Rudolph Valentino's 1923 Voisin Automobile

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_... Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla, professionally known as Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 -- August 23, 1926)(31 Years), was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle, and The Son of the Sheik. An early pop icon, a sex symbol of the 1920s, he was known as the "Latin Lover" or simply as "Valentino".He had applied for American citizenship shortly before his death, which occurred at age 31, causing mass hysteria among his female fans and further propelling him into iconic status. In late 1922, Valentino met George Ullman, who would soon become Valentino's manager. Ullman previously had worked with Mineralava Beauty Clay Company, and convinced them that Valentino would be perfect as a spokesman with his legions of female fans. The tour was a tremendous success with Valentino and Rambova performing in 88 cities in the United States and Canada. In addition to the tour, Valentino also sponsored Mineralava beauty products and judged Mineralava sponsored beauty contests.One beauty contest was filmed by a young David O. Selznick titled Rudolph Valentino and His 88 Beauties. http://www.rudolph-valentino.com/rv-v... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306032/ Rudolph Valentino and His 88 American Beauties This short was pretty much just thrown together by David O. Selznick to make a quick buck off of Valentino's popularity. What basically takes place is that 88 different cities had one woman selected to go to New York City where they'd compete in a beauty contest. The winner would be selected by Valentino and that winner would be very happy. That's pretty much what we get here as we get quick clips of the women and of course plenty of shots of Valentino. There's no question that this thing was cheaply thrown together as there's no artistic merit to be found and it's really nothing more than a newsreel with added clips of the star to sell to theater owners to cash in on his name. The only interesting things are seeing what was considered beauty in 1923 and we also get some clips inside Madison Square Garden. On May 14, 1923, while in New York City, Valentino made his only two vocal recordings for Brunswick Records; "Kashmiri Song" (The Sheik) and "El Relicario" (Blood and Sand). The recordings were not released until after Valentino's death by the Celebrity Recording Company; Brunswick did not release them because Valentino's English/Spanish pronunciation was subpar. Valentino was one of the first in Hollywood to offer an award for artistic accomplishments in films. The Academy Awards would later follow suit. In 1925, he gave out his one and only medal, to John Barrymore, for his performance in Beau Brummel. The award, named The Rudolph Valentino Medal, required the agreement of Valentino, two judges and the votes of 75 critics. Everyone other than Valentino himself was eligible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Val... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Mathis After Valentino's marriage with Rambova ended in 1925, the two reconciled at the premiere of Son of the Sheik when Valentino spotted Mathis with friends. When Valentino unexpectedly died in August 1926, Mathis offered up what she thought would be a temporary solution; she lent him her spot in the family crypt she had purchased in Hollywood Memorial Cemetery (now called the Hollywood Forever Cemetery). However, when Mathis herself died the following year, the arrangement became permanent. On July 26, 1927, during the third act of the Broadway show The Squall at the 48th Street Theatre while accompanied by her grandmother, Mathis suffered a fatal heart attack. Her last words were reportedly, "Mother, I'm dying!" Mathis was 38 years old. Her ashes were returned to California: instead of "evicting" Valentino, Mathis' husband, Sylvano Balboni, moved Valentino to the crypt beside hers, sold the remaining crypt to Valentino's family and returned to Italy. Mathis and Valentino repose side by side to this day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avions_V... Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines at Issy-les-Moulineaux, an industrial suburb to the southwest of Paris. Former student of the Fine Arts School of Lyon and enthusiast for all things mechanical since his childhood, Voisin's uncompromisingly individual designs made extensive use of light alloys, especially aluminum. One of the company's most striking early designs was the Laboratoire Grand Prix car of 1923; one of the first cars ever to use monocoque chassis construction, and utilising small radiator-mounted propeller to drive the cooling pump.