Evening Star Newspaper, April 17, 1930, Page 36

The Truth About Actor Married Jean Acker at Giddy Hollywood Party and I wanted to be married, couldn’t. He was married to ker and Miss Acker was mak- THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, THURSDAY 4 NATACHA RAMBOVA, HIS WIFE t as possible for him to | vort was during the filming of “The * that divorce proceedings were and reached their peak of diffi- ulties, so it was a trying period for us early marriage had taken place hortly after Rudy came to Hollywood— | just as a lark at a party. From the| fipt it had been a mistake, but all Hollywood, of course, was crazy—mad! People acted on impulse and regretted it later. Rudy and Miss Acker scarcely knew | each other. They had met one eve- | ning at Pauline Frederick's, planned horseback ride together and during that | ride became engaged. A few hours later Rudy sauntered into the Holly- wood Hotel, where he chanced to meet Msy Allison and Mr. and Mrs. Max- Garger. In the exuberance of a man in love (or who fancied If in that romantic state) he con- | fessed to them he was going to be mar- ried! Mr. and Mrs. Garger were plan- ning 8 party the next evening as & fazewell to Richard Rowland, president of Metro. As a sort of flllip to the event, they suggested he get his license immediately and turn their party into & wedding. Rudy, impractical and care- less child that he was, agreed. Bride for Dance Only. After the ceremony and supper they danced until 2 in the morning—when the bride unceremoniously left him. Jean at that time was working with Fatty Arbuckle in “The Round-Up” and when the disillusioned bridegroom ht her out on location next morn- ing he found she had skipped to Los les. He followed her there, only to told she could never return to Rudy left at once for New York to make tests for “The Four Horsemen™ anc Jean asked for an annulment. ‘They didn't see each other again for four months. When the amazing success of his Julio in “The Four Horsemen” changed Rudy from a penniless unknown to & star, with fame and fortune as- Miss Acker changed her de- mands from annulment to separation, with alimony. But Rudy fought this and asked for divorce, for in the mean- time he and I met. He continued to pay dearly for this mistake of his youth even after the divoree was granted and our own mar- risge !egllind. Later, when the very name of Rudolph Valentino stood for box-office receipts, Jean Acker & vaudeville tour as Mrs. Ru- Valentino, which brought finan- difficulties. Rudy did not feel that & few hours of marriage qualified her to th.“ “"I of that z&:le.m it I am getting ahead of my story: After Rudy and I became engaged (while he was still far from famous and is name meant nothing at the box of- fice) I chose a painless way of breaking the mews to my mother, Mrs. Richard Hudnut. Mother at that time was in New York, about to sail for Europe. I/~ wrote suggesting she go to see “The Four Horsemen” and write me what she thought of it. Her reply was full of enthusiasm for the young man it starred, Rudoiph Valentino. Who was he? She had never heard of him. Modern Parents Obey. She and Mr. Hudnut had scarcely reached Paris when I sent them a cable sonouncing . my engagement to Mr. Valentino, demanding their congratu- lations. ‘They replied at once with the desired word, saying they were modern, trained rents, who never dis- of humor to carry her over any crisis. ‘This was in May, 1921. The following Rudolph Valentino as “Julio in “The Four Horsemen.” that made him, as it opened the eyes genius before the camera. October my parents returned to their San Prancisco home, stopping en route in Hollywood to see me and meet their prospective son-in-law. I can best de- scribe my mother’s reactions to this visit by quoting her own account of it, as l;flcm’ded in a letter she wrote my aunt. “Natacha,” she wrote, “had often written me glowingly eof the beautiful bungalow she had furnished fromher own earnings &5 Mme. Nazimova's art director. From her descriptions of this cinema home I had pictured it as some- thing to compare favorably with the Jehn Jacob Astor mansion. “Natacha met us at the station at 7 in the evening with word that Rudy It was this of the producers and the public to rele his was still on location, but would dine with us at 8. As we drove along Sun- set boulevard we at what I thought was an empty lot. But— “iCome. along!’ said Natacha gayly, “this' is home!’ “In the darkness we could scarcely #Aind our way, for from the sidewalk we went down several steps along a narrow path that led to the “mansion,” which roved to be so diminutive I mistook it | for the bell and little maid. Closets Called Rooms. “We now entered a 2 by 4 that ap- peared to be divided into four closets, rage. Here Natacha rang a e door was opened by & neat enamel and porcelain’s best friend! AT’S me . .. BAB-O. Especially created for enamel and porcelain. I am a modern, quick-as-a. flash, soft-as-talcum pow- der. I make kitchens and bathrooms gleam...free of all tell-tale water-marks, dull film, stains. I brighten sinks and ranges, refriger- ators, walls and floors... Rudolph Valentino called rooms. The front room was large | emough for four people, if they edged in properly. The , & creation of bril- liant modern col and design, was painted on the floor. Four kitchen | chairs painted red, a small sofa in | modern chintz, two small sofa tables, which held lamps in gay paper lh!dES.\ |and red book cases that once had been | ing boxes comprised the unique furnishings of this room. “I now entered a room at my right, |the windows of which were small and | curtained to the sills in mauve taffeta. The floor was covered with a )lack car- pet. A kitchen table painted black, with & mirror top, stood at one side of the room. Upon it were two glass- bead baskets filled with glass-bead flow- ers, such as one sees by thousands in Ttalian cemeteries. On fhe other side stood what at first glance looked like an oblong black casket, with a small taffeta chair en either side. Having neither head nor foot, one could only guess what it might be. The room re- minded me of a chapel in.a morgue, but Natacha explained it was her bed room. Loved Rudy on Sight. “As I entered her white porcelain bath room I encountered a snarling lion cub. ‘This is Zela,’ said Natacha, when I had stopped screaming; ‘Rudy and I bought her at the zoo. Her claws are clipped and she wouldn't hurt a baby,’ and she fondled the beast lovingly. She explained the cub was the constant companion of Rudy and herself, but al- ways locked up when they had guests. “I was then taken through the tiny kitchen to the garage to meet the rest of the family, two enormous Great Dane pups, an engagement present _from Rudy. Right now they were suffering from rickets, since their mistress had tried to make them good vegetarians. “We entered the house just as Rudy arrived for dinner. I saw a slender, boyish, athletic-looking young Adonis, with dark, fervent, romantic eyes and & frank, honest smile that won my heart. In mccordance with Italian cus- tom, he embraced both Mr. Hudnut and myself, kissing us affectionately on both | cheeks. It was impossible not to love this impulsive, natve child. “The kitchen table was now brought into the living room and we sat down to a delicious meal.” Such was mother’s description of the lttle w _where l!llli‘,e passed su rl Perhaps it was too full of animals for the average Fenon’n liking, but with Rudy and me it was a case of “Love me, love my dog!” We both adored animals of every kind; one of our cher- ished ambitions was to have a real zo0o of our own. We passed hours laying out plans for the one we would build the minute we could afford it. ‘Whenever we could we would pess the day at.one of the soos around Los Angeles. The old Belig 200 was a favorite haunt, but most of all we en- joyed visiting Curley Stecker, head ani- mal trainer on the old Universal lot. Curley spun us yarns by the hour of his hairbreadth from animals he had encountered the jungle ond on the lot. He always took us to call on Joe Martin, the famous chimpanzee of Universal comedies, and Ethel, the tame loness, who always looked so flerce on the screen. ) ‘would put Ethel through her tricks and then take us to see Tom, Dick and Harry, the three big lions, fed. Wanted Cub for Pet. One day Curley explained he had & special treat for us, and took us across the lot to the leopard cages. There in the end e he showed us four adora- ble lion cubs, just 6 weeks old. Rudy and I shrieked for joy and insisted we must buy one immediately. Curley flatly refused at first. Lions, he said, were not playthings. Even in their infancy they had a will of their own and were anything but friendly. But we declined to take no for an answer, so ©ssley, after much pro- testing, went in searsh of a box while we _chose our cub. This was our introduction to the “snarling lion cub” whom mother en- countered in my bath room. Crawling, spitting and yowling, we bearded Zela in her cage and deposited her in the automobile, while Curley, predicting disaster, declsred we'd bring her back by the end of the week. But he didn't know Rudy and me! Poor Curley! He has long since on, the victim of one of his own_ lions. Arrived at the bungalow, our first problem was to clip our young spit- fire's nails. This we managed by means of a gag, then Rudy christened her in soapsuds in the bathtub. After that we set her free and the fun began. Such rage I have never seen in one so young. She howled and pranced and strutted. But alas! She had been shorn of her power to scratch back. We only laughed at her. Zela had an outstanding personality with plenty of temperament (or tem- per) and pride. She refused to be pa- tronized, but she could stand a lot of affection. When Rudy was sitting quietly reading on the couch, she would crawl up on his lap to be petted and caressed, like the great kitten she was. She became devoted to us both, par- APRIL 17, 1930. tioularly to Rudy, whom she followed about like an puppy. The trouble with Zels, she grew up too fast. At the age of 4 months she had & huge yawning mouth with great leonine fangs, and an annoying habit of opening the catches on windows and doors and sauntering down the street. These afternoon strolls caused such consternation that my indignant neigh- bors protested. Zela, they declared, would have to go! Heartbroken st the '.hm,ht of part- ing with her, Ri and I decided to board her out h Nell Shipman's trainer on her ranch 30 miles from Los Angeles. The last time we saw her was some 4 months later, just before Miss Shipman and all her animals left for Oregon to make some films. Rudy and I drove out there to bid Zela a tearful farewell. The trainer warned us to avoid her cage; she had grown very treacherous and would not remember us, and, to distract our attention, he led us off ta see some new baby . While T was playing with them I suddenly discov- emd'gudy had disappeared. I called, but he did not answer, so I went in search of him. 1 found him inside Zela's cage, sitting on the floor, talking to her, calling her all the old baby names, while Zela, now almost full grown, crouched fiercely in the farthest corner, glowering 'at him doubtfully. Then slowly she crawled toward him on her tummy, as I had seen her do so often in the olden days when she wanted to be loved. Then devotedly she put her head on his knees, letting out yowls of pleasure. With tears streaming down his face Rudy sat there, fondling her, talking to her until the trainer made him leave. We never saw Zela again. (Copyright. 1930, in the United States an foreign couniries by Natacha Rambova. Al rights reserved.) NEW YORK-TO-ST. LOUIS AIR SURVEY COMPLETED Installation of Radio and Lighting Equipment Will Begin Immedidtely. 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