Roscoe Arbuckle Height, Weight, Age, Facts, Biography

Roscoe Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter who became one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, signing a contract in 1920 with Paramount Pictures for $14,000 (equivalent to $189,000 in 2021). His legacy as a pioneering comedian was overshadowed by the scandal of alleged r*pe/manslaughter of actor Virginia Rappe as he was the defendant in 3 widely publicized trials between November 1921 and April 1922. Although he was acquitted, Roscoe Arbuckle was publicly ostracized and was able to make only a brief comeback before his demise in 1933. On February 8, 1960, he was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6701 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Born Name

Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle

Nick Names

Fatty, Fatty Arbuckle, William Goodrich, The Prince of Whales, The Balloonatic

Age

He was born on March 24, 1887.

Died

On June 29, 1933, Roscoe Arbuckle died in his sleep of a heart attack in Manhattan, New York, United States. He was 46 years old at the time.

Sun Sign

Aries

Born Place

Smith Center, Kansas, United States

Nationality

Occupation

Actor, Comedian, Director, Screenwriter

Family

• Father – William Goodrich Arbuckle
• Mother – Mary E. Gordon (d. February 19, 1898)
• Siblings – He had 8 siblings.
• Others – William Harrison Arbuckle (Paternal Grandfather), Mary Ann Farrar (Paternal Grandmother), Al St. John (Nephew) (Actor, Stunt Performer, Director, Writer, Comedian)

Build

Large

Height

5 ft 9 in or 175 cm

Weight

130 kg or 286.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Roscoe Arbuckle had dated –

1. Minta Durfee (1908-1921)​ – He married actor Minta Durfee, the daughter of Charles Warren Durfee and Flora Adkins, on August 6, 1908. They were described as a strange couple as Minta was short and petite while Arbuckle had an imposing physique that tipped the scales at 300 lbs. They separated in 1921 and divorced in 1925. She later stated that Arbuckle was “the most generous human being I’ve ever met”, and “if I had to do it all over again, I’d still marry the same man.”
2. Doris Deane (1925-1929)​ – Arbuckle married actor Doris Deane on May 16, 1925, and later divorced in 1929.
3. Addie Oakley Dukes McPhail (1932-1933) – He married his 3rd wife Addie Oakley Dukes McPhail on June 21, 1932, in Erie, Pennsylvania. They remained together until his death in 1933.

Race / Ethnicity

White

Roscoe Arbuckle was of Scottish and English descent.

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Remarkable agility and dexterity, especially for a man of his girth
• Rolling perfect cigarettes with a couple of quick motions of one hand

Roscoe Arbuckle Facts

1. When he was born, he weighed in excess of 13 lbs (5.9 kg) and his father believed that he was illegitimate, as both parents had slim builds.
2. His father named him after Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York, a notorious philanderer whom he despised.
3. His mother died when Arbuckle was 11 years old.
4. In 1913, he brought to life the character of Bob in the short silent comedy film A Noise from the Deep.
5. Alongside Harold Lloyd, Roscoe Arbuckle co-starred as Finnegan’s Daughter in the 1915 short comedy film Miss Fatty’s Seaside Lovers.
6. As a director, he worked under the pseudonym “William Goodrich”.
7. Roscoe Arbuckle disliked his screen nickname “Fatty” and when someone addressed him as “Fatty” off-screen, he would respond, “I’ve got a name, you know.”
8. He mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks, and Bob Hope.
9. An American-themed restaurant chain in the United Kingdom called Fatty Arbuckle’s was named after Roscoe Arbuckle.

Featured Image by Photographer Uncredited / archive.org / Public Domain