The Mammoth Book of Celebrity Murders (65 page)

Under cross-examination by the prosecution Arbuckle gave little away and many thought that his testimony had helped his defence.

On examination of Virginia Rappe’s bladder the experts agreed that it was ruptured, there was evidence of chronic inflammation and signs of acute peritonitis, and that the examination
failed to reveal any pathological change in the vicinity of the tear preceding the rupture. In short – the rupture was not caused by external force. This was deemed another success by the
defence.

The first trial came to an end on 4 December 1921 when, after over 40 hours of deliberation and at least 20 ballots, the jury were unable to reach a verdict, deadlocked, 10 to 2, in favour of
acquittal.

At the second trial the victim’s past was dragged through the mud, claiming that she was a heavy drinker and had enjoyed many sexual partners. Zey Prevon testified that she had not heard
Rappe accuse Arbuckle of hurting her. But a deadlocked jury again voted 10–2, this time for a conviction, the entire opposite to the first jury.

The third and final trial ended with an apology from the jury: “Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great injustice has been done him. We feel also that it was only
our plain duty to give him this exoneration, under the evidence, for there was not the slightest proof adduced to connect him in any way with the commission of a crime.

“He was manly throughout the case, and told a straightforward story on the witness stand, which we all believed.

“The happening at the hotel was an unfortunate affair for which Arbuckle, so the evidence shows, was in no way responsible.

“We wish him success, and hope that the American people will take the judgement of fourteen men and women who have sat listening for thirty-one days to evidence, that Roscoe Arbuckle is
entirely innocent and free from all blame.”

This leaves the question of what did happen to Virginia Rappe? The reason for her death is undisputed – peritonitis caused by a ruptured bladder. But why did the bladder rupture? Public
opinion, encouraged by the press, the theory that she may well have undergone a botched abortion. Unfortunately, several organs were destroyed after the autopsy, including her uterus, so it was
impossible to guess whether or not she had been pregnant at the time of her death.

The 35-year-old actor was a free man again, but his life was in ruins. The defence team had cost him a small fortune and to add to that he was given a $500 fine for bringing liquor to the party.
He had lost his place in Hollywood as a comedian and found himself blacklisted from films. Even the films he had already recorded were withdrawn from circulation because of his tarnished
reputation.

On 18 April 1922 Will Hays issued a statement saying, “After consulting at length with Mr Nicholas Schenck, representing Mr Joseph Schenck, the producers, and Mr Adolph Zukor and Mr Jessy
Lasky of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, the distributors, I will state that at my request they have cancelled all showings and all bookings of the Arbuckle films. They do this that the whole
matter may have the consideration that its importance warrants, and the action is taken notwithstanding the fact that they had nearly ten thousand contracts in force for the Arbuckle
pictures.” The ban was lifted later that year, but the damage had been done and Arbuckle would not act in front of a camera for over ten years.

He did find work as a director using the alias of “William B. Goodrich”, directing several films including
Special Delivery
and
Windy Riley Goes to Hollywood
. Acutely
depressed he and Minta divorced in 1925. He did manage to pull his life back into shape and married his second wife, Doris Deane, but the marriage only lasted three years because of
Arbuckle’s depression and drinking.

By 1930 he managed to get a part in the movie
Buzzin’ Around
, which thankfully for Arbuckle was well received and he was able to prove that he was still capable of exhibiting his
special gift for slapstick humour – to his delight audiences enjoyed the film. Indeed his devout fans came out in force and flocked to see his comeback, thoroughly pleased with the
delightfully funny movie.

In 1932 his personal life turned a corner and he met very pretty dark-eyed actress Addie McPhail. Roscoe invited her out and took her to a special restaurant, where after he had managed to calm
his nerves the couple enjoyed a lovely meal and Addie soon warmed to his charms. He was very attentive and she found that she was swept off her feet by his romantic gestures – he regularly
sent her flowers and small gifts. After a courtship of a few months, Roscoe plucked up the courage to ask Addie to be his bride. To his delight and surprise she accepted and he was elated,
believing that his life was now on the up; the couple were married in June 1932. His movie career continued to be a success and he was now enjoying the happiest time of his life.

Everybody knows that nothing lasts for ever, but in a cruel twist of fate his life was to come to a sudden end. At the tender age of 46 Roscoe died peacefully in his sleep, too young to die, but
the years of heavy drinking, hard work and of course his weight would have been contributory factors. A quiet end to a very eventful life.

Carl Switzer found fame as a child in the hit series,
The Little Rascals
. His portrayal of the character Alfalfa was his only major acting success, and he was always
known as Alfalfa or Alfie to his friends. His death was premature and was brought about as a result of an argument over money – Alfalfa was shot at close range and died shortly afterwards.
But was justice served? His murderer walked away a free man.

Carl Switzer’s death coincided with that of the highly acclaimed Hollywood director, Cecil B. DeMille. The press favoured the story of DeMille’s death, pushing the murder of Carl
Switzer to the more obscure inner pages, so that his passing did not command many newspaper columns.

This was the second time that Switzer had been cheated in his life, for having worked throughout his childhood, financially supporting his family, he found himself low on funds. Owing to poor
contractual decisions, he never earned the income his movie roles should have provided, a situation Switzer would sorely regret as his youthful fame gave way to adult obscurity. By the time he
reached his twenties his acting career was all but over.

Carl Dean Switzer was one of three children born to devoted parents, Fred and Gladys, in Paris, Illinois. Janice Genevieve, the eldest, was born on 18 March 1923, followed two years later by
Harold Frederick, who arrived on 16 January 1925. Carl, the youngest, was born on 7 August 1927 and was fortunate to have all four grandparents alive at the time of his birth. It was Gladys’
parents, John and Hattie Matthews, who lived to see their precocious grandson’s rise to fame.

During the Great Depression the Switzers, like many others at that time, struggled to bring up their children. Paris was a small, residential, semi-rural farming district in eastern Illinois.
Money was scarce and it became increasingly difficult to make ends meet, their financial problems compounded by the fact that Fred was an invalid, having accidentally shot himself in the foot which
had resulted in amputation. This severely impeded his chances of gaining employment, especially in this district as the majority of unskilled work on offer was hard, manual, farm work. Unaware of
their parents’ financial problems Carl and his siblings were happy children who, along with their friends and neighbours, attended Redmon Elementary School. In their leisure time the local
residents enjoyed picnicking and swimming at the Twin Lakes Park.

The Switzers were imaginative in the ideas they came up with to earn money. They had two very outgoing young boys who displayed a raw, but charming talent for singing. The children performed
from time to time at local shows and fairs; they proved to be very popular and their parents were extremely proud of them. The additional revenue which their performances generated was unexpected
but gratefully received by Fred and Gladys.

The family, encouraged by friends, believed that the children were stars in the making and were keen to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood. Fred and Gladys decided that they had nothing to lose,
so when Carl was six years old they decided to take their children and visit members of their family living in California.

On their arrival they spent time reacquainting themselves with relatives, and were soon encouraged to take the children on one of the Hollywood studio tours. One such trip was a visit to the
film studios of Hal Roach, where the Switzers joined the public tour of the studios. At the end of the tour, visitors were given the opportunity to use the studio cafeteria which was especially
exciting for them as all employees of the studio went there too, so there was always the chance of spotting a star. Rumour had it that whilst visitors were enjoying their refreshments, movie
executives used this opportunity to “talent scout” unsuspecting diners, and was probably the reason why the Switzer youngsters were encouraged to run through one of the routines which
they had performed back in Paris. This may indeed have been the plan all along, and soon the boys were brought to the attention of Hal Roach himself who was sufficiently impressed to ask the boys
to return for auditions.

Hal was in the early stages of putting together the cast for a new show to be called
Our Gang.
The plan was to record a series of comedy sketches using a cast of youngsters, primarily
focusing on their adventures.

Hal was renowned for having an eye for talent, and as he was the creator and exclusive producer of the show, he was the decision maker. He was immediately impressed with the quite extraordinary
ability that the young Carl had of learning, reciting and performing his lines. Carl had the gift of timing, even at the tender age of seven – a quality that was not lost on the famous Hal
Roach. Initially, the boys were offered roles in an episode aptly entitled “Beginners’ Luck”, and were given the names Tom and Jerry, being dubbed the “Arizona
Nightingales”.

Carl’s performance was quite remarkable and he was offered a lead role in the next episode of the show, in which he would be known as Alfalfa. Carl’s elder brother Harold was also
offered a part, though not quite as prestigious. Harold was given small roles throughout the course of the shows in which he would act as different characters, usually for just a few scenes. The
two characters which he played most often were Deadpan and Slim, but his limited acting ability meant that he was never as successful as his younger brother. This was never a bone of contention
between the siblings as Harold was aware that Carl had an ability which he did not possess and was never bitter about the attention his brother received.

The news of the children’s success in Hollywood soon travelled back to Paris, Illinois and they were front-page news in the local newspaper, the
Paris Beacon News
. The report
reads:

The Switzers were eager to have their sons’ employment formally recognized and swiftly applied for them to receive Social Security cards. Having obtained these documents
Fred was quick to clinch the deal and signed the studio contract on behalf of his sons. Fred now assumed the role of manager to Harold and Carl and was often on set; with their best interests at
heart, he ensured that his boys were given a fair deal. He would complain bitterly if he was not happy with the amount of screen time they received, and would demand that Carl’s name be
prominent on the billing and all associated advertising literature.

In 1938, due to a change of parent company ownership, the name “Our Gang” was dropped in favour of “The Little Rascals”. Hal Roach had all the references to Our Gang
removed from the original titles and credits and they were replaced by the new name prior to being shown on television.

The show was a long-running success and Switzer starred in over 60 episodes, but by the age of 13 he was growing tired of performing as Alfalfa and decided to quit the show. He still wanted to
continue with his acting career and went on to have some success in movies. In his first film he starred alongside Elizabeth Taylor in
There’s One Born Every Minute
, Taylor’s
screen debut at the age of 10; Switzer was 14. He was also in the big hit
It’s a Wonderful Life
and enjoyed acting with many of the Hollywood greats, including William Powell, Bob
Hope, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

As Switzer matured, his acting career started to dry up, the offers coming more sporadically. Not in the slightest bit bitter, he felt that he had already been very fortunate with his acting
success; he accepted that he had already had his share of fame, and as long as he could live comfortably, he was satisfied and did not complain. It has to be said that with more skilful payment
negotiations, he could have earned more from all his acting work – if he had received a share of the royalties from the shows, he might well have been a rich man.

During his adult life Switzer continued to act whenever the opportunity arose, and spent the rest of his time following various occupations. He worked as bartender in a local bar, at times he
was employed as a bear-hunting guide in the high Sierras, and he also worked as a dog trainer.

In the early 1950s Switzer had become a good friend of popular actor Roy Rogers and with Rogers’ encouragement Switzer got a role in a television series, though this was only short lived
and he soon found himself back behind the bar. Switzer married his long-time girlfriend, Diane Collingwood and when they were blessed with a son, Switzer asked Rogers to be the boy’s
godfather. The marriage unfortunately did not last and the couple were divorced in 1956.