Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol Off Screen -- with author and historian Donna Hill

[@aviduser1961]

Thank you Donna! Great talk. When my Grandmother was a young teen, she and a friend would take the train into NYC to see The Shiek. They loved it so much that they stayed and watched two more showings but had spent the money they needed for the ride home. A policeman took them home.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

Thanks For Sharing This Info!

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

WOW REALLY 👌 👏 😍 👍 🥰 ☺ 👌 👏 😍 👍 🥰 ☺!❤

[@bambi274]

Ur grandma must have passed since she used to watch his films right?

[@raymondhummel5211]

So many things I did not know about Valentino until watching this videos. The explanations about each picture presented were excellent.

[@sarahleach9997]

Well said❤

[@marcosartiles]

He was such an icon. I would have love to have meet him. He was so attractive. He had the perfect look to him.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ABOUT RUDY🧖🦊 VALENTINO💘 WAS DEFINITELY A GORGEOUS AND VERY TALENTED PROFESSIONAL ACTOR WHO EVER LIVED!

[@Francesco-cn1js]

First Hollywood actor Superstar come hometown my Dad 🤗

[@bseghetti]

Excellent presentation!! Thanks Niles!!

[@SeamusMcGillicuddy0]

Rudy, rest in peace ! You were a star on earth and now, a star in Heaven. 🇺🇸🇮🇹

[@scotnick59]

The man never took a bad photograph.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

ABSOLUTELY 💯 %!❤

[@maudemathildeh335]

This was quite enjoyable. Thank you.

[@PeggyLutzPlus]

Dear Donna, This is a marvelous presentation and how lovely to see you and hear you sharing your passion with your typical warmth and sparkling intelligence. Congratulations! Much love, xoxoo Peg. PS I'll share this with Donnie Mac

[@rudyfan1926]

Hey Peg! Thx, hope you are well

[@mirandawatson9532]

I can imagine him with a deep voice.❤️💗

[@Andreatheists-yy1oj]

We will never know how he would have sounded in the future talkies. Could he have made the transition?

[@karenhill3970]

​@@Andreatheists-yy1ojyes!!

[@beckyfrazee1508]

I enjoyed this so much. Thank you for posting.

[@monicadasilvafranca4256]

Hello Donna Hill, my name is Mônica França I'm Brazilian and for some time now thanks to tecnology .I've been able to better understand the history of this great movie star, even though he's from the last century,his story is fascinating .I became admirer of the everything that portrays Rudolfo Valentino. Congratulations on his work , beautiful photos, beautiful memories,as well as the book Affairs Valentino by Evelyn Zumaya that que escutei no podcast. A big hug!!❤❤

[@monicadasilvafranca4256]

Sorry : That I listando to on podcast.

[@pennyalexander2398]

He looks so unwell in the last photo! The light was gone from him! So Sad

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

BECAUSE HE'S 2nd EX-WIFE NATASHA HAD ACTUALLY DID LEAVE JUST LIKE RUDY VALENTINO💘'S 1stEX-WIFE JEAN ACKER FOR ANOTHER WOMAN 👩!POOR RUDY🧖 VALENTINO 💘HE ACTUALLY CRIED 😥😢😭😿WHEN SHE HAD ACTUALLY LIFT HIM!HE LOVES HER VERY MUCH BUT SHE DEFINITELY WOW DIDN'T LOVE 😍 😻RUDY 🧖VALENTINO 💘VERY MUCH!

[@debralizborres2589]

I WISH THEY WOULD MAKE A MOVIE OF RUDOLF VALENTINO!!! (HIS LIFE). WOW!! THAT WOULD BE A DREAM COME TRUE!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@elchoya8432]

they did in 1951,and it sucked

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

​@@elchoya8432YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!WE'VE SEEN ON TV 📺 YEARS LATER!👎👎

[@virginiasoskin9082]

@@elchoya8432 You cannot improve on perfection. There was also another made with Rudolf Nureyev and that was not successful either....

[@donaldschmidt2990]

Movies have been made of Valentino before, and that flopped for one good reason. NO ONE COULD MATCH THE SHEER PRESENCE OF THIS MAN!! Only Elvis had a similar charisma to Rudolph Valentino. No actor could do justice to Valentino the star. As Dick Cavett said in a biography on the 1920s, "If ever a man could be considered a legend in his own time, it was Valentino." That legend shines brighter now than when this bygone icon ruled the cinematic world.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

RUDY VALENTINO IS SO GORGEOUS!

[@sarahleach9997]

Thanks Donna great photos another perception of Rudy's life.

[@procopiojrpalacios9702]

Thanks for the photos and descriptions, Ms. Hill! Incidentally, the foundation of the long-gone Whitley Heights home can be seen closely from the southbound 101 Hollywood Freeway, to the right, just about at the Vine St./Cahuenga Blvd.off ramp sign (Behind the concrete walls on the dirt slope). I first was on that Wedgewood Place street back in the early '80s searching for the house, not realizing it was razed years ago for the construction of the 101. I'd been numerous times to Rudy's crypt at Hollywood Forever (beginning when it was Hollywood Memorial Park), to DeLongre Park to view the statue and bust, and up to the Falcon Lair house, where only the servant's quarters remain (The words "Falcon Lair" can still be seen on the two pillars of the gates). At one of his Memorial Services observed every August 23 at Hollywood Forever, I took a life-size wood cutout color painting I'd done of Rudy wearing a suit and holding his hat. They included it in the services and it was a big hit!

[@virginiasoskin9082]

His home's foundations are visible on google maps with the Cahuenga Blvd exit sign to its left. I think they ought to have a Memorial Marker there, TBO. Not sure if this will work, but I got on google maps, and typed in Hollywood Freeway 101 Cahuenga exit. Here is the pic: www.google.com/maps/@34.1097552,-118.3338673,3a,75y,159.31h,85.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1syd62-zLSwuV7mh_fQxWdfw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[@virginiasoskin9082]

See my link above for a google maps still of his home's foundation. I feel there should be a local chamber of commerce sign designating this as his home. So few people know that old Hollywood still exists here and there.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

Thanks For Sharing These Videos 📹 About RUDY VALENTINO!

[@MosaicRose99]

Huge Valentino fan here! Thank you Donna Hill for such an informative and enjoyable talk on Rudy's life. The photos were fantastic. :)

[@maizie9454]

great pictures and stories. thanks.

[@andrewsandoz8005]

Great presentation, thanks Donna!

[@beckymcclure6943]

Wonderful video!!

[@ArturoGarcia-sy5lc]

Cada vez quedo más sorprendido de lo que este hombre hizo con su vida siendo europeo, viajando desde su natal Castellaneta, pasando por varios países y en barco a los estados unidos para encontrarse con su destino. Una gran aventura sin hablar ingles, sin conocer a nadie, por el hecho de subsistir. Luego su aportación a la sociedad de occidente por medio del celuloide. Una personalidad propia y un estilo único. Su lucha constante sin caer en lo vulgar, siendo propio su hecho de vivir y sobrevivir. Mis respetos. Gracias por publicar.

[@zadockjarvis8473]

Not a VALENTINO fan but your presentation was fascinating and enjoyable!

[@dibanroydkhar1872]

. . . ... ... . . . . . . . . .... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... ...... . . . . .. ... . . . . . . ....

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

I'm A RUDY VALENTINO Fan!❤

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

RUDY🧖 VALENTINO 💘AS HIMSELF DEFINITELY WOW LOOKS SO YOUNG 🧒 AND ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS MAN 👨!A REAL GENTLEMAN WITH A GREAT SINCE OF HUMOR TOO!

[@donaldschmidt2990]

This is a captivating early look at a star like no other. Almost every photo of Valentino is after his rise to mega stardom. Even these later photos of Valentino are ones i haven't seen before. This is tabtamount to having dozens of private photos of Elvis Presley. Yes, Valentino, was that big a star. The reaction of fans at his funeral was almost exactly the same as it was for the King of Rock and Roll. A total of 100,000 people were stampeding at Campbells Funeral Parlor in New York!! Rudy a legend beyond his own time.

[@CharlesKlein-ux6mm]

A very thorough job thank you very much! Excellent 😊

[@camillescaysbrook7872]

That Apache Dance photo knocks me out every time I see it - such a rarity, and anything that illuminates that period of Rudy's career is fascinating to me. Thank you for sharing it.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

Thanks For Sharing This Info With Us About RudolfoValentino!❤

[@rudolphvalentinoconnection8298]

Don't know how I missed this, but so glad it popped up now. Wonderful presentation! The Caddy at minute 7:48 or so....I have a check written by Rudy during the period he first got this car, written to Murphy Motors, which dealt in parts and have a short video up on my channel recapping the detailed blog post on the subject of the car he owned before this and how he got the Caddy, including details on the runabout he traded in (Rambova's). I show this check in my post!! I even have links to the sound of what the engine sounded like...a restored engine being fired up! So, you can hear the engine of this car. I also clarify what the model year of this car was. I do cite Donna's picture and note the differences in the models of Cadillacs and figure out the right year...(The video is early on the channel so you will have to scroll back (right) to see and also the link to the full blog post.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

Thanks For Sharing This Info With Us About Rodolfo 🧖🦊Valentino💘!❤

[@karenhill3970]

Oh my gosh !! So interesting. Thank you!!

[@janettohara9645]

I have fallen in love with him.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

ALL OF US GIRLS 👭 ABSOLUTELY HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO PHYSICALY FALLING DESPRATLEY IN LOVE 😍😻 WITH RUDY 🧖VALENTINO💘 AS HIMSELF!

[@NirvanaFan24]

​@@jeanbaumgartner4052really 😮

[@kathrynbellerose6216]

Thank you, Donna. Love Rudy Valentino.

[@crazy4277]

Ultimately fascinating... Thoroughly enjoyable! Thank YOU!

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

ABSOLUTELY 💯 %!❤

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

RUDY 🧖VALENTINO💘 LOOK SO HANDSOME AS HIMSELF IN HIS TUXEDOE 🤵!DEFINITELY GORGEOUS!HE COULD HAVE EASILY PHYSICALY PLAYED THE PART OF AN APPEALINGLY GORGEOUS INTERNATIONAL SPY 🕵!A VERY EARLY JAMES BOND TYPE!

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

RUDY VALENTINO LOOKS GREAT WITH 👍 A MUSTASH AND A GOATEE!❤

[@BeeBoooop]

Superb presentation! Thank you 😊

[@HerAeolianHarp]

As always, fantastic content from you guys.

[@ruffian-wl1nd]

He's my favorite. Absolutely love him.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

The Same Here About RUDY VALENTINO!❤

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

RUDY VALENTINO IS SO MUSCULAR 🔥 👌 😍 💯 %!

[@tizianacuscito]

🌹🌹

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

RUDY VALENTINO LOOKS GREAT WITHOUT HIS SHIRT 👕 ON!

[@michellelambert8729]

25:46 The lady to the gentleman's left looks like Ruth Miller who played Zilah

[@debralizborres2589]

RUDOLF MY RUDOLF.....❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@matthewfarmer6830]

Valentino birthday is the same day as mine, I was born on may 6 so was he, how awesome cause he's a cool dude. We share the birthday the same day. Would love to get a collection of his silent movies in like a Valentino box set. Thanks for sharing Donna Hill. 👍👍🙂🎥

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

Lucky You!❤Matthew!❤

[@shane2609]

If you’re going to tell her, she’s a taxi dancer, then you might wanna tell us what the hell a taxi dancer actually is

[@beckyfrazee1508]

A person who is hired to dance with someone.

[@loveisall5520]

As a healthcare professional, it saddens me all these decades later that Valentino would live now with our medicine. Would he have been famous with the talkies? Hard to tell. Every time I see pictures of him I could see him in comedy.

[@DavidMichaelmalajin]

Cool

[@virginiasoskin9082]

Great talk. I have your book and enjoy the pix in it. Had Valentino lived and not been popular in talkies due to his accent (if he had one and it didn't "translate" well), he could have become a cinematographer. I always imagine he would have sounded like the Italian Rossano Brazzi which would have been QUITE sexy! I often think that he could have been versatile like Cary Grant, who did his earliest films about ten years after Rudy's death....Valentino could do comedy (see the Eagle for his funny bits), as well as drama (crying on cue any time necessary!). Valentino could also dance very well much like Fred Astaire, though he lacked a singing voice at the time. Nevertheless, he had many talents and skills. I live in Oviedo FL and am delighted to know that Valentino was in front of the Flagler hotel which is now Flagler College. Amazing, but ppl like him did get around! Rudy was also quite a fashion plate with his spats, leather and cloth shoes, nipped in waists, three piece suits, slave bracelet, and wrist watch (which he popularized rather than pocket watches). Is the girl in the photo you show early on in the film Adrienne, grown a few years older?

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ABOUT RUDY VALENTINO AND CARYGRANT!❤THEY'RE 👏 👍 👌 🙄 🙌 🤣 👏 👍 👌 🙄 🙌 🤣 BOTH VERY 😳 😀 😜 🤣 😉 😆 SEXY 🔥 🥵 😳 😜 😉 🤣 AND VERY TALENTED PROFESSIONAL ACTORS 😀 😳 👏 😄 😜 😉!❤AND VERY HANDSOME TOO 😀 😉 👏 😄 😜 👌!❤

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

DEFINITELY WOW RUDY🧖 VALENTINO💘 IS A FASHION TREND SETTER BACK THEN IN THE 1920S!HE'S PROBABLY THE VERY FIRST ONE TO ACTUALLY WEARING FINGERLESS BLACK 🖤 GLOVES 🧤!

[@elizabethhazel6039]

RV recorded two songs - he had a beautiful singing voice. The recording wasn't released until 1930, but it's out there. He was a triple threat - could act, dance, AND sing! He worked very hard to eliminate his accent in spoken English, definitely would have been able to transition to talkies.

[@virginiasoskin9082]

@@elizabethhazel6039 Actually, when he heard his own recordings, he quipped, "well, there goes my opera career!" You can hear them elsewhere on YT.

[@Nigelsmom2136]

He fell in love with the wrong woman. She used him and when she had gotten everything she could from him, she abandoned him and moved on. He adored her til the day he died. She broke his heart.

[@jannepetersen4660]

I dont think Alberto was a good brother, and after Rudy died, the poor dog Kabar was neclected because Alberto did not have any interests in animals. Kabar had a very sad life after 1926, and that was not not decent of Rudy's family.....

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!❤Janne 💯%!❤

[@anneroy4560]

Toronto Canada is IN the province of Ontario.

[@cookiesspirit2329]

Don’t think I’ve seen a man as absolutely beautiful as Valentino except for perhaps Gary Cooper.

[@valerieneal2747]

And Tyrone Power..

[@cookiesspirit2329]

@ Oh, yes, him too!

[@tonyadenton9196]

I 💗 Rudolph Valentino, he had beautiful pets, not so much of a beautiful wife though, Natasha Rambova seemed like a witch.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!❤Tonya 💯%!❤

[@liudmilav.2838]

Natasha was of rare beauty. 🌹

[@tonyadenton9196]

@@liudmilav.2838 maybe possibly in person, but in photos she was not.

[@Kenneth-e7e]

For 17 yrs I attended the Valentino Memorial Srvcs in Hollywood.....but I stopped in 2020 due to COVID...they broke the Tradition and after that I never went back.

[@MS-wb5mf]

Correction , as an auto enthusiast with an interest in celebrity vehicles I can tell you that Valentino's first car was not a Fiat but in fact a pre owned 1913 Mercer; he wrote a check to Walter Murphy Motors which still exists.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!❤M.S.

[@MS-wb5mf]

It's astounding to me that the great Wallace Reid was literally swept under the rug, yet a foreigner's legacy is perpetuated forever.

[@tobor444]

What are the names of Wallace's movies.? Can we find any on youtube? Adela St John spoke very highly of him.

[@MS-wb5mf]

@@tobor444 He is grossly underrated today. Overzealous journalists chose to emphasize his illness rather than his unparalleled talent. " The roaring road " was very popular, as far as KZbin ; I know they had " The affairs of anatol " with Gloria Swanson and " Carmen " , they may have added others by now. A Russian archive called Gosfilmfond has returned over 200 films presumed to be lost to the united states including one of Reid's as American films were distributed in Russia up until WW II . When film scholars discuss the two best films ever made they invariably mention " Citizen Kane " and " The Birth of a Nation " in the latter film a young and dashing Reid was noticed by many and it led to him being cast in many subsequent features . Without Reid's unfortunate and untimely death I don't believe you would have had the " Valentino " phenomenon.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

@@MS-wb5mf Actually Right!❤

[@Andreatheists-yy1oj]

Sainted Devil pictures?

[@brober]

Read somewhere Valentino flunk the eye test for military and kept wrecking cars because he was legally blind in one eye. Explains a lot.

[@rmp7400]

Not so much an "idol" as an Example of a 20th Century Renaissance man! 🏆🎆👍 Middle Class male of Christian heritage, a clever dreamer and rambunctious adventurer a bright & charismatic Franco-Italian!!! (We would not see another BEAUTIFUL Franco- Italian actor until the formidable career of Alain Delon...who also exuded great talent & outrageous charm.... however, not the childlike poetry of Valentino). Valentino really was a very quick learner, a naturally talented performance artist, a boxer, a dancer, a horticulturalist, a swimmer, an equestrian, a dreamer, a high risk taker, a man who appreciated beautiful women, had a poignant affection for wildlife and pets, knew how to look great on camera and..... was a consistent, persevering, renowned romantic. Pretty amazing talent.... Valentino made very poor decisions about marriage, but no one is perfect, indeed... May his soul, through the Divine Mercy +❤ of Almighty God, rest in peace+🙏✨👑

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

Thanks For Sharing This Info With Us About Rudolph Valentino!

[@cinderelladevil1687]

All italians are reckless drivers, especially in the South. Go to Napoles or Sicily. But I like that orderly anarchy in which nobody gets angry at all.

[@tobor444]

I have to agree with this. The Italian men in my family love driving fast.

[@cinderelladevil1687]

@@tobor444 fast and disregarding the rules. But that trait fascinates me. In Naples and Sicily I have been witness to the most weird driving. But not a single accident, and certainly not a single display of anger. They drive in anarchy in the most relaxed way. I love that attitude. I am Spaniard, and I feel more akin to them than to my spaniard fellows.

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

Thanks For Sharing These Infos About RUDY VALENTINO!

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

You won't give the title because it's highly racist!?? My, how ridiculously politically correct of you. Unbelievable.

[@maizie9454]

everyoje knows what movie she meant. get over it

[@andyfitandreamassella7028]

Ciao Rodolfo..orgoglio italiano nel mondo...ti ricorderemo per sempre..non sarai mai dimenticato

[@michaelchristian5089]

I can't se what he saw in Natasha Rambova [aka Winifred Hudnutt]. I think she was quite ordinary looking. Perhaps like many self-obsessed people she had a certain amount of manufactured charm. Her influence damaged his career; "Monseurr Beaucare" was an expensive flop that disappointed his female fans by making him appear effeminate in 18th century costume finery. Like John Gilbert [his successor as 'The Great Lover'] he was exploited by the woman he adored... ..in Gilbert's case Greta Garbo...

[@jeanbaumgartner4052]

Monseure Beaucaire!❤Michael

[@conniediaz6456]

@NilesEssanaySilentFilmMuseum Do you happen to have Donna's contact information? I would love to ask her a question but her contact form on her website doesn't work and I can't seem to find her on social media. Any suggestions? Thank you!

[@Pensiero-cx9zm]

Nel mio paese Abruzzo tutti i ragazzi di quel tempo si mettevano la brillantini come Valentino...

[@Pensiero-cx9zm]

Io ho sempre sentito parlare di Valentino dai miei nonni paterni emigrati in USA IN QUEL PERIODO dicevano che era unico loro erano orgogliosi che un ltaliano avesse raggiunto un tale successo!