Rudolph Valentino is possibly the most famous star of the silent film era. He was born in Italy in 1895, and immigrated to the United States at age 18. Initially, he settled in New York City, doing odd jobs and giving tango lessons to keep afloat.
He got his start in show business as part of a dancing company, and from there he began getting bit parts in movies until his career took off. Apart from his work as an extra, Valentino starred in 14 films between 1921 and 1926. His movies, experts say, don’t meet the high bar other films of the era set. I guess that’s true – people don’t watch his movies for the cinematography.
In 1926, Valentino collapsed at a hotel in New York City. Doctors diagnosed him with appendicitis and a ruptured ulcer, and performed emergency surgery. The operation was declared a success, but six days later his seeming recovery came to a sudden halt and the actor’s condition worsened. Valentino spent two days slipping in and out of a coma, before passing away at age 31.
The reaction to his death was unlike anything ever seen. Immediately following the announcement, two fans outside the hospital attempted suicide. Many others were successful, including two distraught Japanese girls, who leapt to their death in a volcano. In the hours after Valentino’s death, thousands of his fans lined the streets and tried to force their way into the funeral home. After a funeral service at Saint Malachy’s in New York, his body was moved to Hollywood and laid to rest in a friend’s crypt.
There are no recordings of Valentino speaking, but he left more than his movies behind when he died in 1926. He made two professional opera recordings (click the link under the picture to listen), and in 1923, he published a book of poetry called Day Dreams.
Like his acting, his poetry and music are not highly regarded by the experts. But it seems to me that he writes and sings with great intensity, which is probably only a dim reflection of the magnetism he exuded in life.
Glorification
The arms of the earth broke through the sod
And clenched his fist in derision,
For clay knows not the might of God,
It has but earthy vision.
The finger of God wrote in the sky
A sign of mighty fire:
“Reach up to me for I am Life”
But earth could reach no higher.
With strength of muscle, with might and main,
Earth struggled and then defied,
But God stretched forth His hand of Love
And Earth was glorified.
http://www.archive.org/embed/RudolphValentino
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