Some Unfinished Business

I continue to await Cindy Martin's public retraction of her telling people Michael Morris did not write his fine addendum to Madam Valentino and that I took advantage of his death. Imagine my reaction when I saw someone ask her about Michael's new book and she told them, “There is no new book out by Michael Morris.” Even during her brief escape from those miserable haters...she did not state publicly she lied about Beyond Valentino and did so to deter sales and respect for Michael Morris' posthumous book. I believe this retraction should be forthcoming, sincere and apologetic. This is long overdue. 

Within a few weeks of sending me this e-mail, (below) Michael Morris would pass away. We thought we had much more time to complete our work on Beyond Valentino. I completed the book according to his outline, with his writings, his images and through his amazing contacts who were all stricken with news of his passing and eager to help me in any possible way.

 Le Grand St. Michel by Rafaello Sanzio

"The Sheik of El Jadida"

Some of my sketches from our Moroccan home. "The Sheik of El Jadida", #renato,  makes it fun and comfortable but, sorry Morocco... not my favorite place at all. That country has issues. 

 

Catch Lines

In a recent post, I cited Baltasar Cué's passage from The True Rudolph Valentino where he explains how reviews and advertisements were dispersed by a film's producers. He explains how reviews for a movie were written long before the movie was shown. In this piece (below) which appeared in the Exhibitor's Herald (a trade publication), F. B.O. (Film Booking Offices of America) instructs prospective theaters how to promote their film, When Love Grows Cold, starring Natacha Rambova.

She was furious over the change in title and F.B.O.'s usage of her name as “Mrs. Rudolph Valentino” and this ad, designed to exploit her divorce at the time, stands as proof of their intentions. Much more about this film in Astral Affairs Rambova.

I guess it was as easy as filling in the blanks and making sure to include those “Catch Lines”.

Rudolph Valentino, The Vamp & More

In My Opinion

Throughout 2003, I interviewed Bob and Bunny Ullman and collector Bill Self. Bob Ullman was adamant I not write a word about his father's tenure as Valentino's executor without those probate court records in hand as proof of his father's performance. Bill Self knew I was looking for those records and knew they were missing from their rightful location in the Los Angeles County Hall of Records. As I interviewed, traveling back and forth between the Ullmans and Self, it was a delicate dance to find those missing records.

I have written many times how those missing records were tracked from collector to collector and how the Valentino family exchanged one of Valentino's shirts for the entire file. This was all confirmed by Tracy Terhune, Donna Hill, Bill Self and explained again recently by Cindy Martin.

The tragedy in this situation is that so many aspects of George Ullman's true, and stellar, performance as executor were hidden from public review. The further tragedy is that many aspects of Valentino's life and business were, and still are, also hidden from public review.

I did recover some one thousand pages of the file as official court copies but the entire file is still hidden away by the Valentino family and any collector who might have made copies. Again I ask, “Why hide them if there is nothing to hide?” Pretty obvious to me what is going on.

One of the most fascinating aspects I discovered in that file of copies was the story of Cosmic Arts, Inc. Some of this history was told through the book keeping records, some through the extracts of the court-ordered audit conducted and some through the direct testimony. (Below) I share a bit of George Ullman's testimony relating to the establishment of Cosmic Arts, Inc.... Valentino's first corporate alter ego.

I am 100% sure there is still a wealth of unknown information hidden away in the hoards of collectors and the Valentino family. In my opinion, this does no one any service and is a total shame.

Regarding the "falsity of his reports..."

A well-written comment (below) on the nature of the defamation against me by David Bret; this written by the judge who handed down my victorious verdict. This is one page of the public records on file and this particular document is taken from the verdict. David Bret lost the lawsuit I brought against him because he chose to claim it was fake and that he had not been served. Of course just as most everything Bret has ever said about me... this was all false. He was served and all protocol in Italy and in Great Britain was followed to the letter of the law.

Instead of responding to the lawsuit, he opened various websites and blogs claiming it was a non-existent case. Now that he faces a collection process for the damages awarded to me, he knows better. 

I paid a very high price for challenging Bret and for saying I considered his grand design in making Valentino gay nothing but a hoax based on fake sources. I still believe this and believe strongly that no one should force a false sexual identity on anyone for any reason. 

The entire verdict, the case as filed in the Court of Asti and the evidence our lawyers submitted may be viewed at www.zumayawinslawsuit.com. 

While Bret continues to post against Renato and me... as hosted by Tracy Ryan Terhune, I will be posting more of the verdict here as proof it was a very real case which I won. 

 

Smashing Myths

During the few days the first edition of Affairs Valentino was on Amazon in the spring of 2011, some copies sold and I would eventually receive a few welcome and good reviews. I excerpted two of the more notable reviews on the back of Affairs Valentino - Special Edition.

Those who spent the entire year previous to my publishing the book for the first time attacking me in the worst possible way online, swarmed the book with disgusting reviews. This was all a continuation of their hellish posts hurled my way throughout 2010..and those reviews had no relevance to the book's content, i.e. claiming the book fell apart, that there was “homophobia dripping from every page”, that it was “trash fiction”. If it was not that specific slurry of insult driving any readers away, it was a scouring for typos and mocking of all missteps of which there were many at that point.

It was kind of like having a gang mob you and break your legs so badly you could not walk and then those same people mocked you for not being able to dance. I have written about that time and spoken about it; I hoped in publishing the book I would put the nightmare of their daily abuse behind me. I thought I would just put the book in print, sell a few copies and have the wicked filth they were posting online about me and mine every single day on many terrifying sites cease. How wrong I was. 

With my reputation in tatters, shredded by Terhune and Bret... anyone Googling my name by the end of 2010 would find such lies as my having a long history of drug abuse, fake accounts how people from all corners of the world hated me, that I was a liar, a cheat and a fraud who was wanted by the law, etc. So when the book came out they continued with this bullying in attacking the book. They are still at it with Terhune continuing to pretend he runs a “literary critique” under my book's title when every single person in the world who knows about this story... realizes this was never and is not his intent there.

Those same people attacking me, mocked my citing the good reviews I received but those reviews were intelligent, thoughtful and I am proud of them and always will be. I recently found the review by Tony Bonn, the editor of The American Chronicle and excerpt his much longer review here. (see below)

At the Orpheum

I stand in front of the Orpheum LA (below) and Natacha Rambova appears long ago with Theodore Kosloff in their infamous Aztec Dance at an Orpheum Circuit theater. The Orpheum Circuit has an interesting history:

@ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheum_Circuit

Zero Tolerance - An Overview

In light of recent and unfortunate Facebook group activity, I clarify the difference between Renato blocking from his group and Tracy Ryan Terhune's blocking, specifically of us and for years. We have been blocked on both of the groups he runs, We Never Forget and Mad About the Boy and without being members for a single moment. Our being blocked is his manner of censorship of our work and a key component of his continued strategy to ruin us and bury our work. This statement is supported by an enormous body of evidence. 

So for the accounts Renato blocked, known as “Mason, Ramos and Sa”, I share a bit of a recap FYI as explanation of our zero tolerance policy about people who think it OK to be active supporters on his groups and also ours. That is not possible and here is why.

For years we have be informed via screenshots which were captured from exchanges on his groups. Whenever our work is mentioned, we are insulted, defamed, the work dismissed as “fabrication”, “trash fiction”, the “ravings of a madwoman”, etc. and threads mentioning us and our work are deleted immediately. As Simon Constable recently reminded the group's followers that the mere mention of my name was "against the rules."

We have been informed by Cindy Martin, one of Terhune's most eager followers that he has worked for years not only organizing but running what she confirmed as the “Campaign to Ruin Evelyn”. He has been open about this effort and no where is this more apparent than on the blog he has run since 2012, under the title of my Valentino biography, Affairs Valentino where he files his hateful diatribes against us and brags about diverting my legitimate web traffic.

He has run this designated hate blog, which over the years has seen many incarnations, all horribly cruel, by posting images of everything from pigs, toilets, Satan, Bibles and endless mocking images and posts about my being insane, a “madwoman”... well it goes on ad infinitum. (below a sampling of his home page images he has used on this now fake “literary critique” he runs under my book's title.)

I add that the blog was mine for years. I closed it in 2011 when David Bret threatened to open blogs about my family members. I could have made it not-public but panicked and hoped this would protect my family. It was then Terhune seized the opportunity in his most cruel way. 

Currently, he uses the blog also as a platform for David Bret to post his lies and insults about us and our work. David Bret is under a court order not to post about us online as he lost the defamation lawsuit I filed against him in Italy in 2016. While he has yet to pay one single dollar of the court ordered damages, Terhune is complicit in Bret's violating the verdict handed down in the case.

You may read the case as filed, the verdict and the evidence as filed here : www.zumayawinslawsuit.com

While Tracy Ryan Terhune feigns his role as an expert and the “Leader”, behind his scenes he permits Bret to comment on that hate blog in violation of a court order. Yet he does not link his posts on that hate blog to his Facebook groups and does not promote his angry and cruel posts about us.

Terhune's rhetoric reaches the height of the very definition of bullying. He calls my husband names, mocked a photo in which Renato is wearing a Moroccan robe as “the man who wears dresses”.. and engaged in an ageist and mocking “tick tock” countdown to our deaths; to mention just a few from the years of his tremendous insults targeting us on that blog.

With this scant over view of Terhune's public actions against us, it should be obvious to any rational person why we are zero tolerance about entertaining anyone who is active on his groups.

We have standards which include not being affiliated with the cronies and supporters of a person who openly bullies us. Perhaps these people who participate in his groups, do not realize the gravity and longevity of his campaign to ruin us and act hoping to “please the leader” .

I reject his role as leader of anything in the Valentino world and in my opinion he only holds that position because he bought a lot of things which once belonged to Valentino. Without that collection, in my opinion he would merit far less respect because his claims to be an expert on Valentino are repeatedly proven to be wrong.

It is no secret now Terhune partners with Bret and they have been working together for many years with Terhune initially instructing Bret to hide his involvement. (see document he submitted to the court in Burbank which is on file as public record)

Meanwhile Cindy Martin wrote to Renato on June 2, 2019, “Tracy has such power over people because if (sic) that yearly memorial he just has to crook his little finger and they all come running.” (see image below) Screenshot excerpts taken from:

And despite his partner in bullying us not appearing under his name David Bret in either of Terhune's groups, Terhune still allows Bret's known alias, “Albert Morris” to be an active participant in his groups.

We block people who are actively affiliated with Terhune's machinations and active on his groups because of the danger he presents and has presented to us. This especially is true in regards to his partnership with David Bret... who in an e-mail (preserved on my e-mail server) to me once wrote which I share as illustration:

And:

So you can clearly see this is no small issue and for us it presents a clear danger. Terhune blocks in his groups to censor information, new discoveries and to silence voices of dissent. It is a world of difference.

What kind of people would we be... if we allowed this man or those affiliated with him to infect our space further in any way? Bullying such as he openly participates in, should not be tolerated in 2021 and I believe anyone would do the same if they were in our position. I point out to Mason, Ramos and Sa, that Terhune's motives are not such a secret and his anti-Affairs Valentino propaganda and censorship has long ago been fully exposed. Yet, I would imagine for your service as of late, you will be able now to try on Rudy's ring come next August.

But not on your life can you hop, skip and jump between the man who actively bullies us mercilessly every day on that blog and us... by using some excuse you “just want to learn about Rudy.” We are not that stupid. Zero tolerance is our rule. 

An Endless Credit to Him

In our podcast, Rudolph Valentino, That Left Eye & More, we pointed out the problem with Valentino's left eye. According to the doctors who made the diagnosis in the Royal Italian Embassy in Los Angeles, he was blind in his left eye.

I think once you are aware of that, it becomes noticeable. In the images below I think we see the left eye out of sync with the right eye and it is an endless credit to him that he so successfully masked this situation.

The pupils should be focused in the same direction which is not the case in reality. 

Hear the podcast here: youtube.com/watch?v=5QBbiUFWaoI

Such a Success!

I am so happy to see the podcast we made on Valentino's left eye is such a success. I feel it is important research to discuss and hope to pursue this further in the future. 

 Watch the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QBbiUFWaoI

Regarding that 17th Century Ancestor

In Cindy Martin's “confirmation” that she is a 4^th cousin of Natacha Rambova, which she posted on Tracy Terhune's Facebook group, We Never Forget, she invites readers to join Ancestry.com and check out her lineage with this caveat:

“...I warn you though, its an arduous task.”

I did check it out with a genealogist who took a look at it for me after I forwarded them the two page document and explanation Martin posted. Because they shared their assessment with me I will do the same here.

If Martin was a fourth cousin of Natacha and nothing more, simply stated as she did... this would have been straight forward. This is not the case, see the top of her ancestry.com document:

...where it states clearly that the relationship between Natacha and Cindy Martin's son is “5^th cousin 3x removed of husband of 1^st cousin 6x removed”.

To put it simply, a “fourth cousin” is not the same as a, “4^th cousin 3x removed of husband of 1^st cousin 6x removed”.

“Removed” means going back a generation, meaning she shares what could be mathematically 900-1500 (or more) possible cousins from many generations ago and these cousins are only related to a “husband's” lineage six generations ago (i.e. someone married into her family).

In regards to the subject of that “husband” as was pointed out to me, on page two of her document we find:

So according to her own document, Martin alleges her connection through the Meeks family and in this she shares no bloodline or DNA with Rambova. This is made clear when it is explained she is not a fourth cousin but a “fourth cousin, 3 times removed of a husband's first cousin six times removed”. The connection with the Kimball family is made by the marriage of Sarah Jane Meeks (1841-1920) and Henry Kimball (1833-1862).

“Husband”, Henry Kimball's common relative with Rambova is 6 x removed, or six generations removed... which is a long, long time ago. The genealogist easily found the common relative shared by Natacha and Henry Kimball: an early 17^th century Kimball living in England (see page one of the ancestry.com document, Richard Kimball (1595-1697).

In her summary, Martin mentions that she is connected to Natacha via a “Priddy Meeks” who does not appear on her document. The document only reflects an extremely remote connection and this by marriage to the Kimball family. Indeed there are many Priddy Meeks in ancestry.com and it is impossible to verify which one Martin refers to as she does not include the dates or other identifying information. If the Meeks family is her connection, there is no way to verify this.

Martin explains this all took her years to discover which is surprising as it is no longer an arduous task and today it can be accomplished with a speedy search engine. It is an accessible venue where you can enter data quickly and have connections returned almost instantly.

And all of this is contingent upon Martin telling the truth about her being adopted and by whom. We have to take her word for that. She alleges the entire document is far too long for us mortals to fathom as it is 30 pages long. This should tell anyone familiar with ancestry that this is not a close relation; the longer the family tree/explanation... the more remote a connection.

If her document presented is truthful, then she herself has admitted she is not a blood relative because the Meeks married into the Kimball family. Someone who married into your family over one hundred years ago who shares what would be a 17^th century ancestor with Natacha Rambova does not make you just a “fourth cousin”. Her neglecting to cite her actual connection in full, in my opinion reveals she is counting on people being too confused by all of this to challenge her claim.

And any discussion about her physically resembling Natacha Rambova is therefore irrelevant in light of her own document which clearly shows the Meeks family married into the Kimball family. Even if she was a fourth cousin the idea she would resemble Natacha is ludicrous.

The genealogist I consulted referred to this as “lineage aerobics” and I for one close the book on this subject and think it would be not only more worth my time but easier to decipher the Aztec Calendar Sun stone than Cindy Martin's miles of alleged connections to Natacha Rambova. Better the Aztec star glyphs, knots and tails of serpents... than cryptic listings which represent hundreds of years of what mathematically represents thousands of possible fourth cousins many times removed.

Even if every word on her document is true...this was a marriage connection and there is no shared DNA.

There are several well-executed ancestry lineages of Natacha Rambova online... with plenty of living relatives both Kimball and Shaughnessy... and to date, none named Cindy Martin. 

Moving on.

My Hero

Renato Floris - Matera

 

"Proof of Great Innocence"

 The following passage is excerpted from, The True Rudolph Valentino by Baltasar Cué. As a successful Spanish journalist working in Hollywood, he knew something about the veracity of press issued material; whether alleged to have been written by a movie star or commentary on them.

I share this passage because I am continually shocked by how some people today continue to believe the studio-generated versions of Valentino's history as truth. With little to no questioning they read much the same as readers of those fan magazines long ago.

It is not that Valentino was lying or being deceitful in allowing these aspects of his story to be fictionalized. He was a savvy celebrity whose every move and nuance was under scrutiny and there is no questioning he was a valuable property to be guarded; especially by himself. In the few years he graced the screen, he faced a heavy opposition poised to pounce on his slightest misstep. The studio press offices knew the situation well and acted accordingly.

This is what Baltasar Cué had to say about this:

“Anyone who is not familiar with the usual procedures in the Hollywood studios, will find it hard to believe that Valentino declared, even in an private chat, that his "autobiography" was not reliable. In reality, as a biographical document, no writing produced by the motion picture studios about the private lives of their artists can be considered reliable.

The mission of the aforementioned marketing offices - which form one of the main pillars of the huge film industry - is to ensure what the public thinks about the companies, the artists and the films, and that their thinking will push them favorably towards them.

It is therefore necessary to share with them, what will make them sympathetic to the popular feelings: virtue, intelligence, amenity, generosity, ingenuity, culture, etc.

The truth does not mix with such important commercial activity. Profit is the only goal. And just as it would be naive to believe that such medicine we see advertised in the newspapers has all the wonderful virtues attributed to it in the corresponding advertisements, so it is also proof of great innocence to believe as much when the press tells us about the cinematographic companies, its artists and its films.

In the United States, at least, the Hollywood marketing agencies send to the movie theatres not only the propaganda to be shown before the first exhibition, but also the reviews that the local press should publish after the premiere. What the readers of the newspaper of this or that town located thousands of kilometers away from Cinelandia imagine, do not know is that the reviews they read after having seen the film the previous night were written many months before by some employee of the film producer, and which have already been published in all the towns where the same film was shown.

In the same way, those wise opinions that are often published as if they had been expressed by movie stars were generated in many cases, by the brains of marketing agents. This is where the one usually finds the wit which the stars do not always possess. If one has little experience in Cinelandia, they must be very careful to praise a star for an opinion read in the press alleging to have been written by the star. In most cases, the opinion did not come from what was actually said.”

Those Italian Movies

A new podcast online @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buyN8YeVsyQ

Enjoy!

A Comment From Renato Floris

Congratulations Evelyn on defending youself and our work. We have never, ever thought of expanding our audience through the unknown Cindy Martin. I only know that she popped up like a mushroom just to throw me out, for no reason, from Dom Caruso's group and then reappeared with the nickname of Dark Mum to become the heavy artillery of Tracy Ryan Terhune and David Bret spreading hatred and defamation about us to the 4 winds, then she disappeared to reappear one day with this sentence:

"Fires of Victory"

I have mentioned before how one of the most fascinating aspects of studying Natacha Rambova was learning about the history of the Roerich family, their society, their art, their metaphysical involvements and various mahatmas. Although son Svetoslav was an accomplished and highly-acclaimed artist, I find father Nicholas' works more compelling. His epic scenes of the Altai region are epic. In his early days he was a renown set designer and I think this is apparent in his work. 

The politics of the Roerich Society today reveals a story of deep division internationally. I was in contact with both sides of the conflict while completing Beyond Valentino and had to tread lightly. It seems every country has its members and loyalty to one side or the other determines a great deal. 

For me it is the Roerich art which endures and the sweeping panoramas. 

Above: Nicholas Roerich's "Fires of Victory - Sentinel Lights on the Towers of Gobi", executed in 1940. 

My Statement on “Who is Cindy Martin?”

Cindy Martin, under her alias Dark Mum, has quite the long career of bullying us on that designated hate blog Tracy Ryan Terhune hijacked and has run under my book Affairs Valentino's title for eight years.

On 4/23/2018, she writes how I am not so bright and that Affairs Valentino is, “the worst researched book”, (perhaps a play on Michael Morris writing that Affairs Valentino was the “best researched and best written book on Valentino”) Martin went on that day calling our work, “trash from Italy” and mocking our podcasts as,“hysterical and shrieking”.

On May 27, she files another hate filled rant in which she calls me a “user and a narcissist”; mentioning my deceased parents saying they never instilled any morals in me.

September 5... She writes a long post about my, “mental illness” and goes into detail how my husband Renato is shamelessly taking advantage of my mental decrepitude.

I could cite on and on from the archive of her spiteful diatribes, but to recap:

In the course of her bullying us nonsensically, she has bragged how she personally was “instrumental” in having our books removed from sale (an illegal thing to do as it is impeding our right to do business), told people she knew, “as fact” my defamation lawsuit v. David Bret (which I won) never existed. She spread the defamatory lie far and wide that I fraudulently used Michael Morris' name to put out his posthumous book, Beyond Valentino and that he did not write a word of it and she chimed in with Terhune and Bret on their daily bombardments of lies and insults, such as their claiming I forged documents and had a life of crime. All tremendously false and defamatory.

There are scarcely words to describe the extent of the pain and anguish which Cindy Martin inflicted and inflicts on us with her awful abuse which now has spanned years.

Consequently, I am sure any thinking person could understand how I find her cozy corner chit chat these days about her new Natacha Facebook group, terrifying in light of her documented past. How can someone write such torrents of heinous abuse targeting us with such a seething hatred and then pretend to also be a sweet old lady just launching her research, titter, titter. In explaining her history the following becomes key:

In May of 2019, Cindy Martin wrote Renato claiming she had been brainwashed/fooled/lied to and/or tricked by Tracy Terhune, David Bret and the other horrible people who run those two cult Facebook groups. She claimed they fed her the lies to say about me and indoctrinated her into hating me irrationally.

For a few days she engaged in a lengthy and revelatory exchange with Renato in which among other things she discussed how she could have all those cruel and false posts about me taken down from the deceitful blog Terhune runs under my book Affairs Valentino's title... and in this Cindy Martin toyed with the idea of suing Terhune but assured Renato we had the better lawsuit because of that blog. She went so far in her plans to sue Terhune to mention on June 2, her contacting the FBI, local cybercrime units and law enforcement.. and discussed the possibility of seeking a restraining order against Terhune.  

I excerpt but a few lines from this lengthy exchange under Fair Use guidelines to illustrate my point from her revelations. For example, she writes on May 20, 2019, how Tracy Terhune and Simon Constable, “are now thick as thieves along with Donna Hill, and they are working against Evelyn.” And adds,”Simon is the one for Evelyn to watch out for.” And, “I have a history with Simon. I know the snake he is. David Bret has been masquerading as Albert Morris for quite some time.”

Cindy Martin goes on to call Tracy Terhune,“truly a snake” and says he is a master at manipulation. She admits she knows David Bret, “lied” (about being served with the lawsuit) saying, “He was served those papers.” And she hits Donna Hill many times, saying she will try to “suck up to Terhune forever” and explains how,“Donna talks out of both sides of her mouth. Tracy has always been the puppet master. No one else has ever pulled the strings. Even David (Bret) would read his entire statement for his blog to him before posting it.”

Cindy Martin went on and on relating how she told Tracy Terhune a while ago that she, “refused to be his bully machine against....Evelyn” and refers to Simon Constable by saying,“Of all the people I've dealt with in the Valentino community, he is the slimiest. He is worse than David Bret..” In a longer message about Bret she wrote,“My point is that as there are many of us who detest David Bret, he has done so much damage to our gay and bisexual community.... even Tracy does not want Bret physically in the US.”

None of this information was new to us, but it was heavy to hear Cindy Martin spilling her guts. Now at some point those fiends she was dashing to the rocks, gave her the nod to come rushing back into the fold and she was off lickety split. Back again to insulting me to impress those running the “Campaign to Ruin Evelyn”, as she herself defined their actions. Perhaps they rationalized she was safer as an ally than an enemy.

Meanwhile Cindy Martin opens her own Facebook group, Rudolph Valentino Haven, or some such thing... and begins to take credit for my Rambova discoveries, i.e., telling a member of her group how she discovered the copy of the United Artists' contract. Actually, I did. And with this in mind she now crows how she is free to pursue her Rambova research. What research? Downloading my images and stealing my work? I know of many aspects of Rambova's life which deserve further research... maybe she could ask me about that. Instead, she is bragging how she is off to Salt Lake to cozy up with her 53^rd cousin, 85 times removed to I guess compare noses.

To me her shady and latest claim to being a family member has no bearing on her past behavior. If she was Rambova's only sister.. it would make no difference. Her past is documented as well as her terrible words and this is who she is ultimately. I, for one, await a real screenshot of that ancestry.com document she posted so victoriously, one with a proper URL header. I could have made those “word salads” in Photoshop in ten minutes. It is not a legal document. Furthermore, it lends no credibility at all to me because her past of malevolent bullying is her actual identity and her every cruel word hurled our way renders her lavish, self-congratulatory preening over being the 105^th cousin of Rambova absolutely nauseating; well actually stomach-churning.

Because her name-calling and vile abuse still rings loud and clear here. So I say that what she refers to as our, “trash from Italy”... all those books, videos and podcasts are doing quite well, thank-you. And for her information my parents instilled the highest of moral standards in me and it is for this reason I call her out. I could do nothing less. My parents taught me well how to stand up for myself, my loved ones and for truth and justice.

In all my seventy-two years, I have never known of a more duplicitous and hateable person. As we survive the hellscape of her years of frightening attacks and her defamatory, ruinous lies intended to wound and impede our right to do business...And with her recent opening of the Facebook group, Natacha's Niche...the skies of Rambova's legacy darken with this malevolent presence of Dark Mum! I assert my authority as the legal custodian of Michael Morris' highly-respected Natacha Rambova archive and as the co-author of his posthumous book Beyond Valentino to issue my official statement:

I deplore and denounce the very presence of Cindy Martin in Rambova's legacy.

Thank-you!

Thank-you to a generous friend for sharing this dynamic image. Here, Rambova in her role in "Creoles" which I address in Astral Affairs Rambova. The book is now an audio book on our Youtube Channel @  https://www.youtube.com/TheAffairsValentino

 

Why Do Eleanor Gribbin & Simon Constable Contest the Villalobos Dissertation & Valentino's Own Letters?

It is absolutely astounding to read the ignorant vaporings of Eleanor Gribbin and Simon Constable as they cling desperately to their idiotic premises. What do they have against the Valentino family and Jeanine Villalobos' Phd dissertation anyway? They now accuse even Valentino of lying in his personal letters to his family in which he discusses cures and medications for syphilis. And he admits he contracted this from prostitutes.

Does Gribbin think her own rumor mongering, passed off as fact...and feigned expertise somehow is more authoritative than the word of Valentino himself and his great grand niece, Jeanine Villalobos who cited family letters?

The evidence is air tight and not “negative rumors” as Gribbin tells a member of her group...and the idea that it was gonorrhea and not syphilis is absurdity. One, because if this was the case why would Valentino be writing his own family about cures and medications for syphilis? And two... why is one any different than the other? For me this is an absurd and meaningless differentiation.

The desperate machinations of the cult in this regard speak volumes as to their fear of legitimate research and the truth. This is precisely why we are banned from their groups and why they have mercilessly attacked us and all our 14 books for a decade. And it is one of the defining aspects of a cult to be suppressing literature, which now includes the Phd dissertation of Villalobos and the hand written letters of Rudolph Valentino.

Eleanor Gribbin knows very little in my opinion on the subject and I base this on her steadfast refusal to learn something new. She told someone on her group that Affairs Valentino was the rantings of a “madwoman”... this a book with the stories of Ullman, Mennillo, the settlement of the estate based on the court documents, etc...and for me she has never risen a smidgeon above willful ignorance on the subject. She denies court records on file, letters written by Valentino, etc. and cites as fact the innuendo-ridden meanderings of Simon Constable and second and third hand hearsay...as being more authoritative than the written words of Rudolph Valentino himself.

I am happy to see that the podcast setting this down as fact is doing extremely well and today reached 290 listens. And again I ask why are Eleanor Gribbin and Simon Constable calling the Villalobos dissertation fraudulent? Why do they think they have a square inch of ground left to stand on... on this subject? They don't. 

It is fact Rudolph Valentino suffered from syphilis. He himself wrote about new cures and medications he was taking. Surely he knew what he had. Maybe he should have asked Eleanor and Simon though... because they claim to know more about it than he did or his descendant who had his actual letters in hand.

I think the majority of people see clean through their cult voices any more. Their day of hegemony is over.

Would Be Nice

 

Born That Way

I based our most recent podcast, “Rudolph Valentino, That Left Eye and More”, on the evidence presented by Ms. Jeanine Villalobos in her Phd dissertation and the research executed by Professor Aurelio Miccoli. I am not surprised to see reports from the two “Valentino was gay/bisexual cult” Facebook groups..of the usual and insidious demeaning of their work, grumblings about the podcast and citing the discoveries without accreditation. But I have to say I am blown away how the very subject of Rudolph Valentino's suffering from syphilis which he contracted from prostitutes and the ramifications of this ..is new information to so many people. Villalobos' dissertation has been out for almost a decade. Why was, and still is... this information so suppressed? This is important information; the illness he suffered from for fifteen years...which impacted so many aspects of his life and which could have contributed to his early death.

I am told that on “Mad About the Boy”, the very subject is shut down by administrator Eleanor Gribbin with a mocking of anyone who might believe such a thing. I remind her Valentino himself wrote about this illness in detail in letters which still exist today; letters Villalobos cited in her dissertation. Is Gribbin accusing Villalobos of faking those letters and more absurdly accusing Valentino of lying in the letters? This is outrageous and censorship.

I am told that on the other cult Facebook group, “We Never Forget”... the subject Villalobos brought forth was discussed minimally. Today I present my theory as to why this suppression of her work is law on those two cult groups.

It is because those letters to Bruno stand as definitive evidence Valentino was “Born That Way” and sexually attracted to women.

Of course I will come under more attack for daring to say the obvious but what else is new...No, I have never had a reason nor interest in proving I was right or wrong or in proving Valentino gay or not gay. Long ago, I set out to find an answer through documentation...to the prevalent question, "Was Valentino gay?'...and I discovered a hoax; a tremendous lie... but in my exposing this hoax I have been assaulted for over ten years of my life by being called “homophobic”. Here is a news flash for the “Valentino was gay/bisexual cult leaders”... it is not homophobic to say someone is not gay. Someone's truth is just that. And writing endless lies and fabrications will not change the facts.

Valentino was attracted to women, had sex with prostitutes who were women and paid a price and then wrote about it. How much more proof does there need to be? This subject is closed and has been by Valentino himself.

In writing this, the lyrics, “Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose”, come to my mind... because I guess by now I am free because I have been called “homophobic” a million times by the “Valentino was gay/bisexual cult leaders”. So one more time probably will not kill me. But this does not change my reality one bit. I am not homophobic. 

I believe people are “Born that Way” as Lady Gaga sings, “There's nothing wrong with loving who you are...”. And a person's truth is a sacred truth and not open to “opinion”. It is tragic our culture is still so shockingly unaccepting and judgmental about homosexuality but even in my lifetime this has changed considerably and for the better. I have hope.

In this I expose the homophobic cult leaders as they wield the word, “homophobia” as their personal and frivolous weapon of choice to destroy critics. I expose their homophobia for attacking people calling them homophobic slurs... “fat lezzies”, “a man who wears a dress”, “fat lezzie who can't get a man”, “Padre Liberace” and worse. That is homophobia at its worst. And outing celebrities as gay just to sell bad books, based on innuendo is also the worst kind of homophobia; portraying homosexuality as titillating perpetuates antiquated and dangerous stereotypes. And in my opinion those two Facebook groups should be shut down for their obscene homophobia in this regard.

Valentino's letters to Bruno Pozzan are honest and key in the realization of actual evidence as to how he was born. They are not fantasy, trumped up innuendo and ridiculous lies about source materials never presented. These are written in Valentino's own handwriting and were brought forth by his family...letters in which he is admitting he had sex with women..with the “signorine”, the prostitutes... going with one woman and then the other. He writes, according to Villalobos, telling Bruno he was home sick from something he caught from the prostitutes, who were women. I think the subject is closed.

I have written about the censorship on those two groups many times. But isn't it obvious to anyone on those groups that we are blocked, banned from even participating in the conversations which are often about our work? Why are we banned? I believe it is because we refuse to bow before the altar of their homophobic ridden “Valentino was gay or bisexual” hoax. I have searched for decades for a shred of evidence to prove otherwise. None was found. Valentino's heterosexuality was remarkably unambiguous.

I have been hearing from people for years who have been banned from those groups for contesting the Valentino was gay/bisexual tenet. And in almost every case the person banned was called homophobic. That has been their effective strategy which sadly continues. I have been accused of being “obsessed” but what colossal projection is that?... when their rhetoric and their books, and I use that term loosely, are being churned out about “Valentino's Men” and are based on nothing but salacious homophobic lies and innuendo. Their own actions stand as living proof that they are the ones obsessed...as they censor away and enforce their fundamentalist doctrines on those two Facebook groups. Enough already. Everyone deserves their own truth be told and not have this aspect of their history contorted into fiction. Even Valentino.

The letters to Bruno put an end to this subject and I am happy the letter they tried to heave in the trash bin of Valentino history found us as it did. Incredibly, as I discuss in the podcast. In my opinion the “offing” of this precious letter stands as proof of the censorship on those groups and I hope the message reaches people that this takes place. Because God knows we are banned from saying a word there. When Renato requested to join “Mad About the Boy”, Simon Constable told him rudely to “Go Away” and threatened to report him to Facebook. For what? For asking to join in the discussions? Facts are facts and as Villalobos and Valentino himself presented it many years ago... it is not an “opinion”... it is fact...Valentino was having sex with women. Mystery solved.

The translation of Valentino's letter to Bruno which was rescued from the trash bin of Valentino history... and images of the actual letter are included in our book, Rudolph Valentino In English by Jeanne De Recqueville. Which is available here:

http://bit.ly/RVbyJDR

**And I add in closing that in my opinion the entire, "Valentino could have been bisexual" is an option for people to say to guarantee they won't be called homophobic, attacked and mercilessly so. 

Said podcast can be heard here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QBbiUFWaoI

Cole's

Me (below) in front of Cole's on 6th street in Los Angeles. Their website says they are open for dining-in which is surprising all things considered. I used to post more pictures of myself traveling way back when. But one day I had lunch with family in a restaurant which was down the street, next door?... maybe in the same building?... as Tracy Terhune's home. This I did not know, had no clue. 

But since I posted that picture of myself, he has claimed I was stalking him that day. Ridiculous. Another magnificent lie. I am not a stalker and actually have lived in hiding from all of them for a long time. 

Had I known I was in any proximity to Tracy Terhune, I would have left immediately. Frightening to think about actually. This was taken a while back after a lunch at Cole's... and I have no idea if any of "them" live near this establishment, but I am sure if they do I will hear about it. 

How I Feel About This

So the Valentino cult now organizes their full-on assault on Natacha Rambova, spearheaded by "Cindy Martin", the woman who bragged openly she was “instrumental” in having our books removed from sale and who maliciously lied to prospective readers of Michael Morris's posthumous book, Beyond Valentino...a book he was working on when he suddenly died. When asked about the new book by Michael Morris... Martin told the interested person that there was no new book written by Michael Morris. Beyond Valentino, she lied, was fraudulently written by me.

The Valentino cult knows only to tear down with gross fabrications, innuendo and insults and continue their undermining and “ruination campaigns” and all to be free IMO to destroy any truth about Valentino and Rambova. As “Cindy Martin”has a history of taking full claim and credit for my research and discoveries and being consistently more than horrible towards me, Renato and our work... I personally think she is the wrong person to “go to” about anything Rambova or Valentino and can state that most all of what she says about me is a straight up lie.

For the truth is I met and worked with so many memorable and interesting people while I spent that year finishing Michael Morris' posthumous book, Beyond Valentino: the artist in Madrid who restored the image for the cover, the Egyptologists from Yale who wrote an essay about Natacha's Egyptological life's work, and William James, historian on Mallorca who worked so long and earnestly on his essay on Natacha and the Spanish Civil War.

Let's just say this...I am very protective of Michael Morris' archive and his last work... and in this I assume my position as enforcer of his copyrights and legacy. I champion the cause here with all that this entails. And today it entails letting people know how I feel about this.

Michael envisioned Beyond Valentino as a smaller volume and when he died we were struggling to decide which images to include or not. After his death, I decided I would include them all, the book would be a monument to Michael and as his “final word on Rambova” everything had to be included... there would be no revisiting this for Michael.

And I felt strongly that the book, in light of its spiritual significance... be iconic on its own. I really feel it is and am happy about that.

Sacred Territory

Michael Morris and I worked together on Beyond Valentino for a few years before we really became serious about finishing it. He wanted the book to be out on the 25th anniversary of Madam Valentino. He did not quite make it.

His discoveries were many and mighty and when he passed away I negotiated the finalization of some of them; the use of the fabulous Mallorcan images (see below), the essay on the Spanish Civil War with William James as commentary on Rambova's essay, “Arriba España”. I worked with Rambova's god-daughter Maria Salomé and sent her a copy of the book. And together Ms. Salomé and I discovered Rambova's make-up line. Completing Beyond Valentino was an enormous amount of work and a labor of love.

Since I have been custodian of Michael's archive, I have had several occasions to grant permission for use of some of his materials. It is always a pleasure to work with honest people seeking proper attribution and permission.

I think I have made my point here about my guarding Michael's archive and collection. It is sacred territory.

#specialplaceinhellforthieves #honesty

                            The tribute pages in Beyond Valentino. 

One of the images of Rambova's belongings she left behind in Mallorca when she left Spain. 

Natacha & Svetie

Natacha Rambova & Svetoslav Roerich were engaged for three years before he left her to return to India. I was fortunate in discovering more about their love story when I completed Michael Morris' fine addendum to Madam Valentino, Beyond Valentino. Through Michael's contacts I was put in touch with the Russian Roerich Foundation and an historian in Moscow working on Svetoslav's history who generously shared a great deal. Many surprises are consequently revealed in Beyond Valentino. What a fabulously beautiful couple, but more heart break for her. 

 

In My Opinion This is Absurd

So Cindy Martin has established a Facebook group for Natacha Rambova. Good grief why? This is the same woman who trashed the launch of Michael Morris' book, his posthumous book, “Beyond Valentino” and who accused me of “never knowing him”, of forging the court records, of taking advantage of his grieving family and posting fake e-mails from him, and swore my lawsuit v. Bret never existed, etc. Wow.

In my opinion, I can not think of a poorer and less informed candidate to run such a group than Cindy Martin. She has attempted to take credit for my research..revealing as her word how Natacha Rambova was not mentioned in the United Artists' contract. Did she find that copy of the United Artists' contract? Did she write it into a narrative? No, she did not. I did. Would it have been the right thing to do to credit me for this? Yes, it would have been just that. 

Now she claims to be a cousin of Natacha Rambova. In my opinion this is absurd. 

And just who is she? I know I stand alone in my belief she is not who she says she is. Yet, I maintain this. Where did she come from? In 2014 or so, Dom Caruso befriended Renato over his order of Affairs Valentino. He was the first person and only person to refer to Tracy Terhune, David Bret, Jeanine Villalobos and Donna Hill as “The Unholy Four”. I did not entirely agree.

But at one point a Cindy Martin joined his Facebook group... and he appointed her an immediate administrator and referred from then after to the “Unholy Three”. When I asked him who he eliminated from his "Unholy Four",  he disappeared. Go figure.

This force of Martin rolled on in and immediately deleted Renato, Michael Morris and from her day one commanded an unquestionable authority.

So I issue my statement to this entity... Cindy Martin... that if I hear she is using Michael Morris' images, letters, correspondence, etc. without my permission....I will enforce his copyright to the letter of the law.

You see this “Cindy Martin” was wrong, wrong, wrong about Michael and I. We were dear friends, working fast and furious on his Beyond Valentino when he died and it is to me a disgusting turn of events that the woman who openly told people Michael Morris' final word on Rambova was a fraud... and advised them not to buy the book... now opens a tributary blog to the woman? 

Poor Natacha.

And I will add that there are actual living blood relatives of Rambova... residing in Salt Lake. I will alert them to this news and hopefully they will oversee the situation. Because they do, they have and are serious about doing this in the future.

St. Michael Archangel

The Wrong Thing was Done

In 2003, I was interviewing Valentino memorabilia collector Bill Self and S. George Ullman's children Bob and Bunny Ullman for my Valentino biography Affairs Valentino. It was inevitable I would be looking for the probate court records of Valentino's estate to verify, with documentation, Ullman's performance as executor. I was somewhat surprised to learn how Bob and Bunny Ullman knew little about the fine points of this time in their father's life. But they knew plenty about how he was attacked and maligned by the Alberto Valentino family. This had been a part of their entire lives and something they hoped I could help them with... to know just what was the truth.

I asked Self for help in finding those records.... because they were “missing” from their rightful location in the LA County Hall of Records. Self was cagey but finally told me how he read those stolen records. He then told me who had the records... another collector... and said he would ask him if I could read them.

Self replied “no” to me by e-mail (which I still have) saying the collector decided to return the case file of records to “where they belong”; and this was the Alberto Valentino family. I was furious. Those records belonged in a public archive. Self knew Bob Ullman was truly on his death bed hoping to know the truth about his father... yet those records were not returned, not shared and hidden away from any public review. And I ask again... why hide if there is nothing to hide?

I have written about this a great deal and will not revisit it all here today. I instead point out how insidious these collectors can be in withholding and parsing out information, sharing one document and not another. And I allege they do this to exploit their market and to elevate themselves as experts in the estimation of the Valentino fans and followers on their Facebook forums. It is easy for me to see how these collectors manipulate their followers, treating them as potential buyers and a way to market the value of their collections. It would not be so offensive if it were not all so calculated, so shady and their interest in Valentino... well commercial.

It would have been the right thing to do... to allow Ullman's son to see those records which he had every legal right to review. But the wrong thing was done and he died not having that opportunity. I was able to recover enough of that file in copies for him to know the truth; his father was the great hero of Valentino's story.