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Spite Work: The Trials of Virginia Rappe and Fatty Arbuckle

A reconsideration for the centenary of the tragedy

A photograph of Virginia Rappe taken on the set of The Punch of the Irish (1920). This image was likely too risqué for newspapers and wasn’t used, hence the “Dead” stamp, which doesn’t refer to the deceased person. Note the curious typographical error or Freudian slip of “whose” in the body copy.

This website is intended to whet your appetite for a forthcoming book on the story of Virginia Rappe and the tragedy that occurred as a result of her life intersecting that of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle in 1921. Follow the blog portion of this site for incidental notes that sometimes unravel falsehoods that have arisen over the years and also tease out side stories about the individuals who were involved.

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