A man should control his life. Mine is controlling me. –Rudolph Valentino
There are certain people, be they actors, musicians, politicians, who die prematurely and become frozen in time: to be remembered, seemingly forever.
We think of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, “the day the music died” performers Big Bopper, Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, Elvis Presley and too many others.
One actor, Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filbert Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antongguella, has a name that still is remembered from his death 90 years ago this month at the age of 31. Rudolph Valentino has become an enigma of swarthy charm that seduced women.
His story is one of immigrant success through toil and struggle to become one of the highest paid movie stars. His funeral is still remembered as “the day that Hollywood wept.”
He was born in Castellaneta, in the Apulia region of southern Italy, May 6, 1895. His mother, Marie Berta Gabrielle Barbin was French and his father was Giovanni Antonio Giuseppe Fedele Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella. His father died when Valentino was eleven and his sisters died in infancy. His older brother lived until 1981.
In 1913, Valentino immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island at the age of 18. His introduction to America was cheap rooms and apartments in New York as he sought a career. Valentino did any job open to him from bussing tables to allegedly petty theft and blackmail (which reportedly led to several arrests). His skill at dancing gave him his first break in nightclubs. Valentino auditioned and won a spot in a musical revue, “The Merry Monarch” which was on a national tour. He was interested in getting out of New York as legal allegations made employment difficult. The show took him to Utah, where it ended. He continued on to San Francisco and then Los Angeles in 1917.
He started in the movie industry at $5 per day working in small parts in several pictures. Valentino’s good looks and dancing skill were noticed and roles became bigger. He often played the dark skinned, dark haired villain in the still silent pictures against the white, light colored heroes.
In 1921, scriptwriter June Mathis and director Rex Ingram took Vincente Blasco Ibanez’s The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse and created a screenplay for Metro Pictures Corp. They both wanted Valentino as there is a romantic tango scene which they knew he was right for. The picture was a million dollar success and made Valentino a star. Another classic Valentino role, The Sheik soon followed. The Young Rajah and Monsieur Beaucaire cemented his fame as women fainted in the theaters showing the films and men degraded him. The Chicago Tribune, in 1926, editorialized, “When will we be rid of all these effeminate youths, pomaded, powdered, bejeweled and bedizened, in the image of Rudy….that painted pansy?”
Over the years his sexuality was questioned by several news sources. In his earlier days in the entertainment industry he became close to many powerful men, some straight and some not. He was married and divorced twice and reportedly had two girlfriends at the time of his death. No one has produced credible evidence of his being gay; unfortunately in those days it mattered.
Valentino’s fame grew and so did his ego. He protested to his studio, Famous Players against his $1,250 weekly salary (the middle class salary was $2,000 per year). He rejected a proposed raise to $7,000. He went on an international tour as a spokesman for beauty product companies where he danced, appeared and judged beauty contests as the women swooned.
The Ritz Carlton Pictures in conjunction with Famous Players brought him back to the screen at $7,500 a week salary. Unhappy with the scripts and his treatment he entertained an offer from Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford to join the studio they helped to found, United Artists. He did several films, including The Eagle and The Son of the Sheik. Deeply in debt due to lavish spending and legal bills, he also was unhappy in his current marriage to Natacha Rambova, who involved herself heavily in his career.
Valentino tried to be a renaissance man by publishing poetry and attempting to record albums, but his English was not adequate for American audiences.
He understood artistry in films and wanted to honor others. He created the Rudolph Valentino Medal which was presented to John Barrymore in 1925. It was the only one given.
In 1926, while in New York to promote The Son of the Sheik, he complained of stomach pains while at the Hotel Ambassador. He was taken to the New York Polyclinic Hospital where they first diagnosed his condition as appendicitis. Surgery revealed an acute perforated gastric ulcer. This condition is still referred to as “Valentino’s Syndrome”. The surgeons were able to repair the ulcer and gave him a good prognosis. However, he developed a secondary infection and grave complications set in. Valentino was reportedly unaware of the grave condition he was in. He died on August 23, 1926 at the age of 31.
Rumors flew that he had been poisoned or shot by jealous husbands, or a jilted lover. Valentino was a heavy smoker and drinker who did not sleep well and put an unfair burden on his body. The stress of his early life, his contract disputes, his divorces and romances helped age the young actor.
His remains were taken to the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home and it was decided to have a public viewing. Approximately 100,000 people gathered to have a last look at the exposed remains of Rudolph Valentino. Reportedly windows were broken as people rioted to get in. Frank E. Campbell’s allegedly hired four actors to dress in the uniforms of Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini’s guards to protect his remains. Pola Negri, his girlfriend at the time, had several dramatic fainting spells, either from grief or desire of publicity.
His Requiem Mass was held at St. Malachy’s Church. August 30 at 11 AM. Following this Mass he was placed on a train to Los Angles for his second funeral. Many lined the tracks to get a view of the funeral train as it passed.
The second Mass was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills on September 7 at 10 AM. 80,000 people filled the streets to see what they could of the invitation-only Funeral Mass.
Valentino, understandably, never had made burial arrangements. Scriptwriter and friend June Mathis donated her crypt at the Hollywood Memorial Park (now Hollywood Forever). She gave it as a temporary resting place until an appropriate memorial, as many were planning, was built. The other plans were never accomplished and Valentino’s donated temporary tomb became his eternal resting place.
The “Lady in Black” who adorned his mausoleum with red roses has always been an intriguing mystery that continues to this day. Many have claimed to be the mysterious dark clad mourner with roses. One of the more credible stories is that the daughter of a lady friend of his was seriously ill. Valentino visited the fourteen year old and told her she would get well and live much longer than he. His gift to her was a single red rose. After he died she visited Valentino’s tomb and brought red roses.
A celebrity with an interesting story of his climb to fame did not turn his back on the public in death. Valentino showed the public he appreciated their love and support. Many had an opportunity to grieve on “the day Hollywood wept.”
“Here is a young man who was living the dream of millions of other men. Here was one who was catnip to women. Here was one who had wealth and fame. And here is one who was very unhappy.” –H.L. Mencken