I guess I would ask those who spread
their false narrative about Affairs Valentino with vicious accusations
that I forged court records; what the hell was Bill Self talking
about then, when I interviewed him over the period of a year in 2003 and
we talked a lot about those court records. Yes, he knew I was
searching for them for S. George Ullman's son and daughter, yes he
knew I was searching for them to fact-check the settlement of Rudolph
Valentino's estate.
So I sat there and interviewed Bill Self and all the while he knew where they were and for a long time did not
tell me he knew. He feigned it was a mystery to him that they were
gone from the L.A. Hall of Records. In hindsight I ask; really?
In my
dealings with Self and after twenty years observing the activities of other collectors, IMO collectors hoard and
find some added delight in the hiding aspect of their collections. I used to think
this was because they held them sacred, but I don't anymore.
It is about their collection's market value and a lot about shady provenance... those court records have probably already
been sold on E-Bay to the highest bidder. Shockingly, those records along with
other valuable historical artifacts relating to the life of one
Rudolph Valentino... just disappear into the wilderness when they are
purchased online by god who knows who, to be lost forever to historians and
people, like myself and Renato who care about historical accuracy. For people, such as ourselves who work hard searching through archives for documentation and information, it is discouraging to learn that Valentino documents are sold on E-Bay before the contents are shared at all.
All of these artifacts belong in a
museum, whether one devoted to Valentino or some facility such as the
Margaret Herrick Library or the USC Rare Book Room. There are many
places which I consider appropriate for these rare, archival items to be
housed.
The image below is a scan of my notes
from one interview with Bill Self which took place in the spring of 2003. Bill did not want to be
recorded, and would not speak as freely if I was taking notes. We
sipped drinks and chatted. I would leave his place and drive down the
hill, park and write all of my thoughts as fast as possible. I would
then type them up in outline format.
Unedited:
