Virginia Rappe 856958 222842588 2008-07-01T11:24:18Z Cydebot 1215485 Robot - Moving category Deaths of peritonitis to Deaths from peritonitis per [[WP:CFD|CFD]] at [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 June 21]]. {{unreferenced|date=February 2008}} {{Infobox actor | bgcolour = silver | name = Virginia Rappe | image = Virginiarappe.jpg | imagesize = | caption = Publicity shot of Virginia Rappe from ''A Twilight Baby'' | birthname = Virginia Caroline Rapp | birthdate = {{birth date|1891|07|07|mf=y}} | location = [[New York, New York]], [[United States]] | deathdate = {{death date and age|1921|09|09|1891|07|07|mf=y}} | deathplace = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], [[United States]] | height = | othername = Virginia Rappae | spouse = | yearsactive = | homepage = | notable role = }} '''Virginia Rappe''' ({{pronEng|rʌpeɪ}}{{Fact|date=December 2007}}) ([[July 7]], [[1891]] &ndash; [[September 9]], [[1921]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[Model (person)|model]] and [[silent film]] [[actor|actress]]. ==Career== At age fourteen Rappe began working as a commercial and art model in Chicago. In 1916 she relocated to San Francisco to pursue a career as a dress designer. After her fiancee was killed in a tragic streetcar accident she moved to Los Angeles. In early 1917 she was hired by Fred Balshofer and given a prominent role in Balshofer's ''Paradise Garden'' opposite popular screen star [[Harold Lockwood]]. Balshofer hired her again the next year to co-star with early [[drag (clothing)|drag]] performer [[Julian Eltinge]] and newcomer [[Rudolph Valentino]] in ''Over the Rhine''. This film was not released until 1920 when Balshofer recut it and released it under the title ''An Adventuress''. In 1919, she began a relationship with director/producer [[Henry Lehrman]]; the two eventually became engaged. She appeared in at least four films for Lehrman: ''His Musical Sneeze'', ''A Twilight Baby'', ''Punch of the Irish'', and ''A Game Lady''. Many of Lehrman's films are lost; it is possible she may have had additional roles with him but no supporting evidence survives. == Death == The circumstances of Rappe's death in 1921 became a Hollywood scandal and were covered widely (and inaccurately) by the media of the time. During a party held on Labor Day, [[September 5]] [[1921]] in Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's suite at the Saint Francis Hotel in [[San Francisco, California]], Rappe suffered a trauma. She died on [[September 9]] [[1921]], from a ruptured [[Urinary bladder|bladder]] and secondary [[peritonitis]]. She was buried at [[Hollywood Forever Cemetery|Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery]]. The exact events of that infamous party are still unclear, with witnesses relating numerous versions of what happened. It was alleged that she died as a result of a violent [[sexual assault]] by [[Roscoe Arbuckle]]. Arbuckle's accuser, Maude Delmont, had accompanied Rappe to the party; she had first met Rappe only a few days earlier. Delmont was apparently not present for any of the events she described and was not called to testify at any of Arbuckle's three trials. According to some accounts, she had been linked to crimes such as [[extortion]], [[fraud]], and [[racketeering]] (she was arrested for [[bigamy]] following the Arbuckle trials). Other prosecution witnesses were allegedly intimidated by the office of San Francisco District Attorney Matthew Brady into making statements to support Delmont's story. A rumor that Arbuckle had used a [[Coca-Cola]] or champagne bottle on Rappe in an attempt at unnatural penetration was not substantiated by any eyewitness and is of unknown origin. [[Al Semnacher]], her manager, said that the damage had been caused by a large piece of ice from an ice bucket. Other rumors circulated that Rappe died of injuries resulting from an earlier botched illegal [[abortion]] or complications from [[gonorrhea]]. [[Image:Virginia-Rappe-Coffin-1921.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Rappe's coffin arrives in Los Angeles, [[September 17]] [[1921]].]] After three manslaughter trials, Arbuckle was formally acquitted; his acquittal in the third trial was accompanied by an unprecedented statement of apology signed by all twelve members of the jury and both alternates, 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." Arbuckle's case has been examined by scholars and historians over the years and is still speculated about today, and a number of detailed books about the case have tried to make the case that Arbuckle was innocent. ==External links== *[http://www.virginiarappe.com Virginia Rappe Home-Page] (In German) *{{imdb name|id= 0710915|name=Virginia Rappe}} *[http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/fatty_arbuckle/1.html Crimelibrary Article on the Rappe/Arbuckle case] *[http://www.altfg.com/blog/actors/fatty-arbuckle-virginia-rappe-trial-scandal/ Film researcher discusses the Fatty Arbuckle trial] *{{findagrave|854}} *[http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2856.htm E-Medicine article on bladder ruptures] <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Rappe, Virginia |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Rapp, Virginia Caroline |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Silent film actress, model |DATE OF BIRTH= [[July 7]], [[1891]] |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[New York, New York]], [[United States]] |DATE OF DEATH= [[September 9]], [[1921]] |PLACE OF DEATH= [[San Francisco]], [[California]], [[United States]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Rappe, Virginia}} [[Category:1891 births]] [[Category:1921 deaths]] [[Category:People from New York City]] [[Category:American actors]] [[Category:American film actors]] [[Category:American silent film actors]] [[Category:Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery]] [[Category:Sex scandals]] [[Category:Deaths from peritonitis]] [[de:Virginia Rappe]] [[fr:Virginia Rappe]] [[ja:ヴァージニア・ラッペ]]