Have you ever heard of an actress from the silent film era named Virginia Rappe? If you have, it’s most likely because of her mysterious and untimely death.
If you haven’t, you should know that before she died, she was a bright and promising silent film actress.
Virginia was born in New York in 1894 to a part-time showgirl named Mabel. Her mother died when she was only 11-years-old, so she ended up living with family in Chicago.
By the time she was a teenager, she worked as a model for artists and even was hired as a commercial actress for a few local department stores.
Virginia has been described as having striking brown eyes and beautiful hair, a young woman made for the silver screen.
By the time she was in her late teenage years, Virginia knew that she wanted to be a performer. During the mid-1910s, she moved to Hollywood and began working at Keystone studios.
It was at Keystone that she began her career as a promising silent film actress. Throughout her career, it’s estimated that she worked on at least 10 films and began meeting all sorts of different people in the industry. Virginia worked for directors like Fred Balshofer and Henry Lehrman.
One of Virginia’s most prominent roles was in Balshofer’s Paradise Garden, a silent romantic comedy.
After starring in another film for Balshofer, titled Over The Rhine, she was named the “Best Dressed Girl In Pictures.”
Library of Congress; pictured above is a photo of Virginia that she signed, “All my love to the dearest sweetest boy I know…”
Virginia had all kinds of chances to become a Hollywood icon, but her life was cut short after meeting the famous Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, one of the most successful silent film actors of the 1910s, and attending his Labor Day party in 1921.
On the day of the party, Roscoe secured a suite of three rooms at the Saint Francis hotel in San Francisco. There were a ton of guests at the party, including Virginia.
At one point, it was reported that Virginia and Roscoe were seen entering a bedroom together. Later that day, Virginia was found seriously ill in one of the hotel rooms.
She was reportedly bleeding and in a tremendous amount of pain. When the hotel doctor examined her, he blamed her painful symptoms on intoxication. However, one of Virginia’s friends believed that Roscoe assaulted and harmed her.
When Virginia was finally taken to the hospital two days later, it turned out that she had peritonitis caused by a ruptured bladder. Virginia’s friend told the police about Roscoe, leading to a massive scandal for all involved.
After press conferences made by Virginia and Roscoe’s representation, the press released all kinds of stories containing rumors about what may have happened, many of them suggesting that Roscoe murdered Virginia.
Sadly, no one knows exactly what happened in that hotel room to this day. Virginia died from her illness on September 9th, 1921. She was only 30-years-old. After three murder trials, Roscoe Arbuckle was eventually acquitted and continued with his career.
All rumors of what exactly caused Virginia’s death aside, there is no doubt that she was a young woman with tons of potential. It is a shame her bright future was cut short.
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