Room 1219: Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe, and the Scandal That Changed Hollywood (71 page)

reporters captured the confrontation …
Ibid.

Semnacher claimed…
“Denies Woman ‘Smashed’ Him,”
Los Angeles Times,
September 15, 1921.

Henry Lehrman wired Delmont…
“Lehrman Sends $150 to Help Mrs. Delmont,”
New York Times,
September 15, 1921.

“Never had any” …
“Arbuckle Denies Having Liquor,”
Sacramento Bee,
September 14, 1921.

claimed she had gone into hiding …
“Manslaughter Indictment Placed Against Arbuckle,”
Evening Public Ledger
(Philadelphia, PA), September 14, 1921.

Prevost’s new recollection …
“Show Girl Tells Intimate Details of Arbuckle Party,”
Bakersfield Californian,
September 16, 1921.

The chorus girls backed up …
“Proceedings of the Day,”
Los Angeles Times,
September 14, 1921.

He made no remark …
“Fate Sealed by Dress She Made,”
Los Angeles Times,
September 15, 1921.

“I protest in the name …”
“Clash Marks Inquest on Girl’s Death,”
Oakland Tribune,
September 14, 1921.

Arbuckle tried to light a cigarette …
“Arbuckle Spirit Shows Sign of Slump,”
Oakland Tribune,
September 15, 1921.

“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.