One of the more endearing anecdotes in Baltasar Cue's, The True Rudolph Valentino is the story of the collective wooing of actress Mary Miles Minter by Ralph Graves, Douglas Gerrard and Rudolph Valentino; an account shared by Douglas Gerrard himself and therefore a first-hand account.
Ms. Minter was at the height of her fame and glory when this took place and about to step into her Hollywood murder, mayhem and who-done-it immortality.
I think Rudolph Valentino seems so earnest here with his offering of Italian gold... pasta! I appreciate Cue went ahead and finished his book after Rudolph died and I appreciate Renato translating the book in English.
Mary Miles Minter (see below) in a photograph taken in 1917 around the time this wooing took place:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Miles_Minter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Desmond_Taylor
From The True Rudolph Valentino by B. Cue, pp. 58-61:
