The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals (5 page)

On his return to the States, Roscoe desperately wanted to make a living for himself in an attempt to recoup some of the money he had lost during the trial. He begged people to give him a chance and released a statement to the media, wishing to regain his former reputation. It read in part:

No one ever saw a picture of mine that was not clean. No one ever saw a picture of mind that was not wholesome. No one ever will see such a picture. I claim the right of work and service. All I ask is the rights of an American citizen – American fair play. Through misfortune and tragic accident, I was tried on a charge of which I was absolutely innocent. A jury composed of eight men and four women all of whom were members of churches of the various faiths, found me innocent.

He then went on to quote from the original apology which the jurors had read in the courtroom, and added that unlike the jury, those denouncing his intentions to work had not heard any part of the evidence and were “without knowledge of the facts. The Scripture says that, ‘As ye judge, so shall ye be judged.’ How would my accusers like to be judged the way they are judging me?”

The statement went on at some length, though it was ultimately in vain, as church leaders and groups still continued to call for his films to be banned. But even this refusal to believe in his innocence did not stop Arbuckle from continuing with his career and he began directing under an assumed name, William Goodrich (and sometimes Will B. Good) and then travelling with a theatre group and entertaining in Chicago cafés. He undertook a variety of different stage roles, which earned him enough money to live on, and even appeared incognito in a film directed by his friend, Buster Keaton. However, it was apparent to everyone that the days of high finance and good living were far behind him, and even while undertaking these relatively low-key jobs, he still felt he had to be careful, very rarely revealing his name for fear of further disapproval from the masses.

He also had a second attempt at marriage, this time to a woman called Doris Deane, whom he married in 1925. The pairing only lasted four years but during this time Arbuckle told his new wife that he expected to die young, just as he had predicted years earlier to Minta. “When I knew him he wasn’t troubled with a heart ailment,” Deane told reporters after her former husband’s death, “[but] he always said his weight would cut off his years.”

After the divorce from Doris in 1929, he lived three years as a single man before marrying a young woman called Addie McPhail in June 1932. Then by 1933 Roscoe saw something of a light at the end of the tunnel when he was given the opportunity to film a series of two-reel comedies for Warner Brothers. The actor was extremely excited and told reporters that being in films was like being home: “I can promise they’ll be good, clean, wholesome pictures,” he said. “Broad comedy with something for the children.” Things were looking up both professionally and personally, though his health was giving some concern; he was still vastly overweight and had complained to Addie McPhail that he was suffering from some kind of heart ailment.

However, by June he was busy working in Long Island and on the 29th was celebrating not only the end to his latest comeback production, but also plans to do a vaudeville tour and celebrate his first wedding anniversary to Addie. “I’ve made my comeback,” he told friends. “There are lots of stars not doing as well as I am right now.” The actor was obviously in good spirits and dined out with his wife, before the two went to the apartment of their friend, William (Billy) LaHiff, who was hosting a party in their honour.

The evening was a success and later that night Arbuckle bid his wife goodnight and retired to bed. Shortly afterwards, around 2.15 a.m., she called to her husband from the next room to see if he was asleep. When no reply came the young woman went into the room and found her husband collapsed on the bed, the victim of a heart attack. Mrs Arbuckle became hysterical and summoned the doctor but it was too late to save the overweight entertainer; he had passed away at the age of just forty-six.

Arbuckle’s body was taken to a church in New York where he lay in state until his funeral just a day after he passed away. The actor was cremated and his ashes scattered into the Pacific Ocean, while around the world tributes poured in for the once great star. Remembering how Roscoe always told her he would be dead before the age of fifty, first wife Minta Durfee emotionally told reporters, “I myself had a strange premonition of tragedy. He has been on my mind lately and on numerous occasions I have called other people by his first name.”

Former friends and colleagues also expressed their shock, and Hollywood magnate Joseph Schenck summed up their feelings when he declared that everyone who ever knew the star, “will always treasure the memory of the great, generous heart of the man – a heart big enough to embrace in its warmth, everyone who came to him for help, stranger and friend alike”.

Unfortunately it was this big heart, and a need to help others as he had never been helped in his own life, that led to the downfall of Roscoe Arbuckle. He had tried to assist a woman he believed to be in need, and instead of receiving praise, he only encountered hate, blame and a vast pointing of fingers. “I never did anything,” he said just a year before his death. “I’ve got a clear conscience and a clean heart. They got all the money I had, and I ended up a quarter of a million dollars in debt.” Arbuckle had lost everything because of the false accusations made against him but, in spite of that, the gentle giant never felt any hatred for what had happened to him. Instead, he did what only the strongest of people can do – got back up, dusted himself down and started again . . . and again . . . and again.

What is sad about the entire affair is not only the disgusting way Arbuckle was treated, but also that over the past ninety-plus years, Virginia Rappe, the girl who lost her life, has been interpreted as the “baddy” who caused all this trouble to happen to him. Her personal life and treatment of her body has been dragged through the mud, and while the way she lived is not to everyone’s taste, that does not make her a villain.

Of course, had Rappe not died, then the trial and destruction of Arbuckle would never have happened, but that is hardly Virginia’s fault. The real villain on that day in 1921 was, of course, Maude Delmont, who after being reprimanded by Roscoe for her behaviour during the party, saw an opportunity to make his life a living hell and grabbed it with open arms. Both Arbuckle and Rappe were the innocent parties; both just as used as each other in Delmont’s wicked plan to get everything she could from what can only be described as a tragic, nightmare situation.

Perhaps Joseph Schenck said it best when he gave his tribute to Arbuckle after his death: “His was the tragedy of a man born to make the world laugh and to receive only suffering as his reward, and to the end he held no malice.”

It is just a pity that the woman who pointed her finger in his direction had not done the same.

On 24 February 1923, an expectant audience at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood were waiting for the Choy Ling Foo troupe to make their entrance on stage. They were late appearing, and while the confused orchestra played their introduction over and over, little did they know that for some members of the Choy Ling Foo troupe the curtain would never rise again.

The five-strong troupe consisted of a fire-eater, a contortionist, a plate-spinner, a knife-thrower and – as described by the press – “one who hangs by his hair”. Originating from China, the act had travelled around the world for seven years, entertaining audiences with their “mystic show”, before finally settling in New York to concentrate in the United States.

One of the members of the troupe, Choy Den, was the fire-eater and dedicated boss of the show, while his cousin, Choy You Chung, was the contortionist. Choy Den was immensely proud of what they had achieved with the troupe, and spent hours refining the show and organizing rehearsals for himself and the others in the group. Choy You Chung, however, was getting tired of the constant travelling and entertaining, and wanted to leave the show completely. His cousin was not in the least bit impressed with this decision, however, and persuaded Choy You to carry on regardless, though as an act of rebellion he acquired a habit of not only being late to rehearsals but tardy in his entire approach to the show.

The unprofessionalism of Choy You was getting the entire troupe down, but as the boss, Choy Den felt that it was on his shoulders to take things in hand and he was frequently seen berating his cousin for the lack of concern he was showing for the others. Unfortunately, his demanding nature was to have tragic and dramatic consequences for Choy Den, as his cousin did not take kindly to being told what to do. He’d really had enough.

On the evening of 24 February, four members of the troupe went through their daily rehearsals before getting ready to take to the stage at Pantages. Choy You, however, was nowhere to be seen and his absence was noted by everyone but particularly Choy Den, who became more and more enraged as time wore on. As he had done before, the boss became frantic that as a result of the missed rehearsal, the show would suffer. To this end he sat on a trunk in the dressing room and complained bitterly to the other members about his cousin; he was not pulling his weight, he argued, and without every member putting in 100 per cent, how could they expect the audience to enjoy the performance?

The man complained for some time before Choy You finally arrived – unprepared, unrehearsed and in no mood to go onstage. Choy Den was incensed and immediately started lecturing him about the unprofessionalism he was showing not only to himself but to the other members of the troupe too. This time, however, their argument was different – more intense – and as it became heated, Choy Den accused his cousin of threatening to ruin their show with his constant lateness and refusal to take part in rehearsals.

The fight grew so bitter that it spilled out of the dressing room and into the passage beneath the stage, completely unknown to the audience who were still waiting in the auditorium, flicking through their souvenir programmes and wondering when the show was going to start. The shouting then became so heated that the other troupe members decided to take cover, knowing how infuriated Choy Den was with his cousin. They were not wrong, and as the argument continued to escalate, the furious man suddenly reached into his pocket, pulled out a revolver and shot Choy You straight through the heart.

Everyone around him could not believe what they had just witnessed, but before anyone could do anything about it, Choy Den shocked everyone by turning the gun on himself and shooting a bullet through his head. Astonishingly, the shot did not kill him straight away; instead, it caused him to lose consciousness. It took several days for the man finally to die from his injuries.

To say the other members were disturbed by the evening’s events would be an understatement. The auditorium was immediately emptied and people spilled on to the pavements, wondering what on earth had happened, whispering to each other about the gunshots and wondering what had caused the screams and shouts they could not help but overhear. Rumours were rife but nobody knew exactly what had gone on until they read about it in the newspapers several days later, undoubtedly creating a great deal of discussion and intrigue at the breakfast tables of those who had witnessed the evening’s proceedings.

It was never discovered if the shooting had been a heat-of-the-moment decision by Choy Den, or something he had planned as he sat fizzing in the theatre dressing room that evening. Had he taken the gun with him especially to shoot his cousin, or did he always carry the firearm and it was just sheer rage that had caused him to pull the trigger? We will never know, but certainly it would seem that both men had been pushed to the limit; both wanting different things from their careers and neither knowing precisely how to change the situation – until the heated argument had ended all sensible thoughts.

The remaining members of the troupe decided – not surprisingly – to cancel their shows and made plans to return home to China. However, various members of their entourage put a stop to these plans by telling them that it would be against their principles and culture to just give up on all they had achieved. Regardless of how they felt, the members were then told to release a statement which said they had undergone a change of heart and would go on without Choy You and Choy Den after all.

Meanwhile, at the family home in New York, Choy You’s parents received a telegraph about the tragedy and refused point blank to believe he was dead. “Are we then fools to place our faith in the mutterings of a devil that speaks through a thin wire?” they asked, before adding that if it was true that their son was dead, they would have to see the body to confirm it for themselves.

As requested, the body was taken to New York, accompanied by a representative of the Choy Ling Foo troupe who announced his intention to search for Choy You’s nearest heir. If an heir was found, he declared, he would immediately be conscripted into the troupe, regardless of his feelings on the subject. From California the remaining troupe made the bizarre decision to announce it was the heir’s hereditary right to take over, regardless of opinion, desire or ability.

This was, of course, a strangely ironic decision, especially as the reason for the death of the original members had been because of Choy You’s less than enthusiastic longing to be part of the show. The troupe seems to have disappeared shortly after the scandal that took over their show in 1923 and, unfortunately, it is not known whether the heir – willingly or otherwise – was ever roped in to their floundering show.

Some Hollywood scandals involve full-time actors and actresses, while others involve those who have become famous in another area, only to find Hollywood stardom later in their lives. This is the case with our next scandal, focusing on Norman Selby, the boxer who had almost as many wives as boxing championships.