Rudolph Valentino

Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926) was an Italian actor.

The Hollywood Years

He next joined an operetta company that soon disbanded in Utah; from there he reached San Francisco, where he met the actor Norman Kerry, who convinced him to try a career in cinema, still in the silent movie era.

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After small parts in a dozen films, in 1919 he married, for a few years, Jean Acker (1893-1978), a part-Cherokee film starlet who was a lesbian. The marriage was reportedly never consummated: Acker locked Valentino out of their hotel room on their wedding night, and despite Valentino's efforts at a reconciliation the two separated very shortly afterwards. They were divorced in 1922.

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Valentino eventually caught the notice of legendary screenwriter June Mathis who had been impressed by his role as a "cabaret parasite" in The Eyes of Youth. She suggested to the director Rex Ingram that he be cast as a male lead in his next film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This film, released in 1921, was a great success and established Valentino as a important actor. That same year, Valentino became an even greater star with the release of The Sheik.

Related Topics:
The Eyes of Youth - Rex Ingram - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - The Sheik

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On May 13, 1922, in Mexicali, Mexico, Valentino married art director Natacha Rambova. This resulted in him being jailed for bigamy, since his divorce from Acker was not yet final. (California law at the time required that one wait a full year after a divorce before remarrying). They remarried a year later.

Related Topics:
May 13 - 1922 - Mexicali - Mexico - Art director - Natacha Rambova

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Blood and Sand, released in 1922, and co-starring the popular silent screen vamp Nita Naldi, further established Valentino as the leading male star of the day. However, in 1923 a dispute with Paramount Pictures resulted in an injunction which prohibited Valentino from making films with other producers. To ensure that his name remained in the public eye, Valentino, following the suggestion of his manager George Ullman, embarked on a national dance tour, sponsored by a cosmetics company called Mineralava, with Rambova (a former ballerina) as his partner. During this time he also traveled to Europe and had a memorable visit to his native town. Back in the U.S., he was criticized by his fans for his newly cultivated beard and was forced to shave it off.

Related Topics:
Blood and Sand - Nita Naldi - Paramount Pictures - George Ullman - Europe

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An animal lover and owner of several dogs and horses, Valentino's Irish Wolfhound was named Centaur Pendragon, and his Doberman Pinscher was named Kabar.

Related Topics:
Irish Wolfhound - Doberman Pinscher

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In 1925, Valentino was able to negotiate a new contract with United Artists which included the stipulation that his wife not be allowed on any of his movie sets (it was widely believed that her interference had created havoc with earlier productions such as Monsieur Beaucaire). He separated from Rambova shortly afterwards. After his separation, Valentino had an affair with the Polish actress, Pola Negri. 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 co-starring the popular Hungarian-born actress, Vilma Banky.

Related Topics:
United Artists - Pola Negri - The Eagle - Alexander Pushkin - The Son of the Sheik - The Sheik - Vilma Banky

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While on a transnational tour to promote "The Son of the Sheik," Valentino was attacked in an anonymous editorial published by The Chicago Tribune in which the author, incensed by a powder dispenser he had spotted in a public washroom, blamed Valentino for the supposed feminization of the American man. Furious, Valentino responded with a challenge to a boxing match that went unanswered. Shortly afterwards, Valentino met for dinner with the famed journalist H.L. Mencken for advice on how best to deal with the public slur. Mencken later professed that he found Valentino to be likable and gentlemanly and wrote sympathetically of him in an article published in Photoplay some months after Valentino's death.

Related Topics:
The Chicago Tribune - H.L. Mencken - Photoplay

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