Virginia Rappe (Virginia Rappe)

Virginia Rappe

Actress. Subject of Hollywood scandal. Born in New York in 1895 to a part-time chorus girl Mabel Rapp and an unknown father. It’s not clear as to when she added the “e” to her last name but it was under that name she became a successful commerical model in Chicago department stores. At the time of her death, Virginia was best known as the face on the sheet music cover of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” a popular song of that time. Virginia won an award as “Best Dressed Girl in Pictures” but unfortunately she was better known within the Hollywood community as something else. At this point in time she came to know Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle who had worked at Keystone with her fiance Henry Lehrman. She, along with Maude Delmont and Al Semnacher went to a party thrown by Arbuckle on Labor Day 1921. By Friday of that week, Virginia had died in the hospital and Arbuckle was charged with her murder. The first two trials ended in hung juries, Roscoe was finally acquited in March 1922 in the third trial. He was aqcuited with an unprecedented apology from the jury. No one ever really knew what happened that day in 1921. All that is for sure is that Virginia died in a hospital on the Friday after of the injuries she suffered at that party. (bio by: Marta Monk) Cause of death: Generalized peritonitis secondary to probable ruptured fallopian tube

Born

  • July, 07, 1895
  • USA

Died

  • September, 09, 1921
  • USA

Cause of Death

  • Generalized peritonitis secondary to probable ruptured fallopian tube

Cemetery

  • Hollywood Forever Cemetery
  • California
  • USA

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