The Trials of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle — The First Celebrity Scandal

KEY FACTS AT A GLANCE: Roscoe Arbuckle: Born March 24, 1887, Smith Center, Kansas. Died June 29, 1933, New York City. Age 46. Virginia Rappe: Born July 7, 1895 (most genealogical records; Wikipedia lists 1891 as alternate). Died September 9, 1921. Age 26. Cause of death: ruptured bladder and peritonitis. Maude Delmont: Known also as “Madame Black.” Criminal history including extortion and bigamy (probationary sentence). Never testified at any of the three trials. Billed her Arbuckle involvement as a touring stage act during the third trial. DA Matthew Brady: San Francisco DA, elected 1919. Remained DA approximately two more decades post-acquittal. Died 1952, age 76. Never ran for governor (some secondary sources claim otherwise; not confirmed by primary research). Gavin McNab: Lead defense counsel. San Francisco attorney. Died 1927. Milton Cohen: Arbuckle’s personal attorney; previously Virginia Rappe’s personal attorney. Architect of the character-deconstruction defense strategy. Helen Hubbard: First-trial juror holdout. Husband did legal work for Brady’s office. Reportedly announced at outset she’d vote guilty ‘until hell froze over.’ Refused to review evidence or discuss testimony during 44-hour deadlock. TRIAL TIMELINE: September 3, 1921: Arbuckle arrives in San Francisco. September 5: Labor Day party, St. Francis Hotel. Rappe becomes ill. September 7: Delmont sends blackmail telegrams to lawyers in San Diego and Los Angeles. September 9: Virginia Rappe dies. Cause: ruptured bladder and peritonitis. September 10: Arbuckle arrested and charged with murder. September 13: Grand jury indicts for manslaughter. Brady ignores indictment; pursues first-degree murder at separate preliminary hearing. Preliminary hearing: Judge Lazarus states no evidence of rape found; “barely enough” to hold defendant. Holds Arbuckle on moral grounds. Murder charge later reduced to manslaughter. November 14 – December 4, 1921: First trial. Jury hung, 10–2 for acquittal (some sources: 11–1). Holdout: Helen Hubbard. January 11 – February 3, 1922: Second trial. Arbuckle does not testify. Jury hung, 9–3 for conviction. March 13 – April 12, 1922: Third trial. Arbuckle testifies. Not guilty. Jury issues written apology. The Jury Statement The full text signed by all 12 jurors and both alternates: “Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great injustice has been done him. We feel also that it was only our plain duty to give him this exoneration, under the evidence, for there was not the slightest proof adduced to connect him in any way with the commission of a crime. He was manly throughout the case, and told a straightforward story on the witness stand, which we all believed. The happening at the hotel was an unfortunate affair for which Roscoe Arbuckle, so the evidence shows, was in no way responsible. We wish him success and hope that the American people will take the judgment of fourteen men and women who have sat listening for thirty-one days to evidence, that Roscoe Arbuckle is entirely innocent and free from all blame.” PRIMARY SOURCES Spite Work: The Trials of Virginia Rappe and Fatty Arbuckle — peoplevsarbuckle.com Bar Association of San Francisco — sfbar.org/blog/sfam-the-many-trials-of-fatty-arbuckle / Encyclopedia.com / Great American Trials — encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/fatty-arbuckle-t rials-1921-22 EBSCO Research Starters — ebsco.com/research-starters/history/film-star-fatty-ar buckle-acquitted-manslaughter Smithsonian Magazine — smithsonianmag.com/history/the-skinny-on-the-fatty- arbuckle-trial-131228859/ PBS NewsHour — pbs.org/newshour/health/the-sexual-assault-case-that -shocked-hollywood-almost-a-century-ago Wikipedia / Roscoe Arbuckle — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roscoe_Arbuckle Constitutional Rights Foundation — crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-11-1-c Recommended book: Yallop, David. The Day the Laughter Stopped. St. Martin’s Press, 1976.