Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926) was an Italian actor. He was born Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi in Castellaneta, Italy, to a middle-class family. In the 1920s, Valentino was
known as a Latin sex symbol.
Early years
Valentino was born to Marie Berthe Gabrielle Barbin (1856 - 1919), who was French, and Giovanni Antonio Giuseppe Fidele Guglielmi
(1853-1906), a veterinarian from Castellaneta, Taranto, Italy. He had an older brother, Alberto
(1892-1981), a younger sister, Maria, and an older sister Beatrice
who died in infancy.
As a child, Valentino was spoiled and troublesome. He did poorly in school and constantly had to transfer to avoid being
failed. He mainly did poorly because he would skip class or not pay attention. His mother eventually enrolled him in an
agricultural school where he received a degree.
In 1912, he left for Paris where he spent less
than a year before losing his money and asking his mother to send him funds to return to Italy.
When he returned to Italy he was unable to secure employment and everyone was sure he would never succeed in life. His uncles
decided he should be sent to the United States where they felt he could learn to be a
man.
New York
In 1913, Valentino left for New York City. He arrived
with about $20,000 which he promptly wasted. After a period on the streets, he eventually supported himself with odd jobs such as
busing tables in restaurants, even trying his hand at gardening. Eventually he found work as a taxi
dancer and instructor, and later as an exhibition dancer which was the craze at the time. He gained attention for his
rendition of the Argentine tango.
Valentino enjoyed befriending many people of high society. He eventually befriended Chilean
heiress Blanca de Saulles who was unhappily married to prominent business man
John de Saulles with whom she had a son. Whether the two actually had a romantic
relationship is unknown, but Rudolph was quite smitten with her. Eventually the de Saulles divorced in a sensational divorce
trial. Valentino decided to take the stand to support Blanca's claim of John's well known infidelity. Mr. de Saulle was not
pleased with this and once the divorce was granted, he used his political connections to have Valentino arrested along with a
Mrs. Thyme who was a known "madam" on vice charges (the exact charges are unknown). The evidence
was flimsy at best (Valentino having been near the wrong place at the wrong time) and after a few days in jail, Valentino's bail
was lowered from $10,000 to $1,500. [1]
The scandal was well publicized along with the trial and Valentino felt degraded. No one would hire him and his old friends
would no longer talk to him. Blanca seemed to not even thank him for his testimony. Shortly after the trial, Blanca fatally shot
her ex-husband over claims of custody of their son. Another sensational trial began, with her being acquitted of murder charges, and Rudolph's name was again dragged through the mud though he had nothing to do with Blanca by
this point.
In part, he changed his name from Rodolfo Guglielmi to various variations of 'Rudolph Valentino', partly to avoid association
with the earlier scandal and partly because Americans had trouble pronouncing Guglielmi.
After the trial, he decided once and for all to move to Hollywood.
[2]
Hollywood
Start in Film
Valentino joined an operetta company that traveled to Utah where it disbanded. From there he traveled to San
Francisco where he met the actor Norman Kerry, who convinced him to try a career in
cinema, still in the silent movie era. At the time, Valentino had only acted in background scenes of a few movies in New
York.
He began to play small parts in quite a few films. He was typically cast as a "heavy" (villain) or "gangster". At the time,
the epitome of male masculinity was Douglas Fairbanks: fair complexion, light eyes,
and an All American look. A leading man should never be too romantic (Fairbanks hated doing
love scenes and rarely did them, let alone well.) Thus Valentino was the opposite and seemed "exotic". [3]
By 1919, he had carved out a career in bit parts. It was a bit part as a "cabaret
parasite" in drama The Eyes of Youth that caught the attention of the powerful screenwriter June Mathis who thought him perfect for her next
movie.
The Sheik
Valentino with the
Arabian Stallion Jadaan. Publicity photo for
Son of the Sheik,
1926
Mathis cast Valentino as a male lead in her next film The Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which was directed by Rex Ingram. Ingram
and Valentino did not get along and it was up to Mathis to constantly keep the peace. Released in 1921, the film was a commercial and critical success and made Valentino a star, earning him the nickname
"Tango Legs". It also led to his iconic role in The Sheik and
The Son of the Sheik.
Blood and Sand, released in 1922 and
co-starring Lila Lee along with the popular silent screen vamp Nita Naldi, further established Valentino as the leading male star
of his time. However, in 1923, Valentino became disenchanted with his small salary ($1,200 a week
when several major stars made $10,000 a week) and his lack of creative control (he wanted to film in Europe and have better sets and costumes). He went on a "one man strike" against Famous Players-Lasky and refused to show up on set. In turn, Famous Players-Lasky sued him which
resulted in an injunction which prohibited Valentino from making films or doing any other service not for the company. The latter
half was later overturned stating Valentino should be able to make a living some way.
To ensure that his name remained in the public eye, Valentino, following the suggestion of his new manager George Ullman,
embarked on a national dance tour, sponsored by a cosmetics company, Mineralava, with Rambova, a former ballerina, as his
partner. During the show, the couple would dance, a beauty contest would be held, and Valentino would have a chance to talk
against the studio followed by a promotion of the products. The tour was a success making him about $7,000 a week. During the
same period, he published a book of poetry called From Day Dreams, and had his biography serialized in a movie fan
magazine.
On May 14, 1923, while in New York City, he made his first and
last record, consisting of "Valentino's renditions" of Amy Woodforde-Finden's
"Kashmiri Song" featured in The Sheik and Jose Padilla's "El Relicario," used in Blood and Sand. The recording was shelved for
unknown reasons until after his death.
During this time period he also traveled to Europe and had a memorable visit to his native
town. Back in the United States, he was criticized by his fans for his newly cultivated beard and was forced to shave it off.
United Artists
In 1925, Valentino was able to negotiate a new contract with United Artists which included the stipulation that his wife Natacha not be allowed on any of his movie
sets (it was perceived that her presence had delayed earlier productions such as Monsieur
Beaucaire). Shortly thereafter, he separated from Rambova and started dating actress Pola
Negri. Around this time, he mended many personal and professional relationships which had been damaged because of Rambova;
including his relationship with his "Little Mother" June Mathis.
During this time, he made two of his most critically acclaimed and successful films, The
Eagle, based on a story by Alexander Pushkin, and The Son of the Sheik, a sequel to The
Sheik, both co-starring the popular Hungarian-born actress, Vilma Bánky (with
whom he had a brief relationship prior to his involvement with Negri).
Insecurity with Image
Ever since the de Saulle trial in New York when his masculinity had been slandered in print, Valentino had been very sensitive
with the way he was perceived. Women loved him and thought him the epitome of romance. However, American men were very threatened and would walk out of his movies in disgust. With the Fairbanks type
being the epitome of manhood, Valentino was seen as a threat to the All American man. Thus
journalists would constantly call his masculinity into question: his greased back hair, his clothing, his treatment of women, his
views on women, and whether he was effeminate or not. Valentino hated these stories and was
known to carry the clippings of them around and criticize them. [4]
The Chicago Tribune reported in July,
1926 that a vending machine dispensing pink talcum powder had appeared in an upscale hotel
washroom. An editorial that followed used the story to protest the feminization of American men, and blamed the talcum powder on
Valentino and his sheik movies. The piece infuriated Valentino, who happened to be in Chicago at the time, and the actor challenged the writer to a duel and then a boxing match. Neither challenge was answered. Shortly afterward, Valentino met for dinner with the
famed journalist H.L. Mencken for advice on how best to deal with the incident. Mencken
advised Valentino to "let the dreadful farce roll along to exhaustion", but Valentino insisted the editorial was "infamous".
Mencken found Valentino to be likable and gentlemanly and wrote sympathetically of him in an article published in the
Baltimore Sun a week after Valentino's death:
| “ |
It was not that trifling Chicago episode that was riding him; it was the whole
grotesque futility of his life. Had he achieved, out of nothing, a vast and dizzy success? Then that success was hollow as well
as vast -- a colossal and preposterous nothing. Was he acclaimed by yelling multitudes? Then every time the multitudes yelled he
felt himself blushing inside . . . The thing, at the start, must have only bewildered him. but in those last days, unless I am a
worse psychologist than even the professors of psychology, it was revolting him. Worse, it was making him afraid . . .
Here was a young man who was living daily the dream of millions of other men. Here was one who was catnip to women. Here was
one who had wealth and fame. And here was one who was very unhappy.[5]
|
” |
After Valentino challenged the Tribune's anonymous writer to a boxing match, the New York Evening Journal boxing
writer, Frank O'Neill, volunteered to fight in his place. Valentino won the bout which took place on the roof of New York's
Ambassador Hotel. [6]
The 'Powder Puff' comment bothered Valentino so much that it was reported as he lay dying he asked the doctor, "Am I a powder
puff now Doctor?". The doctor reportedly replied, "No sir, you've been very brave".
Personal Life
Relationships and Marriages
In 1919, as his career had yet to take off, Valentino married Jean Acker. Acker was a bit actress who was mainly cast as a favor to her lesbian lover Alla Nazimova. The three had become friends and Valentino
appeared to be oblivious to Acker's orientation. Acker was caught in a love triangle with Grace
Darmond and Nazimova; both of which threatened to destroy her career if she left either of them. Seeing a chance to escape
unscathed, Acker married Valentino.[7]
The marriage was never consummated, with Jean locking him out of their hotel suite on their first honeymoon night. She later fled to Darmond's where Valentino pleaded with her to give him a chance to no
avail. Instead of divorcing, the couple remained legally married until 1921, when he filed for
divorce so he could marry Natacha Rambova.
At the time, the divorce trial was caused a sensation due to Valentino's new star status. Valentino found it embarrassing to
have to charge desertion and Acker's refusal to consummate the marriage. The divorce was
granted with a decent alimony going to Acker. Despite her antics and use of the name "Mrs. Valentino" (a name she had no legal
right to), she and Valentino eventually renewed their friendship until his death. She made regular visits when he was on his
death bed and was reportedly one of the last people he saw just before he died.
Valentino first met Natacha Rambova, a costume designer and art director who was a protégé of Nazimova, on the set of Uncharted Seas in 1921. The two also
worked together on the Nazimova production of Camille, by which time they were
romantically involved. They married on May 13, 1922, in
Mexicali, Mexico. This resulted in Valentino being jailed for
bigamy since he had not been divorced for a full year (which was the law in California at the time). He spent the night crying that Natacha was his legal wife and he
should not be there. Days passed and his studio at the time, Famous Players-Lasky,
refused to post bail. Eventually, a few friends including June Mathis were able to post the cash bail. [8]
Still having to wait the year or face the possibility of being arrested again, Natacha and Valentino lived in separate
apartments in New York, each with their own roommates. In 1923,
they legally remarried.
Many of Rudolph's friends did not like Rambova and found her controlling.[9] During his relationship with her, he lost many friends and business associates including June Mathis.
Toward the end of their marriage, Rambova was banned from his sets by contract. One of the few people who supported her was a
then-unknown actress named Myrna Loy, whom she had discovered and had cast in the film "What
Price Beauty?". She said that Rambova was unfairly criticized. The end of the marriage was bitter, with Valentino bequeathing her
one dollar in his will. The money and property he originally intended for her instead went to her Aunt Theresa whom they both
adored. Despite popular rumors, Natacha was not a lesbian. She and Valentino had an active sexual life, attested to by many
friends. Paul Ivano (their roommate through much of their dating) stated that one night, Valentino ran out in a panic thinking he
had killed her during an all night session of love making; when in fact she had just passed out and was revived with cold water
by Ivano. [10]
Valentino's sexuality has been the subject of much speculation over the years. It has been suggested he was in
homosexual relationships with his roommates Paul Ivano and Douglas Gerrad; as well as
Norman Kerry, openly gay French actor Jacques Herbertot and Andre Daven. However, Ivano
maintained that it was completely untrue and he himself as well as Valentino were heterosexual. [11] Herbertot's
claims seem to be strictly fantasies (as no real proof backs them up) and Kerry, Daven and Gerrad were just friends. No real
evidence exists to show Valentino had any romantic male relationships. [12]Many of the rumors seem to stem from the company he kept; as many in his circle of friends were well
known to have loose attitudes towards sexual experimentation.
Shortly before his death, Valentino was dating Pola Negri. The relationship seemed to be
to save his "Great lover" reputation since his divorce from Rambova. Upon his death, Negri made a scene at his funeral, claiming
they had been engaged. The engagement claim has never been proven. Many of Valentino's friends claimed that he had never gotten
over the divorce from Rambova.
Valentino had no children though he did desperately want them (especially evident in his poem Babies). He dreamed of
having the traditional wife and mother, though he dated women who were quite the opposite (Acker and Rambova being
feminists with careers). One of the biggest issues of his and Rambova's marriage was her desire
to not have children. Nita Naldi a close friend, claimed Rambova illegally terminated up to
three pregnancies while married to Valentino, though there is no way to verify this. Whether Naldi's story is true or not,
Rambova was determined not to have children. [13]
During his life, Valentino had a love of animals. Since he was a boy, he was an accomplished rider who owned several horses.
He and Rambova spoke of opening a zoo and socialized with animal trainers. They had two Great
Danes, a large gopher snake, and a green
monkey. From their trainer friend, Rambova purchased a lion cub named Zela for Rudolph. Rudolph loved Zela but eventually
had to give her to a trainer outside of town when she bit a stranger who happened to be a private eye hired by Jean Acker to prove the couple was cohabiting. [14]
Valentino also loved to cook, especially simple dishes like spaghetti and meatballs. According to friends, his love of cooking
was more intense than his romantic life. [15]
Death and Funeral
On August 15, 1926, Valentino collapsed at the Hotel
Ambassador in New York City. He was hospitalized at the Polyclinic in New York and underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer. He told his manager George Ullman to contact Rambova, who was in Europe. Upon hearing
of his condition, she responded back, and they exchanged loving telegrams, and she believed a reconciliation had taken place. The
surgery went well and he seemed to be recovering when peritonitis set in and spread
throughout his body. He died eight days later, at the age of 31.
A mourner pictured with the body of Rudolph Valentino at the actor's funeral
An estimated 100,000 people lined the streets of New York City to pay their respects at his funeral, handled by the Frank
Campbell Funeral Home. The event was a drama itself: actress Pola Negri collapsed in
hysterics while standing over the coffin, windows were smashed as fans tried to get in, and Campbell's hired four actors to
impersonate a Fascist Blackshirt honor guard, which claimed to have been sent by
Benito Mussolini. It was later revealed as a planned publicity stunt. The
New York Graphic printed a ghoulish fake composed
photograph on its front cover purporting to show Valentino in his casket, before the body actually reached the funeral
home.
Valentino's funeral Mass in New York was celebrated at Saint Malachy's
Roman Catholic Church, often called "The Actor's Chapel", as it is located on West 49th Street in the Broadway theater
district, and has a long association with show business figures.
After the body was taken by train across the country, a second funeral was held on the West Coast, at the Catholic Church of
the Good Shepherd. Not having a resting place of his own, Valentino's old friend June Mathis
offered her crypt for him in what she thought would be a temporary solution. However, she died the following year and Valentino
was placed in the adjoining crypt. The two are still interred side by side in adjoining crypts at the Hollywood Memorial Park
Cemetery (now the Hollywood Forever Cemetery) in Hollywood, California.
Estate
According to his biography written by Emily Lieder, Valentino left his estate to his brother, sister, and Rambova's aunt
Teresa Werner. His Beverly Hills mansion, called Falcon Lair, was later owned by heiress
Doris Duke until her death there in 1993.
Films about Valentino
The life of Rudolph Valentino has been filmed a number of times for television and the big screen. The most notable of these
biopics is Ken Russell's 1977 film,
Valentino, in which Valentino is portrayed by Rudolf Nureyev. An earlier feature film about Valentino's life, also called Valentino, was
released in 1951 and starred Anthony Dexter as Valentino.[16] The short film "Daydreams of
Rudolph Valentino", with Russian actor Vladislav Kozlov as Valentino, was presented at Hollywood Forever cemetery on
August 23, 2006, marking the 80th anniversary of Rudolph
Valentino's death.
Quotations
- "Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas on which women paint their
dreams."
Filmography
Valentino was also supposed to have acted, at the beginning of his career, in the following films:
- The Battle of the Sexes (1914)
Other names by which Rudolph Valentino was known:
- Rudolph DeValentino
- M. De Valentina
- M. Rodolfo De Valentina
- M. Rodolpho De Valentina
- R. De Valentina
- Rodolfo di Valentina
- Rudolpho De Valentina
- Rudolpho di Valentina
- Rudolpho Valentina
- Rodolph Valentine
- Rudolpho De Valentine
- Rudolph Valentine
- Rodolfo di Valentini
- Rodolph Valentino
- Rudi Valentino
- Rudolfo Valentino
- Rudolf Valentino
- Rudolph Volantino
Selected coverage in the New York Times
- New York Times; July 21, 1926. Rudolph Valentino arrived here yesterday from Chicago indignant at an editorial which appeared
in The Chicago Tribune Sunday, entitled "Pink Powder Puffs," and vowing to return there next Monday or Tuesday to whip the man
who wrote it.
- New York Times; August 16, 1926. Rudolph Valentino, noted screen star, collapsed suddenly yesterday in his apartment at the
Hotel Ambassador. Several hours later he underwent operations for a gastric ulcer and appendicitis.
- New York Times; August 21, 1926. Rudolph Valentino, screen star, who is recovering at the Polyclinic Hospital from operations
for appendicitis and gastric ulcer, felt so much better yesterday that he asked to be taken to his hotel. His request was
promptly vetoed by the attending physicians, who told the patient that he would not be allowed to sit up in bed for several
days.
- New York Times; August 22, 1926. Rudolph Valentino, motion picture actor, who underwent a double operation for acute
appendicitis and gastric ulcers at the Polyclinic Hospital last Sunday, took a turn for the worse yesterday. His surgeons found
that he had developed pleurisy in the left chest. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon the patient's temperature rose to 104.2.
- New York Times; August 23, 1926. The condition of Rudolph Valentino, motion picture actor, grew more critical yesterday, and
the three doctors who have been attending him at the Polyclinic Hospital since he underwent a double operation for acute
appendicitis and gastric ulcers called in a fourth.
- New York Times; August 24, 1926. Rudolph Valentino, motion picture actor, died at 12:10, yesterday afternoon, at the
Polyclinic Hospital where he had undergone a double operation for acute appendicitis and gastric ulcers on Aug. 15. He was
thirty-one. His youthfulness and rugged constitution aided him in making a valiant fight even after his five doctors had given up
hope.
- New York Times; August 27, 1926. The public was barred yesterday from the bier of Rudolph Valentine, motion picture actor,
because of the irreverence of the thousands who had filed past the coffin in the Campbell Funeral Church, Broadway and
Sixty-sixth Street, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- New York Times; September 4, 1926. A letter from Dr. Harold E. Meeker, the surgeon who operated on and attended Rudolph
Valentino during the illness preceding his death, to S. George Ullman, the dead actor's friend and manager, describing in
technical detail the steps of diagnosis, operation and treatment, was made public last night by Dr. Sterling C. Wyman of 556
Crown Street, Brooklyn, Pola Negri's physician.
- New York Times; September 9, 1926. Los Angeles, California; September 8,
1926. Rudolph Valentino's will, disposing of property which may amount to more than $1,000,000, became public tonight, in advance
of being offered for probate here tomorrow. The instrument provided a great surprise, evento lifetime confidants of the dead
moving picture star, in that it shared the actor's estate in equal thirds among his brother, Alberto Guglielmi of Rome, who is
...
- New York Times; September 10, 1926. Los Angeles, California; September 9,
1926. A contest over the "surprise" will of Rudolph Valentino was being considered tonight, it was admitted by Milton Cohen, Los
Angeles attorney, who declared that he had been retained to represent Alberto and Maria Guglielmi, brother and sister of the
screen star.
Further reading
- The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era by David W. Menefee. Albany: Bear Manor Media, 2007.
- Emily Leider (2003), Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino, (ISBN 0-374-28239-0).
- Jeanine Basinger (1999), chapter on Valentino in Silent Stars, (ISBN 0-8195-6451-6).
References
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 68-76
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 68-76
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 86-88
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 68-76
- ^ Mencken, H.L., A Mencken Chrestomathy. New York; Vintage Books,
1982, pp. 283-84.
- ^ Cawthorne, Nigel, Sex Lives of the Hollywood Idols London; PRION,
1997, p. 52
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 98-103
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 206-212
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 330
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 137-142
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 126-127
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 270-274
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 336-337
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 141-142
- ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph
Valentino, p. 137-138
- ^ IMDB Listing for Valentino, 1951
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