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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then and Now: Valentino in Spokane

Present day: The narrow building that once housed the Liberty Theater on the 700 block of West Riverside Avenue is now the Ridler Piano Bar and other businesses. The Liberty was one of Spokane
Present day: The narrow building that once housed the Liberty Theater on the 700 block of West Riverside Avenue is now the Ridler Piano Bar and other businesses. The Liberty was one of Spokane's nicer movie houses after it was built in 1914. The theater passed through several owners and showed its last movie in 1954. It became a Lerner clothing store, which lasted until the 1990s. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

A crowd gathers on the sidewalk outside the Liberty Theater, 718 W. Riverside Ave., to see “The Sheik,” starring Rudolph Valentino.

The 1921 film, which reached Spokane in November of that year, built Valentino a legion of fans, mostly female, around the world. Before that, he had played a secondary role in “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” earning him the nickname “Latin Lover” and ignited the craze of tango dancing.

Born in 1895 in Italy, young Rodolfo Guglielmi di Valentina emigrated to the United States, passing through Ellis Island in 1913. He worked odd jobs in New York City, as a dance teacher and in theater, often cast as a villain because of his swarthy good looks. His personal life filled gossip columns in magazines and newspapers, including those in Spokane, with stories of his multiple wives, extravagant lifestyle, indebtedness and conflicts with co-stars and moviemakers. Conflicts with studios put his career on hold in 1922, so his manager launched a national tour for the actor and a tango orchestra. The actor’s private rail car, traveling orchestra and assorted staff reportedly cost $15,000 a week on the road.

Valentino was scheduled for an appearance May 29, 1923, at Whitehead’s Dance Palace, 333 W. Sprague Ave., the city’s premier dance spot since it opened in 1918. Though his private rail car was spotted at the Northern Pacific depot, he and his wife stayed out of sight, even as people crowded the platform hoping for a peek.

The Whitehead doors opened at 8 p.m. to admit 3,000 excited fans. Six local girls then competed in a beauty contest, sponsored by the cosmetics company Mineralava, followed by a dancing contest. Fans watched the contest but nervously kept an eye on the stage door.

The reclusive actor’s frankness surprised The Spokesman-Review reporter who had a brief interview in Valentino’s dressing room while fans waited on the dance floor.

“They spent thousands in publicity making me out to be a ‘great love,’ ‘he-vamp,’ ‘lounge lizard,’ ‘sheik.’ My God, can any man stand such imbecility?” he ranted.

Around 10 p.m., the actor and his wife came out and danced some tango numbers.

“He came. He danced. He conquered,” wrote The Spokesman-Review reporter.

Valentino died in August 1926 at the age of 31 from sepsis of the abdomen.