ROSCOE 'FATTY' ARBUCKLE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was born march 24th, 1887 in Smith Center, Kansas, USA to parents Mollie and William Goodrich Arbuckle. He was an overweight child, the neighborhood children gave him the nickname of "Fatty" which stuck with him throughout his life.
In 1888, his family moved to Sacramento, California. Sadly, in 1899 his mother passed away and his father abandoned him. He worked odd jobs to survive and while working a kitchen job a local singer overheard him and took him to the local theater. He began the start of his career. Roscoe had several years of Vaudeville experience, including work at Idora Park in Oakland, California, which is where later on in his profession, he began his film career with the Selig Polyscope Company in July 1909. First in 1908 he was married to Araminta Estelle Durfee. His first movie appearance was in, "Bens Kid" (1909).
He began in the entertainment industry as a singer. In his late teens, he worked at local dance halls for several years. In 1912, he was noticed by Mack Sennet the owner of a brand new production company called, the Keystone Production Company and made silent movies for Universal Pictures. Roscoe was one of the original Keystone Cops. Starting with, "The Gangsters" (1913), Roscoe quickly became one of the most popular figures at Keystone and he still appeared sporadically in Selig one-reelers until 1913.
In the film "A Noise from the Deep", Arbuckle became the first film comedian to be hit with a pie. Roscoe had the ability to throw two pies, in different directions, at the same time! Then in late 1916, Joseph Schenck offered Roscoe a deal he couldn't refuse, $1,000 a day and complete creative control of his films. By March 1917, Roscoe had completely recovered from a carbuncle which had developed on his leg, causing it to nearly be amputated and began work on his first film at his new "Comique" banner, "The Butcher Boy."
In December 1919, Joseph Schenck presented a new plan. Roscoe would be moved permanently from working shorts into features. No other male "slapstick" comedian had ever made this move. However, his acting career took a major let down when in 1921 a rape scandal developed on a 3 day trip Roscoe took to San Francisco. Virginia Rappe, a 26 year old aspiring actress had died in a San Francisco hospital after being found at a party laying on the floor screaming in pain. Roscoe was being accused of rape and went through a horrible time of court appearances and financial difficulty with attorney fees. Roscoe found himself unemployable as an actor. Friends, led by Buster Keaton, came forward and paid off the legal fees for Roscoe.
In 1925, in Hollywood decided that Roscoe would be allowed to direct comedies, as long as he didn't use his real name. He chose the alias "William Goodrich," after his father William Goodrich Arbuckle. On January 27, 1925, he divorced Araminta Estelle Durfee in Paris. She had charged desertion. He then married Doris Deane on May 16, 1925.
By 1927 Roscoe was directing major features at Paramount and continued to use the Goodrich alias while directing until 1932.
In 1929 his wife, Doris Deane sued for divorce in Los Angeles, charging desertion and cruelty. On June 21, 1931, Roscoe again married Addie Oakley Dukes McPhail. Shortly before that marriage, Arbuckle had signed a contract with Jack Warner to star in six two-reel Vitaphone short comedies being allowed to use his own name. He finished filming the last of the two-reelers on June 28, 1933, and was signed by Warner Brothers to make a feature-length film just hours before he died.
Roscoe had a overall thriving career in silent pictures and was one of the most popular actors of his era, but is best known today for his central role in the so-called "Fatty Arbuckle scandal". His comedies are known for being rollicking, fast-paced, full of chase scenes and having many sight gags. Roscoe passed away, June 29, 1933 in New York, New York, USA from heart failure at the young age of 46. He was cremated and his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
Filmography
1909 Ben's Kid
1909 Mrs. Jones' Birthday
1909 Making It Pleasant for Him
1910 The Sanitarium
1913 Alas! Poor Yorick
1913 The Gangsters
1913 Passions, He Had Three
1913 Help! Help!, Hydrophobia!
1913 The Waiters' Picnic
1913 The Bandit
1913 Peeping Pete
1913 For the Love of Mabel
1913 The Telltale Light
1913 A Noise from the Deep
1913 Love and Courage
1913 Professor Bean's Removal
1913 The Riot
1913 Mabel's New Hero
1913 Fatty's Day Off
1913 Mabel's Dramatic Career
1913 The Gypsy Queen
1913 The Fatal Taxicab
1913 When Dreams Come True
1913 Mother's Boy
1913 Two Old Tars
1913 A Quiet Little Wedding
1913 The Speed Kings
1913 Fatty at San Diego
1913 Wine
1913 Fatty Joins the Force
1913 The Woman Haters
1913 Ride for a Bride
1913 Fatty's Flirtation
1913 His Sister's Kids
1913 He Would a Hunting Go
1914 A Misplaced Foot
1914 The Under Sheriff
1914 A Flirt's Mistake
1914 In the Clutches of the Gang
1914 Rebecca's Wedding Day
1914 A Robust Romeo
1914 Twixt Love and Fire
1914 A Film Johnnie
1914 Tango Tangles
1914 His Favorite Pastime
1914 A Rural Demon
1914 Barnyard Flirtations
1914 Chicken Chaser
1914 A Bath House Beauty
1914 Where Hazel Met the Villain
1914 A Suspended Ordeal
1914 The Water Dog
1914 The Alarm
1914 The Knockout
1914 Fatty and the Heiress
1914 Fatty's Finish
1914 Love and Bullets
1914 A Rowboat Romance
1914 The Sky Pirate
1914 Those Happy Days
1914 That Minstrel Man
1914 Those Country Kids
1914 Fatty's Gift
1914 The Masquerader
1914 A Brand New Hero
1914 The Rounders
1914 Lover's Luck
1914 Fatty's Debut
1914 Fatty Again
1914 Their Ups and Downs
1914 Zip, the Dodger
1914 Lovers' Post Office
1914 An Incompetent Hero
1914 Fatty's Jonah Day
1914 Fatty's Wine Party
1914 The Sea Nymphs
1914 Leading Lizzie Astray
1914 Shotguns that Kick
1914 Fatty's Magic Pants
1914 Fatty and Minnie He-Haw
1914 Our Country Cousin
1914 Caught in a Flue
1914 The Baggage Smasher
1914 Tillie's Punctured Romance
1914 Killing Horace
1914 The Bowery Boys
1914 How Hiram Won Out
1914 The Peddler
1915 Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day
1915 Mabel and Fatty's Simple Life
1915 Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition
1915 Mabel, Fatty, and the Law
1915 Fatty's New Role
1915 Mabel and Fatty's Married Life
1915 Fatty's Reckless Fling
1915 Fatty's Chance Acquaintance
1915 Love in Armor
1915 That Little Band of Gold
1915 Fatty's Faithful Fido
1915 When Love Took Wings
1915 Wished on Mabel
1915 Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco, California
1915 Mabel's Wilful Way
1915 Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers
1915 The Little Teacher
1915 Fatty's Plucky Pup
1915 Fatty's Tintype Tangle
1915 Fickle Fatty's Fall
1915 The Village Scandal
1915 Fatty and the Broadway Stars
1915 Rum and Wallpaper
1915 Colored Villainy
1915 Among the Mourners
1916 Fatty and Mabel Adrift
1916 He Did and He Didn't
1916 The Bright Lights
1916 His Wife's Mistake
1916 The Other Man
1916 The Waiters' Ball
1916 His Alibi
1916 A Reckless Romeo
1916 A Creampuff Romance
1917 The Butcher Boy
1917 A Reckless Romeo
1917 The Rough House
1917 His Wedding Night
1917 Oh, Doctor!
1917 Fatty at Coney Island
1917 A Country Hero
1918 Out West
1918 The Bell Boy
1918 Moonshine
1918 Good Night, Nurse!
1918 The Cook
1918 The Sheriff
1918 United States Fourth Liberty Loan Drive
1918 Canadian Victory Loan Drive
1919 Camping
1919 The Pullman Porter
1919 Love
1919 The Bank Clerk
1919 A Desert Hero
1919 Back Stage
1919 The Hayseed
1919 The Garage
1920 The Round-Up
1920 The Life of the Party
1921 Brewster's Millions
1921 The Dollar-a-Year Man
1921 The Traveling Salesman
1921 Gasoline Gus
1921 Crazy to Marry
1922 Leap Year
1922 Freight Prepaid
1923 Hollywood
1925 Go West
1932 Hey, Pop!
1933 Buzzin' Around
1933 How've You Bean?
1933 Close Relations
1933 In the Dough
1933 Tomalio
