May 22, 2022
Rodolfo Alfonso Rafaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina D’Antonguolla was born in Castellaneta Italy in 1895. He was a bit of a dreamer and was nicknamed “Mercury” as a youngster. When his veterinarian father died abruptly in 1906, his family sent him to boarding school followed by agricultural college. He took off to Paris in 1912, where he learned the tango, but was unable to find work. In 1913, he went to New York, where he first worked menial jobs before becoming a nightclub dancer at Maxim’s Restaurant-Cabaret. While there, he danced with upper class women for money and gave private lessons.
He met Blanca de Saulles and they developed a friendship. When she sued her husband Jack for divorce, Valentino testified against him in court. Jack apparently sought revenge, and Valentino was arrested at a brothel, after which he was jailed and taunted in the press; because of the negative publicity, he struggled to find work. Shortly after he was released, Blanca de Saulles shot her husband, and rather than being called in as a witness, Valentino left for the West Coast. In 1917, he found his way to Hollywood and began acting in bit parts, often as the villain. During his career, Valentino faced discrimination, as he had to deal with prejudices against immigrants, and he was denied roles because he was “too foreign” and had to contend with whispers about his sexual orientation.
He Never Consummated His First Marriage
He married Jean Acker in 1919, but the marriage was never consummated. According to some accounts, Acker locked him on their wedding night, and there is evidence that she had been in a romantic relationship with a woman. Years later, Acker would say that she did not sleep with Valentino because he admitted to having gonorrhea. They divorced in 1921, the same year he had his big break in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; the screenwriter, June Mathis thought he would be perfect for the lead. After his appearance in this box office hit, he became a star, and the mania around him grew rapidly. His next film, The Sheik (1921) would help to define him as the irresistible, brooding lover, although he did not like this characterization.
He Was Accused Of Bigamy
Since he married less than a year after his divorce, he was arrested for bigamy, and forced to pay a fine. He was also not allowed to see his second wife, Natasha Rambova for a period of time. They remarried the next year. Rambova overpowered Valentino and introduced him to the occult. Together, they attended seances, and Valentino came to believe that he had a spirit guide named Black Feather.
Around this time, he published Day Dreams, a poetry collection, but this was not his only publication. Unable to sign a new studio deal because of a contract dispute, he joined a dance tour, where he and Rambova were dancers and spokespersons for the sponsor, Mineralava beauty products. He also judged beauty contests. He returned to film in 1924 with the title role in Monsieur Beaucaire an overtly feminized role. With his divorce from Rambova, the public speculated that he was homosexual, and his marriages had been “lavender marriages” to hide it, although it seems that this assumption was based solely on the stereotypes of the time. The change in his screen persona seemed to add to the speculations. However, after the divorce, although Valentino was devastated, he did return to playing the roles he had become famous for. In 1926, he made The Son of the Sheik, which was his final work.
He Died After Having Appendicitis
Prior to the premier of his final film, the Chicago Tribune ran an editorial, “Pink Powder Puffs,” which enraged Valentino, and led him to challenge the unnamed writer to a boxing match. Valentino traveled to New York to get boxing lessons from Jack Dempsey, and when sportswriter Buck O’Neill, offered to fight him, Valentino agreed, and Valentino knocked him down with one punch. Despite this, Valentino continued to be angry about the affront.
The review of The Son of the Sheik appeared in the New York Times the day after the premiere, and stated that the film left “no doubt” about his masculinity, as it was full of “desert rough stuff and bully fights.” They also praised Valentino’s “most careless way of hurling himself off balconies and on and off horses. One leap from a balcony to a swinging chandelier is as good as anything Douglas Fairbanks ever did.” The chatter about Valentino’s masculinity started to dissipate after this.
Two weeks after the premiere, he was taken to a New York hospital after he collapsed while partying. He had surgery on August 15, 1926 to treat appendicitis and ulcers. After the surgery, he developed peritonitis and his health quickly worsened. On August 23, 1926, at the age of 31, he died. Before his death, his final days were packed with parties and press stunts; he also found a new lover, Pola Negri, who claimed that he often doubled over in pain. She also claimed she was to be his third wife, and then claimed she was his “widow,” capitalizing on his death.