Famous Like Me > Actress > R > Virginia Rappe
Profile of Virginia Rappe
on Famous Like Me |
| |
| Name: |
Virginia Rappe |
|
| |
|
| Also Know As: |
|
| |
|
| Date of Birth: |
19th September 1895 |
| |
|
| Place of Birth: |
New York, New York USA |
| |
|
| Profession: |
Actress |
| |
|
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Virginia Rappe (September 19, 1895 - September 9, 1921) was an American silent film actress.
Birth
Virginia Caroline Rapp was born in either Chicago, Illinois or New York City depending on the source. Her unmarried mother, Mabel Rapp, was a chorus line girl from Chicago who moved to New York City. Virginia's father was from Virginia. Her birthdate has not been verified with a birth certificate.
Career
Her mother died when she was eleven and she was taken in by relatives. At age sixteen she worked as an artist's model which would lead to her pursuit of a career in silent film that began in 1916 with a small role in a production for the Clara Kimball Young Picture Company run by Lewis J. Selznick. The following year she had a small part in "His Wedding Night", a comedy directed by Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Virginia Rappe was best known as the girl pictured on the sheet music cover of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," a popular song of the era. In 1920, she began working for the production company run by director/producer Henry Lehrman and the two began a relationship that led to their engagement. Never a major star, Virginia Rappe appeared in only eleven films before her life was cut short at the age of twenty-six.
Death
The circumstances of Rappe's death in 1921 became a Hollywood scandal and were published widely by the media of the time. The official cause of her death was listed as peritonitis caused by a ruptured bladder a few days after attending a September 5th party at a hotel in San Francisco, California hosted by Arbuckle. The exact events of the 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 Fatty Arbuckle. Other rumors circulated that Rappe died of injuries resulting from an earlier botched abortion. After three murder trials Arbuckle was formally acquitted of any charges, although his reputation and career were permanently ruined. The case is still speculated about today.
Burial
Virginia Rappe was buried in the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery.
Timeline
- 1895 Birth in Illinois
- 1920 US Census with her renting a room in Los Angeles
- 1921 Death on September 9th
External link
- Virginia Rappe at the Internet Movie Database
This content from
Wikipedia is licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article Virginia Rappe
|
