While still not out of danger, on Thursday, August 19, Rudy’s condition seemed much improved. The heartburn he suffered the night before appeared to have no ill effect during the day. In fact, oatmeal was now added to his daily regimen, but he grimaced and complained that it didn’t “ride so well.” His doctors were so confident about his condition that they released the following bulletin: “Mr. Valentino is making satisfactory progress and having passed his most critical period, no further bulletins will be issued unless some unexpected development occurs.”
By Allan R. Ellenberger
The actor was never told how serious his operation and illness were. In fact, four priests stopped by the hospital but were not permitted to visit, lest the sight of them convince him he was near death. Still, Rudy gave an indication of knowing the seriousness of his illness when he told Ullman, “I was pretty close that time, wasn’t I? Closer than I hope to be in the next ninety years.”
Ullman promised to bring him a copy of The Prisoner of Chance, a novel he was reading before he took ill, but balked when the two-pack-a-day smoker asked for a cigarette. “Oof! Not yet!” Ullman replied. Rudy sent a dozen American Beauty roses he received from Pola Negri to a crippled girl in one of the free wards and appeared uninterested when told that Pola had telephoned daily. He seemed more concerned about where he would convalesce after his stay in the hospital. The summer home of Hiram Abrams in Maine was mentioned in the press, but Rudy favored a retreat in Vermont where he had vacationed a few years earlier.
At the end of the day, Ullman released the following statement from Rudolph Valentino:
“I have been deeply touched by the many telegrams, cables and letters that have come to my bedside. It is wonderful to know that I have so many friends and well-wishers both among those it has been my privilege to meet and among the loyal unknown thousands who have seen me on the screen and whom I have never seen at all. Some of the tributes that have affected me the most have come from my ‘Fans’—friends—men, women, and little children. God bless them. Indeed, I feel that my recovery has been greatly advanced by the encouragement given me by everyone.”
The following day, press coverage of Valentino’s illness was at a minimum because of his reported recovery. The big news centered on Valentino’s friend, Barclay Warburton, Jr., who also took ill with an undisclosed illness and admitted himself into Harbor Hospital at 677 Madison Avenue, a private sanitarium. Paul Durham, the doctor who originally treated Valentino, performed an operation described only as “minor.” By four o’clock that afternoon, Warburton was reportedly smoking a cigar and talking to his mother on the telephone. To this day, no information has been released pertaining to the nature of Warburton’s illness.
Afterward, Durham returned to the Polyclinic to check on Rudy, whose temperature had returned to normal. The actor had another restful night but fussed after being given orders to be still. He asked to be returned to his suite at the Ambassador but was told he would not be able to sit up for several days. Though he could take lights soups and other liquid nourishment without discomfort, he complained when Nurse Frank tried to feed him broth. “I don’t want that darned stuff,” he grumbled. Usually all it would take to get Rudy’s cooperation was a smile from the attractive Frank.
Because of his apparent recovery, some of the press charged that Valentino’s illness was a publicity stunt rather than anything life-threatening. Even Natacha, who received a cable earlier that day from Ullman stating that Rudy was out of danger, laughed and said, “What Rudy won’t do for publicity!”
Meeker and Joller were quick with their denials. “The man’s life was saved by an immediate operation for two perforated gastric ulcers and the removal of his appendix, which was badly inflamed,” Meeker insisted, adding that the mortality rate for this type of illness was extremely high. Critics quickly pointed out that, according to most medical experts, gastric ulcers did not develop like mushrooms, and some sort of irritant would have been necessary to induce Valentino’s sudden attack. Meeker, however, could offer no explanation. It would soon be a moot point since the worst was yet to come.
The story continues tomorrow. Join me for the next chapter of Valentino’s Last Days, as we retrace, day by day, the events of August 1926 and the final journey of Rudolph Valentino, one hundred years later.
If you’ve been following Valentino’s Last Days, I invite you to share your thoughts on today’s chapter. Please take a moment to comment, rate and share the story as we continue retracing the final days of Rudolph Valentino.
Local readers are invited to attend the 99th Rudolph Valentino Memorial Service on August 23, beginning at 12:10 p.m. in the Cathedral Mausoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The service will commemorate the centenary of the silent screen idol’s death while continuing a Hollywood tradition that has endured for nearly a century.
For those unable to attend in person, the memorial will be streamed live on Facebook through the “We Never Forget” Rudolph Valentino page, allowing admirers around the world to take part in remembering Valentino and his enduring legacy.
In addition to the memorial service, that evening, Hollywood Forever will present the Los Angeles premiere of the restoration of The Son of the Sheik, accompanied by a recorded orchestral score by renowned composer and conductor Carl Davis. The screening will begin at 6:00 p.m. in Hollywood Forever’s Masonic Lodge.
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