Here are 10 things you should know about Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, born 133 years ago today. In his career, he experienced both dizzying heights and tragic depths.
Tag: Fatty Arbuckle
Happy 129th Birthday, Roscoe Arbuckle!
Roscoe Arbuckle was born 129 years ago today in Smith Center, Kansas. Few actors have risen as high nor fallen so swiftly as far (and unjustly so) as Arbuckle, and it’s a little bit heartbreaking, even all these years later, to think that he died so soon after being exonerated of false charges, that he never had the opportunity to enjoy the triumphant comeback he was so richly due. We won’t address here the legal case that did in Arbuckle’s career—you can readily find that sad, sordid information elsewhere—but we sorely regret that he was subjected to such ill-founded accusations. He deserved better.
What’s more, we owe Arbuckle a debt of gratitude not only for his own fine work in pictures, but for recognizing genius and spotlighting Buster Keaton in a few of his films. Perhaps Keaton would have found his way to cinematic stardom, anyway, but perhaps not, without that boost from Arbuckle.
Happy birthday, Mr. Arbuckle, wherever you may be. We’ve shared very few quotes here at Cladrite Radio with which we more heartily agree than yours.
The Final Free Roscoe Friday
| “All who have ever known the real Roscoe Arbuckle 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. It was this quality which led to his downfall, after he had struggled from poverty to a fame in which the children throughout the world worshipped him. Those who knew him for the great artist he was admired him. 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.”
—20th Century Fox co-founder Joseph Schenck
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Don’t forget—we’re marking this month’s 125th anniversary of Roscoe’s birth by giving away three copies of The Forgotten Films of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. It’s a four-disc DVD set that features 32 restored comedy classics.
And as always, you can enter for your chance to win in a myriad of ways (and on a daily basis). Follow the link to your left to enter; retweet one of our “Free Roscoe” tweets on Twitter. Like and/or share one of our “Free Roscoe” posts on Facebook. Like or reblog one of our Arbuckle-themed posts on Tumblr. Heck, you can even share a Free Roscoe post on Google+, if you like.
But you’ve got only until tomorrow—Saturday, March 31—at midnight, Eastern time, to load up on entries and improve your chances to be one of the lucky winners. So make the most of it!
It’s Free Roscoe Friday
For this week’s Free Roscoe Friday offering, we’re sharing the second half of Coney island, starring Roscoe Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. (If you missed last week’s posting of the first half, it’s here.)
Remember that we’re marking tomorrow’s 125th anniversary of Roscoe’s birth by giving away three copies of The Forgotten Films of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. It’s a four-disc DVD set that features 32 restored comedy classics, one of which is, as you may have guessed, Coney Island.
And as always, you can enter for your chance to win in a myriad of ways (and on a daily basis). Follow the link to your left to enter; retweet one of our “Free Roscoe” tweets on Twitter. Like and/or share one of our “Free Roscoe” posts on Facebook. Like or reblog one of our Arbuckle-themed posts on Tumblr. Heck, you can even share a Free Roscoe post on Google+, if you like.
You’ve got till March 31st to load up on entries and improve your chances to be one of the lucky winners, so make the most of it!
It’s Free Roscoe Friday
For this week’s Free Roscoe Friday offering, we’re sharing the first half of Coney island, a film starring Roscoe Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.
We love old footage of Coney Island and we’re crazy about Buster, so this is one of our favorites among the extant examples of Arbuckle’s work.
It’s interesting to see Keaton’s early cinematic performances; he’s not yet the stoic onscreen figure he would soon become.
Remember that we’re marking the 125th anniversary of Roscoe’s birth by giving away three copies of The Forgotten Films of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. It’s a four-disc DVD set that features 32 restored comedy classics, one of which is, as you may have guessed, “Coney Island” (you may rest assured it looks better on the DVD than in the YouTube clip shared above).
And you can enter for your chance to win in a myriad of ways (and on a daily basis). Follow the link to your left to enter; retweet one of our “Free Roscoe” tweets on Twitter. Like and/or share one of our “Free Roscoe” posts on Facebook. Like or reblog one of our Arbuckle-themed posts on Tumblr. Heck, you can even share a Free Roscoe post on Google+, if you like.
You’ve got till March 31st to load up on entries and improve your chances to be one of the lucky winners, so make the most of it!
