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In 1926 Silent Film Idol Rudolph Valentino, known as The Great Lover, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 31. In the years that have since passed, his death has come to overshadow his life and his work.

But what would have been had he not died so young? This is the inspiration behind the whimsical novel, "Conversations with Rodolfo" written by Hala Pickford, The Founding Sheba of The Rudolph Valentino Society.

A lover of silent film, Pickford uses her knowledge of film history to paint a picture of what might have occurred had Valentino not died in 1926, but in 2005. Would he have made it in the new medium of 'talkies' (sound film)? Would he be remembered like Charlie Chaplin? Or forgotten like Mae Murray? Would he have reconciled with the love of his life, Natacha Rambova? Or would he have been able to find a new love?

"Conversations with Rodolfo" opens in 2004, following down on his luck wannabe music journalist, Michael Johnston. Johnston is madly in love with a new girl he has met named Gloria. Trying to impress her he agrees to a Saturday spent with her beloved grandparents. There he finds her grandfather is a man who calls himself Rodolfo, though many others have known him by the name 'Rudolph Valentino'.

Despite his age, Rodolfo is as lively as a 20 year old, and on Michael's request he agrees to a series of interviews about his long life, with the stipulation that they not be published until his death.

Through these interviews we get to hear the story of Rudolph Valentino, from his boyhood in Italy to the birth of his granddaughter. From his role in The Sheik, to his work with Charlie Chaplin in the 1950s. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Labor of Love - Rare Look at the very early Pickford
This is a charming privately published book from 1969 that may well have inspired Kevin Brownlow's recent look at Mary Pickford's features.This one is page after page of reproduced photos and production data from herearliest Biograph shorts from 1908-1912.You can still get a first editionof this title! Very professionally produced though not heavy in dataother than photo reproductions and general information on these shorts,nevertheless any Pickford or silent movie buff will treasure this work.Itis about 160 pages and loaded with photos you will not find elsewhere. Some of the photo reproduction is not the best as these were taken from thepaper print films from the Library of Congress but this book is aninvaluable source of silent movie information.(Also of note is theauthor's claim that Lillian Gish actually made her film debut in an 1909Pickford short instead of 1912 as is commonly believed.I think the ladyin the 1909 is not Lillian although there is a stunning resemblence.) ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! MaryPickford (April 8, 1892 - May 29, 1979) was aCanadian-born American motion picture actress, co- founder of the film studio United Artists and one ofthe original 36 founders of the Academy of MotionPicture Arts and Sciences. Known as "America'sSweetheart," "Little Mary" and "The girl with thecurls," she was one of the Canadian pioneers inearly Hollywood and a significant figure in thedevelopment of film acting. ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Mary Pickford (April 8, 1892 May 29, 1979) was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Known as "America's Sweetheart," "Little Mary" and "The girl with the curls," she was one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood and a significant figure in the development of film acting. Because her international fame was triggered by moving images, she is a watershed figure in the history of modern celebrity. And as one of silent film's most important performers and producers, her contract demands were central to shaping the Hollywood industry. In consideration of her contributions to American cinema, the American Film Institute named Pickford 24th among the greatest female stars of all time. Mary Pickford was born Gladys Louise Smith in Toronto, Ontario. Her father, John Charles Smith, was the son of English Methodist immigrants, and worked a variety of odd jobs. Her mother, Charlotte Hennessy, was Irish Catholic. She had two younger siblings, Jack and Lottie Pickford, who would also become actors. To please the relatives, Pickford's mother baptized her in both the Methodist and Catholic churches (and used the opportunity to change her middle name to "Mary"). She was raised Roman Catholic after her father, an alcoholic, left his family in 1895, and died three years later of a cerebral hemorrhage. Hennessy, who had worked as a seamstress throughout the separation, began taking in boarders. Through one of these lodgers, the seven-year-old Pickford won a bit part at Toronto's Princess Theatre in a stock company production of The Silver King. She subsequently acted in many melodramas with the Valentine Company in Toronto, ... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=18823 ... Read more

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Chapters: Mary Pickford, Mack Sennett, Lorne Michaels, Norman Jewison, Sydney Newman, Seth Rogen, Paul Haggis, Corey Haim, Paul Gross, Harry Saltzman, Mary Harron, Jay Firestone, Michael Mahonen, Nell Shipman, Denys Arcand, Stan Daniels, Shawn Ashmore, Phil Comeau, Grant Mclean, Holly Dale, Ken Gord, Patrick Whitley, David Acomba, Jake Eberts, Louie Lawless, Evan Beloff, Colin Low, Peter Von Puttkamer, Scott Mosier, Maureen Judge, Barry Avrich, Shauna Robertson, Anais Granofsky, Helen Shaver, Les Harris, Stegath Dorr, André Lamy, Paul Saltzman, Rae Hull, Richard Williams, Jacques Cossette-Trudel, Boulou Ebanda de B'béri, Françoise Doherty, Ziad Touma, Peter Gatien, Bruce Mcdonald, Denis Bernard, Steven Hilliard Stern, Shawn Goldberg, John Campea, Roger Frappier, Anna Stratton, Raphael Shore, Andre Van Heerden, Michael Maclear, Sylvia Sweeney, Bruce Labruce, Lee Demarbre, Peter Lhotka, Vic Sarin, Wallace Macdonald, Laurent Piche, David Julian Hirsh, Donald Shebib, Maurice Devereaux, Robin Spry, Robert Lantos, Robert Lang, Marv Newland, Michel Brault, Robin Cass, Zacharias Kunuk, Robert Wertheimer, Lindalee Tracey, Damian Lee, Susan Cohen, Bryan Michael Stoller, John Pozer, Tove Christensen, Yvan Patry, Daryl Duke, Jalal Merhi, Mark Kenneth Woods, Richard Brouillette, F. R. Crawley, Ivon Bartok, René Jodoin, Mary Young Leckie, Carolyn Mcmaster, Gabriella Martinelli, Mary Walker-Sawka, Bart Simpson, Christopher E. Scott, Colin Brunton, Al Christie, Michael Hirsh, William Vince, Rodrigue Jean, John Nesbitt, Denis Héroux, Dean Deblois, Paul Arcand, Richard Sadler, Tom Perlmutter, Nat Taylor, John Nursall, Hart Bochner, Gilles Hebert, Reagan Dale Neis, Francis Mankiewicz, Jason Faller, Armand Schaefer, Peter Scheerer, Ken Finkleman, Derek Lamb, Kelly Norris Sarno, Michael Mcgowan, Ralph Endersby, Grace Kosaka, Jean Beaudin, Harold Greenberg, Michael Poole, Anne Claire Poirier, Daniel Iron, Peter O'brian, Mark Penney, Anthony Sherwo...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=18823 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1550 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Signed essays ranging from 500 to 2,500 words, written by subject experts and edited to form a consistent, readable, and straightforward reference. Entries include subject-specific bibliographies and textual cross-references to related essays. ... Read more