Is Vulgar.”

  “under the influence of alcohol or morphine”… “Blackmail Charged,” Los Angeles Times, September 27, 1921.

  Semnacher was not Rappe’s manager … Ibid.

  “on” Rappe’s “snatch”… People v. Arbuckle, preliminary hearing transcript, 264.

  Dominguez explained the relevance … “‘Blackmail’ to Be Arbuckle’s Defense Plea,” New York Tribune, September 27, 1921.

  Judge Lazarus declared … “Blackmail Charged.”

  his original intent was “joshing” Rappe … People v. Arbuckle, preliminary hearing transcript, 128.

  by the time of the 1910 census … US Census Bureau, Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910, population of New York City, NY, sup. dist. 1, enum. dist. 1301, April 27, 1910 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1912-14).

  The groom was John C. Hopper … “Mrs. Bambina Delmont Former Wife of Canadian Farmer and Ex-Soldier,” Oakland Tribune, September 14, 1921.

  she lived for a time in Wichita, Kansas … “Mrs. Delmont Known in Kansas,” Los Angeles Times, September 18, 1921.

  authorities asked her to leave Catalina … “Begin Inquiry Here on Life of Mrs. Delmont,” Los Angeles Times, September 18, 1921.

  The 1920 census had found her … US Census Bureau, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, population of Los Angeles, CA, precinct 40, sup. dist. 8, enum. dist. 262, January 3, 1920 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1921).

  wedding Cassius Clay Woods … “New Arbuckle Charge Looms,” Los Angeles Times, October 1, 1921.

  both recalling, with minor variations … “Use of Ice Mentioned,” New York Tribune, September 28, 1921.

  “That’ll bring you to”… People v. Arbuckle, preliminary hearing transcript, 336.

  “No, no, oh my God!”… Ibid., 341—42.

  “Do you mean to say … “ Ibid., 346—48.

  “You are traveling very close … “ Ibid., 350.

  the judge was ready to deliver his decision … “Arbuckle Out on Bail;
Held for Manslaughter,” Los Angeles Times, September 29, 1921.

  The courtroom of mostly female observers … Courtroom reaction via “Arbuckle Out on Bail; Held for Manslaughter”; “Arbuckle Freed on Bail; Murder Charge Dropped,” New York Tribune, September 29, 1921.

  “Roll a cigarette …” “Arbuckle Freed on Bail; Murder Charge Dropped.”

  if Arbuckle “were unknown …”“Brady Attacks Decision,” New York Times, September 29, 1921.

  he was stopped by women well-wishers … “Arbuckle Due in City Today,” Los Angeles Times, September 30, 1921.

  the conductor, porters, and many passengers … Ibid.

  a large crowd of friends and curious spectators … “1500 at Train Station as Comedian Arrives; Kissed by Women,” Los Angeles Herald, September 30, 1921.

  an editorial questioning it… “Some Problems for the Psychologists,” New York Times, October 1, 1921.

  “I’ve only seen him …” “Blackmail Plot Against Arbuckle Charged at Trial,” Atlanta Constitution, September 27, 1921.

  her “tense trip to Los Angeles … “ Minta Durfee, unpublished manuscript, 52, Minta Durfee Arbuckle Collection, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, CA.

  There was a mild backlash … “Feasting and Vigilance,” Los Angeles Times, September 27, 1921.

  the guest of honor at a homecoming party … “Arbuckle Celebrates in Los Angeles Home,” New York Times, October 1, 1921.

  “He has seen fair-weather friends … “ Minta Durfee, “The True Story About My Husband,” Movie Weekly, December 24, 1921.

  “Half the people there …” Rudi Blesh, Keaton (New York: MacMillan, 1966), 80.

  13. Bliss: 1919-20

  “Dear Mr. Arbuckle …” “Roscoe Arbuckle Visits Prison Birds,” Detroit Free Press, June 15, 1919.

  “a certain little girl…” Louella Parsons, In and Out of Focus, New York Morning Telegraph, March 3, 1919.

  ”Anyhow, you can see … “ “Fatty Arbuckle to Get Three Million,” Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1919.

  screamed one front page … “$1,000,000 a Year for Movie ‘Fatty,’” Washington Times, February 23, 1919.

  “I have watched Doc…” Parsons, In and Out of Focus, March 3, 1919.