• Since the 1920s no silent movie star has achieved the prominence of Italian immigrant Rudolph Valentino. His impact on American film and international culture is tremendous.
• By name recognition alone this actor’s notoriety surpasses his most famous peers. Chaplin may be known worldwide, but his fame is based on film credits, not psychological associations with romance and sexual symbols unrelated to entertainment.
• Valentino believed the women who claimed to have loved him were in love with an image and the idea of love itself, not with a real man.
• He longed for artistic acclaim and a greater variety of roles, yet he received fanaticism and a cult-like following that pursues him even after death. His enshrined crypt graces tourist guidebooks and remains one of the biggest attractions in Hollywood.
• If given the choice, Valentino would have played his life different, but this freedom was never allowed.

Genre: Biography