AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING, BABY

Only the public can make a star. It's the studios who make a system out of it.                  Marilyn Monroe                                        

                                                                                             
Some stars are made by the public and some are the creations of, as Norma Desmond called them, "the masterminds." The Hollywood moguls of old liked to think that they had the power to create a star. Like Professor Henry Higgins, they imagined they could take the most improbable subject and transform him or her into someone the public would embrace.

By George, I really did it!

Once they hit upon a winning formula, their instinct was to mass-produce like a factory. It usually didn't work. Copycat stars rarely step out of the shadows of the originals, but once in a while, one is individual enough to stake a claim of their very own.

Here a just a few of the originals and their imitators:

The Original: Charlie Chaplin

Chaplin's enormous popularity spawned quite a few imitators, including:

The Copies: Billy West

West's greatest fame lied in his uncanny impersonations of Charlie.  Other than that, the rest of his career is merely a footnote.

Harold Lloyd

Yes, even the great Harold Lloyd started out as a copycat as "Lonesome Luke", a clear Chaplin rip-off. This always made Lloyd uncomfortable, and it wasn't until he hit upon his "glasses" character that his own genius was allowed to flourish (thank goodness!).

The Original: Rudolph Valentino

Valentino's popularity spawned a slew of exotic lovers, but none could touch the original.

The Copies: Ricardo Cortez

Ricardo (born Jacob Krantz) was totally manufactured star who managed to survive the Valentino craze and go on to have a respectable career in films before ditching them for a lucrative career on Wall Street.

Antonio Moreno

Best remembered as having "it" alongside Clara Bow, Moreno had a long, if unspectacular career. 

Ramon Novarro

A copy with real staying power and star quality, Novarro inherited the mantel of "Latin Lover" after the death of Valentino. He had a long career and a legion of fans.

The Original: Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford was the most popular woman in the world during the peak of her stardom. While many tried to copy her, no one could come close.

The Copy: Mary Miles Minter

Mary Miles Minter gave Pickford a run for her money for a short while, but a lack of fire, real talent and her role in the William Desmond Taylor murder mystery put an end to her career.

The Original: Pola Negri

Pola was the original foreign exotic.

The Copy: Greta Garbo

Although Garbo was originally placed in Pola-like roles, she proved to be too much of an original. Before long, stars and studios were emulating Garbo, but by then she had established herself as beyond duplication.

The Original: Marlene Dietrich

They should have known better - you don't copy this!

The Copy: Anna Sten

Known as "Goldwyn's Folly," the beautiful Miss Sten was brought by Goldwyn to Hollywood as his studio version of the foreign exotic. Unfortunately for both, Miss Sten did not click with the public.

The Original: Ronald Colman

The perfect, cultured and romantic Englishman. This was such a popular "type" that many were needed to fill the role!

The Copy: Brian Aherne

Brian Aherne was a very respectable "second choice" Colman (he was awarded the starring role in "A Tale of Two Cities," but it was taken away from him when his friend Colman became available). 

The Original: Errol Flynn

Looks alone did not define his appeal. Although others tried, Flynn's looks, talent, charisma and charm were a hard package to duplicate.

The Copy: Patric Knowles

Signed because of his resemblance to Errol, Patric never made it into the leading man category. Really, a passing resemblance, at best.

The Original: Freddie Bartholomew

This precocious little British boy was a huge star for a time.

The Copy: Roddy McDowell

Another case where the copy had more staying power than the original. While Freddie was usually an upper-crust kind of  kid, Roddy was blue collar. And when Freddie grew up and went on to other things, Roddy stayed with us forever.

The Originals: Hope & Crosby

This stellar crooner and comic combination was a hit with the public. 

The Copies: Morgan & Carson

Warner Bothers tried to duplicate the success of the "Road" pictures with the "Two Guys" series featuring crooner Morgan and comic Carson ("Two Guys From Texas," "Two Guys From Milwaukee," - you get the picture), but the chemistry between Bob and Bing could not be manufactured.

The Original: Marilyn Monroe

The one, the only. To this day, she is copied endlessly, but never duplicated.

The Copies: Jayne Mansfield

Mamie Van Doren

Sheree North

All three ladies were blonde, beautiful and talented. Some were more successful than others, but none came close to MM.

The Original: Grace Kelly

Cool, blonde, beautiful, talented, but with a warmth that set her apart.

The Copies: Dina Merrill

Talented and beautiful, for sure, but so cool she was chilly.

Tippi Hedren

Cool and lovely, but no Grace (sorry, Hitch).

The Original: Sophia Loren

This Italian sex-goddess inspired many copies, but Sophia had more than sexy going for her.

The Copy: Gina Lollobrigida

Turns out, Gina had more to offer than the Italian sex-bomb roles she was offered and turned to photojournalism for a second and rewarding career.

The Original: Robert Redford

This male blonde beauty look was all the rage in the '60s, but try as they might, Redford had that certain something that could not be duplicated.

The Copy: Nick Nolte

Hard to believe now, isn't it?

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then these originals should be blushing! As for those "masterminds" who think you can mass-produce a star - back to the drawing board. 






For more fun movie facts and fantasy, check out "Flesh and Fantasy" by Penny Stallings and Howard Mandelbaum (I confess to being a bit of a copycat myself!). It's a very fun book!

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Pola Negri and Rudolph Valentino: Birds of Paradise in Love

Pola Negri & Rudolph Valentino by Federico Beltrán Masses

Should two of the silent era's most glamorous, exotic stars have had a dignified, low-profile romance? Back in the day, running almost parallel with Garbo and Gilbert (called Gilbo or Garbert by the press -and we thought we were so witty with Brangelina and Bennifer) the hot, hot, hot Hollywood romance was Pola Negri and Rudolph Valentino (Polantino?)

Silent film stars were never portrayed as real people and were not expected to behave that way. They were the closest we ever came to the mythical gods and goddesses. Surely Hollywood of the 1920s was Mount Olympus. The movie star-gods were always magical, passionate and seemingly touched with real stardust. The studios worked overtime to promote these images and the fan magazines were filled with stories of  beautiful, emotional, larger-than-life personalities. How much fun it must have been for fans to play along with this fantasy!

It is only right that these two hot house flowers of passion and romance should find one another and fall in love.

Pola Negri

Pola Negri (born Barbara Apolonia Chalupiec) was a Polish diva who, after achieving great success in Europe, was brought to Hollywood. It was Pola who showed the American gals how a sophisticated, continental femme fatale should behave, dress, and love. Pola was a fine actress and gave many wonderful performances, but her off-screen image was as interesting as her on-screen work. After arriving in America, she began a succession of affairs. One of the most famous was her brief romance with Charlie Chaplin. After the initial heat wore off, both realized they were ill-suited to one another, Pola being much to strong-willed for Charlie (who liked his women pliable). Pola took her position as a woman of glamor and passion very seriously (just as Mary Pickford protected her more virginal image with the public). She approached life, as well as art, with passionate intensity. Pola was a shameless publicity hound and a very public love affair with a willing partner was the perfect setting to display her colorful and fiery passions.

Rudolph Valentino

The greatest silent film lover, bar none, Valentino smoldered and set the hearts of American women fluttering (and the teeth of American men gnashing). Rudy, the Italian immigrant who initially spoke no English, worked at menial jobs (including dishwasher and paid escort) and found fame when he tango-ed across the screen in "The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse," was well known to have been rather unlucky in love. After his death, questions about his sexual preferences surfaced, but by all reliable accounts, the great Latin Lover loved women.  His first wife, Jean Acker, who he married impulsively, was a known lesbian and their marriage never made it past the wedding night. It appears that he was passionately in love with his second wife, Natacha Rambova, an artistic set and costume designer and dancer. The beautiful Rambova's controlling nature and demands that pertained to Valentino's film career eventually lead to their split. Valentino, the great lover, was heart broken and ready for a new romance.

Rudy and Pola: The Romance


Act One: They Meet and Fall in Love

Lovers meet

Rudy and Pola allegedly first met in 1926 at a costume party thrown by Marion Davies. Rudy was dressed as the "Blood and Sand" matador and Pola came dressed as an officer-of-the-guard for Catherine the Great. Pola supposedly asked Nazimova for an introduction to Rudy. Sparks flew, an evening redezvous was made, and love was born.

Act Two: Happiness

Was it all for publicity? Perhaps a bit. Pola was more than willing to make love for the papers, but Rudy seemed a bit more reticent, although he sure did let his lady-loves lead him around by the nose (ah, a man in love!). Pola and Rudy were seen everywhere doing everything and seemed so happy. Both Pola and Rudy sport grins that are rarely seen in other candid shots. Maybe they were just so in love they wanted to share their happiness with their fans (as do all young lovers).  Just take a look:

Valentino's Arabian steeds

Attending the marriage of Mae Murray and David Mdivani

Happily frolicking in Pola's pool and ready for an important event!

They sure seemed to make each other happy.

Act Three: Tragedy Strikes
Valentino's Death

Valentino died suddenly in 1926 while in New York. Pola, who was in Hollywood, collapsed, revived and then sped across the country to attend the New York funeral. Her grief-stricken performance at the funeral was over-the-top, even for a diva like Pola. Draped in flowing black veils (and accompanied by a secretary and press agent), Pola declared to reporters that she and Valentino were secretly engaged to be married. She posed in dramatic fashion for the reporters and then threw herself, weeping and fainting, on Valentino's open casket. Her performance caused a riot.

An estimated 100,000 mourners descend upon
Frank E. Campbell's  Funeral Chapel

Grieving Pola propped up by a secretary and a publicity man

Pola accompanied Rudy's body back to Hollywood for another funeral via train. Stopping in all major cities from New York to Hollywood, Pola willingly obliged reporters and repeated her fainting and grief routine on demand. At Valentino's Hollywood funeral, Pola ordered a $2,000 bed of red roses with the name "POLA" prominently displayed in white roses at the center of the arrangement. Her grief was on display again at the Hollywood funeral and was repeated yet again for Photoplay Magazine (who announced Pola's intention of erecting an enormous marble wedding cake to sit atop Valentino's tomb. Thankfully, this didn't happen). Oh, that Pola. She was indeed a drama queen.

Backlash and Aftermath

Pola's funeral antics, no matter how heartfelt, did not win her any fans. Her behavior was much criticized, as was her 1927 rebound marriage to Prince Serge Mdivani (so much for grief). Due, in part, to the negative press she received, her films began to fare poorly at the box office. The advent of talking pictures placed the final nail in Pola's Hollywood career. She did, however, continue to work in Europe and live a very colorful life (she was married two times, once to a count and once to a prince), finally returning to the USA in the early 1940s and remaining here until her death in 1987. She had a lot of hard luck along the way, but always behaved like the star she was. She was a fascinating woman.

In her autobiography "Memoirs of a Star" (published in 1970), Pola maintained that, despite the many men she knew and loved, Valentino was the love of her life:

 My love for Valentino was the greatest love of my life. I loved him, not as one artist loves another, but as a woman loves a man.

Who knows if it would have lasted? Did they really love one another? Were they really engaged to be married? Was Valentino still in love with Natacha Rambova? Who knows if Valentino would have survived talking pictures? These unanswered questions make their romance, for me, the ultimate 1920s Hollywood Romance. Garbo seemed a bit unwilling and Gilbert seemed a bit too eager, but Polantino seemed to hugely enjoy their celebrity romance. I'm sure that tiny stars glittered about them in their happiest hours, both before the press and behind closed doors. The first flush of romance never died for them and I, for one, buy the whole story lock, stock and barrel. So joyous, so brief, so tragic, it is the stuff dreams are made of.

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