Rudolph Valentino
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella, known professionally as Rudolph Valentino or mononymously as Valentino was an Italian-born actor and dancer. Dubbed The Latin Lover, he became one of the most iconic stars of American silent cinema and an enduring symbol of early Hollywood glamour. Rising to international fame in the early 1920s, Valentino was celebrated for his exotic screen persona, romantic intensity, and expressive performances, which helped redefine male stardom during the silent era.
Often referred to as the first "Latin Lover" and the "Great Lover," Valentino began his career as a taxi dancer, later moving into ballroom dancing, before he achieved breakthrough success with the film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which popularized the Argentine tango dance with American audiences. He subsequently starred in several box-office hits such as The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle, and The Son of the Sheik. His on-screen image—sensual, passionate, and unconventional by the standards of the time—made him the first screen sex symbol, which provoked both fervent adoration and cultural backlash, making him a lightning rod in debates about masculinity, sexuality, and modernity in the 1920s. Despite a career that lasted only a few years at its peak, Valentino's influence on popular culture was profound. In 1925, he also established a film award recognizing artistic achievement, the Rudolph Valentino Medal, which was a precursor to the Academy Award. His sudden death in 1926 at the age of 31 from complications of peritonitis following surgery for appendicitis and gastric ulcers triggered mass public mourning, cementing his status as a legendary figure of early cinema.
Valentino's life has depicted in several biographical films: Valentino, The Legend of Valentino, and Valentino. From 1972 to 2006, his legacy was further commemorated through the annual Rudolph Valentino Award, presented in Italy in recognition of acting achievement.
Early life
Childhood and education
Rudolph Valentino was born Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella on May 6, 1895 in Castellaneta, Apulia, Italy. His father, Giovanni Antonio Giuseppe Fedele Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella, was an Italian from Martina Franca, Apulia; he was a captain of cavalry in the Italian Army, later a veterinarian, who died of malaria when Valentino was 10. His mother, Marie Berthe Gabrielle Barbin, was French with Torinese ancestry, born in Lure in the Franche-Comté region. She was lady-in-waiting to a local marquess. Valentino had an older brother, Alberto, a younger sister, Maria, and an older sister, Beatrice, who had died in infancy.As a child, Valentino was indulged for his striking looks and playful personality. His mother doted on him, while his father was more critical. Nicknamed "Mercury," after the wing-footed messenger god, he displayed a restless, theatrical temperament. His dark, rebellious streak—often described as gothic in tone—became a concern to his devout Catholic family, who sent him first to a boarding school in Perugia where he flunked out.
Interested in enrolling in a naval technical school, Valentino spent a brief preparatory period in Venice, where he applied himself to his studies for the first time. He passed the written examination but failed the physical, as his chest measurement fell two centimeters short of the requirement. Deeply disappointed, he later earned a degree at the Agricultural Institute of Saint Ilario of Liguria in Nervi, in the province of Genoa, where he enjoyed his studies.
After graduating in 1912, at 17, Valentino left home for Paris and Monte Carlo, where he led a bohemian life—learning the then-controversial tango, socializing within fashionable circles, and quickly exhausting his savings. He soon returned to Italy and unable to secure employment, he was United States for a fresh start in 1913.
Emigration to New York
On December 9, 1913, 18-year-old Valentino departed Genoa aboard the S.S. Cleveland for New York City, carrying a bank draft from Credito Italiano for the equivalent of $4,000 and calling cards embossed with a fictitious family crest. Unlike most immigrants of the period, Valentino traveled across the Atlantic as a first-class passenger. Although his mother initially purchased him a second-class ticket, he found the arrangement unsuitable and upgraded to first-class accommodations. There, he enjoyed superior services and amenities and believed the social environment would better position him to make useful connections in America. During the 14-day voyage he worked on his English, he proved a popular dance partner among the female passengers.Valentino arrived in New York City on December 23, 1913. Contrary to popular belief, he did not undergo inspection at Ellis Island, as first-class passengers were typically processed aboard ship. He informed immigration authorities that he was an "agriculturalist" by profession and gave his middle name as "dei Marchesi," hoping to be taken for a descendant of a marquis.
After exchanging money at Brown Brothers on Wall Street, he explored Manhattan for the first time. An Italian acquaintance he had met during the voyage recommended Giolito's, a boardinghouse on West 49th Street where Italian was spoken and meals were available. Valentino rented a front-facing suite consisting of a bedroom, parlor, and bath. Seeking entertainment, he dined instead at Rector's on Broadway, a fashionable restaurant frequented by actors and society figures. Later that day, he returned to the S.S. Cleveland to retrieve his trunk, getting lost several times on the subway before finding his way back to Giolito's.
During the Christmas season, Valentino grew homesick and lonesome. Early in 1914, he reconnected with acquaintances he had known in Paris—Otto von Salm-Hoogstraeten and Alex von Salm-Hoogstraeten, and Georges Aranyi—and spent evenings socializing and dancing. By spring, his finances were strained, and he recognized that he could no longer sustain his earlier lifestyle. He left Giolito's and moved to less expensive lodgings in uptown Manhattan.
In the spring of 1914, Valentino secured work on Long Island as an apprentice landscape gardener at Oak Hill, the Georgian Revival estate of Cornelius N. Bliss Jr. in Brookville, New York, he but disliked the work. More interested in the social world of Manhattan than in his duties, he neglected his responsibilities and was dismissed after damaging Bliss' motorcycle in an accident. Bliss subsequently provided Valentino with a small weekly allowance to tide him over in the short term and recommended him to the Central Park Commissioner as an apprentice landscape gardener. The position, however, was a civil service post that required a preliminary examination open only to American citizens.
Valentino subsequently had several menial jobs such as polishing brass, sweeping up stores or sidewalks, picking up debris, and washing cars. He pawned his belongings and moved into the Mills Hotel, where rooms cost 12 cents a night; when he could no longer afford even that, he slept on benches in Central Park and washed under fire hydrants.
Dancing career
Eventually, Valentino found work as a taxi dancer at Maxim's Restaurant-Cabaret. He soon advanced from what was colloquially known as a "lounge lizard" to an exhibition dancer, though he continued to frequent New York's nightclub circuit.In December 1914, Valentino was introduced to exhibition ballroom dancer Bonnie Glass, who hired him as a replacement for her former partner Clifton Webb, paying him fifty dollars a week. Although he earned more as a taxi dancer, Valentino viewed the position as a strategic step up, as exhibition dancing offered greater visibility and prestige. Billed as her assistant "Monsieur Rudolph," Valentino first performed with Glass at Rector's and then her own Café Montmartre, which she opened in January 1915. They became a popular duo and appeared at prestigious venues, including the Winter Garden Theatre, B. F. Keith's Colonial Theatre, and B. F. Keith's Palace Theatre in New York City, followed by engagements at the Garden Pier in Atlantic City and the New Brighton Theatre in Coney Island.
The duo performed matinees at B. F. Keith's Orpheum in Brooklyn, and toured to B. F. Keith's theatres in Boston and Washington, D.C., as well as Shea's Theatre in Buffalo. They also participated in a Cake Walk contest at Jardin de Paris, a glass-enclosed rooftop theatre atop the New York Theatre, in New York City. Capitalizing on his European image, Valentino was billed as "Signor Rodolfo" for appearances with Glass at the Cabaret Mondain on West 45th Street and at her club Chez Fysher. By late 1915, advertisements listed "Bonnie Glass & Rudolph," under the management of Myron S. Bentham, a prominent theatrical agent of the period. He continued dancing with Glass into 1916, until her retirement following her marriage to artist Ben Ali Haggin.
After Glass retired, restaurateur Joe Pani hired Valentino to dance the tango with Joan Sawyer. Valentino and Sawyer toured major eastern cities on the B. F. Keith theatres circuit, and also performed at the Woodmansten Inn. They appeared before President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, D.C., an event Valentino later recalled with pride. By this period, he was earning $240 a week, a notable sum early in his career.
The de Saulles scandal
In 1916, Valentino met Chilean heiress Blanca de Saulles, who was unhappily married to businessman John "Jack" de Saulles. In July 1916, she filed for divorce and sought custody of their son, citing her husband's well-known infidelities. Whether Valentino and Blanca de Saulles were romantically involved remains unclear. However, during the divorce proceedings, Valentino testified in support of her claims, alleging that John de Saulles had maintained a long-term affair with Joan Sawyer. Following the divorce, John de Saulles reportedly used his political influence to retaliate.On September 5, 1916, Valentino was arrested alongside Mrs. Georgia Thyme at her apartment where he rented a room at 909 Seventh Avenue near Carnegie Hall. He was accused of being a pimp and jailed at the House of Detention and charged with violations of the Mann Act in connection with a so-called "white slave" investigation involving the disappearance of three women. Thyme, a known madame, was detained on the same charge. Assistant District Attorney James E. Smith, who conducted the raid, said he was informed by a reliable source that wealthy "social climbers" were blackmailed after indiscreet visits to her home. District Attorney Swann told the press that Valentino admitted that he was a "bogus count or marquias." Swann described him as a "handsome fellow, about twenty years old, and wears corsets and a wrist watch. He was often seen dancing in well known hotels and tango parlors with Joan Sawyer and Bonnie Glass." The evidence was insufficient, and after a few days their bail was reduced from $10,000 to $1,500; the charges were soon dropped.
In August 1917, Blanca de Saulles fatally shot her former husband, John de Saulles, during a custody dispute over their son. In the aftermath of the highly publicized trial and ensuing scandal, Valentino found himself unable to secure work. Fearing he might be called as a witness in another sensational case, he left New York and joined a traveling musical troupe, which ultimately took him to the West Coast.