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Rudolph Valentino was one of the silent film era's biggest movie stars. He was also one of cinema's first sex symbols.
Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella was born on May 6, 1895 in Castellaneta, Apulia, Kingdom of Italy. Even as a kid, the youngster was indulged because of his exceptional looks.
While handsome the young man most certainly was, academically he was poor. Unable to secure employment, Rodolfo took a gamble and in 1913 departed for the United States, where he was processed at Ellis Island on December 23, aged 18.
Valentino in an advertisement for 'The Married Virgin' (1918), in which he portrays a villain. During the early part of his career Valentino was often cast as a villain or "heavy."
By his early twenties and now going by the name of Rudolph Valentino, the Italian immigrant started teaching dance in Los Angeles. He also began actively seeking screen roles. Early bit parts followed, including an appearance in 'A Society Sensation' alongside Carmel Myers (pictured with Valentino).
'Camille' paired Valentino with Russian-American actress Alla Nazimova. The film, based on the play adaptation of 'La Dame aux Camélias' ('The Lady of the Camellias'), by Alexandre Dumas fils, was variously described as bizarre, ephemeral, and frenzied.
Another box-office hit and one of the top-grossing films of 1922, 'Blood and Sand' consolidated Valentino's position as one of Hollywood's hottest tickets. His brooding Latin looks in this tale about a poor boy who grows up to become one of the greatest matadors in Spain had female fans swooning in movie theaters across the land.
A rare flop, 'The Young Rajah' was one of Valentino's most commercially and critically unsuccessful motion pictures. However, his elaborate and suggestive costumes designed by his wife raised eyebrows everywhere.
Another box office and critical disappointment, Valentino acted against type in this romantic historical drama. Rather than the tough virile character audiences had gotten used to, Valentino's onscreen persona with its heavy makeup, frilled attire, and arch mannerisms was overly feminized. Made today, the film would hit the right note with its satire on the excesses of the court of Louis XV.
The film is noted for its lavish Art Deco sets, designed by the film's art director, Natacha Rambova, whom Valentino would marry the following year.
'Cobra' was released in late 1925 during a period when Valentino's popularity had declined somewhat. In fact, it didn't make it into movie theaters until the actor's next film, 'The Eagle,' had been released.
While Valentino's previous few films had disappointed, 'The Eagle' flew against all predictions and proved to be the actor's comeback film. Acclaimed by critics and having done well at the box office, the movie was popular with both male and female fans.
A worldwide star, Valentino even had songs composed about him. This is the sheet music cover for 'Rodolph Valentino Blues,' written in 1922 (where Rudolph is spelled with a "o"). To quote the lyrics, "Oh Mister Rodolph Valentino / I know I've got the Valentino blues / And when you come up on the screen / Oh! You're so romantic, I go frantic at the views."
Valentino's funeral mass in Manhattan took place on August 30. An estimated 100,000 people later lined the city streets to bade farewell to the "Latin Lover." After Valentino's remains were taken by train from New York to California, a second funeral was held on the West Coast.
As news of the actor's passing spread, fans and admirers couldn't contain their grief, with many openly weeping in public. Further still, suicides of despondent fans were reported.
Doctors discovered he had a perforated ulcer, which required emergency surgery. But after the operation, Valentino developed peritonitis and his conditioned worsened. On August 23, 1926, Rudolph Valentino died, aged 31. Pictured: a mourner grieves at the bier of Rudolph Valentino as the actor lies in repose in New York.
Valentino not only appealed to women, who called him "triumphantly seductive." Men started to copy the film star's looks: a guy with perfectly greased-back hair was called a "Vaselino."
In 1919, Valentino had married actress Jean Acker. Both unhappy, the couple divorced in 1921. He married his second wife, Natacha Rambova, whose real name was the distinctly less glamorous-sounding Winifred Shaughnessy, in 1922. However, Valentino was subsequently arrested for bigamy since according to California law at the time he had not been divorced for a full year. He was eventually acquitted of the charge. Valentino is pictured seated on the right with his lawyers during his court appearance.
In this adventure film, Valentino again portrays a strong, virile character, a San Francisco playboy who is transformed into a "masculine, sun-burned sailor."
A rare unit publicity photo taken on the set of 'Beyond the Rocks.' Top row, left to right: Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, unknown, Edythe Chapman, director Sam Wood, Alfred Gilks, Osmond Borradaile. (Bottom row) all unknown except Alec B. Francis (far right).
In 1922, Rudolph Valentino took time out from acting to embark on a dance tour of the United States with his wife Natacha Rambova. Organized by his manager, George Ulman, the tour was sponsored by Mineralava beauty products, with Valentino also acting as a merchandise spokesman. It was an enormous success, not least because of the legions of female fans who flocked to see Valentino dance.
Valentino's breakthrough role was as Julio Desnoyers in 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.' Often regarded as one of the first true anti-war films, it had a huge cultural impact and became the top-grossing film of 1921.
Rudolph Valentino and his costume and set designer wife Natacha Rambova, photographed in 1923. They would separate in 1925. In later life, she abandoned design to pursue other interests, specifically Egyptology, a subject on which she became a published scholar in the 1950s. She died in 1966.
'The Sheik,' one of Valentino's most popular films, helped to solidify the actor as one of the first male sex symbols of the screen, and made him an international star.
The film, directed by Rex Ingram, includes the famous tango dancing scene, though it was not part of the original story. Instead it was created to showcase Valentino's dancing skills.
Rudolph Valentino was finally laid to rest in a crypt at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
See also: Career lows: the worst films these actors ever made
In their day, Valentino and Natacha Rambova were favorite subjects of newspapers and celebrity magazines.
Gloria Swanson as Theodora Fitzgerald provides the love interest in this film based on the 1906 novel of the same name by Elinor Glyn. Long considered lost, the movie was discovered in 2003 and carefully restored.
A sequel to his 1921 hit film 'The Sheik,' 1926's 'The Son of the Sheik' saw Valentino doing what he did best, as the great lover sweeping women off their feet.
Many critics have heralded Valentino's performance in the film as one of the best of his career. At the time, however, few would have believed that this was to be Rudolph Valentino's final film. During a nationwide tour to promote the movie, the actor collapsed in his New York City hotel room and was rushed to the hospital.
Silent movie star Rudolph Valentino was cinema's first great heartthrob. Dubbed the "Latin Lover," the Italian screen actor starred in several highly acclaimed films during the 1920s, including 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' and 'The Sheik.' His handsome looks and playful manner appealed to a legion of female fans, and Valentino was deserving of his title as a Hollywood sex symbol. Ironically, however, it was his untimely death aged just 31 that propelled his status as a cultural film icon.
Click through the following gallery and swoon at the life and career of a poor kid from Italy who found unparalleled fame and success in America.
Meet cinema's first great heartthrob
Hollywood's first male sex symbol was born on May 6, 1895
CELEBRITY Sex symbols
Silent movie star Rudolph Valentino was cinema's first great heartthrob. Dubbed the "Latin Lover," the Italian screen actor starred in several highly acclaimed films during the 1920s, including 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' and 'The Sheik.' His handsome looks and playful manner appealed to a legion of female fans, and Valentino was deserving of his title as a Hollywood sex symbol. Ironically, however, it was his untimely death aged just 31 that propelled his status as a cultural film icon.
Click through the following gallery and swoon at the life and career of a poor kid from Italy who found unparalleled fame and success in America.