Virginia Rappe

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Virginia Rappe
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Rappe, c. 1920
Born
Zelliene Virginia Rappe

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Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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San Francisco, California, U.S.
Cause of death
Ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis
Resting place
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other nameTemplate:Pluralize from textVirginia Rappae
Years active1909–1921
EmployerTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:Pluralize from text
OrganizationTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:Pluralize from text
AgentTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:Pluralize from text
Notable creditTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:Pluralize from text
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OpponentTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:Pluralize from text
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SpouseTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:Pluralize from text
PartnerTemplate:Pluralize from textRobert Moscovitz (1916–1916, his death)
Henry Lehrman (1919–1921)Template:Pluralize from text
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Zelliene Virginia Rappe (/rəˈpeɪ/; July 7, 1891 – September 9, 1921)[2] was an American model and silent film actress. Working mostly in bit parts, Rappe died after attending a party with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was tried for manslaughter and rape in connection with her death, though he was ultimately acquitted of both charges three different times.

Early life and career

Virginia Rappe was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 7, 1891 to a single mother, Mabel Rappe. Mabel died when Rappe was aged 11.[3] Rappe was then raised by her grandmother.[4]Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

At age 18, she began working as a commercial and artist's model,Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. moving to San Francisco, California, to pursue that career in 1916. There she met dress designer Robert Moscovitz and they became engaged, but shortly afterward he was killed in a streetcar accident.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

Rappe moved to Los Angeles, where in early 1917 she was hired by director Fred Balshofer and given a prominent role in his film Paradise Garden,[5] opposite screen star Harold Lockwood. Balshofer hired her again to costar with early drag performer Julian Eltinge and newcomer Rudolph Valentino in Over the Rhine.[citation needed] This film was not released until 1920, when Balshofer recut it and released it under the title An Adventuress, and later in 1922, after Rappe's death, as The Isle of Love.[6] She was named "Best Dressed Girl in Pictures" in 1918.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

In 1919, Rappe began a relationship with director and producer Henry Lehrman. The couple eventually became engaged and lived together, but in the United States Census of 1920, the young actress is listed as a "boarder" in Lehrman's home in Los Angeles.[7] Rappe appeared in at least four films for Lehrman: His Musical Sneeze, A Twilight Baby, Punch of the Irish and A Game Lady. However, since many of Lehrman's films are lost, the exact number of roles she performed for him cannot be determined.

Following Rappe's death, rumors arose, supposedly to besmirch her character, that she had given birth in Chicago in 1918 and put the baby in foster care. These rumors were proven false by autopsy.[8]

Death

File:Virginia-Rappe-Coffin-1921.jpg
Rappe's casket arrives in Los Angeles, September 17, 1921
File:The American florist - a weekly journal for the trade (1921) (17957015190).jpg
Casket of Virginia Rappe

The circumstances of Rappe's death in 1921 became a Hollywood scandal and were heavily sensationalized by the media of the time. During a party held on Labor Day, September 5, 1921, in Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's suite at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, the alleged but unsubstantiated rape by Arbuckle occurred. She died four days later on September 9 from a ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis.[9] She is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles alongside her fiancé Henry Lehrman.[10]

File:VirginiaRappe creditStaceyPalmer TheSilentFilmCemeteryProject.jpg
The gravesite of Virginia Rappe (with incorrect birth year) at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, maintained by The Silent Film Cemetery Project

The exact events of the party remain unclear, with witnesses relating numerous versions of what happened. It was alleged that Rappe had died as a result of a violent sexual assault by Arbuckle. Arbuckle's accuser, Bambina Maude Delmont, had accompanied Rappe to the party; she had first met Rappe only a few days earlier.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Delmont, however, had a police record for extortion, prostitution and blackmail.[11] Subsequent witnesses testified that Rappe had for some time suffered from cystitis, a condition which could have been aggravated by consuming alcohol.[12] Witnesses also testified that Rappe had previously suffered from venereal disease, so there were allegations that her death was brought on by her health rather than by an assault; however, her autopsy revealed no sign of venereal disease or any current or prior pregnancies.[11]

After three manslaughter trials, Arbuckle was formally acquitted; his acquittal in the third trial was accompanied by a statement of apology from the jury stating, in part, that, "Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great injustice has been done him... there was not the slightest proof adduced to connect him in any way with the commission of a crime."[13] Nevertheless, Arbuckle's reputation and career were ruined because of the scandal.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Page Template:Tooltip/styles.css has no content.Template:Encodefirst
1916 The Foolish Virgin Salesgirl Uncredited bit part Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
1917 Paradise Garden Marcia Van Wyck Lost film Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
1918 Wild Women and Tame Lions Lost film; allegedly uncredited
1919 His Musical Sneeze [it]

[14]

1920 A Twilight Baby
1920 An Adventuress Vanette Reissued in 1922, heavily re-edited, as The Isle of Love

[6]

1920 The Kick in High Life Uncredited
1920 Wet and Warmer Undetermined role Uncredited
1921 The Punch of the Irish The Object Of Attention
1921 A Game Lady Undetermined role

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7WC-F8M : March 10, 2018), Mabel Rapp in entry for Rapp, July 7, 1891; citing p.254 no.12677, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,287,737.
  2. ^ Notorious Crimes, Criminals and Criminal Trials in American History Template:ISBN p. 30
  3. ^ Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy Template:ISBN p. 1967
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Miller, Blair (1995). American Silent Film Comedies: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Persons, Studios, and Terminology. McFarland & Co. p. 207. ISBN 0-89950-929-0.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dimuro, Gina (October 6, 2024). "How The Suspicious Death Of Silent Film Actress Virginia Rappe Rocked 1920s Hollywood". All That's Interesting. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."An Adventuress". British Film Institute. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  7. ^ "The Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920", City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, enumeration date January 10, 1920. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sausalito News November 12, 1921 – California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Meade, Marion (1997). Buster Keaton: Cut To the Chase. Da Capo Press. p. 121. ISBN 0-306-80802-1.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Lawson, Kristan; Rufus, Anneli (2000). California Babylon. Macmillan. p. 46. ISBN 0-312-26385-6.
  11. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Noe, Denise. "Fatty Arbuckle and the Death of Virginia Rappe". crimelibrary.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Virginia Blamed Lover, says nurse". Ludington Daily News. San Francisco, CA. September 13, 1921. p. 1.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Chermak, Steven M.; Bailey, Frankie Y. (2007). Crimes and Trials of the Century. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-313-34110-6.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Virginia Rappe". Det Danske Filminstitut. Retrieved January 29, 2022.

Sources

Further reading

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