Historical Figures Codexery

Rudolph Valentino

The original Latin Lover of silent cinema.

His sudden death in 1926 caused an outpouring of public anguish.[1] Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaele Guglielmi, who later became known as Rudolph Valentino, was born on May 6, 1895, in Castellaneta, Apulia, Italy.[2]

Quick Facts

Other names
  • Rudolph Guglielmi
  • Rodolfo di Valentina
  • Rodolph Valentino
Birth name
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaele Guglielmi
Born
6 May 1895
Birthplace
Castellaneta, Italy
Died
23 August 1926
Place of death
New York City, US
Burial place
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active
1914–1926

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Valentino's father, a cavalry captain and veterinary scientist, died of malaria when Valentino was 10.[3] Nicknamed "Mercury," he attended Dante Alighieri college in Taranto and later a boarding school in Perugia due to his rebellious streak.[4][1] After failing the physical exam for the Royal Naval Academy, he earned a degree at the Agricultural Institute of Saint Ilario of Liguria.[5][6] In 1913, he departed Genoa for New York City as a first-class passenger on the S.S. Cleveland, carrying $4,000 and calling cards with a fictitious family crest.[7][1]

He worked as a taxi dancer at Maxim's Restaurant-Cabaret and later as an exhibition dancer with Bonnie Glass.[8][9][1] In 1916, he was arrested on charges related to a "white slave" investigation, but the charges were soon dropped.[10][11][1] He moved to Los Angeles in 1917 and began seeking screen roles.[12][1] Valentino wrote an open letter in Photoplay magazine in January 1923 explaining his strike against Famous Players–Lasky, arguing that formulaic films would damage his reputation.[13][14]

Valentino's mother showed him great affection, whereas his father was more inclined to find fault.[4] The 1921 film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse marked Valentino's major career advancement and was a hit with audiences and critics.[15]

What the cited sources add

A 2021 Vanity Fair article notes that Valentino's ghost is said to haunt tourist spots in Los Angeles.[1] The same article states that Valentino once said, "I feel quite unreal"[1] According to the Vanity Fair piece, Valentino's co-stars saw him not as a sex symbol but as an "overgrown little boy" who loved cooking and fast cars.[1] A Guardian article reports that D. W. Griffith declined to cast Valentino as a Mexican bandit, saying "He's too foreign-looking"[16]

The Guardian also notes that Charlie Chaplin saw Valentino as "a lonely fellow" who was not doing well in Hollywood.[16]

References

  1. Meares, "Unlucky Star: The Brief, Bombastic Life of Rudolph Valentino", Vanity Fair, September 14, 2021. facts only, no text reused. vanityfair.com
  2. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leider 2004, p. 9; Leider 2004, p. 9; Valentino, "My Life Story: Part 1—Under Italian Skies", Photoplay, February 1923, p. 31; Valentino, "My Life Story: Part 1—Under Italian Skies", Photoplay, February 1923, p. 31; Leider 2004, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leider 2004, p. 9; Leider 2004, p. 9; "Valentino Not of Peasant Origin", Los Angeles Evening Express, December 9, 1922, p. 13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Meares, "Unlucky Star: The Brief, Bombastic Life of Rudolph Valentino", Vanity Fair, September 14, 2021; Leider 2004, p. 9; Valentino, "My Life Story: Part 1—Under Italian Skies", Photoplay, February 1923, p. 31; Leider 2004, p. 9 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Valentino, "My Life Story: Part 1—Under Italian Skies", Photoplay, February 1923, p. 31; Leider 2004, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leider 2004, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leider 2004, p. 9; "VALENTINO'S FAME A TRIUMPH OF YOUTH; Actor Wanted to Be a Gardener and Went to California to Get Work on a Farm. BECAME "THE SHEIK" AT 26 Once Worked as Laborer in Central Park – Later Got Job Dancing at Maxim's and on ; Leider 2004, p. 9; Leider 2004, p. 9; Leider 2004, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Robinson, "Embezzler of Hearts", June 2004; Meares, "Unlucky Star: The Brief, Bombastic Life of Rudolph Valentino", Vanity Fair, September 14, 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Leider 2004, p. 9; "Rectors - Exhibition Nightly in the Ball Room de Luxe, Bonnie Glass, assisted by Mos. Rudolph, Mudge & Terantino and Other Famous Favorites (Advertisement)", The New York Times, December 29, 1914, p. 18; "Cafe For Bonnie Glass; Boulevard Grille To Be Opened as the Montmarte.", New-York Tribune, January 24, 1915, p. 11; "Show Reviews - Winder Garden.", Variety, January 30, 1915, p. 18; "In Vaudeville", New-York Tribune, February 23, 1915, p. 9; "B.F. Keith's Palace - Broadway's Latest Dancing Star, Bonnie Glass Assi en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Vice Squad In Raid Near Carnegie Hall", The New York Times, September 6, 1916, p. 6; "Dancing 'Count' Held In Vice Raid", New-York Tribune, September 6, 1916, p. 4; "Former Partner of Joan Sawyer Arrested", The Omaha Daily News, September 6, 1916, p. 1; "Vice Squad In Raid Near Carnegie Hall", The New York Times, September 6, 1916, p. 6; "Vice Squad In Raid Near Carnegie Hall", The New York Times, September 6, 1916, p. 6; "Vice Squad In Raid Near Carnegie Hall", The New York Times, September 6, 1916, p. 6; "Dancing 'Count' Held In Vi en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dancing 'Count' Held In Vice Raid", New-York Tribune, September 6, 1916, p. 4; Leider, pp. 61–85 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "VALENTINO'S FAME A TRIUMPH OF YOUTH; Actor Wanted to Be a Gardener and Went to California to Get Work on a Farm. BECAME "THE SHEIK" AT 26 Once Worked as Laborer in Central Park – Later Got Job Dancing at Maxim's and on ; Leider, pp. 81–83 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Valentino, "And Open Letter from Valentino To the American Public", Photoplay, January 1923, p. 34–35. facts only, no text reused. archive.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Valentino, "And Open Letter from Valentino To the American Public", Photoplay, January 1923, p. 34–35; Valentino, "And Open Letter from Valentino To the American Public", Photoplay, January 1923, p. 34–35; Valentino, "And Open Letter from Valentino To the American Public", Photoplay, January 1923, p. 34–35 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  15. Wikipedia, "Rudolph Valentino" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Botham, "Valentino: The First Superstar", Metro Publishing Ltd., 2002; Biggest Money Pictures. CinemaWeb.com. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  16. Leider, "'He's too foreign'", The Guardian, September 20, 2003. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Rudolph Valentino (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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