Let’s step back and get some
background before we jump into it. Here is the boring stuff:
Rudy Valentine is an alternate persona of Leoncio Sanchez born in Spanish Harlem NY in the spring of 1947. From the time that he could speak and interact with others, he would tell everyone his name was Leon because he had no patience for people mispronouncing or misspelling his name. His Latino relatives thought that was so cute since Leon is Spanish for lion.
Hush, my darling, don’t fear, my darling, the lion sleeps tonight[i]
They laughed and insisted on addressing him as Junior This went on thru his formative school years (told ya, boring stuff). Leon was far too timid in school to approach girls as he was always sure he would be rejected. As a form of compensation, he became the stand out clown of any group he interacted with.
🎵 Guess I’ll be the guy who plays the part
Of a clown with a broken heart
Dreaming of your love, and not knowing where to start[ii]🎵
the summer of 1962 which Leon spent with his cousins in Lansing Michigan
🎵 Well shut them books and throw ’em away
And say goodbye to dull school days
Look alive and change your ways
It’s summertime..🎵.[iii]
spent the summer going to the drive-in,
🎵 The drive in movie where we’d goAnd somehow never watched the show🎵[iv]
local dances
🎵 Well, you can swing it you can groove it
You can really start to move it at the hop
Where the jockey is the smoothest
And the music is the coolest at the hop
All the cats and the chicks can get their kicks at the hop
Let’s go!
Let’s go to the hop 🎵[v]
and cruising the streets of Lansing (a 60’s phenomenon which would be prohibitive at today’s gas prices), oddly enough, cruising was a way to meet members of the opposite sex. (Peter, Paul & Mary did a great skit on this ritual in their Live album track for “Paul Talk”). But I Digress! The guys introduced Rudy to a girl named June with whom they often chatted on the phone. She had a sultry sexy voice and was fun to talk to. The personality on the phone was quite different in person. Well to make a long story short, June suggested we come over to her place to help entertain her cousin. So, the guys thought it would be great fun to set me up with the cousin who sounded just like June on the phone. Well, they arrived at her house and much to their surprise, the cousin looked just as great as she sounded.
So moving right along, one day they went out to help a friend of theirs, named Mr. Watson
. While there, Leon was introduced to his daughter, Mary Alice. From the time their eyes met, a simpering puppy love was born.
🎵 Someone help me, help me
Help me, please
Is the answer up above?
How can I
Oh, how can I ever tell them?
This is not a puppy love. 🎵[vi]
They spent as much time together as they could. All too soon it was time for Leon to return home to Brooklyn. Upon his return home, he began to Pine for his puppy love and the period of separation became an insurmountable problem for them. (after all. this was long before cell phones and the long-distance charges were astronomical).
By May of 1963 the pressures resulted in the creation of the Rudy Valentine personae a personality (something of a dick) who could take control of his life like Leon could not.
The name Rudy was chosen because of the perceived romantic personality of Rudolph Valentino. However, Vallentine was chosen because his cousin had chosen to call himself Johnny Vallentine
. Rudy’s first order of business was to arrange to leave home for Lansing. He disguised himself by dying his hair red, and left for Manhattan where he purchased a ticket for Lansing.
Upon arriving at Mary’s home, Rudy discovered he had fooled no one back home
. He was informed that both his aunt and the Lansing Police Department were looking for him. So, what was he to do? Rudy did the only thing his budding personality would allow him to do. He called the Lansing police and belligerently told them “I heard you were looking for me! So here I am!”
Within 24 hours of his arrival, he was back at the home of his aunt.
Not bad, he thought, I got just what I wanted.
For the next month or so, While Rudy attended Eastern High School during the day, he and Mary enjoyed each other’s company at the Drive-In, the skating rink and the local dances.
But as Rudy became more socially popular, he began to hear suggestions that he could do much better than Mary Watson
[i] The Lion Sleeps Tonight-The Tokens
[ii] Everybody Loves a Clown- Gary Lewis & the Playboys
[iii] Summertime, Summertie-The Jamies
[iv] Moments to remember- The Four Lads
[v] At the Hop Danny & he Juniors
[vi] Puppy Love-Paul Ankja