Rudolph Valentino
Before Elvis, Judy Garland and Michael Jackson, there was Rudolph Valentino, an Italian actor and international sex symbol who became the world's first bona fide movie star with blockbuster silent films like The Sheik. So when the 31-year-old died unexpectedly of a ruptured ulcer on Aug. 23, 1926, mass hysteria ensued; several fans, overcome with grief, killed themselves upon hearing the news. His New York City memorial service attracted nearly 100,000 mourners, who stretched for nearly 11 blocks as riot police struggled to keep the crowds from blocking the funeral procession. Decades later, it was revealed that the man who organized Valentino's memorial, Frank E. Campbell, had paid New Yorkers to exaggerate their grief to draw publicity to his now famous funeral parlor to the stars.

• Appreciation: Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009