Natacha Rambova
Encyclopedia
Natacha Rambova was an American
silent film
costume
and set designer, artistic director
, screenwriter
, producer
and occasional actress. Later in life she worked as a mildly successful fashion designer and Egyptologist.
who fought for the Union during the American Civil War
. Her mother Winifred Kimball, was nicknamed "Muzzie" and was a granddaughter of Mormon
Patriarch Heber C. Kimball
. Her father was a businessman who partook in mining interests, but eventually his alcohol
and gambling problems became too much for her mother. Her mother became an interior designer and moved to San Francisco. She was married four times (Michael was her second husband), eventually settling on millionaire perfume mogul Richard Hudnut
. Rambova was adopted by her stepfather, making her legal name Winifred Hudnut. Before her marriage to Hudnut, Rambova's mother married Edgar De Wolfe, brother of Elsie De Wolfe
, a prominent interior decorator. With this marriage her mother became socially successful and wealthy. Rambova was rebellious, and mocked her stepfather for being passive. She was sent home from a boarding school
for "conduct unbecoming of a lady". She was sent to a strict British boarding school, where she learned ballet
, French
, drawing
, and studied mythology
.
during the summers. She traveled to London frequently to watch other performers including Pavlova
, Nijinsky
, and Theodore Kosloff
. Right before World War I
broke out, Rambova returned to San Francisco where she clashed with her mother once again and insisted she would pursue ballet as a career. Her family had trained her in ballet as a social grace and were appalled at the thought of it becoming a career. Aunt Teresa intervened, offering to move with Rambova to New York where she could study under Kosloff. Rambova, now 17, changed her name to Natacha Rambova at this time. At 5'8" she was too tall to be a classical ballerina
, but Kosloff continually gave her leading parts. She performed with him in his Imperial Russian Ballet Company.
Around this time Rambova fell for the 32 year old Kosloff (who had a wife and an invalid daughter in Europe) and the pair began a tumultuous love affair. Muzzie was outraged when she found out, and brought charges of statutory rape
and kidnapping
against Kosloff hoping to have him deported. Rambova fled New York and hid in Canada, and later England, to hide from her mother. While in England she posed as a governess to Kosloff's wife and child. Muzzie, wanting to bring her daughter home, relented by dropping the charges. She allowed Rambova to keep performing with the company and promised to underwrite the costumes.
to perform as well as contribute designs. Rambova joined him and was dismayed to find herself as part of Kosloff's "arty harem". Kosloff had taken several lovers amongst the dancers, who would perform with his company, teach at his studio, and assist him uncredited in his film work. Rambova took to researching historical accuracy for her designs, which Kosloff would then use without giving her credit, stealing her sketches and claiming them as his own.
Kosloff met fellow Russian Alla Nazimova
and convinced her to use his services for her an upcoming planned project based on Aphrodite
. Kosloff sent Rambova to show sketches to Nazimova, claiming they were his own when they were actually Rambova's. Nazimova was impressed and when she asked for revisions to some costumes, Rambova took out a pencil and began to make the revisions, showing that she had done the work. Nazimova offered Rambova a position on her production staff as an art director and costume designer. The work would pay up to $5,000 a picture.
Rambova's work had been used in four DeMille films, including, Why Change Your Wife?
, which featured Gloria Swanson
and Thomas Meighan
, before her signing with Nazimova. Metro
feared censors' reactions, and thus the Aphrodite picture was never made. Her first film for Nazimova was Billions in 1920. She met Rudolph Valentino
on the set of Uncharted Seas in 1921. They began working together on Camille
soon after. Hans Poelzig
and Emil-Jaques Ruhlmann were her inspiration for various sets on the film. Rambova was determined to bring the art deco look to America, as it was transforming film making in Europe. The film flopped, with many contemporary critics finding it too odd. The failure of "Camille" eventually led Metro to terminate Nazimova's contract.
Rambova took on teaching design and selling some of her jewelry. She wound up earning more than Valentino, who had notoriously bad contract deals. She next designed for a film Nazimova wrote titled, A Doll's House. By 1922 Rambova had left Metro to join Nazimova on her artistic productions. Valentino negotiated a slightly better contract and was now earning more than Rambova. Rambova's designs for Salome
were based on drawings by Aubrey Beardsley
for Oscar Wilde
's version. In addition to costume design, Rambova contributed to the film's scenario under the alias "Peter M. Winters". The film cost $350,000 to make and flopped at the box office. It was one of Nazimova's last releases. It was also the last film Nazimova and Rambova would work on together.
for 25 cents. It kept them afloat between paychecks. Valentino signed with Famous Players-Lasky
in 1921. Before their marriage a public controversy over pictures Rambova had taken of Valentino, dressed up as a faun
or pan
-like God. The pictures had been taken by Rambova as part of a series of faun pictures for a magazine called Shadowland, that featured art and dancer photos. The pictures were damaging to Valentino's image, and also were seen as evidence that he was carrying on with Rambova during his divorce from Acker.
As the bigamy scandal raged on, Rambova began work on costumes for Valentino's next picture, The Young Rajah
. The film contained India
n themes and Rambova's costumes were elaborate representations of such. Valentino complained that his separation from Rambova distracted his acting, causing a sub-par performance. He complained to Rambova that everything from the sets to the cast was cheap. The film flopped and was one of the first major flops of Valentino's leading man career.
Outraged over the bigamy trial and the way his wife was treated, Valentino declared a one man strike against his studio with Rambova's support. Valentino also claimed he wasn't making what he was worth, and that artistic control over his films lay at the heart of the matter. Famous Players sued and won an injunction barring Valentino from seeking any form of employment. This was later reduced to employment in pictures. Rambova stated she was not worried, and could keep them afloat with her designs. She mentioned offers of being an actress herself though she had yet to appear as anything more than an extra
in film.
Eventually Valentino hired a new manager, George Ullman
. At first Rambova worked well with him, but the two eventually clashed. Ullman presented the idea of having Valentino promote Mineralava Beauty Products. He then suggested Valentino and Rambova partake in a dance tour to help the promotion and keep Valentino's name in the spotlight. The pair agreed and the tour was a major success. Rambova was credited under her legal name Winifred Hudnut. During a stop in her hometown, Salt Lake City, promotion for the tour tried to play her up as the local girl returning home, "The Little Pigtailed Shaughnessy Girl". Rambova was angry and erupted in tears.
Once the tour wrapped up, Valentino and Rambova legally married and the press praised Rambova for her "business sense". By 1924 Rambova had negotiated a contracted with J.D. Williams for Valentino to sign with Ritz Carlton Pictures. The deal would require two films to fulfill his obligations to Famous Players, and then four films that he and Rambova could make as they pleased at Ritz Carlton. Rambova would be seen as his artistic collaborator for the first time. By this point in Valentino's career the press began to blame Rambova for his missteps, claiming she was controlling and power hungry. She had become her husband's prime business advisor, because she took charge, he trusted her, and he felt with her English she could understand legal terms better than he could.
Valentino's comeback film was Monsieur Beaucaire about a 17th century Duke. Rambova was the costume designer and art director on the film. Famous Players was sure the film would be a hit, being Valentino's first screen appearance in two years. They were given a huge budget, with Rambova spending $215,000 on costumes alone. Rambova also managed to upset a journalist and publicist Harry Reichenbach. When the journalist came to interview Valentino, he was told he could speak with "Mrs. Valentino" instead; furious he left without taking an interview and his article was cancelled. Reichenbach was furious and publicly aired his grievances. Rambova claimed that Famous Players made them choose the film. Actually the Valentinos were offered a choice between Monsieur Beaucaire and a sea adventure. Monsieur Beaucaire flopped, and most of the blame went to Rambova. Jesse Lasky held her personally responsible saying, "...she insisted on Valentino doing perfumed parts like Monsieur Beaucaire in powdered wigs and silk stockings. We had to take him on her terms to have him at all."
The Valentinos began work on their next picture, A Sainted Devil
, which would follow in Valentino's early Latin lover styled roles. Rambova took control of the production, especially the costumes and the casting. Although Joseph Henabery
was the official director, Rambova took over this role unofficially. The costumes were again lavish and Rambova brought on two designers who would go on to successful careers: Norman Norell
, and Adrian
(who would design for The Wizard of Oz
). A Sainted Devil flopped, this time damaging Valentino's career to the point where reviewers dubbed he had lost his great lover title to John Gilbert
. Rambova blamed the story, which she claimed had a war element when they originally agreed to make the picture; but the studio removed it fearing it would offend European audiences. The film is now lost
.
The Valentinos began work on what they now saw as their chance at a real picture, The Hooded Falcon. Rambova wrote the initial scenario and it was again to be her production. Valentino visited June Mathis
and asked her to write the full script, to which she agreed. However the project would be plagued with problems from the beginning. They learned their Ritz Carlton pictures would be distributed via Famous Players-Lasky. Ritz Carlton also did not have much financing, crushing their dreams of filming on location in Spain. To work around this they traveled to first France then Spain in search of costumes and scene ideas. They had a $40,000 budget for costumes and props, yet spent $100,000. The picture had a total budget of $500,000, half of which would be used before the film was finally shelved all together.
During production for The Hooded Falcon, Rambova clashed frequently with Valentino's friends. Rambova and George Ullman were in a battle for control of Valentino's career. Rambova, alongside Valentino and Henabery, decided Mathis' script for The Hooded Falcon would not do and that a script doctor should be used. When Ullman informed Mathis of the decision, Mathis quit speaking to both Rambova and Valentino, ending their long friendship. Valentino and Rambova tried to fight back, by granting interviews claiming that 'Valentino is not a Henpecked Husband'.
With The Hooded Falcon on hold, Williams insisted Valentino began work on Cobra
which took place in a modern setting. Most of the crew from The Hooded Falcon worked on Cobra as well. Rambova only took part in two scenes before leaving the film claiming modern stories bored her. In the short time she worked on the film she managed to clash with Mario Carillo and other actors as well. Cobra flopped and Valentino's popularity and career were both in jeopardy. After a final fight between Williams and Valentino over Rambova, Williams announced to the press that The Hooded Falcon would be postponed indefinitely, and Valentino's contract terminated. With the knowledge United Artists
would likely be signing Valentino, Rambova went to speak with Ullman about the contract terms. Valentino was finally offered a decent contract, but one of the stipulations was that Rambova would not be allowed on set or any part in his films. Knowing he did not have a choice, Valentino took the offer.
in her first screen appearance. The film ran over budget, costing $100,000 and received limited and delayed release. It is now lost.
After her divorce from Valentino began, Rambova produced and starred in another picture, Do Clothes Make the Woman?. She had brought forty trunks back from Europe for the picture and would act opposite Clive Brook. Eventually it was retitled to When Love Grows Cold much to Rambova's horror. Rambova was reportedly so upset that the distributor promoted the film with her name as "Mrs. Valentino" that she never acted in film again. Most of the film is lost except small fragments from a promotional trailer
. After Valentino's death, Rambova appeared on stage via vaudeville
and Broadway
. She wrote a unproduced play, All that Glitters, supposedly detailing her life with Valentino, although by the end of the play there is a happy ending and the couple reconcile.
shop on Fifth Avenue in 1927. She urged women to express themselves through fashion. She would later close the shop after meeting her second husband in 1934. With her husband in Mallorca
, Rambova began a business of buying up old villa
s and modernizing them for tourists; a venture she financed with her inheritance from her stepfather who had died in 1928.
After divorcing her second husband, Rambova remained in France, where she remained until the Nazi
invasion, at which point she returned to New York. Rambova's interest in the metaphysical
grew during the 1940s, with her supporting the Bollingen Foundation
, which she believed help her see a past life in Egypt
. She published various articles on healing and astrology
during this time. Eventually she helped decipher ancient scarabs and tomb inscriptions which led her to edit a series of publications titled, "Egyptian Texts and Religious Representations". She also conducted classes in her apartment about myths
, symbol
ism, and comparative religion
.
She never spoke of Valentino publicly, turning away reporters on the 25th anniversary of his death and threatening to sue if an upcoming picture about him had a caricature of her in it.
During her marriage to Valentino, Rambova was seen as a fashion icon. During a trip to Paris her shopping trips caused a sensation with the press reporting on her outfits.
, and even though her mother had married well she refused to live off her stepfather's money, insisting on making her own living. Valentino was said to be shocked when he first viewed her parents' lavish home, as Rambova had never spoken of their wealth. During Valentino's strike from Famous Players, she still intended to make money herself, and never mentioned her parents as a source of income.
Both Rambova and Valentino were Spiritualists. She had been interested in ancient religions since her teen years. She believed in reincarnation
and psychic powers. Later in life she became an Egyptologist, an author on astrology, and a follower of Madame Blavatsky
and George Gurdjieff. During her marriage to Valentino they both visited psychics, partook in séances, and automatic writing
. Through these practices Valentino was eventually moved to write a book of poetry, Daydreams, with many poems about Rambova. When Valentino died Rambova wrote a book about the time she had spent with him, and also her claims to be in contact with him in the afterlife via psychics.
The pair moved in together less than a year later but had to separate (or at least pretend to) as the divorce proceedings for Valentino's marriage to Jean Acker began. Once the divorce was final, the pair married on May 13, 1922 in Mexicali, Mexico. However, the law at the time required a year to pass before remarriage and Valentino was jailed as a bigamist. Valentino's studio at the time, Famous Players-Lasky, refused to post bail. June Mathis
, George Melford
, and Thomas Meighan
eventually were able to raise enough to post bail. Rambova had been sent to New York by the studio before Valentino's jailing, and was informed at a stop in Chicago. Throughout the bigamy scandal she refused to speak to the press. The pair had to wait a year to remarry (less risking Valentino being jailed again), forced to live in separate apartments with roommates. They legally remarried on March 14, 1923.
Though they shared similar passions, Valentino and Rambova held very different views when it came to home and personal life. Valentino cherished old world ideals of a woman being a housewife and mother, while Rambova was a feminist who wanted to continue to work and had no plans of being a housewife. Valentino was known as an excellent cook, while actress Patsy Ruth Miller
suspected Rambova didn't know "how to make burnt fudge," although the truth was she did occasionally bake and was an excellent seamstress. Valentino deeply wanted children, Rambova did not.
Rambova did not get along with Valentino's friends and family, with the exception of Paul Ivano. Rambova complained during their trip to Italy, and she never got along with either of his siblings. She eventually sparred with Douglas Gerrad, June Mathis, and George Ullman; costing Valentino his friendship with Mathis. The marriage began to be strained as the press scrutinized Rambova and blamed her for Valentino's failures. Actress Myrna Loy
claimed that Rambova was unfairly criticized, that Valentino was like a little boy wanting to please people by saying yes to everything, while Rambova took the blame by going after these people and saying no. After signing with United Artists (which stipulated Rambova could not be present on Valentino's sets or take part in his films), Rambova turned cold and ignored her husband's 30th birthday, mocking him for staying home all day while she went to work (he was waiting for his contract to finalize), sparring with him in public, embarrassing him in front of Hollywood elite on the night of his 'Rudolph Valentino Medal' ceremony, and eventually cheating on him with her cameraman on What Price Beauty? Rambova left four weeks after Valentino began shooting The Eagle and announced the separation soon after, catching Valentino off guard. The pair took to sparring back and forth in the press. When Valentino suddenly took ill, Rambova was in Europe. At Valentino's request, Ullman sent a telegram to Rambova. Rambova believed a reconciliation had taken place and the two sent telegrams right until the final moments of Valentino's life.
. When the Spanish Civil War
erupted, Urzaiz was on the pro-fascists nationalist
side, becoming a naval commander. Rambova fled to Nice
, where she suffered a heart attack at age 40. Soon after, she and Urzaiz divorced.
, and became malnourished and delusional as a result. A cousin brought her to Pasadena, California
where she died of a heart attack on June 5, 1966 at the age of 69. Her collection of Egyptian antiquities were donated to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts
. She willed a huge collection of Nepali and Lamaistic art to the Philadelphia Museum of Art
. Rambova's ashes were scattered in Arizona.
in Melville Shavelson
's television movie The Legend of Valentino (1975), by Michelle Phillips
in Ken Russell
's feature film Valentino (1977), and by Ksenia Jarova in upcoming American silent film Silent Life
(2011).
§ Indicates surviving films
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
costume
Costume Designer
A costume designer or costume mistress/master is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The...
and set designer, artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and occasional actress. Later in life she worked as a mildly successful fashion designer and Egyptologist.
Early years
Rambova was born Winifred Shaughnessy in Salt Lake City. Her father Michael Shaughnessy, was an Irish CatholicIrish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
who fought for the Union during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Her mother Winifred Kimball, was nicknamed "Muzzie" and was a granddaughter of Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
Patriarch Heber C. Kimball
Heber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
. Her father was a businessman who partook in mining interests, but eventually his alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and gambling problems became too much for her mother. Her mother became an interior designer and moved to San Francisco. She was married four times (Michael was her second husband), eventually settling on millionaire perfume mogul Richard Hudnut
Richard hudnut
Richard Hudnut was an American businessman recognized as the first American to achieve international success in cosmetics manufacturing...
. Rambova was adopted by her stepfather, making her legal name Winifred Hudnut. Before her marriage to Hudnut, Rambova's mother married Edgar De Wolfe, brother of Elsie De Wolfe
Elsie de Wolfe
]Elsie de Wolfe was an American actress, interior decorator, nominal author of the influential 1913 book The House in Good Taste, and a prominent figure in New York, Paris, and London society...
, a prominent interior decorator. With this marriage her mother became socially successful and wealthy. Rambova was rebellious, and mocked her stepfather for being passive. She was sent home from a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
for "conduct unbecoming of a lady". She was sent to a strict British boarding school, where she learned ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, and studied mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
.
Ballet career
Rambova was gifted at ballet, and trained with Rosita Mauri at the Paris OpéraPalais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
during the summers. She traveled to London frequently to watch other performers including Pavlova
Anna Pavlova (dancer)
Anna Pavlova was a Russian ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the finest classical ballet dancers in history and was most noted as a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev...
, Nijinsky
Nijinsky
Nijinsky can refer to:*Vaslav Nijinsky , ballet dancer and choreographer*Bronislava Nijinska , dancer, choreographer and teacher*Nijinksy , starring Alan Bates Harry Saltzman as Vaslav Nijinsky*Nijinsky II, race horse...
, and Theodore Kosloff
Theodore Kosloff
Theodore Kosloff was a Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer and film and stage actor. He was occasionally credited as Theodor Kosloff.-Career:...
. Right before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, Rambova returned to San Francisco where she clashed with her mother once again and insisted she would pursue ballet as a career. Her family had trained her in ballet as a social grace and were appalled at the thought of it becoming a career. Aunt Teresa intervened, offering to move with Rambova to New York where she could study under Kosloff. Rambova, now 17, changed her name to Natacha Rambova at this time. At 5'8" she was too tall to be a classical ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
, but Kosloff continually gave her leading parts. She performed with him in his Imperial Russian Ballet Company.
Around this time Rambova fell for the 32 year old Kosloff (who had a wife and an invalid daughter in Europe) and the pair began a tumultuous love affair. Muzzie was outraged when she found out, and brought charges of statutory rape
Statutory rape
The phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
and kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
against Kosloff hoping to have him deported. Rambova fled New York and hid in Canada, and later England, to hide from her mother. While in England she posed as a governess to Kosloff's wife and child. Muzzie, wanting to bring her daughter home, relented by dropping the charges. She allowed Rambova to keep performing with the company and promised to underwrite the costumes.
Design in film
Rambova returned and began touring with the Kosloff company. In addition to dancing she began costume designing as well. After the tour ended Kosloff had been hired by Cecil B. DeMilleCecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
to perform as well as contribute designs. Rambova joined him and was dismayed to find herself as part of Kosloff's "arty harem". Kosloff had taken several lovers amongst the dancers, who would perform with his company, teach at his studio, and assist him uncredited in his film work. Rambova took to researching historical accuracy for her designs, which Kosloff would then use without giving her credit, stealing her sketches and claiming them as his own.
Kosloff met fellow Russian Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
and convinced her to use his services for her an upcoming planned project based on Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
. Kosloff sent Rambova to show sketches to Nazimova, claiming they were his own when they were actually Rambova's. Nazimova was impressed and when she asked for revisions to some costumes, Rambova took out a pencil and began to make the revisions, showing that she had done the work. Nazimova offered Rambova a position on her production staff as an art director and costume designer. The work would pay up to $5,000 a picture.
Rambova's work had been used in four DeMille films, including, Why Change Your Wife?
Why Change Your Wife?
-Plot:Frumpy wife Beth devotes herself to bettering her husband's mind and expanding his appreciation for the finer things in life, such as classical music. When he goes shopping at a lingerie store to buy some sexier clothes for her, he meets Sally, the shop girl. Rejected by his wife for a night...
, which featured Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
and Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading man roles opposite popular actresses of the day including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he commanded $10,000 a week....
, before her signing with Nazimova. Metro
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
feared censors' reactions, and thus the Aphrodite picture was never made. Her first film for Nazimova was Billions in 1920. She met Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
on the set of Uncharted Seas in 1921. They began working together on Camille
Camille (1921 film)
Camille is a 1921 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino and Alla Nazimova. It is one of numerous screen adaptations of La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The original play opened in Paris in 1852. The first Broadway production of the play opened on 9 December 1853...
soon after. Hans Poelzig
Hans Poelzig
Hans Poelzig was a German architect, painter and set designer.-Life:Poelzig was born in Berlin in 1869 to the countess Clara Henrietta Maria Poelzig while she was married to George Acland Ames, an Englishman...
and Emil-Jaques Ruhlmann were her inspiration for various sets on the film. Rambova was determined to bring the art deco look to America, as it was transforming film making in Europe. The film flopped, with many contemporary critics finding it too odd. The failure of "Camille" eventually led Metro to terminate Nazimova's contract.
Rambova took on teaching design and selling some of her jewelry. She wound up earning more than Valentino, who had notoriously bad contract deals. She next designed for a film Nazimova wrote titled, A Doll's House. By 1922 Rambova had left Metro to join Nazimova on her artistic productions. Valentino negotiated a slightly better contract and was now earning more than Rambova. Rambova's designs for Salome
Salomé (1923 film)
Salomé , a silent film directed by Charles Bryant and starring Alla Nazimova, is a film adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play of the same name...
were based on drawings by Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
for Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's version. In addition to costume design, Rambova contributed to the film's scenario under the alias "Peter M. Winters". The film cost $350,000 to make and flopped at the box office. It was one of Nazimova's last releases. It was also the last film Nazimova and Rambova would work on together.
Role in Valentino's career
After they moved in together the pair devised a plan to sell Valentino's autographAutograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
for 25 cents. It kept them afloat between paychecks. Valentino signed with Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
in 1921. Before their marriage a public controversy over pictures Rambova had taken of Valentino, dressed up as a faun
Faun
The faun is a rustic forest god or place-spirit of Roman mythology often associated with Greek satyrs and the Greek god Pan.-Origins:...
or pan
Pan (mythology)
Pan , in Greek religion and mythology, is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, as well as the companion of the nymphs. His name originates within the Greek language, from the word paein , meaning "to pasture." He has the hindquarters, legs,...
-like God. The pictures had been taken by Rambova as part of a series of faun pictures for a magazine called Shadowland, that featured art and dancer photos. The pictures were damaging to Valentino's image, and also were seen as evidence that he was carrying on with Rambova during his divorce from Acker.
As the bigamy scandal raged on, Rambova began work on costumes for Valentino's next picture, The Young Rajah
The Young Rajah
The Young Rajah is a 1922 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino. The film was based on the book Amos Judd by John Ames Mitchell.-Plot:...
. The film contained India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n themes and Rambova's costumes were elaborate representations of such. Valentino complained that his separation from Rambova distracted his acting, causing a sub-par performance. He complained to Rambova that everything from the sets to the cast was cheap. The film flopped and was one of the first major flops of Valentino's leading man career.
Outraged over the bigamy trial and the way his wife was treated, Valentino declared a one man strike against his studio with Rambova's support. Valentino also claimed he wasn't making what he was worth, and that artistic control over his films lay at the heart of the matter. Famous Players sued and won an injunction barring Valentino from seeking any form of employment. This was later reduced to employment in pictures. Rambova stated she was not worried, and could keep them afloat with her designs. She mentioned offers of being an actress herself though she had yet to appear as anything more than an extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
in film.
Eventually Valentino hired a new manager, George Ullman
George Ullman
George Ullman was an American talent agent, talent manager, and business consultant primarily known for his work with silent film star Rudolph Valentino. While working for Valentino, Ullman took on and created many duties that would come to define being a talent manager in later years...
. At first Rambova worked well with him, but the two eventually clashed. Ullman presented the idea of having Valentino promote Mineralava Beauty Products. He then suggested Valentino and Rambova partake in a dance tour to help the promotion and keep Valentino's name in the spotlight. The pair agreed and the tour was a major success. Rambova was credited under her legal name Winifred Hudnut. During a stop in her hometown, Salt Lake City, promotion for the tour tried to play her up as the local girl returning home, "The Little Pigtailed Shaughnessy Girl". Rambova was angry and erupted in tears.
Once the tour wrapped up, Valentino and Rambova legally married and the press praised Rambova for her "business sense". By 1924 Rambova had negotiated a contracted with J.D. Williams for Valentino to sign with Ritz Carlton Pictures. The deal would require two films to fulfill his obligations to Famous Players, and then four films that he and Rambova could make as they pleased at Ritz Carlton. Rambova would be seen as his artistic collaborator for the first time. By this point in Valentino's career the press began to blame Rambova for his missteps, claiming she was controlling and power hungry. She had become her husband's prime business advisor, because she took charge, he trusted her, and he felt with her English she could understand legal terms better than he could.
Valentino's comeback film was Monsieur Beaucaire about a 17th century Duke. Rambova was the costume designer and art director on the film. Famous Players was sure the film would be a hit, being Valentino's first screen appearance in two years. They were given a huge budget, with Rambova spending $215,000 on costumes alone. Rambova also managed to upset a journalist and publicist Harry Reichenbach. When the journalist came to interview Valentino, he was told he could speak with "Mrs. Valentino" instead; furious he left without taking an interview and his article was cancelled. Reichenbach was furious and publicly aired his grievances. Rambova claimed that Famous Players made them choose the film. Actually the Valentinos were offered a choice between Monsieur Beaucaire and a sea adventure. Monsieur Beaucaire flopped, and most of the blame went to Rambova. Jesse Lasky held her personally responsible saying, "...she insisted on Valentino doing perfumed parts like Monsieur Beaucaire in powdered wigs and silk stockings. We had to take him on her terms to have him at all."
The Valentinos began work on their next picture, A Sainted Devil
A Sainted Devil
A Sainted Devil is a 1924 silent drama film starring Rudolph Valentino. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Rudolph Valentino as Don Alonzo Castro* Nita Naldi as Carlotta* Helena D'Algy as Julietta...
, which would follow in Valentino's early Latin lover styled roles. Rambova took control of the production, especially the costumes and the casting. Although Joseph Henabery
Joseph Henabery
Joseph Henabery Omaha, Nebraska, was a US film actor, screenplay writer, and director.-Career:Henabery's acting career began in The Joke on Yellentown . Henabery appeared in the D. W. Griffith silent film Birth of a Nation as Abraham Lincoln...
was the official director, Rambova took over this role unofficially. The costumes were again lavish and Rambova brought on two designers who would go on to successful careers: Norman Norell
Norman Norell
Norman Norell was an American fashion designer, known for his elegant suits and tailored silhouettes....
, and Adrian
Adrian (costume designer)
Adrian Adolph Greenberg , most widely known as Adrian, was an American costume designer whose most famous costumes were for The Wizard of Oz and other Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the 1930s and 1940s. During his career, he designed costumes for over 250 films and his screen credits usually read as...
(who would design for The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
). A Sainted Devil flopped, this time damaging Valentino's career to the point where reviewers dubbed he had lost his great lover title to John Gilbert
John Gilbert (actor)
John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...
. Rambova blamed the story, which she claimed had a war element when they originally agreed to make the picture; but the studio removed it fearing it would offend European audiences. The film is now lost
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
The Valentinos began work on what they now saw as their chance at a real picture, The Hooded Falcon. Rambova wrote the initial scenario and it was again to be her production. Valentino visited June Mathis
June Mathis
June Mathis was an American screenwriter and one of the highest paid Hollywood executives in the 1920s. Mathis was the first female executive for Metro/MGM and at only 35, she was the highest paid executive in Hollywood. In 1926 she was voted the third most influential woman in Hollywood, behind...
and asked her to write the full script, to which she agreed. However the project would be plagued with problems from the beginning. They learned their Ritz Carlton pictures would be distributed via Famous Players-Lasky. Ritz Carlton also did not have much financing, crushing their dreams of filming on location in Spain. To work around this they traveled to first France then Spain in search of costumes and scene ideas. They had a $40,000 budget for costumes and props, yet spent $100,000. The picture had a total budget of $500,000, half of which would be used before the film was finally shelved all together.
During production for The Hooded Falcon, Rambova clashed frequently with Valentino's friends. Rambova and George Ullman were in a battle for control of Valentino's career. Rambova, alongside Valentino and Henabery, decided Mathis' script for The Hooded Falcon would not do and that a script doctor should be used. When Ullman informed Mathis of the decision, Mathis quit speaking to both Rambova and Valentino, ending their long friendship. Valentino and Rambova tried to fight back, by granting interviews claiming that 'Valentino is not a Henpecked Husband'.
With The Hooded Falcon on hold, Williams insisted Valentino began work on Cobra
Cobra (1925 film)
Cobra is a 1925 American silent film starring Rudolph Valentino and Nita Naldi. It is the screen adaptation of the play Cobra written by Martin Brown, which played at the Hudson Theatre on Broadway in 1924. -Synopsis:...
which took place in a modern setting. Most of the crew from The Hooded Falcon worked on Cobra as well. Rambova only took part in two scenes before leaving the film claiming modern stories bored her. In the short time she worked on the film she managed to clash with Mario Carillo and other actors as well. Cobra flopped and Valentino's popularity and career were both in jeopardy. After a final fight between Williams and Valentino over Rambova, Williams announced to the press that The Hooded Falcon would be postponed indefinitely, and Valentino's contract terminated. With the knowledge United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
would likely be signing Valentino, Rambova went to speak with Ullman about the contract terms. Valentino was finally offered a decent contract, but one of the stipulations was that Rambova would not be allowed on set or any part in his films. Knowing he did not have a choice, Valentino took the offer.
Acting career
As a peace offering, Ullman offered Rambova $30,000 to create a film of her own choosing. Rambova began work on What Price Beauty? which she wrote, produced, and appeared in. Nita Naldi starred, and a small part was given to future film star Myrna LoyMyrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
in her first screen appearance. The film ran over budget, costing $100,000 and received limited and delayed release. It is now lost.
After her divorce from Valentino began, Rambova produced and starred in another picture, Do Clothes Make the Woman?. She had brought forty trunks back from Europe for the picture and would act opposite Clive Brook. Eventually it was retitled to When Love Grows Cold much to Rambova's horror. Rambova was reportedly so upset that the distributor promoted the film with her name as "Mrs. Valentino" that she never acted in film again. Most of the film is lost except small fragments from a promotional trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
. After Valentino's death, Rambova appeared on stage via vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. She wrote a unproduced play, All that Glitters, supposedly detailing her life with Valentino, although by the end of the play there is a happy ending and the couple reconcile.
Later career
Rambova opened an elite coutureHaute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
shop on Fifth Avenue in 1927. She urged women to express themselves through fashion. She would later close the shop after meeting her second husband in 1934. With her husband in Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
, Rambova began a business of buying up old villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
s and modernizing them for tourists; a venture she financed with her inheritance from her stepfather who had died in 1928.
After divorcing her second husband, Rambova remained in France, where she remained until the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
invasion, at which point she returned to New York. Rambova's interest in the metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
grew during the 1940s, with her supporting the Bollingen Foundation
Bollingen Foundation
The Bollingen Foundation was an educational foundation set up along the lines of a university press in 1945. It was named for Bollingen Tower, Carl Jung's country home in Bollingen, Switzerland. Funding was provided by Paul Mellon and his wife Mary Conover Mellon...
, which she believed help her see a past life in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. She published various articles on healing and astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
during this time. Eventually she helped decipher ancient scarabs and tomb inscriptions which led her to edit a series of publications titled, "Egyptian Texts and Religious Representations". She also conducted classes in her apartment about myths
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ism, and comparative religion
Comparative religion
Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
.
She never spoke of Valentino publicly, turning away reporters on the 25th anniversary of his death and threatening to sue if an upcoming picture about him had a caricature of her in it.
Influence and style
Rambova's designing career began in 1918 when she toured with Kosloff's company. She favored designers such as Paul Poiret, Leon Bakst, Aubrey Beardsley. She specialized in "exotic" and "foreign" effects in both costume and stage design. For costumes she favored bright colors, baubles, bangles, shimmering draped fabrics, sparkles, and feathers. She also used the effect of sparkle on half nude bodies slathered in paint. When Rambova began work in film costume design she took to researching historical accuracy for her designs.During her marriage to Valentino, Rambova was seen as a fashion icon. During a trip to Paris her shopping trips caused a sensation with the press reporting on her outfits.
Personal life
Rambova loathed the world of high societyUpper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
, and even though her mother had married well she refused to live off her stepfather's money, insisting on making her own living. Valentino was said to be shocked when he first viewed her parents' lavish home, as Rambova had never spoken of their wealth. During Valentino's strike from Famous Players, she still intended to make money herself, and never mentioned her parents as a source of income.
Both Rambova and Valentino were Spiritualists. She had been interested in ancient religions since her teen years. She believed in reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
and psychic powers. Later in life she became an Egyptologist, an author on astrology, and a follower of Madame Blavatsky
Madame Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky , was a theosophist, writer and traveler. Between 1848 and 1875 Blavatsky had gone around the world three times. In 1875, Blavatsky together with Colonel H. S. Olcott established the Theosophical Society...
and George Gurdjieff. During her marriage to Valentino they both visited psychics, partook in séances, and automatic writing
Automatic writing
Automatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...
. Through these practices Valentino was eventually moved to write a book of poetry, Daydreams, with many poems about Rambova. When Valentino died Rambova wrote a book about the time she had spent with him, and also her claims to be in contact with him in the afterlife via psychics.
Relationships and marriages
Rambova's first relationship was with Theodore Kosloff when she was 17 and he 32. Though her mother protested, Rambova was eventually allowed to continue the relationship which became tumultuous. Kosloff had several lovers, and took credit for all their designs and work he would ask them to do, including Rambova. When Rambova was offered a position by Nazimova she was finally able to leave Kosloff. However Kosloff was controlling and abusive, and Rambova had to proceed in secret as Kosloff would do anything to keep her in his 'harem'. While Kosloff was away on a hunting trip, Rambova packed her bags and called a taxi. However Kosloff returned unexpectedly and caught her leaving; angered, he shot her in the leg. Rambova managed to flee to Metro Studios, where terrified, Paul Ivano helped her pick the bits of lead from her leg. Rambova never reported the incident to the police.Rudolph Valentino
Rambova met Valentino on the set of Uncharted Seas in 1921. They began working together on the set of Camille shortly after. The pair did not hit it off instantly, as by Rambova's own account she thought he was dumb as he was constantly goofing off and telling jokes...then forgetting the point to them. However she soon realized he was just lonely and trying to be liked, and she took pity on him. They began to take picnics together and attended a costume ball together. They formed a relationship based on a love of reading, art, antiques, and the finer things in life.The pair moved in together less than a year later but had to separate (or at least pretend to) as the divorce proceedings for Valentino's marriage to Jean Acker began. Once the divorce was final, the pair married on May 13, 1922 in Mexicali, Mexico. However, the law at the time required a year to pass before remarriage and Valentino was jailed as a bigamist. Valentino's studio at the time, Famous Players-Lasky, refused to post bail. June Mathis
June Mathis
June Mathis was an American screenwriter and one of the highest paid Hollywood executives in the 1920s. Mathis was the first female executive for Metro/MGM and at only 35, she was the highest paid executive in Hollywood. In 1926 she was voted the third most influential woman in Hollywood, behind...
, George Melford
George Melford
George H. Melford was an American stage and film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.-Career:...
, and Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading man roles opposite popular actresses of the day including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he commanded $10,000 a week....
eventually were able to raise enough to post bail. Rambova had been sent to New York by the studio before Valentino's jailing, and was informed at a stop in Chicago. Throughout the bigamy scandal she refused to speak to the press. The pair had to wait a year to remarry (less risking Valentino being jailed again), forced to live in separate apartments with roommates. They legally remarried on March 14, 1923.
Though they shared similar passions, Valentino and Rambova held very different views when it came to home and personal life. Valentino cherished old world ideals of a woman being a housewife and mother, while Rambova was a feminist who wanted to continue to work and had no plans of being a housewife. Valentino was known as an excellent cook, while actress Patsy Ruth Miller
Patsy Ruth Miller
Patsy Ruth Miller was an American film actress.After being discovered by the actress Alla Nazimova at a Hollywood party, Patsy Ruth Miller got her first break with a small role in Camille, which starred Rudolph Valentino...
suspected Rambova didn't know "how to make burnt fudge," although the truth was she did occasionally bake and was an excellent seamstress. Valentino deeply wanted children, Rambova did not.
Rambova did not get along with Valentino's friends and family, with the exception of Paul Ivano. Rambova complained during their trip to Italy, and she never got along with either of his siblings. She eventually sparred with Douglas Gerrad, June Mathis, and George Ullman; costing Valentino his friendship with Mathis. The marriage began to be strained as the press scrutinized Rambova and blamed her for Valentino's failures. Actress Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
claimed that Rambova was unfairly criticized, that Valentino was like a little boy wanting to please people by saying yes to everything, while Rambova took the blame by going after these people and saying no. After signing with United Artists (which stipulated Rambova could not be present on Valentino's sets or take part in his films), Rambova turned cold and ignored her husband's 30th birthday, mocking him for staying home all day while she went to work (he was waiting for his contract to finalize), sparring with him in public, embarrassing him in front of Hollywood elite on the night of his 'Rudolph Valentino Medal' ceremony, and eventually cheating on him with her cameraman on What Price Beauty? Rambova left four weeks after Valentino began shooting The Eagle and announced the separation soon after, catching Valentino off guard. The pair took to sparring back and forth in the press. When Valentino suddenly took ill, Rambova was in Europe. At Valentino's request, Ullman sent a telegram to Rambova. Rambova believed a reconciliation had taken place and the two sent telegrams right until the final moments of Valentino's life.
Alvaro de Urzaiz
Rambova met Alvaro de Urzaiz on a trip to Europe in 1934. Urzaiz was a British educated, Spanish aristocrat. After closing her shop, Rambova moved with her husband to the island of MallorcaMallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
. When the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
erupted, Urzaiz was on the pro-fascists nationalist
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
side, becoming a naval commander. Rambova fled to Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, where she suffered a heart attack at age 40. Soon after, she and Urzaiz divorced.
Death
In the mid 1960s she was struck with sclerodermaScleroderma
Systemic sclerosis or systemic scleroderma is a systemic autoimmune disease or systemic connective tissue disease that is a subtype of scleroderma.-Skin symptoms:...
, and became malnourished and delusional as a result. A cousin brought her to Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
where she died of a heart attack on June 5, 1966 at the age of 69. Her collection of Egyptian antiquities were donated to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is Utah's primary resource for culture and visual arts. It is located in Salt Lake City, Utah on the University of Utah campus near Rice–Eccles Stadium. Works of art are displayed on a rotating basis. It is a university and state art museum...
. She willed a huge collection of Nepali and Lamaistic art to the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
. Rambova's ashes were scattered in Arizona.
In popular culture
Rambova was portrayed by Yvette MimieuxYvette Mimieux
Yvette Carmen Mimieux is a retired American movie and television actress.-Early life and career:Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor...
in Melville Shavelson
Melville Shavelson
Melville Shavelson was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. He was President of the Writers Guild of America, West from 1969 to 1971, 1979 to 1981, and 1985 to 1987. He came to Hollywood in 1938 as one of comedian Bob Hope's joke writers, a job he held for the next...
's television movie The Legend of Valentino (1975), by Michelle Phillips
Michelle Phillips
Michelle Phillips is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained fame as a member of the 1960s group The Mamas & the Papas, and is the last surviving original member of the group.-Early life:...
in Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
's feature film Valentino (1977), and by Ksenia Jarova in upcoming American silent film Silent Life
Silent Life
Silent Life is an upcoming American silent drama film written and directed by Vlad Kozlov and starring Isabella Rossellini, Galina Jovovich, Monte Markham and Vlad Kozlov...
(2011).
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | The Woman God Forgot § | Costume designer | |
| 1920 | Why Change Your Wife? Why Change Your Wife? -Plot:Frumpy wife Beth devotes herself to bettering her husband's mind and expanding his appreciation for the finer things in life, such as classical music. When he goes shopping at a lingerie store to buy some sexier clothes for her, he meets Sally, the shop girl. Rejected by his wife for a night... § |
Costume designer | |
| 1920 | Something to Think About § | Art director, costume designer | |
| 1920 | Billions | Art director, costume designer | |
| 1921 | Forbidden Fruit § | Costume designer | |
| 1921 | Camille Camille (1921 film) Camille is a 1921 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino and Alla Nazimova. It is one of numerous screen adaptations of La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The original play opened in Paris in 1852. The first Broadway production of the play opened on 9 December 1853... § |
Art director, costume designer Uncredited |
|
| 1921 | Aphrodite | Art director, costume designer (never made) | |
| 1922 | Beyond the Rocks Beyond the Rocks Beyond the Rocks is a 1906 novel by Elinor Glyn. The novel was later adapted into a 1922 silent film in which Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino starred together for the only time. The film was directed by Sam Wood and distributed by Paramount Pictures.-Plot summary:The book is a melodrama... § |
Valentino's costumes | |
| 1922 | The Young Rajah The Young Rajah The Young Rajah is a 1922 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino. The film was based on the book Amos Judd by John Ames Mitchell.-Plot:... |
Costume designer Uncredited |
|
| 1923 | A Doll's House | Art director, costume designer | |
| 1923 | Salomé Salomé (1923 film) Salomé , a silent film directed by Charles Bryant and starring Alla Nazimova, is a film adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play of the same name... § |
Art director, costume designer, writer Credited as Peter M. Winters |
|
| 1924 | The Hooded Falcon | Costume designer, set decorator, writer (never made) | |
| 1924 | Monsieur Beaucaire § | Costume designer, writer | |
| 1924 | A Sainted Devil A Sainted Devil A Sainted Devil is a 1924 silent drama film starring Rudolph Valentino. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Rudolph Valentino as Don Alonzo Castro* Nita Naldi as Carlotta* Helena D'Algy as Julietta... |
Art director, costume designer, writer | |
| 1925 | What Price Beauty? | Producer, writer | |
| 1925 | When Love Grows Cold | Margaret Benson | Only film as an actress |
§ Indicates surviving films