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Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and ...
Sep 14, 2021 · But lost in the legend was the real man. In the even-handed, meticulously researched Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino , author Emily W. Leider painstakingly extracts the...
- His Name Was Much Different
- His Love Life Was Darker Than People Imagined
- He Was A Spoiled Brat
- Tragedy Hit Him Early
- He Was A Dreamer
- He Left A Job in Disgrace
- He Was Homeless
- He Was An Exotic Dancer
- He Had A Scandalous Romance
- He Was Accused of A Dirty Deed
Though Valentino is now a one-name wonder, his birth name was more than a mouthful. When the future heartthrob was born on May 6, 1895 in Italy, his parents christened him Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella. Yeah, I can see why the studios went with “Rudolph Valentino” instead. Wikimedia Commons
Despite his persona as a suave ladies’ man and a "Latin Lover," Valentino claimed his love life was tragic. As he once confessed to a journalist, “The women I love don't love me. The others don't matter." According to the heart-wrenched Valentino, he was always unhappy in love. And uh, when you see what happened to him, you might agree. Wikimedia C...
Valentino was certainly no late bloomer, and even as a child people commented on how good-looking he was. This had devastating consequences. His mother spoiled him rotten and coddled her beautiful baby boy. This also drove a wedge between Valentino and his macho father, who thought his son was becoming a “sissy.” Wikimedia Commons
Tragedy would come to define the Latin Lover’s final years, but it was actually a part of his life from an early age. His older sister Beatrice passed when she was an infant, and his father died when the boy Valentino was just 11 years old. Wikipedia
Valentino knew he was destined for great things, and he left Italy to seek out his fame and fortune in America, going through Ellis Island in December 1913 at the tender age of 18. Obviously—unlike many Hollywood hopefuls—this fame and fortune actually happened for our sweet-faced Rudolph. But they came with a price… Wikimedia Commons
Valentino’s spoiled childhood often came back to bite him in the butt. He was never a hard-working boy and had never done well in school, but these habits only became worse in the real world. While trying to make ends meet bussing tables in New York City, the teenaged Valentino got fired from the job for, well, not doing his job. Getty Images
Valentino’s first few months in America weren’t exactly a dream. In fact, they were a downright nightmare. Because he couldn’t hold down a job or get an income, the aspiring actor often lived on the streets, and survived by begging for food at the restaurant that had just fired him. Now that’s gotta be a new low. Wikimedia Commons
Even from this reduced position, Valentino somehow managed to get himself into scandal. He next took up work as a “taxi dancer” in a cabaret—and yep, that’s just as racy as it sounds. The Hollywood hunk was a tango partner for hire, which wasn’t exactly the most respectable occupation at the time. But it got even juicier than that… Wikimedia Common...
While working as a dancer, Valentino met the unhappily married Chilean heiress Bianca de Saulles, and it reportedly wasn't long before the Latin Lover got a new Latin mistress. They started plotting her split from her husband John, with Valentino even testifying at their divorce trial. And that’s where things got really ugly. Flickr, The Library of...
After the divorce when through, John de Saulles got a brutal revenge on his romantic rival. The tycoon called up every political connection he had, accused Valentino of being a gigolo, and had him detained alongside his supposed "madame." Valentino only ended up spending a couple nights behind bars…but the damage was done. Wikimedia Commons
Jun 13, 2012 · Known as the “Latin Lover,” Rudolph Valentino would, by summer’s end, single-handedly change the way generations of men and women thought about sex and seduction.
- Gilbert King
In 1918 Guglielmi settled in Los Angeles, where he focused on acting and eventually chose the stage name Rudolph Valentino. The following year he married actress Jean Acker, who was reportedly gay, and the unhappy couple divorced in 1922.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Born in 1895 to a French mother and Italian father, Rudolph Valentino grew up in Italy. His father died while he was young, and his mother spoiled him. He did poorly in school and eventually ended up studying agriculture.
May 18, 2018 · Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926) became one of the great romantic idols of Hollywood's silent movie era. He helped to define what a star should be, and represented the screen's first "Latin lover." His early death, at the age of 31, only increased his legendary status, especially among his large female following.
