Hop Along Cassidy
was proud of his customized "Woody" station wagon, but he
wasn't the only star with a special set of wheels. For old-time Hollywood
stars, luxury cars were requisite toys. Rudolph Valentino had a custom-built
Isotta
Faschini,
a French Avion Voison with wire wheels and a red leather interior.
His massive garage also housed a 1926 Franklin coupe and a black 1925
Chevrolet that the
star used for traveling incognito. There was also a 120 gallon gas
tank to keep all these cars running and several uniformed chauffers
to do the driving. Valentino was the first of a long lineage of stars
to succumb to the seduction of four wheels (Jay Leno is a notable
current enthusiast who follows in Valentino's mega-garage footsteps);
the car was a rite of star passage that persists to this day.