Rudolph Valentino

• Born: May 6, 1895
• Birthplace: Castellaneta, Italy
• Died: August 23, 1926
• Place of death: New York, New York

Identification: American film star

Also known as: Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguolla; the Latin Lover

Charismatic film star Rudolph Valentino made a distinct impression on the silent film industry in the 1920s, earning recognition as one of the decade’s acting icons in films such as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), The Sheik (1921), Blood and Sand (1922), and The Son of the Sheik (1926).

In a life of just over three decades, Rudolph Valentino developed from an impoverished Italian immigrant to a New York dancer to a silent film star to a tragic legend killed by a fatal illness. Born in 1895 to an Italian veterinarian father and a French mother, Valentino came to the United States as a teenager and supported himself with odd jobs. Leaving New York City, Valentino was involved in a few stage productions before landing in Hollywood, where he used dancing contacts to secure bit acting parts, soon moving up to performing dark male roles because of his foreign look.

Silent Film Career

Valentino’s breakthrough came when the motion picture studio Metro Pictures Corporation cast him as the lead in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), about an Argentine youth in the French army during World War I whose extended family is split between the German and French sides. The film was a tremendous success with both critics and audiences, becoming one of the top-grossing silent films and one of the first to earn over $1 million. Valentino did not immediately reap the rewards of this success, however, with Metro declining to increase his pay. Valentino did three more films for Metro in 1921, and the success of the third, The Conquering Power, motivated Valentino to leave Metro for the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation run by producer Jesse Lasky.

In the Famous Players-Lasky production The Sheik (1921), Valentino sealed his reputation as a major performer and won legions of female fans with his sultry good looks. Famous Players-Lasky knew the value of its leading actor and featured Valentino in four more lucrative films, including the lavish Beyond the Rocks (1922).

Although Valentino’s pay increased greatly during his time with Famous Players-Lasky, he felt it was not on par with that of other leading actors, and a two-year legal battle ensued, during which Valentino made no films. At the end of the dispute, Valentino received a huge pay increase, to $7,500 per week, and increased artistic control over his films. However, the next two, Monsieur Beaucaire (1924) and The Sainted Devil (1924), were not successful, and Valentino soon left Famous Players and moved to United Artists, for whom he made The Eagle (1925) and The Son of the Sheik (1926), the latter of which was a blockbuster success for all involved. During production, however, Valentino became ill; he later collapsed in New York City, had emergency surgery for appendicitis, and died of complications a little more than a week later.

Personal Life

After his arrival in Hollywood, Valentino married actress Jean Acker, but the marriage was unsuccessful and the couple soon separated. While working with Metro, he met and fell in love with the costume designer and sometime actress Natacha Rambova. They married in 1923, overcoming charges of bigamy while Valentino’s divorce from Acker became finalized under California law. Rambova was very influential in Valentino’s career, encouraging his challenge to Famous Players-Lasky and negotiating film deals on his behalf. She alienated many of his personal and professional contacts though, and United Artists insisted she be sidelined, leading to marital strain and then divorce in 1925.

Women crammed theaters to see Valentino, his flowing costumes, and his romantic screen presence. Reactions to his image were mixed, however: While many women found him exotically handsome, his appearance did not fit the rugged American mold, and he chafed repeatedly at public commentary suggesting he was effeminate. The hysterical outpouring of grief at his early death, however, testified to his popularity, as thousands thronged the streets of New York for his funeral. His body was transported to Los Angeles, where it rests in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Impact

During the first half of the 1920s, Valentino was seen by many as the personification of forces demolishing conservative cultural barriers that had existed prior to that time. Audiences responded strongly to his performances, and his unique attractiveness contributed to the shifts in gender expectations and aesthetics that occurred in the 1920s and 1930s.

Bibliography

Basinger, Jeanine. Silent Stars. New York: Knopf, 1999. Examines the lives of silent film stars, with information on Valentino’s life, career, and impact on the film industry.

Ellenberger, Allan R. The Valentino Mystique: The Death and Afterlife of the Silent Film Idol. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2005. Presents a detailed report on Valentino’s death, estate transactions, and filmography, including excerpts from newspapers discussing his life and death.

Hill, Donna L. Rudolph Valentino, The Silent Idol: His Life in Photographs. San Francisco: Blurbs, 2010. Features a collection of photographs depicting Valentino, some of which have never been published.

Leider, Emily W. Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2003. Explores Valentino’s ascent from immigrant to film star, noting his contributions to the shaping of American masculinity.

Menefee, David W. The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era. Albany: Bear Manor Media, 2007. Discusses the careers of early-twentieth-century male movie stars, including a section on the life and work of Valentino.