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Really Inappropriate Deaths in History

Khalid Elhassan December 19, 2020 32 min

22. A Scandalous Death That Wrecked a Star

Silent Film Era star Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle (1887 – 1933), better known as Fatty Arbuckle, was a comedian, director, screenwriter, and early Hollywood superstar. A movie giant of his era, Fatty Arbuckle saw his career crash and burn in spectacular fashion, because of a scandalous death.

Weighing about 300 pounds, Fatty Arbuckle incorporated his heft into his comedy, moving gracefully, tumbling, throwing pies, and being an all-around lovable and jolly fat guy. In addition to acting, Arbuckle was a Hollywood mover and shaker. He mentored Charlie Chaplain, with whom he formed a close personal friendship, and discovered and launched the careers of future stars such as Buster Keaton and Bob Hope. Then came the scandal that wrecked his public image beyond repair.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.