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6. Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle
One of the most notorious scandals of the silent era involved Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle (1887-1933), who was accused of the assault and murder of Virginia Rappe at a party in 1921. Although later acquitted, the incident ruined Arbuckle’s career and cast a dark shadow on his Hollywood coevals. Rappe, for her part, was known for her wild behavior and promiscuity, and it is believed that complications from an abortion likely caused her demise. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, Arbuckle was accused of misdeed by Maude Delmont (who did not witness any of the alleged crime, despite her reports), known to be involved in extortion, fraud and racketeering. Despite a written apology from the courts for their mismanagement of the case, Arbuckle’s career was over. Falling into alcoholism, the formerly beloved actor died at age 46.
7. Charlie Chaplin
A close friend of Fatty Arbuckle’s (he borrowed Arbuckle’s pants to create his most famous character, “The Tramp”), Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) always lived on the edge of scandal. Eventually forced to leave the country because of alleged Communist sympathies and troubles with the IRS, most of Chaplin’s infamy revolved around his relationships with younger girls, many of whom he mentored and went on to marry or embark on relationships with. One biographer even claims Nabokov’s “Lolita” was inspired by Chaplin. Additionally, Chaplin was involved with one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries, the death of producer Thomas Ince (the “Father of the Western”) aboard the yacht of William Randolph Hearst in 1924, possibly caused by an argument Chaplin was having with Ince over the actress Marion Davies …
8. Thelma Todd
Thelma Todd (1905-1935) rose to fame as a comedic actress alongside the Marx Brothers, Laurel & Hardey, and Buster Keaton. Unfortunately, the “Ice Cream Blonde” died from carbon monoxide poisoning in her car at the age of 30, although the supposed “suicide” was not so clear-cut. With blood at the scene, a high blood-alcohol content, and clean shoes (while the area outside the car was muddy), many believed it to be murder. While the theory was largely ignored by the LAPD, suspects ranged from Todd’s highly possessive boyfriend, director Roland West (who was thought to have locked Todd in the garage to keep her from going to a party) to the gangster “Lucky” Luciano, who wanted to involve Todd’s club in illegal gambling against her wishes. Roland West was said to have later confessed the murder to a friend, but his only punishment was a closing of ranks by Hollywood’s elite so he never worked in motion pictures again.
9-10. Jack Pickford & Olive Thomas
Jack Pickford (1896 – 1933) came from a famous family of silent stars that included his sisters, Mary and Lottie. He worked in bit roles throughout the era, but was most well known for his tabloid romances (and three marriages, to be exact). The first one resulted in the death of his spouse Olive Thomas (1894-1920), a former Ziegfeld girl who had become a movie star. Though their romance was rocky, the two had hoped to repair their relationship with a second honeymoon to Paris. While there, it is rumored that Thomas took cocaine, and later, intoxicated and fatigued, accidentally ingested a large dose of mercury bichloride, which belonged to her husband to treat his syphilis. Accounts vary as to the confusion, but unfortunately the dose was lethal. Rumors circulated about her suicide or murder, but whatever the truth, Olive Thomas was yet another Hollywood starlet who succumbed to deep misfortune.
Comments (18)
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I thought part of the reason behind Jean Harlow’s death was her mother preventing medical treatment for religious reasons. Or is that just legend?
posted by beth on 1-16-2008 at 2:23 pm
beth, you are right; there was a rumor (a rampant one) at the time that Harlow’s mother (a follower of Christian Science) prevented treatment, but that has since been dispelled!
posted by Allison on 1-16-2008 at 2:29 pm
That was a fascinating article! My stepfather is fascinated with that era and so I sat through a lot of documentaries, especially about Fatty Arbuckle and Jean Harlow.
Finding that much information in one spot is so much more fun!
posted by kitsana_d on 1-16-2008 at 3:35 pm
great article!
posted by Shea on 1-16-2008 at 3:39 pm
That was interesting! I guess the out-of-control Hollywood starlet is nothing new.
Wonder if those girls really died from TB or if it was just a euphemism for OD? Is it possible for a person to “suddenly die” from TB?
posted by mrs.djs on 1-16-2008 at 3:39 pm
How sad their lives ended. However, to me, this was the era of truly beautiful women and handsome men.
posted by Lisa on 1-16-2008 at 5:09 pm
You left out Margaret Gibson, who was involved with extortion and the Mann Act and claimed on her deathbed to have been the one who killed William Desmond Taylor.
posted by Steven on 1-16-2008 at 7:23 pm
Fatty Arbuckle was involved in a sex scandal that resulted in the death of the woman who he had sex with. My mom told me this years ago.
posted by Melinda on 1-17-2008 at 12:27 am
Awesome stuff, once again. Thank you.
posted by Dave on 1-17-2008 at 7:06 am
I used to love watching Mysteries & Scandals on E!, because they featured these stories all the time.
They need to bring it back!!
posted by Lauren on 1-17-2008 at 8:31 am
PS- I’ve been to Thelma Todd’s “death” site, it’s on PCH…or Highway 1…or maybe they’re the same thing I forget–in Malibu. I think its some kind of random production company now.
Another result of watching too many Mysteries & Scandals.
posted by Lauren on 1-17-2008 at 8:39 am
It just goes to show you, the only thing that really changes is the playing field and the players. Somethings will never change!
posted by Guardina on 1-30-2008 at 7:49 am
The difference between now and then is that people in the old days weren’t quite as shameless about their scandals, and if it was serious enough, it could ruin their career, like Fatty Arbuckle’s case. If only Lindsay and some of these other idiots would fade into obscurity the way he did…
posted by MN on 11-3-2009 at 6:25 am
While I do give well-deserved kudos for this article, I’m disappointed that you omitted Clara Bow. Her entire life was tabloid fodder!
posted by LizBlizz on 11-3-2009 at 11:52 am
I’m confused about William Desmond Taylor’s mental lapses being blamed on aphasia, which is a class of language/speech disorders. Is that supposed to be amnesia?
posted by Jessica on 11-3-2009 at 12:36 pm
Thelma Todd”s clean shoes were used as a plot device by Raymond Chandler in “The Lady in the Lake”. I always wondered where he picked that up.
posted by mjm on 11-3-2009 at 1:39 pm
It’s a shame you left out Chaplin’s famously scandalous quote – one of his wives was divorcing him, claiming mental cruelty (or whatever the equivalent was) and cited Charlie’s insistence on indulging in cunnilingus. He exclaimed, \But all married people do that!\ (which in 1920’s America was pretty scandalous!)
posted by Thelonious on 11-3-2009 at 4:15 pm
Enjoyed the article, but I don’t necessarily associate Harlow and Flynn with the Silent Era, per se.
And I agree with LizBlizz–Clara Bow should definitely be on here!!
posted by Marty on 11-3-2009 at 11:58 pm