Rudolph Valentino


 

 

 

Introduction

      Rudolph Valentino was America's first male sex symbol, hence the name "The Latin Lover". He is epitome of decadence, moral decay, loss of innocence, hedonism and lawlessness. His decadent and hedonistic personality bankrupted movies, while his personal life showed only a glimpse of the moral decay that was soon to come. It was comprised of a couple of inappropriate relationships with married women and multiple failed marriages that he had himself. 

Fast Facts

Birth Name: Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla

Nick Name: The Sheik, The Latin Lover

Birthplace: Castellaneta, Italy

Born: May 6, 1895

Died: New York, New York

Died: August 23, 1926

 

 

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Biography

 

He grew up in Castellaneta, Italy where he received a degree in agriculture from a local school. He went to Paris where he learned different types of dancing and returned home because he was broke. With no job in sight he sailed for New York when he was just 18. He did whatever he could to keep getting money whether it be busing tables or escorting wealthy women at parties. After a couple of months in America he “befriended” a wealthy married woman by the name of Blanca de Saulles. She divorced her husband and Valentino took her side by testifying about her husband’s infidelities. Her husband used his connections in high places to get Valentino arrested. He joined a traveling musical to stay under the radar. That show brought him to Hollywood and the silent movie industry. He married his first wife Jean Acker but it was never meant to be. After a few minor roles he got his big shot in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It was his first lead role and one of the first films to make over $1 million. He met his second wife, Natacha Rambova, while filming Uncharted Seas.  After that he acted in his most famous performance The Sheik. He went on to make many more successful films and marry, but divorced her three years later. He had two movies that almost bankrupted him becuse of his decandent spending and many were flops in the theatres. Months after filming what was to be his final movie The Son of the Sheik he collapsed from a bleeding ulcer. He seemed fin after surgery but finally succumbed to inflammation of his abdominal cavity.

 

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Legacy

Rudolph Valentino was America's first male sex symbol and started the idolization of celebrities. During his funeral streets around the funeral home were closed due to the crowed of over 100,000. He will always be known as the Latin Lover and will stay in dreams of women forever. He is the reason for moral decay and loss of innocence during this time whether it be his failed marriages or Sheik themed contraceptives with his picture on them.

 

 

Some of His Movies

 

  • The Battle of the Sexes
  • Alimony
  • The Married Virgin
  • The Delicious Little Devil
  • Stolen Moments
  • The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
  • Uncharted Seas
  • The Conquering Power
  • The Sheik
  • Camille

 

  • Blood and Sand
  • Moran of the Lady Letty
  • Beyond the Rocks
  • The Young Rajah
  • Monsieur Beaucaire
  • A Sainted Devil
  • Cobra
  • The Eagle
  • The Son of the Sheik

 

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Personal Quotes