Rudolph Valentino

19AUG26

Rudolph Valentino
6th May 1895 - 23rd August 1926

His full name was:
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaele Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla
(I'm Spanish and I have a long-ass name, but that's on a whole new level.)

The First Latin Lover

Oh, how the audiences swooned! He was the very first screen sex symbol. He had a pretty short career, but was hugely successful, leaving a lasting influence and impact on popular culture.

He is probably most famous for the portrayal of the main male lead in the film The Sheik, from 1921.

Due to his very dandyish clothing, journalists would question his "masculinity". He would complain and critize this, even on the day of his death. [After reading his Wiki-entry, and after I had already handwritten this blog, I realized, that he did not die on the day he collapsed and complained about this, but days later.]

He collapsed and was taken to the hospital, where he underwent an operation, where he needed a sutur for a perforated ulcer and had to have his appendix removed. Perforated ulcers that mimic appendicitis, are now called "Valentino's Syndrome".

He would die about a week later of peritonitis, an inflammation of the inner wall of the abdomen, and septic endocarditis, an infection of the heart tissues, at only 31 years of age.

His sudden death shook both the public and his fellow actors and actresses.