American film comedian. Born 1887, died 1933.
Fatty Arbuckle began as a member of Mack Sennett's farcical group, the Keystone Kops. By 1913, he was directing his own films. His corpulent figure, round babyface and ambidextrous pie-flinging skill were popular with the audiences.
At the height of his career, in 1921, Arbuckle was indicted for manslaughter in the matter of the rape and death of Virginia Rappe, a virtually unknown aspiring actress. Though he was found innocent, Arbuckle was roundly condemned by the media and the public, and was effectively blacklisted in Hollywood. The highly publicised scandal led to the creation of the Hays Office, ardent guardian of public morality through censorship. Arbuckle's films were boycotted at the theatres, but Arbuckle did direct a few farces for his old colleagues, under the pseudonym William B. Goodrich.