[63], The 2009 novel Devil's Garden is based on the Arbuckle trials. In 1919, Rappe began a relationship with director/producer Henry Lehrman. After hearing testimony from one of the party guests, Zey Prevon, that Rappe told her "Roscoe hurt me" on her deathbed, the judge decided that Arbuckle could be charged with first-degree murder. [citation needed], This article is about the actor Roscoe Arbuckle. To celebrate just having finished three pictures at the same time and to celebrate his new contract with Paramount, Arbuckle and a couple of friends drove up from Los Angeles to San Francisco on Saturday, September 3, 1921, for some Labor Day weekend revelry. Arbuckle was able to stay in film by doing some directing, but even behind the camera, his career didnt have a chance of finding its footing. On September 5, 1921, Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle, known as Fatty, a known comedian, actor, director and screen writer, and two others rented three rooms in the St. Francis Hotel. He was more popular than even Charlie Chaplin and at the time of his downfall in 1921, he was earning over $1 milli They were on the twelfth floor in a suite that contained rooms 1219, 1220, and 1221 (room 1220 was the sitting room). In fact it is loosely based on the 1926 poem by Joseph Moncure March. Another witness who testified during the first trial, a former Culver Studios security guard named Jesse Norgard, testified that Arbuckle had once shown up at the studio and offered him a cash bribe in exchange for the key to Rappe's dressing room. He arranged bail after nearly three weeks in jail. After three trials Arbuckle was finally acquitted on April 12, 1922 but not until his reputation was destroyed and his movies were banned. At the time of his acquittal, he owed over $700,000 (equivalent to approximately $11,300,000 in 2021 dollars[15]) in legal fees to his attorneys for the three criminal trials, and he was forced to sell his house and all of his cars to pay some of the debt. The scandal that followed her death had nothing to do with the fame, or lack of it, of the pretty actress - it was her link to the man who was known as "America's Funnyman . Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. He didn't like his nickname and asked friends to call him "Roscoe." Like many comedians, he came out of a. And hidden gems. 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. The entire jury proudly posed with Arbuckle for photographers after the verdict and apology. [54], In Ken Russell's 1977 biopic Valentino, Rudolph Nureyev as a pre-movie star Rudolph Valentino dances in a nightclub before a grossly overweight, obnoxious, and hedonistic celebrity called "Mr. Fatty" (played by William Hootkins), a caricature of Arbuckle rooted in the public view of him created in popular press coverage of the Rappe rape trial. After a third trial in 1922, the jury took just a few minutes to unanimously acquit Arbuckle - he was found guilty only of drinking bootleg alcohol. On September 9, 1921, the death of a young movie actress named Virginia Rappe would make newspaper headlines around the world. At this point in time she came to know Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle who had worked at Keystone with her fiance Henry Lehrman. I'm not. [3] The defense had also obtained a letter from Delmont admitting to a plan to extort payment from Arbuckle. Rappe died four days later after being examined. The show consisted of the audience judging acts by clapping or jeering, with bad acts pulled off the stage by a shepherd's crook. He directed most of his output from 1914 and onwards. Search instead in Creative? Im a writer and a copy editor with experience in editing science and engineering articles. Video, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal, Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, Ukraine repels 'numerous attacks' in Bakhmut, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Biden had skin cancer lesion removed - White House, US sues Exxon over nooses found at Louisiana plant. In fact, witnesses testified that Arbuckle rubbed the ice on Rappe's stomach to ease her abdominal pain. Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection. Brady at first used Delmont as his star witness during the indictment hearing. The 12th floor hotel suite at the Westin St Francis where Arbuckle and friends partied on Labor Day, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was born into poverty in Kansas, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal. His chief accuser, Bambina Maude Delmont, was a convicted criminal who had admitted plotting to extort money from him. [13] Subsequent witnesses testified that Rappe had for some time suffered from cystitis, a condition which could have been aggravated by consuming alcohol. William Randolph Hearst, the symbol of yellow journalism, had hisSan Francisco Examinercover the story. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding his possible guilt and the case as a whole continues on. [56] In 2007, director Kevin Connor planned a film, The Life of the Party, based on Arbuckle's life. [46], In 1932, Arbuckle signed a contract with Warner Bros. to star under his own name in a series of six two-reel comedies, to be filmed at the Vitaphone studios in Brooklyn, New York. "The "Fatty" Arbuckle Scandal." [12] Delmont had a police record for extortion, prostitution and blackmail. An infection that developed on his leg became a carbuncle so severe that doctors considered amputation. The public reaction to Arbuckle was fierce. Oh, I thought he was magnificent in films. He was the first movie star in America to systematically direct his own films. "[21], On September 5, 1921, Arbuckle took a break from his hectic film schedule and, despite suffering from second-degree burns to both buttocks from an on-set accident, drove to San Francisco with two friends, Lowell Sherman and Fred Fishback. Arbuckle's rehabilitation was finally complete when Warner Bros offered him a feature-film contract in 1933. One of the rooms occupied by Arbuckle and his guests in the days after the infamous party. He was 46 years old. But her condition worsened and when she was finally taken to hospital three days later her friend, Bambina Maude Delmont, told the doctor Arbuckle had raped Rappe. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/fatty-arbuckle-scandal-1779625. A second Fatty Arbuckle's restaurant was opened in Bournemouth in 1985. In 1913, at the age of 26, Arbuckle hit the big time when he signed with Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company and became one of the Keystone Kops. [66], Arbuckle is referred to in a nonsensical fashion in "Have You Seen Me? The management are happy to show visitors the suite, if it's unoccupied, but they don't know exactly what happened in there on Labor Day in 1921 - no-one does. . This film was loosely based on the misconceptions surrounding the Arbuckle scandal, yet it bears almost no resemblance to the documented facts of the case. There was a focus on large portions served on 13-inch plates. Because alcohol was consumed at the party, Arbuckle was forced to plead guilty to one count of violating the Volstead Act and had to pay a $500 fine. Consequently, he named him after Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York, a notorious philanderer whom he despised. He was often heckled in the street. His comedies are noted as rollicking and fast-paced, have many chase scenes, and feature sight gags. Arbuckle was later acquitted by. [citation needed], Arbuckle was regarded by those who knew him closely as a good-natured man who was shy around women; he has been described as "the most chaste man in pictures". Publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst gleefully noted that the scandal had sold more papers than the sinking of the Lusitania. By the time Arbuckle went to trial for manslaughter, his public reputation was already ruined. In his testimony, Arbuckle denied he had any knowledge of Rappe's illness. [14] Witnesses also testified that Rappe had previously suffered from venereal disease, so there were allegations that her death was brought on by her health rather than by an assault.[13]. [18], By 1916, Arbuckle was experiencing serious health problems. [12][13] They made a strange couple, as Minta was short and petite while Arbuckle tipped the scales at 300lbs. Whatever happened that night, Virginia Rappes condition had still not improved three days afterward. Dr. Heinrich's claim to have found fingerprints was cast into doubt after McNab produced a maid from the St. Francis Hotel who testified that she had thoroughly cleaned the room before the investigation took place. He would appear in several more Selig shorts before signing with Universal Studios in 1913. During the deliberations, some jurors joined Hubbard in voting to convict, but they all recanted except for Thomas Kilkenny. [4][5] He weighed in excess of 13 pounds (5.9kg) at birth and his father believed that he was illegitimate, as both parents had slim builds. At age 8 he first appeared on the stage. It was determined that Rappe had died from a ruptured bladder. When Arbuckle portrayed a female, the character was named "Miss Fatty", as in the film Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers. The charge was later reduced to manslaughter. Will H. Hays, who served as the head of the newly formed Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) censor board, cited Arbuckle as an example of the poor morals in Hollywood. [17], In 1914, Paramount Pictures made the then unheard-of offer of US$1,000 a day plus twenty-five percent of all profits and complete artistic control to make movies with Arbuckle and Normand. He then claimed Rappe told him she felt ill and asked to lie down, and that he carried her into the bedroom and asked a few of the party guests to help treat her. Today, even people familiar with the name of Fatty Arbuckle believe the worst of him. Arbuckle calmly maintained that he never physically hurt or sexually assaulted Rappe in any way during the party, and he also stated that he never made any inappropriate sexual advances against any woman in his life. [47], On June 28, 1933, Arbuckle had finished filming the last of the two-reelers (four of which had already been released). Miss Jessie Williams and the Chicken Ranch. In their deal, Keaton promised to give him 35% of the Buster Keaton Comedies Co. profits. Web. Photo: File photo. With morality groups demanding he face the death penalty, movie moguls ordered Arbuckle's industry friends to disown him. Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, signing a contract in 1920 with Paramount Pictures for $1,000,000 a year (equivalent to $13,527,000 in 2021). Doing odd jobs around the place in exchange for room and board, author Stuart Oderman reports that Roscoe liked to sing, which caught the attention of the hotel's musician, Pansy Jones. The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, 'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal. Showing Editorial results for fatty arbuckle. On December 4, 1921, the jury returned five days later deadlocked after nearly forty-four hours of deliberation with a 102 not guilty verdict, and a mistrial was declared. Dr. Arthur Beardslee, the hotel doctor who had examined Rappe, testified that an external force seemed to have damaged the bladder. Virginia Rappe was a 26-year old aspiring actress and model, originally from Chicago, who had a reputation as something of a party girl. [26], Brady's first witnesses during the trial included Betty Campbell, a model, who attended the party and testified that she saw Arbuckle with a smile on his face hours after the alleged rape occurred; Grace Hultson, a local hospital nurse who testified it was very likely that Arbuckle raped Rappe and bruised her body in the process; and Dr. Edward Heinrich, a local criminologist who claimed that the fingerprints on the door to the hallway proved that Rappe had tried to flee, but that Arbuckle had stopped her by putting his hand over hers. In the summer of 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was on top of the world. [citation needed], Some experts later concluded that Rappe's bladder might also have ruptured as a result of an abortion she might have had a short time before the fateful party. [6], Arbuckle disliked his screen nickname. Rooms 1219 and 1221 were for them, and room 1220 was to be used for a party room. The poor man was completely framed for the murder of Vriginia Rappe. [3] Virginia was then raised by her grandmother. [40] The same year, in Photoplay's August issue, James R. Quirk wrote: "I would like to see Roscoe Arbuckle make a comeback to the screen." We like the whole world to look upon America as the place where every man gets a square deal. The media had a field day with the story . Further, in contrast to the first trial, Rappe's history of promiscuity and heavy drinking was detailed. Wikimedia CommonsOne of the rooms occupied by Arbuckle and his guests in the days after the infamous party. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2021, thoughtco.com/fatty-arbuckle-scandal-1779625. [11], On August 6, 1908, Arbuckle married Minta Durfee (18891975), the daughter of Charles Warren Durfee and Flora Adkins. ", a song by comedy metal band GWAR on their album America Must Be Destroyed. Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (/rbkl/; March 24, 1887 June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. But then Rappe uttered the words that would damn the star: "He did this to me.". Today we continue with the ruination of Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle, circa 1921. For this trial, the jury deliberated for only a couple of minutes and came back with a verdict of not guilty. [19][20] Following his recovery, Arbuckle started his own film company, Comique, in partnership with Joseph Schenck. Truly exotic conditions, such as tuberculous cystitis weren't mentioned during the three trials. Newspapers went wild with the story: popular silent-screen comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle had killed Virginia Rappe with his weight while savagely raping her. Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. McNab also managed to get in still more evidence about Rappe's lurid past and medical history. Arbuckle was soon arrested and charged with the murder of Virginia Rappe. His family moved to California when he was one year old. Though Hays lifted the ban in December of the same year, the damage was done -- Arbuckle's career had been destroyed. After over two weeks of testimony with sixty prosecution and defense witnesses, including eighteen doctors who testified about Rappe's illness, the defense rested. In 1925, Carter DeHaven's short Character Studies, shot before the scandal, was released. On September 5, 1921, Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle, known as "Fatty", a known comedian, actor, director and screen writer, and two others rented three rooms in the St. Francis Hotel. The movies were so lucrative and popular that in 1918 they offered Arbuckle a three-year, $3million contract (equivalent to about $54,000,000 in 2021 dollars[15]). He was one of the all-time greats.". By 1930, Arbuckle sold his interest and it became known as George Olsen's Plantation Caf, later The Plantation Trailer Court and then Foreman Phillips County Barn Dance. The earliest known pie thrown in film was in the June 1913 Keystone one-reeler A Noise from the Deep, starring Arbuckle and frequent screen partner Mabel Normand. Rappe suffered from chronic urinary tract infections,[23] a condition that liquor irritated dramatically. [34] With Arbuckle's films now banned, in March 1922 Keaton signed an agreement to give Arbuckle thirty-five percent of all future profits from his production company, Buster Keaton Comedies, in hopes of easing his financial situation. Hearst was gratified by the profits he accrued during the Arbuckle scandal, and he later said that it had "sold more newspapers than any event since the sinking of the Lusitania. He died of a heart attack in 1933 at age 46, having never fully restored his reputation. What happened in the following ten minutes is disputed. "Fatty Arbuckle was known to have one of the biggest cellars, which meant he had all of this alcohol at his disposal," says Mann. By . In 1921, Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was the highest-paid actor in the world. Then, at some point during the revelry, Arbuckle and Rappe were briefly in the same hotel room together. During the silent era, comedian Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle once raked in the big bucks. Girls win big. The trial was thorough and Arbuckle took the stand to share his side of the story. The first Arbuckle trial began on November 1921 and charged Arbuckle with manslaughter. The young woman's fiance, film director Henry Lehrman, introduced her to Arbuckle, and according to . Allegedly, during the party, Rappe made several drunkenly statements such as, Arbuckle did it and He hurt me. One report had stated that while raping her, Arbuckles weight had caused Rappes bladder to rupture. After three manslaughter trials, Arbuckle was formally acquitted; his acquittal in the third trial was accompanied by an unprecedented statement of apology from the jury stating, in part, that, "Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. [11] He was 46. Her organs had been destroyed and it was now impossible to test for pregnancy. [37] After a brief reconciliation, Durfee again filed for divorce, this time while in Paris, in December 1924. Ultimately, the judge found no evidence of rape. But the first two trials ended with hung juries and the third ended with an acquittal. By Friday of that week, Virginia had died in the hospital and Arbuckle was charged with her murder. Durfee starred in many early comedy films, often with Arbuckle. Wikipedia 9. The happening at the hotel was an unfortunate affair for which Arbuckle, so the evidence shows, was in no way responsible. [65], The 2020 remake of Perry Mason features a minor character named Chubby Carmichael who is based on Arbuckle. The ruptured bladder and peritonitis are what killed her the next day, Sept. 9. 15,645 were here. THE LONG FALL OF ROSCOE "FATTY" ARBUCKLE. Arbuckle, Fatty Crime--California--San Francisco Herald-Examiner Collection photographs Arbuckle, Roscoe,1887-1933 Rappe, Virginia,1896-1921 . Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter and rape in connection with her death, though he was ultimately acquitted of both charges. She died four days later on September 9 from a ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis. [39], Arbuckle tried returning to filmmaking, but industry resistance to distributing his pictures continued to linger after his acquittal. Jury Nullification: Definition and Examples, Charles Manson and the Tate and LaBianca Murders, How Conservative Hollywood Became a Liberal Town, Profile of Death Row Inmate Brenda Andrew, Overview of the Jury Trial Stage of a Criminal Case, Profile of Husband Killer Kelly Gissendaner, Murder of Helen Jewett, Media Sensation of 1836, B.A., History, University of California at Davis. "Arbuckle was just a film star who was in the wrong place at the wrong time," says Pearson. He had recently signed a deal with Paramount Pictures for a whopping $1 million (about $13 million today), an unheard-of sum at the time. When others then entered the room, they found Rappe tearing at her clothes (something that has been claimed she did often when she was drunk). On Monday, September 5, the party started early. The third jury took the unusual step of giving Arbuckle a written statement of apology for his treatment by the justice system. Raquel Welch portrays his mistress, who ultimately goads him into shooting her. [33] It was eventually released in Europe. The main prosecution witness, Zey Prevon, had escaped house arrest and left the country. On Thursday, Rappe was taken to the Wakefield Sanitorium, a maternity hospital known for giving abortions. Fatty Arbuckle began his film career the Selig Polyscope Company. Guests to San Francisco's Westin St Francis Hotel still ask to see the room where an infamous bootleg-booze-soused party took place 90 years ago. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Movie houses across the country almost immediately stopped showing Arbuckle's movies. Charlie Chaplin, who was in Britain at the time, told reporters that he could not and would not believe Arbuckle had anything to do with Rappe's death; having known Arbuckle since they both worked at Keystone in 1914, Chaplin "knew Roscoe to be a genial, easy-going type who would not harm a fly. After famed operatic tenor Enrico Caruso heard him sing, he urged the comedian to "give up this nonsense you do for a living, with training you could become the second greatest singer in the world. Mississippi-based Arbuckle historian David Pearson says the star was the inspiration to many overweight comics, such as John Belushi, Benny Hill, John Candy and Chris Farley. Roscoe Arbuckle, the youngest of nine children, reportedly weighed 16 pounds at birth in Smith Center, Kansas on March 24, 1887. Fatty Arbuckle's mug shot. Rosenberg, Jennifer. The case against the silent movies' king of slapstick would be Tinseltown's first major scandal. The jury began deliberations April 12 and took only six minutes to return with a unanimous not-guilty verdict; five of those minutes were spent writing a formal statement of apology to Arbuckle for putting him through the ordeal, a dramatic move in American justice. Wikipedia, 25 Jan. 2012. During closing statements, McNab reviewed how flawed the case was against Arbuckle from the very start and how Brady fell for the outlandish charges of Delmont, whom McNab described as "the complaining witness who never witnessed". Among the guests was Virginia Rappe, a 30-year-old struggling actress who suffered from chronic cystitis, a bladder inflammation. Like many experts on the case, Pearson is convinced Arbuckle did not harm Rappe. What happened in room 1219? plus-circle Add Review. With others looking after Rappe, Arbuckle left for the sight-seeing tour and then drove back to Los Angeles. Both Fatty Arbuckle and Virginia Rappes names were dragged through the mud in the competition to print the most salacious rumors. 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. "Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915," database, FamilySearch (, Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 02:12, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7WC-F8M, "The Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920", "Sausalito News 12 November 1921 California Digital Newspaper Collection", "Fatty Arbuckle and the Death of Virginia Rappe", Crime Library Article on the Rappe/Arbuckle case, Film researcher discusses the Fatty Arbuckle trial, Allan Ellenberger blog entry on Virginia Rappe, 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Hollywood's first scandal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virginia_Rappe&oldid=1140848504, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 02:12. On April 18, 1922, Will Hays, the president of the new organization, banned Arbuckle from filmmaking. During cross-examination, however, Campbell revealed that Brady had threatened to charge her with perjury if she did not testify against Arbuckle. Even today, publications re-examining the scandal often come to completely different conclusions regarding Fatty Arbuckles guilt or innocence. Skully after being charged with the murder of Virginia Rappe, San Francisco, 1921. In spite of the acquittal and the apology, his reputation was not restored and the effects of the scandal continued. The birth was traumatic for Mary and resulted in chronic health problems that contributed to her death eleven years later. At the behest of Adolph Zukor, president of Famous Players-Lasky, his films were banned by motion picture industry censor Will H. Hays[1] after the trial, and he was publicly ostracized. View our statement on digital primary resources. However, his father no longer encouraged his acting when his mother passed away. Succumbs at 46 After He and Wife Had Celebrated Their First Wedding Anniversary", "Minta Durfee, actress, 85, Dies; Former Wife of Fatty Arbuckle", "Home Video: Arbuckle Shorts, Fresh and Frisky", "The death of an actress in San Francisco. Video'Trump or bust' - grassroots Republicans are still loyal, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry. The jury was hung with a 10 to 2 vote for acquittal. [3], On September 17, 1921, Arbuckle was arrested and arraigned on charges of manslaughter. [citation needed], Before his death in 1997, comedian Chris Farley expressed interest in starring as Arbuckle in a biography film. These six short films constitute the only recordings of Arbuckle's voice. Nicknamed Madame Black, Delmont already had a reputation for procuring girls for Hollywood parties, using those girls to instigate scandalous acts, and then blackmailing celebrities anxious to keep those acts quiet. Weekly quiz: Which house are Harry and Meghan vacating? The comedian supposedly said he wanted it to play a joke on the actress. Silent-film comedian Al St. John (Arbuckle's nephew) and actors Lionel Stander and Shemp Howard appeared with Arbuckle. These rumors were proven false by autopsy. [51], Neil Sedaka references Arbuckle, along with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, and Oliver Hardy in his 1971 song "Silent Movies", as heard on his Emergence album. Newspapers across the country went wild. According to Buster Keaton, Hearst boasted that Arbuckle's story sold more papers than thesinking of the Lusitania. Courtroom trials are rarely cut and dry. The resulting scandal destroyed Arbuckle's career along with his personal life. Fatty Arbuckle Follies (Silent) -- Volume 1 Various 16 DVD 5 offers from $3.68 The Vitaphone Comedy Collection Volume One - Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle/Shemp Howard (1932-1934) George B. Seitz 36 DVD 14 offers from $19.98 Charley Chase At Hal Roach: The Talkies Volume Four: 1929 Charley Chase 23 DVD 9 offers from $18.80 She, along with Maude Delmont and Al Semnacher went to a party thrown by Arbuckle on Labor Day 1921. In view of Delmont's constantly changing story, her testimony would have ended any chance of going to trial. Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of manslaughter and rape in connection with her death, though he was ultimately acquitted of both charges. [7] Arbuckle enjoyed performing and continued on until his mother's death in 1898, when he was 11. Paramount had just signed a giant $1 million ($13 million in today's money) deal with Fatty,. The Fatty Arbuckle case Ocr ABBYY FineReader 9.0 Page-progression lr Pages 168 Ppi 350 Scandate 20150707143654 Scanner scribe6.nj.archive.org Scanningcenter nj Sponsor-mhdl University of South Carolina Libraries Year 1962 Year_end 1962. It was like floating in the arms of a huge doughnutreally delightful. In the third trial, which began on March 1922, the defense again became pro-active. The next day he signed a contract with Warner Bros. to star in a feature-length film. The public was angry and they were using Arbuckle as a target. In the scene, Valentino picks up starlet Jean Acker (played by Carol Kane) off a table in which she is sitting in front of Fatty and dances with her, enraging the spoiled star, who becomes apoplectic. It also didnt help Delmonts credibility that shed sent telegrams to attorneys saying WE HAVE ROSCOE ARBUCKLE IN A HOLE HERE CHANCE TO MAKE SOME MONEY OUT OF HIM.. Though the newspapers of the day reveled in the gory, rumored details, juries found little evidence that Arbuckle was in any way connected with her death. [citation needed] Several women were invited to the suite. [14], Arbuckle began his film career with the Selig Polyscope Company in July 1909 when he appeared in Ben's Kid.