Talk: Rudy Vallee

Rudy Vallee or Rudy Vallée

Anyone know for sure which would be correct? --- Nate (talk) 22:03, October 31, 2009 (UTC)

Vallee. That's another Wikipedia quirk for sticking accents everywhere. Wikipedia and IMDb list his birth name as Hubert Prior Vallée but I can't find a print source for the accent mark even there, in any of the assorted books on vintage radio, singers, biographies of 30s performers, and so on (Vallee was born in Vermont to a "druggist of French descent" and an English-Irish mother, but by 1901, without checking the birth certificates, it seems quite likely the family would have dropped any accent mark assuming there had been one). His professional name was always Rudy Vallee, and his widow Eleanor Vallee's name is sans accent, and so on. So it's just another case of Wikipedia thinking there *should* be an accent mark on someone's name and sticking it there. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 22:18, October 31, 2009 (UTC)

The Muppets Go Hollywood

IMDb claims that he appeared as one of the celebrities in this special. The only copy I've seen is on youtube, and it is less then clear to make out people. Anyone know for sure if this claim is accurate? -- Nate (talk) 21:58, October 31, 2009 (UTC)

I haven't spotted it and I'm inclined to doubt it myself (working from a blurry copy of a VHS is a hindrance but I think he'd have stood out unless he's absolutely buried as a speck in which case it would be hard to know anyway). Some folks are hard to make out but Vallee is pretty easy to distinguish. Vallee *is* mentioned, in the scene where Dick Van Dyke discovers Sam's autograph book, along with Gary Owens (who was in the special) and Walter Pidgeon (who wasn't). So it could be Vallee's buried there but it also seems likely it was meant as a comment on the kind of celebrity who Sam would seek out. So I'd say just list him as a celebrity reference unless we can confirm he was actually there. We're still missing some folks, and as noted here there was a publicity photo of Tim Matheson at the event but I couldn't find him in the special, so it's not impossible but it seems likely to me the IMDb user tossed him in just because Sam mentioned the name. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 22:10, October 31, 2009 (UTC)