Monday, July 4, 2011
Autographed Photo from The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
This is a fantastic autographed photo depicting Valentino from the film, "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." I like the fact that he dated this photo as well, "1921." He signed this photo "R. Valentino," he often signed either R. Valentino or Rudolph Valentino. These were the most common variations. I have noticed in many of the signed letters out there, especially to people he was acquainted with he signed R. Valentino. Anyway, this is a fantastic photo and would be very valuable, especially to collector's and fans such as all of us. 
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Stunning. Did you watch a good fireworks show tonight?
ReplyDeleteI live in a area where fireworks are sold all over the place and it is legal to set them off 24-7, so all I have to do is walk outside.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking about this photo. Do you know anything about it? I wonder who "Jimmy" is, and if it could possibly be Jimmy Starr, the columnist and screenwriter who was an office boy at Metro during the filming of Four Horsemen and who became friends with June and Rudy? I know I'm always speculating, but it is possible...haha. Mr Starr wrote a great book called "Barefoot On Barbed Wire" that tells all about his 40+ years in Hollywood, including during the silent era. Great read.
ReplyDeleteIt could be, I honestly have no idea. I saved the photo a long time ago, and do not remember where I found it. If it was Jimmy Star, I am sure it would increase the value even more!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if this blog has now been abandoned, but I believe I know who this Jimmy was. He might be the same Jimmy that I have a book he autographed it to. Jimmy was an actor. His last name eludes me but, at the time I got my book, I found his IMDb page. Interesting that he was a Rudolph fan, as he appeared to be a rather rugged type. If anyone is still reading here, let me know if you're still interested, and I'll find the book and look it up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply! If you know who it is, feel free to let us know. Any further information is always welcome. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Brad,
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry for the delay. Life got in the way (moved more than once, then forgot, then couldn't find this blog post.)
I own a biography book autographed by S. George Ullman. (It has actually gone through many interesting and semi-famous hands, who have penned their name to the book..) But the first owner of the book, to whom Ullman autographed it: it is signed to Jimmy... with a last name! (Bear with me...)
Although there is no telling if it's the same Jimmy, the coincidence here is too great. Because of a few moves, my book has ended up in storage, and I'm unable to scan it for you but some day, I will. (Btw, thanks for all YOU have shared on here! I admire your collection!) :) I did comparison research to S.G.U's signature: it is authentic! Fountain pen and all. (Why would anyone fake this anyway?!)
I googled Jimmy's full name and he is an actor with an IMDb page. As I see I said, a rather rugged type playing mostly uncredited parts, it seems in Westerns. (There is his photo from one of those!) So, at first I thought there must be some error. He doesn't seem like he would be a fan of Valentino. Pardon my candidness, I don't mean to sound ignorant, I was just in utter disbelief at having found to whom it was made out to and to have such Hollywood history behind it all. (I have no idea why I'm saying this right now, but, and correct me if you think I'm wrong, it seems to me that Ullman was on a book tour and how Jimmy would have obtained it signed).
Anyway so at first I thought I must be wrong, since IMDb has his name as "Jimmie". So I kept googling but finding no other man by his exact name. Then I noticed that the city/state where I got the book from and this gentleman's place of birth of this all match! It HAD to be him. He was quite young when Rudolph died, late teens as I now checked. Barely 19, if my math is correct. So I started thinking, tying to piece it together: maybe he admired RV since he was a kid and that's why he decided to become an actor? :) Cool, huh? He has quite a few credits, his last being Dragnet. I have to take a closer look, maybe he had speaking part but isn't it interesting? Silent roles too! (I assume he was an extra. Maybe he had lines here and there: it's true, uncredited doesn't always mean no lines). He was in an Elvis film, his first credit is 20 years after Rudolph's passing! Sorry for being long-winded. Here's the info you're dying for me to share :)
Then I looked again: his real name was James Horan. And he has a few credits as "Jimmy"! Yes, my book is signed by S.G. Ullman to "Jimmy Horan". I couldn't find more on him than his IMDb page but if anyone does, I'd be curious to find further info. I hope this helps you and again, sorry for my delay. Here is his page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0394534/
I'll come back to check if you have any questions. (Like I said, the book has been marked by other, subsequent, interesting book owners. I have not signed my name to it. It's just so special to me that I found it! And I miss having it with me. One of the best books I've ever read!) And yes, SGU penned Jimmy Horan's full name before autographing it. :)
PS: Sorry if I wasn't clear. The biography book is, of course, Valentino As I Knew Him. I can't remember if S.G. dated it, but it's definitely the edition from 1926, not a reprint.
ReplyDelete