Rudolph Valentino

Rudolph Valentino
Author: Robert Oberfirst
Publisher: New York : Citadel Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 1962
Genre:
ISBN:

The Valentino Mystique

The Valentino Mystique
Author: Allan R. Ellenberger
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2014-06-24
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780786483419

The circumstances surrounding the death of legendary star Rudolph Valentino have been a constant source of fascination for admirers worldwide. This work examines every aspect of his passing, analyzing the circumstances and gathering information into one convenient source for the Valentino scholar and enthusiast. The first part examines every moment of the last days of Rudolph Valentino, his illness and operation, the reactions of such intimates as Pola Negri, and all controversy such as riots, suicides, and fights over his funeral and estate. Part two gives tours of Valentino-related sites in New York, Hollywood and West Hollywood, downtown and suburban Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills, explaining each site's part in Valentino's history, giving quotes from the star and his associates about the place, and describing its present state. Part three consists of eleven appendices giving such information as the infamous "Pink Powder Puff" editorial and Valentino's responses, the medical diagnosis, operation on and treatment of the idol, tributes and eulogies, the list of mourners attending his funerals, his last will and testament, the summation of his estate, quotes about his death, references from newspapers, and a complete filmography.

Dark Lover

Dark Lover
Author: Emily W. Leider
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Total Pages: 514
Release: 2004-11-04
Genre: Motion picture actors and actresses
ISBN: 9780571218196

Rudolph Valentino was the silver-screen legend who for ever changed America's idea of the leading man; a frightened young fellow who became the cinematic sex-god of his day. In this definitive retelling of Valentino's short and tragic life - the first fully documented biography of the star - Emily W. Leider looks at the Great Lover's life and legacy, and explores the events and issues that made him emblematic of his time. Valentino was reviled in the press for being too 'feminine' a man; yet he also brought to the screen the alluring, savage lover who embodied women's darker, forbidden sexual fantasies. In tandem, Leider explores notions of the outsider in American culture as represented by Valentino's experience as an immigrant who became a celebrity - the silver screen's first dark-skinned romantic hero.

Rudolph Valentino

Rudolph Valentino
Author: Natacha Rambova
Publisher: 1921 PVG Publishing
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2009-12
Genre: Motion picture actors and actresses
ISBN: 098164404X

In 1926 Silent Film Icon, Rudolph Valentino, died unexpectedly at the age of 31. That same year, he had finalized a bitter divorce from his wife of four years, Natacha Rambova. Valentino had been madly in love with the gorgeous and very talented designer, yet they had been unable to make their marriage work. Since their first marriage in 1922, the public had been critical of Rambova, blaming her for any mistakes in Valentino's career or life. As Valentino laid on his deathbed in New York, Rambova was in Paris. The two exchanged telegrams to the very end, with both sides believing they would soon reunite and a reconciliation had taken place. Upon hearing the news of his death, Rambova was so distraught she locked herself in her room for three days. With many estate issues to fulfill, Valentino's manager George Ullman took the reigns. To help keep Valentino's name in the spotlight, Ullman wrote a book detailing his time with the gifted actor. Ullman and Rambova had never gotten along, fighting for control of Valentino's career. Feeling she had been unfairly portrayed not only by Ullman, but also by the press, Rambova decided to write her own book. First published in the UK in 1927, "Rudy: An Intimate Portrait by His Wife," presented Rambova's side of the story, providing many amusing stories and anecdotes about her time with Valentino. Both Valentino and Rambova had been firm believers in the practice of Spiritualism. Rambova decided to utilize her beliefs for this book, adding a section titled "Revelations," consisting of things supposedly told to her by Valentino's soul, through seances. Rambova felt the need to publish these 'messages', believing these were things his soul wished to communicate with the world. However things soon got out of hand, with boisterous fans and attention seekers bombarding the legacy of Rudolph Valentino with their own claims. Rambova would remain firm in her beliefs, eventually becoming a renowned Egyptologist. After the publication of this book, she never spoke of her time with Valentino again. "Rudolph Valentino: An Intimate Portrait by his wife" is proudly reprinted by The Rudolph Valentino Society for the first time in over 80 years, under a new title, "Rudolph Valentino: A Wife's Memories of an Icon." In addition to the original text there is a new section containing biographies, filmographies, bibliographies, notes, and new forwards. This section also contains groundbreaking biographies on screenwriter and film executive June Mathis; as well as silent film vamp Nita Naldi. 70% of proceeds from this book benefit The Rudolph Valentino Society and Film Festival.

The Tango in the United States

The Tango in the United States
Author: Carlos G. Groppa
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2018-01-16
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0786426861

In the earliest years of the 20th century, North American ballroom dancers favored the waltz or the polka. But then a new dance, the tango, broke onto the scene when Vernon and Irene Castle performed it in a Broadway musical. Rudolph Valentino, Arthur Murray, and Xavier Cugat popularized it in the 1920s and 1930s, and thousands of people crowded onto dance floors around the country to hear the music and dance the tango. This work chronicles the history of the tango in the United States, from its antecedents in Argentina, Paris and London to the present day. It covers the dancers, musicians, and composers, and the tango's influence on American music.

Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs

Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs
Author: Donna Hill
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2019-05-06
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0578472244

Newly expanded and revised edition. One of the most alluring, enigmatic, and simply irresistible movie icons of all time, Rudolph Valentino continues to inspire generation after generation of moviegoers. In Rudolph Valentino, The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs, author Donna Hill retells the story of Valentino's life using a treasure trove of rare photographs. Drawn from the author's extensive collection and those of generous fellow collectors and archives, most of the images in this volume have not been seen since the 1920's; many have never been released publicly until now. Rudolph Valentino was more than the "sheik" of one of his most famous films. He was more than the legendary star who died at a tragically young age. For long-time fans as well as curious newcomers, these remarkable images - candid snapshots at home, traveling, on film sets - reveal the glamour and charm of the man who continues to beguile and inspire movie lovers to this day.

The Italian Americans: A History

The Italian Americans: A History
Author: Maria Laurino
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2014-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0393241963

This richly researched, beautifully illustrated volume illuminates an important, overlooked part of American history. From extensive archival materials and interviews with well-known Italian Americans, Maria Laurino strips away stereotypes and nostalgia to tell the complicated, centuries-long story of the true Italian-American experience. Looking beyond the familiar Little Italys and stereotypes fostered by The Godfather and The Sopranos, Laurino reveals surprising, fascinating lives: Italian-Americans working on sugar-cane plantations in Louisiana to those who were lynched in New Orleans; the banker who helped rebuild San Francisco after the great earthquake; families interned as “enemy aliens” in World War II. From anarchist radicals to “Rosie the Riveter” to Nancy Pelosi, Andrew Cuomo, and Bill de Blasio; from traditional artisans to rebel songsters like Frank Sinatra, Dion, Madonna, and Lady Gaga, this book is both exploration and celebration of the rich legacy of Italian-American life. Readers can discover the history chronologically, chapter by chapter, or serendipitously by exploring the trove of supplemental materials. These include interviews, newspaper clippings, period documents, and photographs that bring the history to life.

Twilight of the Idols

Twilight of the Idols
Author: Mark Lynn Anderson
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2011-04-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0520267087

"Twilight of the Idols is an outstanding study of Hollywood celebrity culture in the wake of the star scandals that rocked the industry in 1921 and 1922. Through case studies of key male figures of the era, including Wallace Reid, Leopold and Loeb, and Rudolph Valentino, Mark Lynn Anderson argues that deviance became a central trope through which both famous personalities and their adoring fans were conceived in the evolving discourses of psychoanalysis, sociology, and anthropology. Anderson offers a compelling reading of the origins of the star system in the best discussion yet of the interrelationships between male deviance, queerness, and modern stardom. Clearly and engagingly written, and impeccably researched, Twilight of the Idols is poised to make a major contribution to film studies, queer studies, and American studies." —Shelley Stamp, author of Movie-Struck Girls: Women and Motion Picture Culture after the Nickelodeon "Mark Lynn Anderson has written a remarkable book. With its focus on male deviance and the human sciences in twenties American culture, Twilight of the Idols: Hollywood and the Human Sciences in 1920s America represents new directions for scholarship on film stardom and film history in this period. Through careful analysis of changes in the star system and detailed exploration of the careers of exemplary individual stars, such as Wallace Reid, Rudolph Valentino, and Mabel Normand, this book helps us to better understand the contours of the modern personality promoted by the cinema and the widespread interest in deviant behavior in the 1920s—both of which remain very much with us today." —Patrice Petro, author of Joyless Streets: Women and Melodramatic Representation in Weimar Germany

The Salome Ensemble

The Salome Ensemble
Author: Alan Robert Ginsberg
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2016-04-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0815653654

The Salome Ensemble probes the entangled lives, works, and passions of a political activist, a novelist, a screenwriter, and a movie actress who collaborated in 1920s New York City. Together they created the shape-shifting, genre-crossing Salome of the Tenements, first a popular novel and then a Hollywood movie. The title character was a combination Cinderella and Salome like the women who conceived her. Rose Pastor Stokes was the role model. Anzia Yezierska wrote the novel. Sonya Levien wrote the screenplay. Jetta Goudal played her on the silver screen. Ginsberg considers the women individually and collectively, exploring how they shaped and reflected their cultural landscape. These European Jewish immigrants pursued their own versions of the American dream, escaped the squalor of sweatshops, knew romance and heartache, and achieved prominence in politics, fashion, journalism, literature, and film.

Beyond Paradise

Beyond Paradise
Author: André Soares
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2010-04-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1604734582

The first Latin American actor to become a superstar, Ramon Novarro was for years one of Hollywood's top actors. Born Ramon Samaniego to a prominent Mexican family, he arrived in America in 1916, a refugee from civil wars. By the mid-1920s, he had become one of MGM's biggest box office attractions, starring in now-classic films, including The Student Prince, Mata Hari, and the original version of Ben-Hur. He shared the screen with the era's top leading ladies, such as Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer, and he became Rudolph Valentino's main rival in the “Latin Lover” category. Yet, despite his considerable professional accomplishments, Novarro's enduring hold on fame stems from his tragic death—his bloodied corpse was found in his house on Halloween 1968 in what has become one of Hollywood's most infamous scandals. A lifelong bachelor, Novarro carefully cultivated his image as a man deeply devoted to his family and to Catholicism. His murder shattered that persona. News reports revealed that the dashing screen hero had not only been gay, but he was dead at the hands of two young, male hustlers. Since then, details of his murder have achieved near mythic proportions, obscuring Novarro's professional legacy. Beyond Paradise presents a full picture of the man who made motion picture history. Including original interviews with Novarro's surviving friends, family, coworkers, and the two men convicted of his murder, this biography provides unique insights into an early Hollywood star—a man whose heart was forever in conflict with his image and whose myth continues to fascinate today.