page_title: Rudolph Valentino
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Rudolph Valentino / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Photographer credited as Waxman.
context_page_description: Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella, known professionally as Rudolph Valentino, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle, and The Son of the Sheik.
  He was a sex symbol of the 1920s, who was known in Hollywood as the Latin Lover, The Great Lover, or simply Valentino. His premature death at the age of 31 caused mass hysteria among his fans and further propelled his status as a cultural film icon.
context_section_description: After Valentino's death, many of his films were reissued to help pay his estate expenses. Many were reissued well into the 1930s, long after the demise of silent film. Several books were written, including one by Rambova. A photo montage print showed Valentino arriving in Heaven and being greeted by Enrico Caruso.
  Over the years, a "woman in black" carrying a red rose has come to mourn at Valentino's crypt, usually on the anniversary of his death. Several myths surround the woman, though it seems the first woman in black was actually a publicity stunt cooked up by press agent Russel Birdwell in 1928. A woman named Ditra Flame claimed to be the original "woman in black". Several copycats have followed over the years. Although originally a PR stunt, it has become a tradition. The current "woman in black" is motion picture historian Karie Bible. This myth of "woman in black" was also a source of inspiration for the song "Long Black Veil".
  Valentino's hometown of Castellaneta, Italy, has created several services in his honor. The Museo Rodolfo Valentino was opened in his childhood home and a statue was unveiled in 1961. Fondazione Rodolfo Valentino was created to promote his life and his work. In 2009, a film school was also opened in his hometown, Centro Studi Cine Club Rodolfo Valentino Castellaneta. At the 1995 centennial of his birth, several events were held in his honor. From 1972 to 2006, an Italian acting award—The Rudolph Valentino Award—was handed out every year. Several actors from all over the world received this award, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Elizabeth Taylor.
  In 1994, an opera by Dominick Argento (libretto by Charles Nolte) entitled The Dream of Valentino was premiered by the Washington National Opera in Washington, DC. Reviews were not enthusiastic. The opera was revived by the Minnesota Opera in 2014, with similar reviews.
  In Italy in 2006, a one-off film festival was planned to celebrate the opening of the Museo Rodolfo Valentino. In May 2010, the American Society held the Rudolph Valentino Film Festival in Los Angeles, California.
  Valentino's syndrome, the type of medically emergent abdominal pain that caused his death, is named after him. Hollywood High School's mascot, the Sheiks, is a tribute to a Valentino character.
  Italian fashion designer Valentino is named after him.
caption: Valentino
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