Rudolph Valentino.

Rudolph Valentino. Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926), Italian-born motion-picture actor, considered the archetypal screen lover, idolized by female fans of the 1920s. Born Rodolfo Guglielmi in Castellaneta, Italy, he arrived in New York City in 1913 and, after holding a variety of menial jobs, eventually became a professional ballroom dancer. In 1918 he began to appear in minor roles in motion pictures, usually as an oily villain. Valentino first achieved fame in the silent film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), but he reached the peak of his popularity with The Sheik (1921), which presented him as a smoldering romantic figure and won him a legion of admirers. He also starred in Camille (1921), Blood and Sand (1922), The Young Rajah (1922), Monsieur Beaucaire (1924), A Sainted Devil (1924), The Eagle (1925), and The Son of the Sheik (1926). A gifted actor with dark, intense eyes, Valentino was adored by millions of women, who deeply mourned his unexpected death from a perforated ulcer and resultant peritonitis. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.