(1866-1931)
The popular stage and silent motion picture actor was born in San Antonio, and admitted to the Texas bar in 1887. In 1888, he made his stage debut with Peter Baker in Shreveport, Louisiana. For the next four years he played Shakespearean roles with R. D. MacLean's company. Later he played Marc Antony in Louis James's touring production of Julius Caesar. In London, he played the title role in Why Smith Left Home (1898). The hefty actor's physique contributed to the comic characterizations of his later years. Some of Arbuckle's memorable homespun characters included Jim Hackler in The County Chairman (1903) and Slim Hoover in The Round Up (1907). In 1912, he performed in his own play The Reform Candidate. He retired after a stroke in 1926.
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.