Rudolph Valentino

Rudolph Valentino
"The Son of the Sheik Ahmed", 1926, his final film.

Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926) was born Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi in Castellaneta, Italy. (Coincidentally, the birth of film also occurred in 1895). Known as the "Latin Lover", he was one of the most popular stars of the 1920s, and one of the most recognized stars from the silent film era. He is best known for his work in The Sheik and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. On August 15, 1926, Valentino collapsed at the Hotel Ambassador in New York City, New York. He was hospitalized at the Polyclinic in New York and underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer. 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 causing mass hysteria among his female fans, propelling him into icon status.

"One of the biggest stars of the silent screen, had a fascinating life. He had rebelled against his father to run with a fast crowd in Paris, where he learned the tango, the dance that would establish his career. Arriving in the U.S. almost penniless, he had resorted to petty theft and blackmail to survive. And his Hollywood career had been marked by two disastrous marriages, a rapid rise to stardom, fanatical fans and a sudden death that inspired suicides and a mob scene at his funeral. (...)"

 

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing"~ John Keats~ 

“Rudolph Valentino had an air of sadness. He wore his success gracefully, appearing almost subdued by it. He was intelligent, quiet and without vanity, and had great allure for women, but had little success with them, and those whom he married treated him rather shabbily. . . No man had greater attraction for women than Valentino; no man was more deceived by them." ~Charlie Chaplin~  

"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." ~Rudolph Valentino~1923 

Rudolph Valentino", in http://www.myspace.com/rudolphvalentinofanpage, consultado em 1 Dezembro 2010.