I've already done the Birthday of the Week, but today is Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's birthday and the guy was great. What can I say? Sure, the scandal was hideous and dreadful for all concerned — lurid and career-ruining — plus the woman died and everything.

Anyway, anyway... I used not to care much for slapstick at all and especially avoided the kind where the big joke was about being fat or drunk, so I didn't come around to Arbuckle until my early 20s — and then only just, because he hung around with my girlfriend, Mabel Normand.

Then last July I saw him in "The Cook" at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival with Buster Keaton and  became a true fan, as I hope you will too if you aren't already. Remember, all the stunts are done by the actors and the dog. The whole thing's a ballet.

Enjoy. But don't try any of this at home.

Part I