orig. Rodolfo Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla
born May 6, 1895, Castellaneta, Italy
died Aug. 23, 1926, New York, N.Y., U.S.
Italian-born U.S. film actor.
He immigrated to the U.S. in 1913 and worked as a dancer before moving to Hollywood in 1918. He played small parts in movies until his role in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) made him a star. His popularity, promoted by skillful press agents, soared among women as he played the handsome, mysterious lover in romantic dramas such as The Sheik (1921), Blood and Sand (1922), The Eagle (1925), and The Son of the Sheik (1926). His sudden death at 31 from a ruptured ulcer caused worldwide hysteria, several suicides, and riots at his funeral.