Some notes on my Louise Brooks presentation at the Rudolph Valentino Memorial

One week ago, on Friday August 23, I delivered the keynote address at the 92nd Rudolph Valentino Memorial Service at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. Despite a technical glitch which delayed my talk by a minute or two, things went well. Returning to my seat, noted author and film historian Jeffrey Vance told me "good job." I was pleased. The memorial was a moving experience and a memorable event. I hope those who couldn't attend the event in person watched it online as it streamed live over Facebook. (I am not sure how many watched it this year, but last year more than 4000 people from around the world tuned-in to the event!)

(Left) At the Hollywood Forever Cemetery  (Right) My wife and I at Valentino's crypt shortly before the service

My talk focused on Rudolph Valentino and Louise Brooks, and their little known "history." I shared some rare material on the two actors - including audio material few if anyone alive has heard. As event organizer and host Tracy Terhune said afterword, it was great to hear a first hand account of Valentino in the voice of someone who was there.

(Left) Preparing for the event (Right) The Memorial program

My power point presentation pointed out what the two silent films stars had in common, and that fact that these two Jazz Age personalities did know one another - if only in passing. We know, for   example, that Brooks encountered Valentino - or at least observed him - from afar at parties and social gatherings. She said as much to author Jan Wahl, a friend and correspondent later in life. As I mentioned, Brooks once told Wahl she had observed a neglected Valentino at a party at Gloria Swanson's house in Englewood, New Jersey. Swanson had thrown the party in Rudy’s honor, and even imported a parquet floor for the night so Valentino could dance the tango. According to Brooks, Valentino had a sallow complexion and sat at the bottom of the stairs, unnoticed. My guess is that party must have taken place shortly before Valentino's death.

Brooks was filming in NYC on the day Valentino died, and as I discovered a number of years ago, she attended Valentino's funeral mass. According to the New York Morning Telegraph, Brooks was among the select mourners at this invitation only event. The newspaper singled her out, stating she had “cried unashamed.”

As I also noted, Brooks continued to remember Rudy as the years passed. We know, for example, that in 1938 Brooks went to a revival screening of The Sheik at the Filmarte theatre on Vine Street in Los Angeles. Valentino was also among the personalities from her younger days who are recounted in the notebooks she began keeping later in life.

In 1962, Brooks was living a quiet life in Rochester, New York. She was considered something of a minor celebrity around town, having once been a “movie star.” A local radio station asked the one-time actress to talk about the personalities she had known in Hollywood. Recordings of those programs were long thought lost, if in fact, they were ever put on tape. Last year, however, I uncovered the audio tapes of Brooks’ unedited commentary, and I concluded my talk with two brief excerpts in which Brooks spoke of Valentino, including the last time she saw Rudy, just a couple of weeks before his death.Here is a transcribed excerpt of my excerpts:

Louise Brooks: I have a sweet story to tell you what happened just two weeks before he died.... he was there in New York for the opening of his greatest picture. It turned out to be the Son of the Sheik. And one night I was sitting in the Lido, the most fashionable night club in New York. He came in all alone in his beautiful black tails and his white tie, and his beautiful back hair and his dark skin. He came over to our table. I was sitting with Ben Ali Haggin and his girl, who was a great friend of Rudy’s – Rudy had many, many women friends. She was a beautiful red head in sea green [dress].... He said “will you dance?” So she got up and they went to the dance floor and the band stopped the fox trot. They started to tango. And something happened that we’ve seen in movies that is always something unbelievable.... So they began to dance a tango and of course they were perfect. It was exquisite. This red head in green, floating drapery. Everyone sat down.... All the celebrities in New York went there. It was café society at the time. They couldn’t help it. They all sat down and watched. And finally the dance ended. And again the right thing happened. No one applauded. No one said a word. Rudy brought Irene back to our table. Said "thank you very much." And bowed. Then he walked back to the stairs that led up under the exit sign and walked through the black velvet curtain and disappeared. And nobody said anything. An absolute stillness. They had seen something beautiful, beautiful. It really was an exit in a way.

After the event, a small group went to Tracy Terhune's apartment for a Valentino-appropriate lunch of spaghetti and meatballs. Tracy is the organizer of the current memorial service, its Master of Ceremonies, as well as the grandson of actor Max Terhune. Tracy wowed my wife and I with a tour of his apartment and its many Valentino treasures. He also told us of how his grandfather got started in pictures -- thanks to close friend Gene Autrey -- and what he knew about Max Terhune's role as one of the three mesquiteers in Louise Brooks' last film, Overland Stage Raiders (1938), which starred John Wayne. Below is a picture of Tracy and I which shows off just a fraction of his fabulous Valentino collection.

Louise Brooks presentation at the 92nd Rudolph Valentino Memorial service

On Friday August 23, I will be speaking about Louise Brooks and Rudolph Valentino at the 92nd Rudolph Valentino Memorial service at the historic Hollywood Forever Cemetery (6000 Santa Monica Blvd) in Hollywood, California. I hope those who live in Southern California can make it to this special event. If you can't make it, or live outside the greater Los Angeles area, please note that this event will be broadcast live over Facebook.

During my brief, ten minute presentation, I plan to share some extremely rare material on the subject of Brooks and Valentino - including audio material few if anyone alive has heard. If you are a fan of either Brooks or Valentino (or Gloria Swanson), you won't want to miss it!

At this annual event, fans from all corners of the globe come together to mark the passing of a true talent and film legend. The Valentino Memorial, held each year on August 23rd (beginning at 12:10 p.m., the time of Valentino's death in 1926), is the longest running annual event in Hollywood, pre-dating the Academy Awards. The event is free and open to the public. Arrive early as seats go quickly. For more on this historic event, check out these articles by Allen Ellenberger. And here is a LINK to a Facebook page previewing the memorial from two years ago.

I wish to thank the event's current organizer and master of ceremonies, Tracy Terhune, for inviting me to speak at the event. Not only is Tracy an authority on the life and films of Valentino, but he is also the author of a book on the remarkable history of the memorial, Valentino Forever: The History of the Valentino Memorial Services. It is a fascinating read. I should also add that Tracy is the grandson of Max Terhune, one of the stars of the Three Mesquiteers series of Westerns which included Overland Stage Raiders (1938), Louise Brooks' final film!

Louise Brooks presentation at the 92nd annual Rudolph Valentino Memorial

One month from today, on Friday August 23, I will be speaking about Louise Brooks and Rudolph Valentino at the 92nd annual Rudolph Valentino Memorial service at the historic Hollywood Forever Cemetery (6000 Santa Monica Blvd) in Hollywood, California. I hope those in Southern California can make it to this event. If you can't make it, or live outside the greater Los Angeles area, please note that this event will be broadcast live over Facebook.

During my brief (five plus minute) presentation, I plan to share some extremely rare material on the subject of Brooks and Valentino - including audio material few if anyone alive has heard. If you are a fan of Brooks, you won't want to miss it. I have attended this event in the past, and look forward to doing so next month.

At this annual event, fans from all corners of the globe come together to mark the passing of a true talent and film legend. The Valentino Memorial, held each year on August 23rd (beginning at 12:10 p.m., the time of Valentino's death), is the longest running annual event in Hollywood, pre-dating the Academy Awards. The event is free and open to the public. Arrive early as seats go quickly. For more on this historic event, check out these articles by Allen Ellenberger. And here is a LINK to a Facebook page previewing the memorial from two years ago.

I wish to thank the event's current organizer and master of ceremonies, Tracy Terhune, for inviting me to speak at the event. Not only is Tracy an authority on the life and films of Valentino, but he is also the author of a book on the remarkable history of the memorial, Valentino Forever: The History of the Valentino Memorial Services. It is a fascinating read. I should also add that Tracy is the grandson of Max Terhune, one of the stars of the Three Mesquiteers series of Westerns which included Overland Stage Raiders (1938), Louise Brooks' last film!

Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs

Speaking of Rudolph Valentino, there is a new release available which I want to recommend. It is Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs by Donna Hill. This book is a newly expanded and revised edition of a title first released in 2010. I have a copy of the original release, and am pleased to have a copy of this new edition which is so much more. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I should state that my wife, Christy Pascoe, designed the front and back covers of the new edition.)

The blurbs on the fron and back of the book, by film historian authors Kevin Brownlow, Leonard Maltin, and Tracy Goessel, rightly praise this outstanding work.

Back in 2010, when the book's original edition was first released, I wrote a piece about it for the now defunct examiner.com. It was one of the book's early reviews. I am running most of it below, as what I said then still applies. Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs is an outstanding book.


It’s surprising there hasn’t been a book like Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol until now. Donna Hill’s handsomely illustrated pictorial surveys the life of one of the great film stars and personalities of the Jazz Age. It is a singular achievement.

In the years since Valentino’s death in 1926, some four dozen books have been published which relate to the actor. Along with a number of biographies and “books about” the film star, there have also been a handful of recollections by friends and co-workers, a book chronicling the annual Valentino memorial service, another looking at his legacy, and even a few “transcripts” of psychic encounters with the actor from beyond the grave.  A few of these books have been illustrated.

The sheer volume of literature about Valentino suggests that despite his short life - he died suddenly at age 31 –  there is still a lot to talk about when talking about the man himself.

Hill’s book tells Valentino’s remarkable story through images. Intentionally so, it concentrates on the person – not so much the films. (That material, hopefully, will one day end up in another illustrated book.) For fans as well as those not familiar with the actor, these remarkable images reveal the charm and glamour of a man who continues to enchant movie lovers to this day.

As Valentino biographer Emily W. Leider (author of Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino) notes in her foreword, Valentino was an actor in life before he became one by profession. Leider writes, “The pictures tell us that long before he appeared in films, Valentino displayed a love of finery, a propensity for posing before the camera, and a preoccupation with his own image.”

Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol is an abundance of visual riches. We see young Rodolfo in his school uniform, and with members of his soccer team. There is also a formal portrait taken just before his departure for the United States in 1913, as well as similar portraits taken after his arrival in America - each meant to suggest to family back home that he had already made a success of himself.
There is a rare film still in which Valentino is a mere background extra in his first film – as well as an image of Valentino dressed in Chinese garb in hopes of winning a role in D.W. Griffith’s Broken Blossoms. There is a remarkable image of Valentino posing as Nijinsky. Elsewhere, Valentino is pictured in rapt attention of Douglas Fairbanks at a Liberty Bond Rally in 1918.

We see Valentino having fun on the Santa Monica Pier in 1920 – and on the set during the making of The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. There are location shots taken in Truckee, California – and another relaxing with Gloria Swanson between scenes during the making of Beyond the Rocks. There are candid shots with movie stars like Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Thomas Meighan – as well as Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. Valentino is pictured at a Marion Davies poolside party. Another depicts Valentino alongside a microphone before a radio broadcast.

There is a portrait of Valentino ardently inscribed to Mary Miles Minter – as well as another inscribed to his wife of one month, the lovely Jean Acker. A number of others show him with second wife Natacha Rambova (some on the Mineralava tour when Valentino was on strike against Paramount).
One rare image shows Valentino in court during his trial for bigamy, another with the Mayor of New York, one pensively looking out the window of a Detroit hotel, another demonstrating the tango. We see him floating in the Great Salt Lake  – with beauty contest winners – aboard ship on his way to Europe. And once there, posing with the likes of Rene Clair, Emil Jannings, and members of his Italian family. Everyone wanted to meet Valentino and have their picture taken with the famous movie star – and so they did, ambassadors, policemen, and fans (but always in public).

There are photographs of Valentino attending a premiere, arriving by train in Los Angeles, riding a horse, with his beloved dogs, and attending Mae Murray’s wedding with Pola Negri. One could go on.

As this new book shows, Valentino was more than the “Latin Lover” or the “sheik” he played in his most famous films. The strength of this book – indeed its finest achievement – is its humanizing effect. There are images of Valentino at work and at home, with friends, costars, and lovers. Through family photographs, candid shots, snapshots taken while traveling, and other behind-the-scenes images, we come to know Valentino the man.

In assembling these images, Hill has selected many from her own collection (thirty years in the making) and borrowed others from fellow collectors and archives, including a few from the Valentino estate. Many of the 400 images found in this new book are rare. Some have not been published or generally seen since the 1920’s.

Strictly speaking, Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol is not the first illustrated book devoted to the Italian-born actor. But, it is by far the best. It is also beautifully printed. If you are a fan of Valentino in particular or silent film in general, then this book is a must for your collection.

Louise Brooks and Rudolph Valentino : A Meditation and an announcement

It's too bad there isn't a photograph of Louise Brooks and Rudolph Valentino together. What an iconic image that would be - Lulu and the Sheik, the flapper and the Latin Lover.

The two actors did know one another - if only in passing. Like many young women of the time, Brooks was a fan of Valentino and saw a number of his films, a fact she recorded in her diary. On January 1, 1921, the 15 year old Brooks began a diary. Four days later, she wrote that she saw Once to Every Woman, starring Dorothy Phillips and "Rodolph Valentino," at a local theater in Wichita, Kansas. Later that year, in September, she saw The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, and wrote in her diary that she had "cried a barrel-full." Two-months later, in November, she saw Valentino in The Sheik and declared him her favorite, adding "What female don't admire the con man stuff."

We also know from later letters that Brooks encountered Valentino - or at least observed Valentino - from afar at parties and social gatherings. She wrote as much in a letter to Jan Wahl, one of her long term correspondents in later life. She also spoke of the last time she ever saw Valentino alive during one of her 1962 radio broadcasts, emphasizing his mysterious presence. That was in 1926, just days before Valentino died at a tragically young age. From one newspaper account at the time, we also know that Brooks attended his Valentino's funeral mass in New York City.

For a time, there were other points of intersection. The two actors shared a studio, Paramount (Famous Players-Lasky), and a screenwriter, Monte Katterjohn. He wrote two of Valentino's best films, The Sheik (1921) and Moran of the Lady Letty (1922), as well as a few of Gloria Swanson's films, another favorite of the young Louise Brooks. Katterjohn also wrote Brooks' break-out film, A Social Celebrity (1926). One could go a bit further, and note the general resemblance between Brooks and Valentino's estranged wife, Jean Acker. Both were pretty, and both effectively sported a bob haircut.

After Valentino died, Paramount rushed Valentino's biggest hit, The Sheik, back into circulation. I have run across a number of instances when the Valentino film and a Brooks film, usually the August 1926 release The Show-Off, were paired as part of a double bill,or followed one another in theaters not only in the United States, but also in Latin America and elsewhere around the world.

I mention all this because on Friday, August 23rd I will be speaking briefly about Louise Brooks and Rudolph Valentino at the 92 annual Rudolph Valentino Memorial service at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. I also plan to share some extremely rare material on the subject. At this annual event, fans from all corners of the globe come together to mark the passing of a true talent and legend. The Valentino Memorial, held each year on August 23rd (beginning at 12:10 pm, the time of Valentino's death), is the longest running annual event in Hollywood, pre-dating the Academy Awards. The event is free and open to the public. During the last few years, this event has also been streamed over Facebook, and I expect it to be so again.

I wish to thank the event's current organizer, Tracy Terhune, for inviting me to speak at the event. Not only is Tracy an authority on the life and films of Valentino, but he is also the author of a book on the remarkable history of the Valentino memorial, Valentino Forever: The History of the Valentino Memorial Services. I should also add that Tracy is the grandson of Max Terhune, one of the stars of the Three Mesquiteers series of Westerns which included Overland Stage Raiders (1938), Louise Brooks' last film! That is Max Terhune , with Brooks' hands on his shoulders.

Rudolph Valentino 1895-1926

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the death of Rudolph Valentino, who died in New York City at the age of 31 on August 23, 1926. We know from her letters that Louise Brooks had met Valentino, if only briefly, and had observed him at a party in New York sometime in the weeks leading up to his passing. Valentino's death made headlines around the world. An estimated 100,000 people lined the streets of New York City to pay their respects at the Frank Campbell Funeral Home. Here is a picture of one of them.

Valentino's funeral Mass in New York was held at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, often called "The Actor's Chapel." It is located on West 49th Street in the Broadway theater district, and has a long association with show business figures. In the course of my research, I discovered that Louise Brooks was reported to have been one of the actors allowed to attend the funeral. Valetino's death and funeral received extensive coverage. On August 31, the New York Morning Telegraph, in an article entitled "Pola's Sobs Heard Above Requiem Mass For Rudy As Thousands Pay Tribute," wrote that "Louise Brooks cried unashamed" at Valentino's funeral mass.

Valentino was a fine actor, and a charismatic figure. If you've never seen any of his films, like Four Horseman of the Apocalypse (1921) or The Eagle (1925), which are two of my favorites, do so!

Report from the SFSFF

It was a wet and sometimes windy day on Saturday in San Francisco. But in the Castro Theater, thousands of silent film fans turned out for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival's now annual Winter Event. I was among them. And so was big-time Buster Keaton-fan and Louise Brooks Society associate director Christy Pascoe (pictured to the left on a rainy Castro street).

We were all there to take in the day's worth of films and programming.

One of the splendid things about the festival is the sense of comradery and community it engenders. I saw many old friends (most all of whom I've met over the years at the Festival), and even made a few new ones. And, I connected with a few never-met-in-them- in-the-flesh-before-Facebook friends. Hello Joan Myers and the other "Daughters of Naldi" who were present.

Here I am engaged in conversation with Rudolph Valentino expert Donna Hill (pictured below to the right). I have known Donna for years. She runs Falcon Lair, the excellent Rudolph Valentino website located at http://www.rudolph-valentino.com/ and also  blogs about silent film via "Stolen Moments" - the only silent film podcast I  am aware of. Check them both out sometime.

Donna and I were chatting about some of the films we had seen earlier in the day - as well as the latest on our various silent film projects. Donna is continuing work on a new book about Valentino called Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol. I am very excited about this project, and can't wait till Donna is done. You can find out more about this new book by visiting this page.

Though we have spoken on the phone and corresponded via email for a number of years, I also had the chance to meet Elaine M. Woo in person for the first time. I was truly delighted. Here we are pictured to the left and below.

Elaine is a producer and documentarian responsible for Anna May Wong: Frosted Yellow Willows. That 2007 documentary has shown on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and has screened at Pordenone (where it premiered) and elsewhere around the United States and the world. And, it has drawn rave reviews where ever it plays. For more on this film, visit its website at www.anna-may-wong.com/

Like me, Elaine is an enthusiastic researcher. She has traveled all over the world in search of new material on Anna May Wong's career. Though she has completed her documentary, Elaine is still researching the iconic Chinese American actress and silent film star.  

Elaine and I chatted about libraries and microfilm and archives and film journals and newspapers and obscure publications and our own collections of research material and the challenges of getting at difficult to reach stuff. It was shop talk - and it was fun!

Though no Louise Brooks films were shown at the 2009 Winter Event, the actress did have a small presence at the day long event. This snapshot, taken from the balcony inside the Castro (a grand 1922 movie theater), shows an image from a slide show projected on the big screen. I think you may recognize the actress.

Next Summer's event will be four days! The 15th annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival is set for July 15 - 18, 2010. Programs and special guests will be announced in the Spring. I hope to see you there.

This just in . . .

Turner Classic Movies will air the television premiere of five Rudolph Valentino films during a film festival dedicated to the silver screen's first male sex symbol on Sunday, May 21. The schedule for the film festival is as follows:

     8 p.m.      Beyond the Rocks (1922) - TV premiere of recently discovered Valentino/Swanson film
9:45 p.m.       Moran of the Lady Letty (1922) - TV premiere 
   11 p.m.      The Young Rajah (1922) - TV premiere with still reconstruction by Jeffrey Masino
   12 a.m.      The Delicious Little Devil (1919) - TV premiere 
1:15 a.m.      Stolen Moments (1920) - TV premiere
     2 a.m.      The Conquering Power (1921)
3:30 a.m.      Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

More information is available at the TCM Web site at www.tcm.com

Beyond the Rocks

There is an interesting article about film preservation and the discovery of a previously lost Rudolph Valentino film in today's New York Times. The restored print of Beyond the Rocks (1922), starring Valentino and Gloria Swanson, will be shown in NYC (tonight?) and screenings and film festivals around the United States in the fall.

Rudolph Valentino biography

Currently reading the new Valentino biography, Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino, by Emily W. Leider. I am about 125 pages into the book, and am enjoying it a great deal. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in the life and times of the actor, or anyone interested in silent film. I will post further thoughts on the book once I am done reading it.

For those interested in checking out the book (and the author), Emily Leider will be giving a talk in San Francisco. Here are the details.

EMILY W. LEIDER
reading & booksigning for "Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino"
May 7th, 7 pm
at The Booksmith (1644 Haight Street, San Francisco)
This event is free and open to the public. For further information, call 415-863-8688 or visit www.booksmith.com