He was born in Castellaneta[?], Apulia, Italy to a wealthy family, in the same year as the invention of cinema. He studied and qualified in Agricultural Science at Nervi in Genoa. He spent some time in Paris, where he became a talented dancer, and then returned to Italy for a while. In 1913 he left for America, following the advice of Domenico Savino, a friend of his and of tenor Tito Schipa[?]. He landed in New York where he worked for a while as a dancer and obtained a certain local fame. It has been said that during this period he also was a gigolo and that he had judicial troubles for prostitution-related matters.
He next joined an operetta company that soon disbanded in Utah; from there he reached San Francisco, California, where he met the actor Norman Kerry[?], who convinced him to try a career in cinema (still in the silent era). After a dozen films, that made him quite famous, in 1919 he was married for a few hours to Jean Acker[?]. He then achieved full success in films in 1920 with "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse".
In 1921 Valentino married actress Natacha Rambova, but this resulted in him being jailed for bigamy, since he ignored a California law prohibiting re-marriage within a year of divorce. The following scandal was notorious. The same year Valentino became a great star with the release of The Sheik[?].
In 1923 a dispute with Paramount Pictures resulted in an injunction which prohibited Valentino from making films with other producers. He traveled to Europe and had a memorable visit to his native town. Back in the United States, he was criticized by his fans for his newly cultivated beard and was forced to shave.
In 1926 he died in New York, New York as a result of septicemia a short time after surgery for an acute perforated gastric ulcer. An estimated 100,000 people were said to have taken part in his funeral. Hollywood legend relates the story that thousands of women lined the streets, causing riots. Several of his fans were even said to have committed suicide.
Valentino's Irish Wolfhound was named Centaur Pendragon.
Valentino was also supposed having acted, at the beginning of his career, in the following films:
Other names by which he was known:
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