At the end of August 1925, when Natacha left him, Valentino appeared to be in perfect health he rode in the early morning, putting his horses through all manner of stunts under the tuition of his friend Mario Carillo. He boxed, fenced and believed in the fitness of the body in relation to the mind. He bought a small yacht and spent weekends off Catalina Island, cooking Italian dishes, and helping with the cleaning.

It was at this time that he met Pola Negri at a costume ball given Marion Davis. The Polish actress was a complete contrast to the cold haunting beauty of Natacha. She was passionate tempestuous and her friendship certainly helped to fill the void left by Natacha. Pola married Prince Serge Mdivani in May 1927 and afterwards wrote articles in the English press many headings included: ‘Men I have loved and lost.’ Then when Valentino was questioned regarding his relationship with Pola Negri he mearly smiled and quietly replied ‘Ask the lady, I will say no more.’

Nov 1925 Valentino attended the premiere of ‘The Eagle’ at the Mark Street Theatre in New York. On behalf of United Artists Beulah Livingstone. Was acting as publicity agent for ‘The Eagle’ in this capacity she accompanied Valentino to most of the official and social functions that he attended whilst in New York. The arrangement had been suggested by Mr Shenck of United Artists as a protection for Valentino when divorce proceedings were imminent.

Everywhere Valentino went he was mobbed by crowds of both sexes. Beulah Livingstone had an alarming experience she had been invited by Valentino to the first night of a Broadway show. Within ten minutes word had gone round that Valentino was in the house and he became the focus of attention for the remainder of the performance. A solid wall of people confronted him when he tried to leave the theatre. With the help of two policemen he tried to make his way to the car outside, clutching hands ripped the buttons off his coat and tore his sleeve. The management of the theatre had meanwhile sent for police reinforcements, when they arrived they literally lifted Valentino and Beulah Livingstone above their heads and carried them to the waiting car. Women clinging to the Car were dragged off by the escort and slowly the car moved forward and managed to get clear of the mob. Beulah Livingstone was disgusted at the man handling but Valentino merely told her:

‘In the beginning all the fuss and feuore, especially the morning saddened me, but later I realised they were snatching not at me but at their dreams’.

Valentino left New York for London where he attended the premiere of ‘The Eagle’ at the Marble Arch Pavillion on November the 23rd  similar scenes were enacted in Oxford Street where the milling surging crowds stopped the traffic and Valentino again had difficulty escaping. No doubt it was an exciting experience for Alberto who had come to London to meet his brother.

The occasion should have been a Royal one but owing to the death of Queen Alexander the entire court had gone into mourning, and the Royal engagement had to be cancelled. ‘The Eagle’ was a tremendous success for all concerned. Mob hysteria did not emerge with the Beatles it was very active in Valentino’s time.

Valentino went to Paris to comply with the requirements of the law whereby Natacha could obtain a divorce. Right upto the last moment, Valentino had hoped that the differences between Natacha and himself would be smoothed out.

While in Paris Valentino gave and attended many parties he was frequently to be seen in the company of the Dolly Sisters, and other bright stars of the Paris nightlife. He had begun to live the life expected of him the gallant lover of the screen was living upto expectations night after night he went to the night spots surrounded by the glamorous beauties of France. But it was all a glorious sham, a façade, behind which lay a broken heart.

Accompanied by his sister Maria, brother Alberto, his wife, and their son Gean, Valentino returned to London to stay at The Hyde Park Hotel. This was the first Christmas that the Guglielmi family had spent together. During the family gathering the opportunity was taken to discuss the future of Maria, and Alberto, as Valentino wanted to pay the expense of any undertaking they might choose.

Before returning to America Valentino went to the Chateau in France to say goodbye to Mr and Mrs Hudnut, He wandered from room to room finding past memories too much and left after a few days.

The divorce of Rudolph Valentino, and Natacha Rambova became absolute on January 18th 1926. It ended what Valentino’s closest friends called:

“The only true romance in the turbulent life of Rudy”.

The following analysis by George Ullman of the character of Valentinos very interesting:

“Inherently Rudy possessed a fineness and gentleness and chivalry. An example was his regret when the divorce occurred. I remember that he said to me:

‘You know I bare Natacha no grudge, and I wish her all the success in the world. She will get it too, for she is still young and has her life before her. I am so glad that I did not rob her of her best years of her life. If the separation had to come, I am glad that it came so quickly.’

‘I consider this a rather fine thing for him to say especially as I realised that he meant it, and was not saying it for effect. In fact, I have no recollection of ever having seen Valentino doing anything for effect. All his friends will tell you that he was ever supremely natural. He never posed, nor struck an attitude nor made an attempt to appear what he was not. Conceit and egotism, as we know it in other men and women was surprisingly lacking in Rudy. To be colloquial, I never in my life saw Rudolph Valentino ‘Strut his stuff’.

Alberto and his family travelled to New York with Valentino. After a short sightseeing tour they all left by train for California.

Falcon Lair, commanded a marvellous view of the surrounding countryside. The house also stood in extensive grounds, and was a perfect setting for the man whose taste was that of a connoisseur. Rare objects d’art and beautiful furniture had been collected from Europe each piece was tastefully displayed to advantage its own particular style. Neutral tone velvet carpets covered the floors. The furnishings were rich and formed a background for Jade and Ivory carvings. Armour and Moorish screens Valentino was proud of his beautiful home in Beverly Hills yet, with no one to share his joy and with loneliness in his heart, the very beauty of it all mocked him.

Falcon Lair

The things nearest to his heart were his horses and the dogs which followed him everywhere. Valentino found great happiness in the company of animals. Throughout his life he seemed to respond to an unseen bond that existed between them. In his early days when he was a penniless youth he had tramped the streets in search of work, he was to be seen more often than not in the company of some poor miserable stray that was in the same plight as himself.

At Falcon Lair he devoted special attention to the wellbeing and housing of his magnificent horses and dogs. His interest in horses led him to write an article entitled ‘The Vanishing Heard’ in which he pleaded for sympathetic understanding and the preservation of the herds of horses which could disappear in a fast moving mechanical world. His own stable held many horses including four arabs to black and two grays. Also Firefly the horse he rode in his last picture ‘The Son of the Sheik’ The dogs included Italian Mastiffs a Great Dane, a Greyhound, and an Irish Setter.

After the death of Valentino the house was unoccupied for a considerable time and became the object of great curiosity primarily because people were considering the rumour that it was haunted by the spirit of Valentino. Friends and servents were reporting the strange behaviours of the dogs, some of which had not been sold and were still at Falcon Lair.

The simple explanation was that when one accepts the survival after the death of the body there is no mystery to explain every house is haunted if one much use the term. Parents, and loved ones who have passed into the world of spirit naturally return from time to time some motivated by love others by curiosity to see how those left behind are getting along without them. One does not suddenly and automatically lose all interest  in a past life that has meant so much for so long. The tragedy lays in the fact that people have never tried or wanted to develop their own psychic powers sufficiently to be aware of such visits. Animals have a more highly developed awareness than man.

When people saw Valentino’s dogs bounding joyously and playing as if with an unseen master, instead of them becoming terrified they had shown interest and relaxed, perhaps, then their own psychic abilities would have permitted them to sense the presence of Valentino. A relaxed atmosphere is essential. Determined expectation erects a barrier, that is why so many people who deliberately sit up to wait for a ghost are disappointed.

Valentino was not the man to lose touch with the animals that meant so much to him, and would, for sure eventually rejoin him after there own passing. Valentino was a powerful personality he had also developed his own psychic gifts while still on earth, so it would not be too difficult for him to make his presence felt in an atmosphere of quiet isolation such as existed in the empty house and ground.

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