DEATH OF VALENTINO.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5018, 25 August 1926, Page 2

DEATH OF VALENTINO.

AMERICANS GRIEF-STRICKEN.

PUBLIC MANIFESTATIONS.

NEW YORK, August 23. Rudolph Valentino, the well-known film actor, died to-day, aged 31. Not since the death of three Presidents of America—Roosevelt, Wilson, and Harding—have there been in the present generation such public manifestations of grief throughout the country in connection with the demise of any person as there have been owing to that of Valentino. Throughout the nation the newspapers, under headlines which in many cas.es are six inches high, state that the people of the United States •mourn Valentino. Many journals devote half their contents to pictures of the film star, from his, babyhood to his manhood, and to long accounts of his life and career. The. papers even lay stress on the fact that he was. not ah American, and that his residence in this country was brief.

It is recalled that Valentino arrived in America penniless, and that for many years he made a living by performing the most msnial tasks. He was unquestionably the most popular stage figure in America. •One writer says he was- more popular the world over than any king who ever lived.

Hundreds of thousands of people literally blocked the streets around the hospital where Valentino lay for 24 hours before his. death. An appeal was broadcasted by wireless for “helpful thought.” When the condition of the patient became serious 1009 messages a. day poured in from his admirfers. The floral contributions s,ent in filled the corridors of the hospital. The death of the popular idol has cast a gloom to-night on the white lights Of Broadway, the famous NewYork theatrical district.

The late Mr Rudolph Valentino was anjtalian. At the outset of his career’ he was a dancer. In the motion-pic-ture world he became famous in the role of hero. His most noted successes were in “The Sheik’’ and “The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.”