Rudolph Valentino is a famous Italian actor and naturalized American who has starred in many well-known films. Here are 15 interesting facts about this talented Italian.
- His full name is Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella.
- He was born in Castellaneta in Italy on May 6, 1895.
- Following the death of his father, Valentino and his family emigrated to America in 1913.
- Before he became an actor, Valentino has a wide range of jobs. Some of these included a dishwasher, a landscape gardener, a waiter, and a taxi driver.
- Rudolph Valentino was once accused by the police of blackmail and petty theft.
- His first experiences of performing were as a nightclub dancer and tango partner.
- He had minor roles in 17 movies before becoming a star following his role in ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse’.
- Valentino was given the nickname ‘The Latin Lover’.
- Valentino was married twice. First, to Jean Acker from 1919 to 1923, and then to Natacha Rambova from 1923 to 1925.
- At the height of his fame, Rudolph Valentino was receiving as many as 10,000 fan letters per week.
- Valentino was paid $200,000 per movie for his roles in ‘The Eagle’ and ‘Son of Sheik’. This amount was unheard of at the time.
- He died at the age of 31 in Manhattan, New York City, on August 23, 1926. The cause of death was peritonitis and a perforated ulcer.
- The hospital where he died received over 2,000 calls per hour following his death from grieving female fans.
- His girlfriend at the time of his death was actress Pola Negri.
- He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
