Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino - Hardcover

Leider, Emily Wortis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374282390 ISBN 13: 9780374282394

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2003

Synopsis

From the author of Becoming Mae West—an in-depth look at the Silver-Screen legend who forever changed America’s idea of the leading man

Tango pirate, gigolo, powder puff, Adonis—all have been used to describe the silent-film icon known as Rudolph Valentino. From his early days as a taxi dancer in New York City to his near apotheosis as the ultimate Hollywood heartthrob, Rudolph Valentino (often to his distress) occupied a space squarely at the center of controversy. In this thoughtful retelling of Valentino’s short and tragic life—the first fully documented biography of the star—Emily W. Leider looks at the Great Lover’s life and legacy, and explores the events and issues that made him emblematic of the Jazz Age. Valentino’s androgynous sexuality was a lightning rod for fiery and contradictory impulses that ran the gamut from swooning adoration to lashing resentment. He was reviled in the press for being too feminine for a man; yet he also brought to the screen the alluring, savage lover who embodied women’s darker, forbidden sexual fantasies.

In tandem, Leider explores notions of the outsider in American culture as represented by Valentino’s experience as an immigrant who became a celebrity. As the silver screen’s first dark-skinned romantic hero, Valentino helped to redefine and broaden American masculine ideals, ultimately coming to represent a graceful masculinity that trumped the deeply ingrained status quo of how a man could look and act.

About this title

Review:

One of the first - some would say the greatest of all - screen lovers, Rudolph Valentino was born a nobody called Rudolfo Guglielmi, and first found success as a dancer. His irresistible rise to the position of the cinematic sex god of his day in such films as The Sheik, and early death thereafter, makes a riveting life story. Valentino, it seems, attracted gossip as easily as he did adoration from his millions of fans. Was he homosexual? A gigolo? Honest if naive? Corrupting and decadent? Despite the passing of the years, such questions remain, fascinating film fans and cultural historians alike.

About the Author:

Emily W. Leider is the author of Becoming Mae West (FSG, 1997). She lives in San Francisco.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0374282390
• ISBN 13: 9780374282394
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 514