Rudolph Valentino: a thread about the man that challenged the stereotypes of 1920s America.

I want to preface this thread saying that it was the 20s: we view people of back then as racists -and I agree- but trust me, Rudy was the less problematic of the bunch.

Rodolfo Valentino, or also known as “Rudy” or “Rudolph” Valentino, was born in a middle class family in Castellaneta and raised in Taranto, south Italy.
In his teen age years he got his diploma in agriculture from the Royal Academy of Agriculture.

In pursuit of a career, at age of 18, from Genoa, he emigrated in the United States and worked several jobs, as such: gardener, waiter, dancer and so on.
Someone suggested him to try to get into movies and in 1914, at the age of 19, he made his debut in the industry.

At the age of 22, in 1917, he moved to Hollywood in order to take more seriously is job, but he ended up to be type casted in minor roles as the mysterious villain.

At the age of 26, in 1921, he starred in “The four horsemen of the apocalypse”.
The tango he performed became iconic, made him the well known legend and Latin lover we know now.
In that moment: he revolutionised how the world saw villains.

Grown up women loved and desired him, he was the epitome of their sexual fantasies; meanwhile, men despised him because he didn’t fit in their masculine standards.