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 Remembering Rudolph Valentino

8/22/2014

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When it comes to Rudolph Valentino, so much has been said, both fact and fiction.  Although I greatly admire him, it is hard to know what else to say.   

Mostly everyone knows or should know who Valentino was, and the reason they do is because of his tragic death.  He was biggest silent film star of his day, struck down in the prime of his life. Valentino died at a New York City hospital after collapsing at the Hotel Ambassador. Despite surgery for appendicitis, he developed peritonitis and then pleurisy and died on August 23, 1926.

There was mass hysteria, women committing suicide, thousands coming to the funeral in New York City’s St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church. A funeral train from New York to California brought Valentino to another huge mourning at the Hollywood Cemetery (now known as Hollywood Forever Cemetery.)

 I would like to present some interesting stories I have gathered on Valentino from a couple sources. 

Rudolph Valentino’s brother, Alberto Guglielmi, (Valentino’s family name) recalls in Kevin Brownlow’s, “Hollywood The Pioneers,” how moved he was at the American peoples outpouring of grief when he accompanied Valentino’s body by train from New York to California. Of particular interest to me personally was a stop in of all places my hometown of Erie.  “I was awakened just before dawn, he said, “when the train stopped, and I was informed that a group of people from Erie who had come with guitar, mandolin and the great majority were Italian.  They asked permission to sing and play some Italian songs for the memory of Rudy.  It was very touching.”

Even though the train did not stop through all the towns, many people were kneeling by the rails just to see the funeral procession.

**Robert Parrish recalls in his book, “Growing Up in Hollywood,” that his first brush with cult of Hollywood celebrity was with the funeral of Rudolph Valentino.  He was in fifth grade at Santa Monica Boulevard School less than a mile from twenty-three film studios.  That morning, which was September 7, 1926, his mother Reesie Parrish was reading the morning newspaper at the breakfast table.  She read about Valentino’s fiancée, actress, Pola Negri.  According the paper account, Negri had arranged the funeral train and accompanied Valentino.  “My mother read aloud, “ ‘Rudy’s sweetheart brings body.  In the solemnity of the death car, with the blush of the desert morning against the windows on which the shades were partly drawn, the emotional Polish actress was alone with her dead.’” Robert’s mother was visibly upset, but his father was unmoved and was waiting for his toast. She continued, “ ‘ It was, perhaps, the last time the lovers could be alone for days to come, for screenland begins its tribute this afternoon. Every great star and director will be at the ***Hollywood Cemetery to bid farewell to the star of stars.’ “Miss Negri, attired in a simple but striking black costume, was sobbing audibly.  Although apparently on the verge of a nervous breakdown, she walked steadily forward to the car where the mortal remains of Valentino lay in the heavy silver-bronze casket.’ “  “ ‘ Ah, dear,” she sobbed, as tears coursed down her cheeks in pitiable grief, “we will soon be home; home, my dear, where you were so happy and life and love were so sweet.” ‘   “ ‘ As she arose and bowed her head over the bier, a delicate little flower dripped from her hand to the draped casket. ‘ “

 Robert’s mother wiped away tears.  His father was unimpressed. Robert left for school but found weeping women blocking Santa Monica Boulevard by the cemetery.  At eleven in the morning the principal announced that school would be closing and that they should go right home.  He watched as she and the other women teachers joined the other grievers. Instead of going home, Robert and a friend went to watch the dramatic proceedings. Ladies were trampling other graves just to get to the crypt, flowers and wreaths were everywhere, even a wreath from Mussolini.  Even a plane had dropped flowers from the sky.

I found it interesting to find an account by someone who was there, but Robert Parrish’s recollections are told rather sarcastically, and that I did not appreciate.

**On a side note, the only reason I have this book is because Robert Parrish (who later became an award winning film editor and director,) youngest sister was actress Helen Parrish, who I have devoted a website to and am continuing my research on.**

**The cemetery was originally called "Hollywood Memorial Park" until 1998 when it was changed to Hollywood Forever.

Sources cited: Hollywood The Pioneers, Kevin Brownlow, Pictures: John Kobal. COLLINS St. James’s Place, London 1979

Growing Up in Hollywood, Robert Parrish, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York and London 1976


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Discovering The Mauch Twins

8/16/2014

19 Comments

 
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How many people can you think of that have appeared on the cover of Time Magazine that are now largely forgotten by the pages of history?

I had never heard of the Mauch Twins (pronounced “Mock”,) until I acquired a stash of movie star scrapbooks from an elderly woman in Ohio.  She had meticulously cut out articles and pictures of her favorite stars, when she was growing up in the 1930’s and 1940’s. 

Among her articles were those of Billy and Bobby Mauch, identical twin child actors of that time.  I had to know more.  Here is their story:

Billy and Bobby Mauch were born on July 6, 1921 in Peoria, Illinois.  Billy was the older twin by ten minutes. Their father, Felix, worked for the railroad and their mother, Dorothy, a homemaker, was also a twin.  

 She taught the boys songs, and they began to entertain at banquets and radio stations in Peoria, eventually moving to New York.  Billy and Bobby auditioned there and were signed for CBS and NBC radio, performing on shows such as “Beauty Box Revue,” “Lucky Strike,” “Show Boat,” and “March of Time.” Besides singing, the twins could also dance and play the piano.  In New York the boys attended  The Professional Children School.

It was their radio work and appearance in the musical comedy, “Mr. Smith,” that brought them to the attention of Warner Brothers. They were on the look-out for a child actor to play a young Frederic March in the movie “Anthony Adverse.”  Warner Brothers wanted a boy that resembled Frederic March at a younger age. After auditioning, Warner’s only wanted to sign Billy, but Mrs. Mauch insisted that Bobby be signed also, and Bobby was the stand-in.

The twins were very close and devoted to each other.  Billy and Bobby were notorious for their practical jokes and switching places constantly, even while filming.  Their mother also had trouble telling them apart.  She told an interviewer that Bobby wears a ring with a setting, and Billy wears a plain band ring.  The interviewer asked how could she be positive that they never swapped rings?  She looked worried.

When the Mauch Twins moved to Hollywood, they attended the famous Mar-Ken Professional School.

Besides, “Anthony Adverse” in 1936, their other big role came in 1937’s “The Prince and the Pauper.”  MGM child actor, Freddie Bartholomew, was considered for the double role as MGM had the rights to the film; however, Warner Brothers purchased “The Prince and the Pauper,” from them realizing real twins would be better in the roles and Billy and Bobby Mauch were signed. Critics complained because Errol Flynn (the star of the film) was not in it that much.

Between 1937 and 1938, the boys starred in the “Penrod” series of films about a group of Junior G-Men who tried to solve crimes.

Bill and Bobby did not want to be film actors when they grew up, they were more interested in behind the scenes.  Although, they did some acting separately up until the 1950’s, the Mauch twins also served in the Air Force during World War ll in the Philippines.

Billy Mauch eventually became a sound editor at Warner Brothers and Universal and Bobby Mauch became a film editor with work on the TV show, “Dragnet,” among other shows.

Billy married Marjorie Barnewolt in 1953 and had a son, William J. Mauch ll; Bobby married Georgia Shattuck in 1971 and had no children.

In child actress Sybil Jason’s book, “Five Minutes More,” Sybil recalled a time when she decided to invite a whole list of child stars she worked with at Warner Brothers for her husband’s surprise birthday party in 1979.  Sybil invited both Billy and Bobby Mauch, but only Bobby was able to make it. She remembered how Mrs. Mauch (their mother) was surprised that Sybil was the only one who could tell the twins apart.  Bobby and Sybil rekindled their friendship.

In Sybil Jason’s book, “My Fifteen Minutes,” Bob Mauch quoted, “To be a friend of Sybil Jason you know you have a real friend. She has a sense of humor and a way of knowing how you feel and is willing to help in any way. The years go by but Sybil remains Sybil…a treasure for all who are blessed by her friendship.  I know Bill (Mauch) feels the same way.”

William “Billy” Mauch died on September 29, 2006 at the age of 85  and is buried Swan Lake Memory Garden in Peoria, Illinois.  Robert “Bobby” Mauch died on October 15, 2007 at the age of 86 and was cremated.


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Autograph reads: To Joyce Freeman. Best Wishes Always, Billy Mauch
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Autograph reads: To Joyce Freeman, Best Wishes Always, Bobby Mauch
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From "The Prince and the Pauper"
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From "The Prince and the Pauper"
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Photographed by ex-child star, Delmar Watson are Peggy Ann Garner, Edith Fellows, Bob Mauch and me at my husband's birthday party. Photo courtesy of "Five Minutes More" by Sybil Jason. Copyright 2007 Sybil Jason. Published by BearManor Media.
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At my husband Tony's surprise birthday party. All kid stars! Left to right: Luanna Patten, Edith Fellows, Peggy Ann Garner, Bob Mauch and me. Snapped by shutter bug Delmar Watson! Photo courtesy of "My Fifteen Minutes" by Sybil Jason. Copyright 2005 Sybil Jason. Published by BearManor Media.
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A Christmas list courtesy of Bobby and Billy Mauch.
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Welcome!

8/10/2014

12 Comments

 
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I don’t know how it started, but I guess it’s been with me all my life.

In August of 1989, Betty Grable was on the cover of American Movie Classics Magazine and an old soul was born.

From complications of my premature birth, I have cerebral palsy.  Because I was not as active as most children, I believe it gave me more time to appreciate things.

I have always loved History.  I watched biographies and old movies.  Thomas Edison was my hero, the inventor of the light bulb, phonograph, and motion pictures. (I was actually Edison for Halloween in 2nd grade.)  I always knew who Harold Lloyd was and the picture of him hanging from the clock.  I knew who Charlie Chaplin was, etc.  Around the new millennium, I watched specials about the century and learned about Mary Pickford among others.  I also wanted to be Johnny Carson.  While others my age were interested in video games, sports, and power rangers, the old things drew me in. 

They made me happy and for some reason, I could relate. I always felt I was born at the wrong time.

It also helped that my mother and grandfather were into old movies too. And we would watch them together.

Who else after taking some acting classes at the age of 9, would convince my acting teachers to let me sing “Over There,” (from seeing and falling in love with “Yankee Doodle Dandy”) after a performance of “Aesop’s Fables!”

It is within the past five years I decided I have to do something beside watch these old films.  So why not try and locate the old stars that were left and try to interview them?

 I started to write a lot of letters to classic movie stars.  The first one to call me was Ann Rutherford! I have also interviewed Donna Reed’s daughter, Mary Owen, Joan Leslie, Dickie Moore, Jane Powell, Marsha Hunt, Jimmy Hawkins, Paul Peterson, and Diana Serra Cary.  Diana told me to change my writing name to Robb Sulecki for a more professional sound; however, I still like Bobby.

I met Ann Rutherford at Kent State University (which she had arranged) on September 25, 2010.  I brought her a dozen roses and picked out a necklace I found in a store near my college.  She hugged me and we talked as if we were old friends! I also met Ann’s dear friend, Al Morley and Robert Osborne from TCM!  I sat next to Ann at dinner at a gala that night! It was one of the greatest moments in my life!

I am the creator of http://www.helenparrish.com/ and http://annrutherford.weebly.com/

My previous blog was http://bobbysuleckigoldenage.blogspot.com/ but it will soon be obsolete.

I have had a few articles published in “Classic Images” Magazine, and now I am starting my blog, in hopes to reach a wider audience.

My future goals are to come to Hollywood, and later possibly collaborate with others on books and documentaries, and of course continue my research and writings.



**** It took a long time to get this much done, as I am not totally computer savvy.  I hope you will support me and my writings and blogs to help further my career.  ****


**** I know it doesn't look like much now, but I have many ideas and surprises that I hope will impress you! ****


**** Stay tuned!  First blog coming is about two forgotten child stars! ****


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    Author

    Bobby J. (Robb) Sulecki.
    Self-Made Film Historian  and Entrepreneur

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    Turner Classic Movies 

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