The image below appeared as advertising for the
biography of Rudolph Valentino written by Baltasar Fernández Cué
and was published in the Spanish magazine Cine-Mundial in June 1927.
Rudolph Valentino was working on the book when he died and Cué went on to complete the work as Valentino wanted a truer story of his
life to be told.
Renato has translated the above advertisement. It reads:
"Valentino
Repudiated His Alleged "Autobiography"!
… After
that day, every time a propitious occasion presented itself, I tried
bringing up the subject of the book. We saw each other frequently
during the final weeks of his last job…
… Sometimes,
Rodolfo told me some interesting stories of his own life. Other times he opened a drawer of his desk and handed me some useful
document: a letter, a portrait, a newspaper clipping, a copy of some
momentous message.
… One
day he summoned his secretary and told her to give me the only copy
he had of the story of his life, published years before in one of the
most important film magazines in the United States. Miss Margaret
Neff gave it to me accompanied by other similar documents, but less
extensive; and, at the same time, he recommended them to me as if
they were precious jewels or some ancient parchment which could not
be replaced in any way. …
… Valentino,
however, delivered
a huge qualification on
the value of those papers…
… Anyone
who is not familiar with the usual procedures of Hollywood studios,
will find it hard to believe that Valentino declared, even in an
friendly chat, that his "autobiography" was not reliable.
In fact, as biographical documents, no writing which the studios
authorize about the private lives of their artists can be considered
reliable…
… However,
from that "autobiography" which Valentino himself accused
of being inaccurate and incomplete, came all the versions about his
life which have since circulated and are circulating through the
universal press and that
which was not published in the newspapers, has been published in book
form....
…My
research gradually began to sketch a personality which did not
coincide with the one the public believed as authentic,
or with the one we had seen more closely... those of us who
frequented Valentino during his last dazzling stage. "
"THE
TRUE RUDOLPH VALENTINO"
These
quotes are excerpted from the introduction to the series, "The
True Rudolph Valentino" which we began publishing in the May
issue of this magazine, in which you find the most complete, most
intimate, the most accurate, best organized and best illustrated
biography ever written of the famous gallant of the screen.
The
collaboration of Valentino himself, the moral cooperation of his
brother Alberto Guglielmi-Valentino, as well as that of Manuel Reachi
and Douglas Gerrard, buddies of the "sheikh", who gave the
author, Mr. Baltasar Fernández Cué, a close friend of the
unfortunate actor, the material needed to write this true biography
of the most popular film hero.
Teenage
life; that of the student and the early Don Giovanni; that of the
emigrant looking for wider horizons for his talent; his struggles,
his triumphs, his loves are all faithfully portrayed in this
biography of one of the most interesting - perhaps among the most
universally known - men of recent years.
Follow
this intriguing series in CINE-MUNDIAL. Read it from the beginning.
Fill
in the coupon and make sure you receive all the editions in which the
most interesting chapters will appear, a faithful portrait of the
eventful life of the
TRUE
RODOLFO VALENTINO.”
Renato translated the Cine-Mundial series and it is now available in English. (see above image) It
has been alleged Cué was not a house guest at Falcon Lair in
1926 and that Alberto Valentino did not endorse nor approve of the book. This was
proven to be false by an important voice; the voice of Jeanine
Villalobos, Valentino’s great grandniece who wrote her doctoral
dissertation about her famous relative. She wrote how she relied
heavily on the Baltasar Cué book and confirmed her great-grandfather
Alberto Guglielmi Valentino believed it was a true and authentic
representation.
Ms.
Villalobos confirmed Baltasar Cué was a house guest at Falcon Lair in
1926 and that Manuel Reachi and Douglas Gerrard worked with Cué after
Valentino's death. She writes,
“...Subsequently,
much of Cué’s information has been substantiated, and my documents
verify even more, which leads me to place a high degree of confidence
in Cué’s claims. My great grandfather hoped that these series of
articles would stand as the definitive biography of Rudolph
Valentino. The irony, of course, is that because of the articles’
obscurity and the lost story on their origins, no biographer has ever
used them.”
(This quote is an excerpt
from the Doctoral Dissertation of Jeanine Villalobos, great
grandniece of Rudolph Valentino.)
It
was for this very reason, Renato wanted to translate the ten installments
of this unique, interesting and passionate work of Baltasar Fernández
Cué. Now, thanks to his efforts, this great work is available for the
English-speaking audience.
Enjoy
the read!
