WARNING: EXPLICIT MATERIAL

Virginia Rappe

Birth Name:

Virginia Caroline Rappe

Birth Date:

July 7, 1895

Birth Place:

Chicago, Illinois

Death Date:

September 9, 1921

Place of Death:

Wakefield Sanatorium, 1065 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Ruptured bladder and secondary peritonitis

Cemetery Name:

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Show Business

Virginia Rappe was a young and up-and-coming Hollywood model and silent film actress, but is best known for her death after attending a party with actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was accused of rape and manslaughter in connection with her death. After three trials, Arbuckle was acquitted but the scandal had tarnished his legacy as a one of the most popular and highly paid actors in Hollywood.

Fun Fact

Visitors who come to Hollywood Forever Cemetery have reported hearing a ghostly voice that weeps and cries out near Virginia’s simple grave. It is believed by many to be her ghost, still attached to this world, and still in anguish over her promising career, which was, like her life, cut short before it could really begin.

And for those who still believe Roscoe Arbuckle raped and killed Virginia Rappe, on April 12, 1922, the jury of his third trial acquitted Arbuckle of manslaughter after deliberating for just five minutes—four of which were used to prepare a statement:

Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great injustice has been done to him … 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 which we all believe. We wish him success and hope that the American people will take the judgment of fourteen men and women that Roscoe Arbuckle is entirely innocent and free from all blame.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

6000 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, California, 90038

USA

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Garden of Legends, Lot 257

Grave Location Description

She is located about 10 feet from the water’s edge. If you are facing the large mausoleum in the middle of the lake, Virginia is buried to the left of the entry to the mausoleum (on dry land, of course).