Rudolph Valentino's will gave his ex-wife $1, and his body went into a borrowed crypt

Rudolph Valentino, born Rodolpho Guglielmi, died on August 23, 1926. His will gave his ex-wife, Natacha Rambova, "One Dollar ($1.00), it being my intention, desire and will that she receive this sum and no more." The rest went in trust for his brother Alberto, his sister Maria and Teresa Werner, Rambova's aunt. A signed letter of instructions told executor S. George Ullman to keep Rudolph Valentino Productions running and to give the residue to his nephew Jean at age 25. The estate was appraised at about $244,000, then at over $488,000. Ullman said it was practically bankrupt when he took over. He paid the debts, staged two funerals for publicity and made loans from film profits. He reported that the estate grew to $890,000. Alberto and Maria objected to his accounts. Ullman resigned in 1930 and Bank of America took over. The probate court charged him with losses on two loans. On April 17, 1934, the Court of Appeal reversed, ruling that the will authorized him to run the business. Valentino had no grave. June Mathis, the writer who launched him, gave him one of two crypts she and her husband had bought at Hollywood Memorial Park. She died on July 26, 1927, and was placed in the crypt beside him. Both remain there at what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In 1979 nephew Jean lost a suit over a 1975 TV film when the California Supreme Court held that Valentino's publicity rights ended at his death.