[78-L] What happened to Rufy Vallee...

Sun May 31 17:37:34 PDT 2009

My mom told me many years ago, she'd heard he was such a tightwad, he
insisted on carrying his own baggage rather than having to tip a
bellboy for doing it for him!

Am I hallucinating, or is there a story about one time, at some dance
he was playing with his orchestra, that he thought someone in the
audience was mocking him, and he jumped off the bandstand in a fit of
rage and attacked the person he thought was doing so?  (If that wasn't
him, who was it?)

On 6/1/09, Taylor Bowie <bowiebks at isomedia.com> wrote:
> There were other and equally horrible letters to nice people like Dorothy
> Lamour,  along with the baffled and hurt replies from the targeted
> recipients.
>
> About ten months before Vallee died,  the director of the Thousand Oaks
> Library and the members of the Library Foundation went with me to the Vallee
> home,  where we were "entertained" by Vallee with a non-stop monologue about
> his career,  his sex life,  and his all-around astounding greatness.  I did
> manage to ask one question about his music,  which was if he had played sax
> on any of the Victors or just done the vocals...it was the latter,
> according to Vallee.
>
> I recall being served bad California Champagne,  warm out of the bottle,
> but thoughtfully poured over ice cubes,  along with some nibbles which were
> so hideous looking that I wouldn't try them (Is that a plate of nachos,
> or....?).
>
> Bud mentioned meeting a singer who had worked with Vallee in the old days,
> and who had fond memories of him.  It's most likely a good thing that she
> didn't encounter him in his later years,  after he had become bitter and
> morbidly self-absorbed.  I don't think any other major figure in American
> show business had as many "second acts" as did Rudy Vallee,  which in itself
> is a testimonial to his talent and determination:  pioneer radio crooner in
> the late 20s,  popular singer/bandleader/impresario in the 30s,  terrific
> comic film actor in the 40s,  major night club star in the 50s...and then,
> once again,  hitting the top in another field...on Broadway in How To
> Succeed in Business in 1961.
>
> Taylor
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <soundthink at aol.com>
> To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 12:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [78-L] What happened to Rufy Vallee...
>
>
>> Having worked in the archive myself (I once spent a summer dubbing his
>> sorry, sad, one-man shows for Sun City dowagers from reel-to-reel to
>> cassette), I can vouch for the often repulsive attitudes Vallee had for
>> his fellow man. Among things preserved in the collection are a series of
>> angry, vindictive letters sent to Ozzie Nelson, whose success on
>> television he envied. In his one-man shows,?he sang his songs and told
>> old, wheezy jokes, accompanied only by a pre-taped piano. One mortifying
>> collection was his jokes, stories, and one-liners, neatly categorized by
>> race and religious persuasion. His ego was such that it is likely he had
>> collected every single item ever printed about him - reviews, radio
>> listings, personal appearances - it's all there. The only person who I
>> think may rival him in self-documentation is Jerry Lewis. It's an
>> astounding collection, assembled by a man who was obsessed with himself.
>>
>> Cary Ginell
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Taylor Bowie <bowiebks at isomedia.com>
>> To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>> Sent: Sun, 31 May 2009 1:29 pm
>> Subject: [78-L] What happened to Rufy Vallee...
>>
>>
>>
>> In the late 1980s I was agent for the Thousand Oaks Public Library as they
>> built their wonderful collection of radio and television historic
>> materials.
>> The most difficult time I had was in our original dealings with Vallee.
>> Over the years he had become ever more self-absorbed and angry,  imagining
>> that many people had betrayed him and that he was not getting his just
>> dues
>> as a key figure in show business.
>>
>> Although Vallee's sales agent assured us that he and his wife wanted to
>> sell
>> the material (an amazing archive of scripts,  letters,  posters,  records,
>> documents, etc. etc.) it was impossible to even discuss it with the
>> man...he
>> had visions of someone buying his big house (in the Hollywood Hills) and
>> turning it into a museum to the Greater Glory of Vallee.
>>
>> Within weeks of Vallee's death in 1985,  his widow was again in contact
>> with
>> us and,  after even more unpleasant machinations,  the Vallee archive (not
>> including a few  parts which  "mysteriously vanished") did go to the
>> Thousand Oaks Library.
>>
>> As I made my original examination of the material,  I was able to see
>> Vallee's decline into a bizarre eccentricity in his older age...he would
>> make dozens of copies of  nasty letters which he sent to the media,  old
>> friends,  etc.  often full of profanity,  which were mostly complaints
>> that
>> people didn't understand how important he was.  Very sad...esp. in light
>> of
>> the many,  many fine things he did for people in the 30s and 40s,  few of
>> which were made public.  He helped support and encourage many show biz
>> old-timers when they fell on hard timers,  including Al Bernard and many
>> others.  I know,  because I read their letters to Vallee.  My point here
>> is
>> that he was not only a show biz giant but,  at one time in his life,  a
>> decent fellow.
>>
>> But somewhere along the line his very strong ego morphed into something
>> self-destructive,  and by the end of his life,  he was a semi-addled
>> parody
>> of his former glamorous self.  I imagine the "crazy" Vallee of later years
>> has ruined the stamp chances of th
>> e pioneer and trend-setting "real" Rudy
>> Vallee,  at least for the time being.
>>
>> Taylor B
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <soundthink at aol.com>
>> To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 11:07 AM
>> Subject: Re: [78-L] Rudy Vallee rejected for postage stamp
>>
>>
>>> The article states that a person's stature has a lot to do with whether
>>> or
>>> not they are accepted; thus, only major figures such as Elvis, Bob Hope,
>>> and Frank Sinatra make the cut. The only way minor figures are included
>>> is
>>> if they are parts of a series; which explains how lesser known personages
>>> as Theda Bara, Josh White, and the Carter Family have made it.
>>>
>>> Cary Ginell
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Dnjchi at aol.com
>>> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
>>> Sent: Sun, 31 May 2009 12:43 pm
>>> Subject: Re: [78-L] Rudy Vallee rejected for postage stamp
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In a message dated 5/31/2009 1:41:39 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
>>> sternth at attglobal.net writes:
>>>
>>> Does  anyone know of any reason he might have been rejected? (political
>>> activity,  social/ethnic/racial attitudes)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> One wonders why Kate Smith was skipped over, considering the work she did
>>> for the War effort.
>>> Don Chichester
>>> **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy
>>> Steps!
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>>> ExcfooterNO62)
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>>
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