Category: default || By jt3y

Things I found on the Internet while I was looking for other things:

If you know the name "Fatty Arbuckle" at all, you know it because the silent film comedian was the target of one of the most notorious trials of the 1920s. Arbuckle, who was then as big a star (no pun intended) as Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, was charged with rape and murder as part of what appears to have been a failed blackmail scheme.

After three trials and no convictions, the final jury issued a statement: "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."

But the damage was done, and Arbuckle's career was ruined. Hollywood censor Will Hays banned Arbuckle's films from circulation and none of the major studios would put him on screen. He directed for a time under a pseudonym, but eventually became an alcoholic.

In the bitterest of ironies, a group of Hollywood stars and Arbuckle fans lobbied Warner Brothers to give him another chance. In 1933, the day after he signed a long-term contract with Warners, he died.

All this and more is available at David B. Pearson's Arbucklemania, along with other trivia. (For instance: The nickname "Fatty" was slapped on him by a publicity agent, and his friends called him "Roscoe" or "Arbie." When a fan called him "Fatty," Arbuckle, who was otherwise a gentle soul, would reply, "I've got a name, you know.")

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Speaking of old movies, Leonard Maltin is a better critic than his work on the excreable "Entertainment Tonight" might lead you to believe. (I know, I'm sure it pays the bills.) Check out his Movie Crazy website if you don't believe me.

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Hmm. This seems to be a "Hooray for Hollywood!" roundup. This clip, from commercial voice-over artist (read: "announcer") Don LaFontaine, is funny on any number of levels.

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And now, for a brief message from our friends at Norge, Kelvinator, Bendix and Philco. How many times a day do you ask yourself: "Gee, I wish there was someplace where I could see videos of 1950s and '60s washing machines agitating. Why doesn't someone remedy the lack of movies of 40-year-old appliances in action?"

Well, somebody has. And at AutomaticWasher.org, you can also watch vintage TV commercials starring Betty Furness. (You can be sure that they're Westinghouse.)

(You're welcome, by the way.)

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What's the most idiotic automobile you could spend your money on, besides a Yugo? (No, not "two Yugos.") It's a Chrysler K-car customized to look like a Mercedes. Hurry up and make an offer before someone else snaps it up. (Tube City hard hat tip: Jalopnik)

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Fine lines (apologies to Eric Zorn):

"Did you ever have the feeling that you're George Burns and everyone else in the world is Gracie?" --- Mark Evanier, News From Me

"Since taking office five years ago, President Bush has gone on vacation fifty times. Fifty vacations in five years ... that's about average, right?" --- David Letterman, Late Show

"It's been so hot in New York City that I have a confession to make. Yesterday, I took off all of my clothes and sat in front of the refrigerator, in my underwear, and just let the cold air blow on me. And after about 15 minutes, they threw me out of Sears." --- Letterman, same night