Do I look any different to you? I should. I'm on my backup computer, my primary P.C. having decided Christmas Eve is the perfect time to go kablooey! on me. I mean, what better time to crash than the night you sure as hell can't call anyone or figure out who to have fix it? Everything's backed-up eight ways but my semi-informed diagnosis suggests I need a new C drive. Suggestions in the L.A. area are welcome. I've fixed a lot of things on that ol' computer but this one lies just outside my area of expertise.
Meanwhile, I've received a lot of messages about Roscoe Arbuckle and the scandal that ended his career. Most wrote what Gordon Robson wrote…
Regarding Dave S. Humphreys' comment, I thought it was obvious that your "raped some woman" remark carried an implicit rejection of that kind of attitude which some people might have had, and that it didn't reflect your own feelings about the poor woman. Funny how Mr. Humphreys seemed to see what wasn't there. Anyway, just thought I'd say you needn't worry, as most readers undoubtedly knew what you meant.
Yeah, but I'd like all readers to know what I meant. I realize that may be impossible, especially these days, but I can't help thinking that someone who calls himself a Professional Writer oughta be able to write so clearly that no one reads me wrong. There's plenty here to disagree with if you do understand what I'm trying to say.
Now, this may be of some interest. When I wrote about how people don't know what really happened with Mr. Arbuckle, I thought of mentioning Bill Gaines, the longtime publisher of MAD and a beloved figure among most who knew him or loved MAD and/or E.C. Comics. In his office, Bill had two photos in a joint frame — one of Roscoe Arbuckle and one of Virginia Rappe. Ms. Rappe, as we know, was the actress who died at a party Arbuckle hosted, leading to him being charged with violating and killing her. Gaines had them "united" in one of those frames where you might unite pics of your parents or your two kids or some couple like that. And he had an antique Coca-Cola bottle on display in front of the photos.
You might think this was poor taste humor. But Bill Gaines, let's remember, published MAD, Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror and lots of things that were routinely denounced as poor taste humor. For him, it certainly wasn't.
I decided not to mention Bill's little display as an example of how folks don't know the truth about the Arbuckle/Rappe matter but didn't. Then I got a note from a reader of this site, Bob Gillian. The Mad World of William M. Gaines, by the way, was a fine book by MAD writer Frank Jacobs about Gaines and his publishing history…
I thought you might be interested in the following. Back in 1974 I was the proud owner of The MAD World of William M. Gaines. Alas, it seems to have disappeared over the years so I can't quote from it, but Gaines was quoted in it as saying something along the lines of he kept pictures of Fatty Arbuckle and Virginia Rappe on his desk and found it amusing that many visitors thought they were his parents as Rappe was raped to death by Arbuckle. Well, my teenage ire was aroused as I also believed then (and still do) that Arbuckle was railroaded, so I immediately rushed to my typewriter and dashed off a letter to Mr. Gaines, taking him to task and explaining why I believed Arbuckle was innocent. I expected no response, so imagine my surprise when this arrived in the mail.
Bob sent me a scan of the letter from Gaines on MAD letterhead, but it will be easier if I just quote what he said…
Thank you so much for writing! Actually, I know that Arbuckle was probably blameless in this affair but it has taken on a rather humorous mythological caste & we all love to talk about Arbuckle & his "coke" bottle! What happened to him was tragic at the time but everybody's dead now & we just kid about it! Best wishes.
And I explained the true story to Bill, too. I guess to some people, a legend is a legend in the true sense of the word. In these days, when everyone is called a "legend," we forget that Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed were legends, too — meaning that not everything said about them is true. Anyway, I wish Frank in the book hadn't written what he wrote or that Bill had made clear he didn't believe it.