The Washington herald., 1922-11-19


When ]. went into the Russian
Ballet. though. I had to have a
Russian name. That way just after
my course at art school in Paris,
and I was seventeen, and have
been using that name ever since. I
speak Russian and all that Is Rus
sian appeals to me. and. moreover,
that is what Rudy calls me-"
Her eyes soften when she speaks
Of him. and yet she refuses to be
romantic about it.
1T wasn't love at first sight"
she says. ct think it was good
comradeship more than anything
else. We were both very lonely,
but we had known each other more
1T all interested in each other. I
was working for Nazimova and
Rudy was working on The Four
Horsemen.' 1 saw him occasion
ally and felt a bit sorry for him.
because he seemed always to be
apart by himself
You don't know Rudy when he
works. He sees nothing and thinks
nothing and does nothing but live
the character he is portraying. As
the first of his work in the -Four
Horsemen' was finished and the
officials saw 1t, his name began
to mean something. They began
to talk about him and tell weird
stories about his fascination for
women and perhaps that was what
piqued my interest. What i
couldn't figure out was. how any
one could be the villainous person
he was reputed to be and yet be
home in a tiny room every night
by about o'clock and on the lot
each morning all ready for work
before anyone else had even ar
rived Still. l never really talked
to him until we began to work on
Camille Then his work began
to interest me. There is really
nothing sophisticated or seductive
about Rudy. whatsoever. It's like
my drawings. / am perfectly
willing to admit that they are
morbid. yet / am the most prosaic
of human beings.
Now Rudy has a personality
that comes out on the screen
which Is entirely different from
the Rudy i know. Yet / believe
1t is part of him as the exotic
quality in my sketches is part of
me- But basically he is just lit
tie boy. Things hurt him as they
would hurt child and he is quite
as emotional. Also he is just as
spontaneous and trustful. Yet with
oil that there is a remarkable
matter-of-factness about him and
sincerity. He is the most sincere
person / have ever known"
Natacha was trying very hard
TO be coldly analytical about this
young lover Of hers, but she
wasn't succeeding very we'll. Every
time she spoke of him the color
rose in her white cheeks delight
fully.
When We did discover We were
In love-" she confessed, I'VE had
1t all planned that we would wait
q year until Rudy's divorce was
final But / knew nothing about
divorces and neither did he. They
are SO different everywhere and
We really thought he was divorced
and that he had received his decree
or whatever IL was, and thought II
was only some State law that kept
Us from marrying. So on May IA,
1922, we went down to Palm
Springs on a party. 1t was fear
fully respectable. Everyone we
knew was there and We had no
thought Of being married at that
time.
But someone. 1 DON'T remeni-
Der VINO, suggested that we go
over to Mexico and be married.
Several couples We knew had
done the same thing before un-
der similar circumstances but we
had to be the ones who did 1t
once too often. II Rudy hadn't
been Rudy they wouldn't have
Jumped on US. Fame Is like a
giant Fray. Once you are ex-
posed beneath 1t the very beat
ings Of your heart are shown to
a gaping world.
I'll confess 1t is rather fun
being courted by your own hus-
band. We go out for dinner and
the theater together nearly every
evening and then he btings me
back to my hotel and down in
the lobby he bows formally over
my hand and I. equally proper,
bid him goodnight and stand
to watch him until he disappears
out Of sight on his way back to
his hotel"