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Jochen Rindt

Karl Jochen Rindt (18 April 1942 – 5 September 1970) was a German-born racing driver who spent most of his life in Austria and competed as an Austrian. In, he was killed during practice for the Italian Grand Prix and became the only driver to be posthumously awarded the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.

Rindt started motor racing in 1961. Switching to single-seaters in 1963, he was successful in both Formula Junior and Formula Two. In, Rindt made his debut in Formula One at the Austrian Grand Prix, before securing a full drive with Cooper for. After mixed results with the team, he moved to Brabham for and then Lotus in. It was at Lotus that Rindt found a competitive car, although he was often concerned about the safety of the notoriously unreliable Lotus vehicles. He won his first Formula One race at the 1969 United States Grand Prix. He had a very successful 1970 season, mainly racing the revolutionary Lotus 72, and won five of the first nine races. In practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, he spun into the guardrails after a failure on his car's brake shaft, and a poorly installed crash barrier gave way. Rindt was pronounced dead while on the way to hospital. As his closest competitor Jacky Ickx was unable to score sufficient points in the remaining races of the season, Rindt was awarded the World Championship posthumously. Rindt left behind his wife, Nina, and a daughter, Natasha.

Overall, he competed in 62 Grands Prix, winning six and achieving 13 podium finishes. He was also successful in sports car racing, winning the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans paired with Masten Gregory in a Ferrari 250LM. Rindt was a popular figure in Austria and his success resulted in increased interest in motorsport and Formula One in particular. He hosted a monthly television show titled Motorama and set up a successful exhibition of racing cars in Vienna. During his time in Formula One, he was involved alongside Jackie Stewart in a campaign to improve safety in Formula One.

Early life and family
Jochen Rindt was born on 18 April 1942 in Mainz, Germany, to an Austrian mother and German father. His mother had been a successful tennis player in her youth and, like her father, studied law. Rindt's parents owned a spice mill in Mainz, which he later inherited. They were killed in a bombing raid in Hamburg during the Second World War when he was 15 months old, after which he was raised by his grandparents in Graz, Austria. Although his grandfather chose to retain Rindt's German citizenship, for his entire career he drove under an Austrian racing licence. In an interview, he described his heritage as a "terrible mixture" and, when asked if he felt more Austrian or German, said that he felt "like a European". Rindt had one half-brother, Uwe, through his mother.

Rindt's childhood friends and his brother described him as a "laddish child" who often performed tricks to amuse others. While on a skiing holiday, he broke his femoral neck, leading to several surgeries that left one leg 4 cm shorter than the other. As a result of this, Rindt limped slightly for the rest of his life. At the age of sixteen, he received a moped and started racing his friends on motocross tracks. His time in school was troubled and he was excluded from schools several times. He said: "In the end I got thrown out and went to England to learn English. I learned to drive while I was in England but I was too young to get a licence. When I went back home I broke my leg skiing but I decided I was more than capable of driving myself – even though I had one leg in plaster. I actually drove without a licence for 18 months and then got caught the day before I was eligible to collect it." His chances of obtaining a licence were put into further jeopardy because he had collected eight recorded misdemeanours with the police during his youth. In 1960, he received his first car, an old Volkswagen Beetle. His interest in motorsport greatly increased when he visited the 1961 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring with school friends, including fellow future Formula One driver Helmut Marko.

Beginnings
Rindt drove his first race at the Flugplatzrennen in 1961, in his grandmother's Simca Montlhéry. After missing the official application period, he only entered after a friendly high-ranking motorsport functionary from Graz intervened on his behalf. During the race, he was black flagged for his dangerous driving style and therefore disqualified; he did not immediately return to the pit lane as he was unaware of the regulations. Rindt entered several rallies with his Simca but did not achieve good results. It was only when he was provided with a race-prepared at cost price and with free servicing by a local dealer that he became more successful. In the Alfa Romeo, he achieved eight victories.

In 1963, Rindt switched to Formula Junior with the assistance of Kurt Bardi-Barry, a wealthy owner of a travel agency and one of Austria's leading drivers at the time; Barry gave him his one-year-old Cooper T67 and the two men formed a partnership, driving to races together. Rindt was fastest in practice for his first race in Vallelunga, a race won by Barry, and took victory in his second at Cesenatico. In the race, Rindt had taken advantage of an accident in the early stages. While most drivers slowed for the incoming ambulance, he raced ahead between the straw barriers and the parked medical vehicle to take the lead. At the time, he was notorious for his dangerous style, almost crashing into the spectators at a race in the streets of Budapest.

Formula Two
Rindt was highly successful in Formula Two racing, amassing a total of 29 victories. He once again entered the series in partnership with Barry, driving Brabham cars. The engines provided by Cosworth were slower and inconsistent in performance; Rindt responded to his reduced pace by declaring: "Then I just brake two metres later." He entered his first F2 race in April 1964 at the Preis von Wien at Aspern, retiring from both heats. The international motor racing world first took notice of him on 18 May 1964, when Rindt won the London Trophy race at the Crystal Palace circuit in a Brabham BT10 ahead of Graham Hill.

Like many other drivers at the time, Rindt continued to race in Formula Two races alongside his duties in Formula One; his last F2 appearance was the Festspielpreis der Salzburg in August 1970. In 1967, he dominated Formula Two, winning nine races in his Brabham BT23. As an experienced Formula One driver, he was graded "A", meaning his results did not count towards the championship, and the title went to Jacky Ickx. Still, his performances led him to be called "king of Formula 2" by the racing press. He had a long-standing relationship with Roy Winkelmann, and drove with his team until it closed at the end of 1969.

Sports cars
Along with single-seater racing, Rindt took up sports car racing in the mid-1960s. Rindt started at the 24 Hours of Le Mans a total of four times. At his debut in, sharing a Ferrari 250LM with David Piper, the car retired too early for Rindt even to take the wheel.

Rindt's best result came the following year at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sharing the drive of a Ferrari 250LM with American Masten Gregory for the North American Racing Team, Rindt won the event. Neither driver was happy to race in a seemingly uncompetitive car. A 1998 article in Motor Sport stated that neither appeared to show much interest in the race, but instead it was "more a case of 'hope it breaks soon' so they could draw their money and split". At the start, the drivers had to run to their cars; Rindt entered with a forward roll that allowed him to get his foot on the throttle instantly and take an early lead. The pair experienced considerable trouble in the early part of the race; the car did not restart during Gregory's first pit stop. Later, the engine failed partially and Gregory brought the car into the pits on only six of twelve cylinders. At this point, Rindt had already changed back into his civilian clothes, expecting their race to be over. After thirty minutes of repairs, the car restarted and Rindt and Gregory agreed to drive the rest of the event "flat out", at full speed and with the accompanying risk. Rindt drove most of the night, advancing from 18th to third position by dawn. Gregory persuaded Rindt to let him drive the closing part of the race, suspecting that his young teammate might not drive moderately enough to nurse the car to the finish. Jacky Ickx later recalled that the two had driven "like maniacs". Even so, the car survived, handing the pair what Ickx called an "unexpected victory".

Later that year, Rindt drove, again in a Ferrari 250LM, at the 500 kilometre race at Zeltweg. He was able to win ahead of the better powered Ferrari of Mike Parkes owing to a special lever that manually activated the brake lights. Using the tool shortly before his actual braking point, Rindt was able to force Parkes to brake earlier than him which allowed him to stay ahead.

Apart from his 1965 victory, he never finished the race in Le Mans. In 1966, his Ford GT40 (shared with Innes Ireland) suffered an engine failure. A year later, he drove a Porsche 907 with Gerhard Mitter until their camshaft failed.

Cooper (1964–1967)
Rindt made his Formula One debut at his home race, the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix, in a loaned Brabham BT11 supplied by the Rob Walker Racing Team. He retired on the 58th lap with a broken steering column in his only Grand Prix of the season.

For the 1965 Formula One season, Rindt signed as a permanent driver with Cooper, paired with Bruce McLaren. He was not immediately successful as Cooper, formerly a top team, were struggling at the time. In his first race, the 1965 South African Grand Prix, he developed transistor trouble; the damage was initially repaired but the problem recurred and Rindt had to retire from the race. His best result was a fourth place at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. He ended the season with four points, 13th in the championship.

For, Cooper introduced the T81 chassis and used nine-year old Maserati V12 engines, which were powerful but heavy. A new engine formula was introduced for the season, with the capacity doubled to three litres. Many teams struggled with the new rules, leaving Cooper competitive even with their old Maserati V12s. After McLaren left, Rindt became team leader until world champion John Surtees joined from Ferrari. At the second race of the year, the, Rindt overcame an engine failure in practice to qualify second, next to Surtees on the front row of the grid. In a race affected by heavy rain, he overtook Surtees for the lead on lap four. He spun several times on the wet track and suffered from a limited-slip differential, but held onto the lead until lap 21, when Surtees repassed him and won. It was Rindt's first ever podium finish in Formula One, after what Motor Sport magazine called a "very courageous" drive. Overall, he achieved three podium positions, handing him third place in the championship at the end of the year.

was less successful, as Rindt only finished two races, the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix, both in fourth place. Six points meant that he ended the season in 13th place in the championship.

Brabham (1968)
Prior to, Rindt received offers from every team except Lotus and Honda, and moved to Brabham, who had been world champions in the two previous seasons. Technical problems restricted him that year. Brabham's Repco V8 engine was not competitive against the now widely used Cosworth DFV and Rindt finished just two races, both in third place. At the season opener in South Africa on New Year's Day, Rindt placed third, being elevated by a late retirement from Jackie Stewart and closing on second-placed Graham Hill towards the end. The race was won by Jim Clark, a close friend of Rindt's. It was Clark's final Formula One race; he died three months later at a Formula Two race at Hockenheim. Rindt was deeply affected by his death, telling Austrian journalist Heinz Prüller: "If Jim Clark is not safe, what can happen to us?" His second podium finish came in heavy rain and fog at the Nürburgring at the, a race dominated by Stewart, who finished four minutes ahead of Hill in second place. Rindt had closed on Hill in the latter stages of the race after the Englishman spun, and finished just four seconds behind after a close battle during the last lap. His eight points placed him twelfth in the championship at the end of the season.

During these years, he also raced in the Indianapolis 500 in both 1967 and 1968, but finished only 24th and 32nd, completing only five laps in 1968 after finishing slightly more than half of the 1967 race. After dropping out of the 1967 race, Rindt was interviewed on the radio network by Luke Walton. When asked what he thought of the "500", he said "not much". In an interview in 2014, Heinz Prüller recalled Rindt speaking about Indianapolis in 1967: "In Indianapolis, I always feel like I am on my way to my own funeral." At another occasion, he said about the track: "It is catastrophic, I only drive there because of the money."

1969 season
For the 1969 season, Rindt signed for the 1968 World Constructors' Champion Lotus, where he joined the defending Drivers' Champion Graham Hill. Rindt felt uncomfortable with the move, owing to the notorious unreliability of the Lotus car; in a twenty-month period between 1967 and 1969, the team was involved in 31 accidents. Hill alone had nine crashes between 1968 and 1970, which led him to joke: "Every time I am being overtaken by my own wheel, I know I am in a Lotus." When Rindt joined Lotus, his friend and de facto manager Bernie Ecclestone, who had negotiated the deal, remarked that they were aware that Brabham may have been a better choice of team but the speed of the Lotus gave Rindt a chance to win the championship. Rindt commented: "At Lotus, I can either be world champion or die." Because of his uncertainty about the wisdom of joining the team, Rindt did not sign the Lotus contract until shortly before the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix. Rindt's hesitancy appeared justified when both he and Hill suffered high speed crashes at the Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuïc. In both instances, the suspension mounted wings on the cars broke off, causing accidents that could have killed either driver. The effect of the failure lifted Rindt's car off the track and into the barriers, where it collided with the stationary car of Hill, whose accident occurred at the same spot. Although Rindt only suffered a broken nose, one marshal lost an eye and another had his foot broken. Rindt was furious with Lotus's team owner, Colin Chapman, over the failure; he told a reporter after the accident: "I place the blame on him [Chapman] and rightfully so, because he should have calculated that the wing would break." In an interview on Austrian television a day later, he said: "These wings are insanity [ein Wahnsinn] in my eyes and should not be allowed on racing cars. ... But to get any wisdom into Colin Chapman's head is impossible." Asked whether he had lost trust in Lotus after the accident, he replied: "I never had any trust in Lotus", going on to describe his relationship with the team as "purely business". His accident left him sidelined for the, a race that Hill won.

Jackie Stewart later described Rindt's 1969 season as the year that he "came of age". At the end of the year, Motor Sport magazine called him "[t]he only driver to challenge Stewart seriously throughout the season", albeit placing only fourth in the championship. The poor reliability of the Lotus 49B affected him; he retired from seven races. At the, Rindt fought a close battle with Stewart for the lead; both men were 90 seconds ahead of third-placed Jacky Ickx. The race was decided in Stewart's favour only when Rindt had to enter the pits after part of his car's bodywork started to rub on the tyre; he finished fourth. At the, he was involved in a memorable finish. Having started from pole position, he traded the lead with Stewart and Piers Courage several times. During the last lap, Rindt, Stewart, McLaren, and Jean-Pierre Beltoise were running close together as they approached the finish line. Stewart took the win, only eight hundredths of a second ahead of Rindt, while fourth placed McLaren was also within two tenths of a second. It was the closest 1–2–3–4 finish in the history of the sport. Rindt recorded his maiden Grand Prix win at the penultimate race of the season at Watkins Glen, winning $50,000—the largest monetary prize in Formula One history at the time. His victory was overshadowed by a serious accident involving his teammate Hill, who crashed after a high speed puncture and suffered major leg injuries.

1970 season
For, Rindt's partner at Lotus was John Miles; Graham Hill had left the team to drive for Rob Walker's customer franchise. Rindt became the clear team leader. At the first Grand Prix of the season in South Africa, he qualified fourth, but eventually retired with an engine failure after a first lap incident with Chris Amon and Jack Brabham, the latter of whom went on to win for the final time in his career. At the following race, the, Lotus introduced their revolutionary new car design. Instead of one conventional front radiator, the Lotus 72 featured two, one on each side of the cockpit. Further innovations included torsion bar suspension in place of the widely used coil-springs, and all four brakes mounted inboard to reduce unsprung weight. During its first practice session, the left semi-axle of the car broke, sending Rindt into a spin. The car also proved ineffective in the race; Rindt retired after nine laps.

As the Lotus 72 was not as effective as the team hoped, it was returned to the factory to be re-built and Rindt used the old Lotus 49 for the next race in Monaco. The necessity of using tyres intended for the new design made the older car unstable. Seemingly unaffected by this, Rindt produced what his race engineer Herbie Blash called "the race of his life". From eighth on the grid, he worked his way through the field on a track notorious for presenting few overtaking opportunities. In the closing stages, he was second, steadily closing the gap on leader Jack Brabham. On the final lap, on the final corner, Brabham braked too late, touched the kerbstone and went straight ahead into the straw bales, allowing Rindt through to take his first victory of the season. Rindt used the Lotus 49 one last time at the, a race at which he heavily criticised the organisers for installing guardrails that had gaps of several metres between them. He had originally started practice in the remodelled 72, but the car came to a halt early in the session with a broken lower wishbone, forcing Rindt to switch cars once more. Despite engine troubles during the rest of practice, he managed to qualify on the front row, but later retired with another engine failure.

At the, Rindt eventually used the new Lotus 72, better sorted after alterations had been made. He set pole position in the final practice session, almost a quarter of a second ahead of his closest challenger, Stewart. Rindt went on to take his maiden victory in the Lotus 72, but it was not a joyful occasion for him; on lap 23, his close friend Piers Courage, with whom he had eaten dinner just the night before, died in a fiery crash. Rindt was heavily shaken by the loss of yet another fellow driver and contemplated retirement.

After the success at Zandvoort, Rindt gained confidence in the new Lotus 72, describing it as "the best racing car that exists at the moment". But he continued to have problems. During practice for the, Rindt opted to drop his new all-enveloping Bell-Star crash helmet, finding it too hot. He went back to using his open-front helmet, only to be hit in the face by a stone from another car, causing a deep cut on his right cheek. He also suffered a steering failure on his car. Furious over yet another mechanical problem, he stormed into the Lotus garage and yelled at Colin Chapman: "If this happens again and I survive, I will kill all of you!" Rindt was still able to win the race, taking the lead in the championship. The next race was the at Brands Hatch. Jacky Ickx established an early lead ahead of Brabham and Rindt, but when Ickx's transmission failed, Rindt seized the opportunity to pass Brabham for the lead. Brabham was then able to regain the top spot on lap 69 as Rindt missed a gear and looked the certain winner, only to repeat his misfortune of Monaco: on the last lap, he ran out of fuel, allowing Rindt to take his third win in a row. His victory was cast into doubt shortly after the race when Chief Scrutineer Cecil Mitchell found the rear aerofoil not at the regulated height. Rindt was provisionally disqualified, only to be reinstated as winner after three hours of deliberation.

The was originally set to take place at its traditional venue, the Nürburgring. The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), represented by Rindt and Graham Hill, demanded changes to the circuit to increase safety, including Armco barriers along the entire 22.8 km of the Nordschleife. No agreement was reached and the Grand Prix moved to Hockenheim, where Rindt took his fourth victory in succession. The race was another two-way fight, this time between Rindt and Ickx, who exchanged the lead several times. This meant that he could have secured the drivers' title at his home event at the. He set the Lotus 72 on pole position, to the delight of the crowd, but retired from the race with an engine failure. The title decision was therefore postponed to the next race in Monza.

Death and legacy
The paddock moved to the at Monza, a track known for high speeds; drivers often used the slipstream of cars in front to increase their pace. Because of this, many teams, including Lotus, opted to drop the rear wings mounted on the cars to reduce drag and further increase speeds. The more powerful flat-12 Ferraris of Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni had been up to 10 mi/h faster than the Lotus at the previous race in Austria. Rindt's teammate John Miles was unhappy with the wingless setup in Friday practice, reporting that the car "wouldn't run straight". Rindt reported no such problems, and Chapman recalled that Rindt reported the car to be "almost 800 rpm faster on the straight" without wings.

On the following day, Rindt ran with higher gear ratios fitted to his car to take advantage of the reduced drag, increasing the car's potential top speed to 205 mi/h. On his fifth lap of his practice session, he crashed heavily at the approach to the Parabolica corner. Denny Hulme, who was following Rindt at the time, described the accident as follows: "Jochen was following me for several laps and slowly catching me up and I didn't go through the second Lesmo corner very quick so I pulled to the one side and let Jochen past me and then I followed him down into the Parabolica, ... we were going very fast and he waited until about the 200 metres to put on the brakes. The car just sort of went to the right and then it turned to the left and turned out to the right again and then suddenly just went very quickly left into the guardrail."

Upon impact, a joint in the crash barrier parted, the suspension of the vehicle went under the barrier, and the car hit a stanchion head-on. The front end was destroyed. Rindt was in the habit of using only four points on the five-point harness then available and did not wear the crotch straps, as he wanted to be able to exit the car quickly in the event of fire. As a result, upon impact he slid under the belts, and the belts fatally slit open Rindt's throat. Later investigations found that the accident was initiated by a failure of the car's right front inboard brake shaft, but that Rindt's death was caused by poorly installed crash barriers. Chapman rejected the assertion that the broken brake shaft had caused the accident, arguing that the shaft broke when the wheel hit the crash barrier.

Rindt was pronounced dead on the way to hospital in Milan and Lotus withdrew all cars from the race, including the Lotus 72 entered by Rob Walker. The Grand Prix went ahead and Clay Regazzoni took his maiden victory, but celebrations were muted. There was a lengthy investigation into Rindt's death in Italy, leading to a trial against Colin Chapman; he was cleared of all charges in 1976. The destroyed Lotus 72 remained in Italy after the trial, going to a scrapyard near Monza. In 1985, a real estate agent found the wreckage and bought it from the authorities, later trading it in 1993 for a Lola Formula 3 car. Since then, the car has rested in a garage near Milan.

Rindt was buried at the central cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) in Graz on 11 September 1970. At his funeral, Joakim Bonnier gave the eulogy, saying: "To die doing something that you loved to do, is to die happy. And Jochen has the admiration and the respect of all of us. The only way you can admire and respect a great driver and friend. Regardless what happens in the remaining Grands Prix this year, to all of us, Jochen is the world champion."

At the time he died Rindt had won five of that year's ten Grands Prix, which meant that he had a substantial lead in the Drivers' Championship. After winning the next race in Canada, Jacky Ickx moved within 17 points of Rindt in the Championship, giving him a chance to win the title if he won the two remaining races. At the, a race won by Rindt's replacement at Lotus, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ickx placed only fourth, making Rindt motor racing's only posthumous world champion. The championship trophy was handed to his widow Nina by Jackie Stewart on 18 November 1970 in a ceremony near the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Rindt was commemorated in many ways. The early season BARC 200 Formula Two race was renamed the Jochen Rindt Memorial Trophy for as long as the series existed. In 2000, on the 30th anniversary of his death, the city of Graz unveiled a bronze plaque in remembrance of Rindt, with wife Nina and daughter Natasha present. The penultimate corner at the Red Bull Ring in Austria is named after Rindt.

The Historic Sports Car Club in the United Kingdom hosts a historic Formula 2 championship, whose pre-1972 category is called the "Class A Jochen Rindt Trophy".

Personal life
In March 1967, Rindt married Nina Lincoln, a Finnish model and daughter of racing driver Curt Lincoln, whom he had raced in the early part of his career. After becoming engaged, Lincoln had originally broken up with Rindt and sent the engagement ring back. Rindt then put it back into the box with a note telling her to keep it until she changed her mind, which she did upon receiving the package, later explaining: "I like men who know what they want." The couple moved to Switzerland, near Begnins, where they built a house together. The Rindts had one daughter, Natasha, who was two years old at the time of her father's death. Nina Rindt married twice more after Rindt's death, first Philip Martyn, with whom she had another daughter, and then Alexander Hood, 4th Viscount Bridport, making her Nina Hood, Lady Bridport. The couple had a son, Anthony. Their daughter Natasha later worked with Bernie Ecclestone for several years after he had taken over the commercial rights of Formula One.

Rindt had met Bernie Ecclestone during his time at Cooper and the two became friends. Noticing his commercial talent, Rindt allowed Ecclestone to manage his professional contracts, without ever officially employing him as a manager. Ecclestone said of the relationship: "I was never his manager, we were good friends. I helped him with any help he ever needed." After Rindt's accident, it was Ecclestone who carried his bloody helmet back to the pit lane. In Formula One, Rindt had several friendly relationships with other drivers, most notably Jackie Stewart. They met at a Formula Two event in 1964 and soon became friends, often going on holiday together and living near each other in Switzerland. Until his death, they were sometimes accompanied by Jim Clark. Rindt became involved in Stewart's fight for increased safety in Formula One, being one of the leading figures of the GPDA. For his role in the safety campaign, Rindt was criticised by fellow drivers and the press alike; reporters derogatively called Stewart, Rindt and Joakim Bonnier the "Geneva connection", due to their residence in Switzerland. Stewart said that it took Rindt some time to understand the graveness of the situation but after that, he was a "good ally". After Rindt's death, his wife Nina stayed close with the Stewarts and can be seen visiting them at the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix in the Roman Polanski-produced film Weekend of a Champion.

Privately, Rindt was known to family and friends as an often reckless driver when on public roads. During the early years of his career, he took his Jaguar E-Type out in the streets of Vienna, where he lived, and drifted through the streets. He sparked public criticism in 1968 when he flipped over a Mini Cooper during a demonstration run at an autocross event in Großhöflein, while his pregnant wife was on board.

Rindt's success popularised motorsport in Austria. Helmut Zwickl called him "the driving instructor of the nation". In 1965, Rindt put together the first exhibition of racing cars in Austria, the Jochen-Rindt-Show in Vienna. It was an immediate success, with 30,000 visitors on the first weekend alone. Using his connections, he brought in his friend Joakim Bonnier and former Mercedes Grand Prix manager Alfred Neubauer as opening speakers, with other drivers such as Jackie Stewart attending. The show soon became an annual event and later moved to the German city of Essen in 1970, shortly after Rindt's death, and remains there as the Essen Motor Show. Rindt, with the help of Ecclestone, was able to successfully promote himself, including lucrative sponsorship and advertising contracts. Following his ascent in racing, two race tracks were built in Austria, the Österreichring (now Red Bull Ring), for which Rindt worked as a consultant, and the Salzburgring. Rindt's popularity was further increased through the TV show Motorama, which he hosted. The monthly programme included tips for driving on public roads, reports from Grands Prix and interviews of fellow drivers by Rindt.

Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Non-championship Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Tasman Series results
(key)

title: Jochen Rindt


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580s BC

This article concerns the period 589 BC – 580 BC.

Events and trends

 * 589 BC—Apries succeeds Psamtik II as king of Egypt.
 * 589 BC—Nebuchadnezzar II begins his second siege of Jerusalem.
 * 589 BC—Battle of An: Jin defeats Qi; these two Chinese states later agree to an alliance.
 * January 15 588 BC—The last phase of Siege of Jerusalem began.
 * 587/586 BC—Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, ending the Kingdom of Judah. The conquerors destroy the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem and exile some of the land's inhabitants.
 * 586 BC—Death of King Ding of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
 * 28 May 585 BC—A solar eclipse occurs while Alyattes of Lydia fights Cyaxares of Media at a battle on the Halys river, leading to a truce. This is a cardinal date from which other dates can be calculated.
 * 585 BC—Kirrha is destroyed, ending the First Sacred War.
 * 585 BC—Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, king of Rome, defeats the Sabines in war, takes the town of Collatia, and celebrates a triumph for his victories on 13 September.
 * 585 BC—Ji Yi becomes King Jian of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
 * 585 BC—Fall of the Kingdom of Urartu following a Median invasion. (The Scythians ruined the Kingdom of Urartu.)
 * 585 BC—Croesus succeeds Alyattes as King of Lydia.
 * 585/584 BC—Astyages succeeds Cyaxares as King of the Medes.
 * 582 BC—Military clash between the major Classical antiquity powers of Egypt and Babylon.
 * 582 BC—Akragas is founded on Sicily.
 * 582 BC—Nebuchadnezzar forces a third deportation of Jews from Judah into Babylonian captivity.
 * 582 BC—The Pythian Games are reorganised at Delphi (traditional date).
 * 582/581 BC—The Isthmian Games are founded at Corinth.
 * 581 BC—Suizei becomes the second Emperor of Japan.
 * c. 580 BC—Cambyses I succeeds Cyrus I as king of Anshan and head of the Achaemenid dynasty.
 * c. 580 BC—Gorgon Medusa, detail of a sculpture from the west pediment of the Temple of Artemis, Korkyra, is made.
 * c. 580 BC—Standing Youth (kouros) is made.

Significant people

 * 585 BC—Birth of Anaximenes of Miletus, Greek philosopher (died 525 BC)
 * 585 BC—Death of Emperor Jimmu of Japan (according to legend)
 * 585 BC—Death of king Cyaxares of Media
 * 585 BC—Death of king Alyattes of Lydia
 * 580 BC—Death of Cyrus I of Anshan (approximate date)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 580s BC


text:
585 BC

The year 585 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 169 Ab urbe condita . The denomination 585 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

 * 28 May - Eclipse of Thales: A solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Thales, while Alyattes of Lydia fights Cyaxares of Media at the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is a cardinal date from which other dates can be calculated. It is also the earliest event of which the precise date is known.
 * Destruction of Kirrha, ending the First Sacred War.
 * Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, legendary fifth king of Rome, defeats the Sabines in war, taking the town of Collatia and celebrating a triumph for his victories on 13 September.
 * King Jian of Zhou succeeds King Ding of Zhou as king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty.
 * Astyages succeeds Cyaxares as king of the Medes.
 * Croesus succeeds Alyattes as king of Lydia.
 * Fall of the Kingdom of Urartu following a Median invasion. (The Scythians ruined the Kingdom of Urartu.)

Births

 * Anaximenes of Miletus, Greek philosopher (d. 528 BC)

Deaths

 * April 9 (according to legend) – Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan (b. 711)
 * Cyaxares, king of the Medes
 * Alyattes, king of Lydia
 * Nitocris I, Egyptian priestess
 * Rusa IV, king of Urartu

title: 585 BC


text:
Nearctic realm

The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface.

The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America that are not in the Nearctic realm include most of coastal Mexico, southern Mexico, southern Florida, coastal central Florida, Central America, and the Caribbean islands. Together with South America, these regions are part of the Neotropical realm.

Major ecological regions
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) divides the Nearctic into four bioregions, defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)."

Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield bioregion extends across the northern portion of the continent, from the Aleutian Islands to Newfoundland. It includes the Nearctic's arctic tundra and boreal forest ecoregions.

In terms of floristic provinces, it is represented by part of the Canadian Province of the Circumboreal Region.

Eastern North America
The Eastern North America bioregion includes the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Eastern United States and southeastern Canada, the Great Plains temperate grasslands of the central United States and south-central Canada, the temperate coniferous forests of the southeastern United States, including central Florida. In terms of floristic provinces, it is represented by the North American Atlantic Region and part of the Canadian Province of the Circumboreal Region.

Western North America
The Western North America bioregion includes the temperate coniferous forests of the coastal and mountain regions of southern Alaska, western Canada, and the western United States from the Pacific Coast and Northern California to the Rocky Mountains (known as the Cascadian bioregion), as well as the cold-winter intermountain deserts and xeric shrublands and temperate grasslands and shrublands of the Western United States.

In terms of floristic provinces, it is represented by the Rocky Mountain region.

Northern Mexico
The Northern Mexico bioregion includes the mild-winter to cold-winter deserts and xeric shrublands, warm temperate and subtropical pine and pine-oak forests, and Mediterranean climate ecoregions of the Mexican Plateau, Baja California peninsula, and the southwestern United States, bordered to the south by the Neotropical Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. This region also includes the only subtropical dry broadleaf forest in the Nearctic realm, the Sonoran–Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest.

In terms of floristic provinces, it is represented by the Madrean Region.

History
Although North America and South America are presently joined by the Isthmus of Panama, these continents were separated for about 180 million years, and evolved very different plant and animal lineages. When the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea split into two about 180 million years ago, North America remained joined to Eurasia as part of the supercontinent of Laurasia, while South America was part of the supercontinent of Gondwana. North America later split from Eurasia. North America has been joined by land bridges to both Asia and South America since then, which allowed an exchange of plant and animal species between the continents, the Great American Interchange.

A former land bridge across the Bering Strait between Asia and North America allowed many plants and animals to move between these continents, and the Nearctic realm shares many plants and animals with the Palearctic. The two realms are sometimes included in a single Holarctic realm.

Many large animals, or megafauna, including horses, camels, tapirs, mammoths, mastodons, ground sloths, sabre-tooth cats (Smilodon), short-faced bears and the American cheetah, became extinct in North America at the end of the Pleistocene epoch (ice ages) in what is called the Quaternary extinction event.

Flora and fauna that originated in the Nearctic
Mammals originally unique to the Nearctic include:
 * Order Primates – the first primate/proto-primate, Purgatorius, originated in the Early Paleocene of the Nearctic.
 * Family Canidae – dogs, wolves, foxes, and coyotes.
 * Family Camelidae – camels and their South American relatives including the llama. Now extinct in the Nearctic
 * Family Equidae – horses, donkeys and their relatives. Now only found in the Nearctic as feral horses.
 * Family Tapiridae – tapirs now extinct in the Nearctic.
 * Family Antilocapridae – last survivor of which is the pronghorn.
 * Subfamily Tremarctinae (short-faced bears) – including the giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus). The only surviving member of the group is the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) of South America.

Flora and fauna endemic to the Nearctic
One bird family, the wrentits (Timaliinae), is endemic to the Nearctic region. Two mammal families are endemic to the Nearctic, the pronghorns (Antilocapridae) and the mountain beaver (Aplodontiidae). The Holarctic has four endemic families: divers (Gaviidae), grouse (Tetraoninae), auks (Alcidae), and the waxwings (Bombycillidae). The scarab beetle families Pleocomidae and Diphyllostomatidae (Coleoptera) are also endemic to the Nearctic. The fly species Cynomya cadaverina is also found in high numbers in this area.

Plant families endemic or nearly endemic to the Nearctic include the Crossosomataceae, Simmondsiaceae, and Limnanthaceae.

title: Nearctic realm


text:
Neotropical realm

The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.

Definition
In biogeography, the Neotropic or Neotropical realm is one of the eight terrestrial realms. This realm includes South America, Central America, the Caribbean islands, and southern North America. In Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula and southern lowlands, and most of the east and west coastlines, including the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula are Neotropical. In the United States southern Florida and coastal Central Florida are considered Neotropical.

The realm also includes temperate southern South America. In contrast, the Neotropical Floristic Kingdom excludes southernmost South America, which instead is placed in the Antarctic kingdom.

The Neotropic is delimited by similarities in fauna or flora. Its fauna and flora are distinct from the Nearctic realm (which includes most of North America) because of the long separation of the two continents. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama joined the two continents two to three million years ago, precipitating the Great American Interchange, an important biogeographical event.

The Neotropic includes more tropical rainforest (tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests) than any other realm, extending from southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America to southern Brazil, including the vast Amazon rainforest. These rainforest ecoregions are one of the most important reserves of biodiversity on Earth. These rainforests are also home to a diverse array of indigenous peoples, who to varying degrees persist in their autonomous and traditional cultures and subsistence within this environment. The number of these peoples who are as yet relatively untouched by external influences continues to decline significantly, however, along with the near-exponential expansion of urbanization, roads, pastoralism and forest industries which encroach on their customary lands and environment. Nevertheless, amidst these declining circumstances this vast "reservoir" of human diversity continues to survive, albeit much depleted. In South America alone, some 350–400 indigenous languages and dialects are still living (down from an estimated 1,500 at the time of first European contact), in about 37 distinct language families and a further number of unclassified and isolate languages. Many of these languages and their cultures are also endangered. Accordingly, conservation in the Neotropical realm is a hot political concern, and raises many arguments about development versus indigenous versus ecological rights and access to or ownership of natural resources.

Major ecological regions
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) subdivides the realm into bioregions, defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)."

Laurel forest and other cloud forest are subtropical and mild temperate forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. Tropical rainforest, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests are highlight in Southern North America, Amazonia, Caribbean, Central America, Northern Andes and Central Andes.

Amazonia
The Amazonia bioregion is mostly covered by tropical moist broadleaf forest, including the vast Amazon rainforest, which stretches from the Andes mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, and the lowland forests of the Guianas. The bioregion also includes tropical savanna and tropical dry forest ecoregions.

Central Andes
The Central Andes lie between the Gulfs of Guayaquil and Penas and thus encompass southern Ecuador, Chile, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwest and western Argentina.

Eastern South America
Eastern South America includes the Caatinga xeric shrublands of northeastern Brazil, the broad Cerrado grasslands and savannas of the Brazilian Plateau, and the Pantanal and Chaco grasslands. The diverse Atlantic forests of eastern Brazil are separated from the forests of Amazonia by the Caatinga and Cerrado, and are home to a distinct flora and fauna.

Northern Andes
North of the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador and Colombia, a series of accreted oceanic terranes (discrete allochthonous fragments) have developed that constitute the Baudo, or Coastal, Mountains and the Cordillera Occidental.

Orinoco
The Orinoco is a region of humid forested broadleaf forest and wetland primarily comprising the drainage basin for the Orinoco River and other adjacent lowland forested areas. This region includes most of Venezuela and parts of Colombia, as well as Trinidad and Tobago.

Southern South America
The temperate forest ecoregions of southwestern South America, including the temperate rain forests of the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregions, and the Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands, are a refuge for the ancient Antarctic flora, which includes trees like the southern beech (Nothofagus), podocarps, the alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), and Araucaria pines like the monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). These rainforests are endangered by extensive logging and their replacement by fast-growing non-native pines and eucalyptus.

History
South America was originally part of the supercontinent of Gondwana, which included Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, and Antarctica, and the Neotropic shares many plant and animal lineages with these other continents, including marsupial mammals and the Antarctic flora.

After the final breakup of the Gondwana about 110 million years ago, South America was separated from Africa and drifted north and west. 66 million years ago, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event altered local flora and fauna. Much later, about two to three million years ago, South America was joined with North America by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama, which allowed a biotic exchange between the two continents, the Great American Interchange. South American species like the ancestors of the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) and the armadillo moved into North America, and North Americans like the ancestors of South America's camelids, including the llama (Lama glama), moved south. The long-term effect of the exchange was the extinction of many South American species, mostly by outcompetition by northern species.

Animals
The Neotropical realm has 31 endemic bird families, which is over twice the number of any other realm. They include tanagers, rheas, tinamous, curassows, antbirds, ovenbirds, toucans, and seriemas. Bird families originally unique to the Neotropics include hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) and wrens (family Troglodytidae).

Mammal groups originally unique to the Neotropics include:
 * Order Xenarthra: anteaters, sloths, and armadillos
 * New World monkeys
 * Solenodontidae, the solenodons
 * Caviomorpha rodents, including capybaras, guinea pigs, hutias, and chinchillas
 * American opossums (order Didelphimorphia) and shrew opossums (order Paucituberculata)

The Neotropical realm has 63 endemic fish families and subfamilies, which is more than any other realm. Neotropical fishes include more than 5,700 species, and represent at least 66 distinct lineages in continental freshwaters (Albert and Reis, 2011). The well-known red-bellied piranha is endemic to the Neotropic realm, occupying a larger geographic area than any other piranha species. Some fish groups originally unique to the Neotropics include:
 * Order Gymnotiformes: Neotropical electric fishes
 * Family Characidae: tetras and allies
 * Family Loricariidae: armoured catfishes
 * Subfamily Cichlinae: Neotropical cichlids
 * Subfamily Poeciliinae: guppies and relatives

Examples of other animal groups that are entirely or mainly restricted to the Neotropical region include:
 * Caimans
 * New World coral snakes
 * Poison dart frogs
 * Dactyloidae ("anoles")
 * Rock iguanas (Cyclura)
 * Preponini and Anaeini butterflies (including Agrias)
 * Brassolini and Morphini butterflies (including Caligo and Morpho)
 * Callicorini butterflies
 * Heliconiini butterflies
 * Ithomiini butterflies
 * Riodininae butterflies
 * Eumaeini butterflies
 * Firetips or firetail skipper butterflies
 * Euglossini bees
 * Augochlorini bees
 * Pseudostigmatidae ("giant damselflies")
 * Mantoididae (short-bodied mantises)
 * Canopidae, Megarididae, and Phloeidae (pentatomoid bugs)
 * Aetalionidae and Melizoderidae (treehoppers )
 * Gonyleptidae (harvestmen)

Plants
Plant families endemic and partly subendemic to the realm are, according to Takhtajan (1978), Hymenophyllopsidaceae, Marcgraviaceae, Caryocaraceae, Pellicieraceae, Quiinaceae, Peridiscaceae, Bixaceae, Cochlospermaceae, Tovariaceae, Lissocarpaceae (Lissocarpa), Brunelliaceae, Dulongiaceae, Columelliaceae, Julianiaceae, Picrodendraceae, Goupiaceae, Desfontainiaceae, Plocospermataceae, Tropaeolaceae, Dialypetalanthaceae (Dialypetalanthus), Nolanaceae (Nolana), Calyceraceae, Heliconiaceae, Cannaceae, Thurniaceae and Cyclanthaceae.

Plant families that originated in the Neotropic include Bromeliaceae, Cannaceae and Heliconiaceae.

Plant species with economic importance originally unique to the Neotropic include:
 * Potato (Solanum tuberosum)
 * Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
 * Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), source of cocoa and chocolate
 * Maize (Zea mays)
 * Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis)
 * Guava (Psidium guajava)
 * Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus)
 * Cotton (Gossypium barbadense)
 * Cassava (Manihot esculenta)
 * Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)
 * Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus)
 * Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa)

General and cited bibliography

 * Albert, J. S., and R. E. Reis (2011). Historical Biogeography of Neotropical Freshwater Fishes. University of California Press, Berkeley. 424 pp. ISBN 978-0-520-26868-5.
 * Bequaert, Joseph C. "An Introductory Study of Polistes in the United States and Canada with Descriptions of Some New North and South American Forms (Hymenoptera; Vespidæ)". Journal of the New York Entomological Society 48.1 (1940): 1-31.
 * Cox, C. B.; P. D. Moore (1985). Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach (Fourth Edition). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
 * Dinerstein, E., Olson, D. Graham, D. J. et al. (1995). A Conservation Assessment of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean. World Bank, Washington, D.C.
 * Olson, D. M., B. Chernoff, G. Burgess, I. Davidson, P. Canevari, E. Dinerstein, G. Castro, V. Morisset, R. Abell, and E. Toledo. 1997. Freshwater biodiversity of Latin America and the Caribbean: a conservation assessment. Draft report. World Wildlife Fund-U.S., Wetlands International, Biodiversity Support Program, and United States Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C.
 * Reis, R. E., S. O. Kullander, and C. J. Ferraris Jr. 2003. Check List of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Edipucrs, Porto Alegre. 729 pp.
 * Udvardy, M. D. F. (1975). A classification of the biogeographical provinces of the world. IUCN Occasional Paper no. 18. Morges, Switzerland: IUCN.
 * van der Sleen, Peter, and James S. Albert, eds. Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas. Princeton University Press, 2017.

title: Neotropical realm


text:
Rudolph Valentino

Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, 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.

Valentino was a sex symbol of the 1920s, known in Hollywood as the "Latin Lover" (a title invented for him by Hollywood moguls), the "Great Lover", or simply Valentino. His early death at the age of 31 caused mass hysteria among his fans, further cementing his place in early cinematic history as a cultural film icon.

Childhood and emigration
Valentino was born in Castellaneta, Apulia, Italy and named Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella. His father, Giovanni Antonio Giuseppe Fedele Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella, was an Italian from Martina Franca, Apulia; he was a captain of cavalry in the Italian Army, later a veterinarian, who died of malaria when Valentino was 11. His mother, Marie Berthe Gabrielle Barbin (1856–1918), was French with Torinese ancestry (the original family name was Barbini, gallicized to Barbin later on), born in Lure to Franche-Comté. She was lady-in-waiting to a local marquess. Valentino had an older brother, Alberto (1892–1981), a younger sister, Maria, and an older sister, Beatrice, who had died in infancy.

As a child, Valentino was indulged because of his exceptional looks and his playful personality. His mother coddled him, while his father disapproved of him. He did poorly in school and was eventually enrolled in agricultural school in Genoa, where he earned a certificate.

After living in Paris in 1912, he soon returned to Italy. Unable to secure employment, he departed for the United States in 1913. He was processed at Ellis Island at age 18 on December 23, 1913.

Valentino never applied for American citizenship, and retained his Italian citizenship.

New York
Arriving in New York City, he supported himself with odd jobs such as busing tables in restaurants and gardening. Valentino once worked as a bus boy at Murray's on 42nd Street and was well liked, but didn't do a good job and was fired. While he was living on the streets, Valentino would occasionally come back to Murray's for lunch and the staff would slip him some food. Around 1914, restaurateur Joe Pani who owned Castles-by-the-Sea, the Colony, and the Woodmansten Inn was the first to hire Rudolph to dance the tango with Joan Sawyer for $50 per week. Eventually, he found work as a taxi dancer at Maxim's Restaurant-Cabaret. Among the other dancers at Maxim's were several displaced members of European nobility, for whom a premium demand existed.

Valentino eventually befriended Chilean heiress Blanca de Saulles, who was unhappily married to businessman John de Saulles, with whom she had a son. Whether Blanca and Valentino actually had a romantic relationship is unknown, but when the de Saulles divorced, Valentino took the stand to support Blanca de Saulles's claims of infidelity on her husband's part. Following the divorce, John de Saulles reportedly used his political connections to have Valentino arrested, along with a Mrs. Thyme, a known madam, on some unspecified vice charges. The evidence was flimsy at best, and after a few days in jail, Valentino's bail was lowered from $10,000 to $1,500.

Shortly after the trial, Blanca de Saulles fatally shot her ex-husband during a custody dispute over their son. Following his own well-publicized trial and the subsequent scandal over the murder, Valentino could not find employment. Fearful of being called in as a witness in another sensational trial, Valentino left town and joined a traveling musical that led him to the West Coast.

Before fame
In 1917, Valentino joined an operetta company that traveled to Utah, where it disbanded. He then joined an Al Jolson production of Robinson Crusoe, Jr., which was travelling to Los Angeles. By fall, he was in San Francisco with a bit part in a theatrical production of Nobody Home. While in town, Valentino met actor Norman Kerry, who convinced him to try a career in cinema, which was still in the silent film era.

Valentino and Kerry moved back to Los Angeles and became roommates at the Alexandria Hotel. He continued dancing, teaching dance, and building up a following that included older female clientele who would let him borrow their luxury cars. At one point after the United States entered World War I, both Kerry and Valentino tried to get into the Canadian Air Force to fly and fight in France.

With his dancing success, Valentino found a room of his own on Sunset Boulevard and began actively seeking screen roles. His first part was as an extra in the film Alimony, moving on to small parts in several films. Despite his best efforts, he was typically cast as a "heavy" (villain) or gangster. At the time, the archetypal major male star was Wallace Reid, with a fair complexion, light eyes, and an All-American look, with Valentino the opposite; he eventually supplanted Sessue Hayakawa as Hollywood's most popular "exotic" male lead.

By 1919, he had carved out a career in bit parts. It was a bit part as a "cabaret parasite" in the drama Eyes of Youth, starring Clara Kimball Young, that caught the attention of screenwriter June Mathis, who thought he would be perfect for her next movie. Young would later say it was she and Lewis J. Selznick who discovered him, and that they were disappointed when Valentino accepted a lucrative offer at Metro.

He appeared as second lead in The Delicious Little Devil (1919) with star Mae Murray. In 1919, Valentino impulsively married actress Jean Acker. Their marriage was purportedly never consummated.

Acting

Displeased with playing "heavies," Valentino briefly entertained the idea of returning to New York permanently. He returned for a visit in 1917, staying with friends in Greenwich Village, eventually settling in Bayside, Queens. There he met Paul Ivano, who would greatly help his career.

While traveling to Palm Springs, California, to film Stolen Moments, Valentino read the novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. Seeking out a trade paper, he discovered that Metro had bought the film rights to the story. In New York, he sought out Metro's office, only to discover that June Mathis had been trying to find him. She cast him in the role of Julio Desnoyers. For the director, Mathis had chosen Rex Ingram, with whom Valentino did not get along, leading Mathis to play the role of peacekeeper between the two.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was released in 1921 and became a commercial and critical success. It was one of the first films to make $1,000,000 at the box office, the sixth-highest grossing silent film ever.

Metro Pictures seemed unwilling to acknowledge that it had made a star. Most likely due to Rex Ingram's lack of faith in Valentino, the studio refused to give him a raise beyond the $350 a week he had made for Four Horsemen. For his follow-up film, they forced him into a bit part in a B-film called Uncharted Seas. On this film, Valentino met his second wife, Natacha Rambova. That same year, Valentino's legal wife, Jean Acker, successfully sued for divorce.

Rambova, Mathis, Ivano, and Valentino began work on the Alla Nazimova film Camille. Valentino was cast in the role of Armand, Nazimova's love interest. The film, mostly under the control of Rambova and Nazimova, was considered too avant garde by critics and the public.

Valentino's final film for Metro was the Mathis-penned The Conquering Power. The film received critical acclaim and did well at the box office. After the film's release, Valentino made a trip to New York, where he met with several French producers. Yearning for Europe, better pay, and more respect, Valentino returned and promptly quit Metro.

The Sheik
After quitting Metro, Valentino took up with Famous Players–Lasky, forerunner of the present-day Paramount Pictures, a studio known for films that were more commercially focused. Mathis soon joined him, angering both Ivano and Rambova.

Jesse L. Lasky intended to capitalize on the star power of Valentino, and cast him in a role that solidified his reputation as the "Latin lover". In The Sheik (1921), Valentino played the starring role of Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan. The film was a major success and defined not only his career but his image and legacy. Valentino tried to distance the character from a stereotypical portrayal of an Arab man. Asked if Lady Diana (his love interest) would have fallen for a "savage" in real life, Valentino replied, "People are not savages because they have dark skins. The Arabian civilization is one of the oldest in the world ... the Arabs are dignified and keen-brained."

Famous Players produced four more feature-length films over the next 15 months. His leading role in Moran of the Lady Letty was of a typical Douglas Fairbanks nature; however, to capitalize on Valentino's bankability, his character was given a Spanish name and ancestry. The film received mixed reviews, but was still a hit with audiences.

In November 1921, Valentino starred alongside Gloria Swanson in Beyond the Rocks. The film contained lavish sets and extravagant costumes, though Photoplay magazine said the film was "a little unreal and hectic." Released in 1922, the film was a critical disappointment. Years after its release, Beyond the Rocks was thought to be lost, save for a one-minute portion. But in 2002, the film was discovered by the Netherlands Film Museum. The restored version was released on DVD in 2006.

In February, 1922 Life magazine reported that, according to the Famous Players press office, Valentino would henceforth be known as "Rodolph" rather than "Rudolph."

In 1922, Valentino began work on another Mathis-penned film, Blood and Sand. He played the lead—bullfighter Juan Gallardo—and co-starred with Lila Lee and Nita Naldi. Initially believing the film would be shot in Spain, Valentino was upset to learn that the studio planned on shooting on a Hollywood back lot. He was further irritated by changes in production, including a director of whom he did not approve.

After finishing the film, Valentino married Rambova, which led to a bigamy trial, as he had been divorced from his first wife, Jean Acker, for less than a full year, as required by California law at the time. The trial was a sensation and the pair was forced to have their marriage annulled and to be separated for a year. Despite the trial, the film was still a success, with critics calling it a masterpiece on par with Broken Blossoms and Four Horsemen. Blood and Sand became one of the four top-grossing movies of 1922, breaking attendance records, and grossing $37,400 at the Rivoli Theatre alone. Valentino considered this one of his best films.

During his forced break from Rambova, the pair began working separately on the Mathis-penned The Young Rajah. Only fragments of this film, recovered in 2005, still remain. The film did not live up to expectations and underperformed at the box office. Valentino felt he had underperformed in the film, being upset over his separation with Rambova. Missing Rambova, Valentino returned to New York after the release of The Young Rajah. They were spotted and followed by reporters constantly. During this time, Valentino began to contemplate not returning to Famous Players, although Jesse Lasky already had his next picture, The Spanish Cavalier, in preparation. After speaking with Rambova and his lawyer Arthur Butler Graham, Valentino declared a 'one-man strike' against Famous Players.

Strike against Famous Players
Valentino went on strike for financial reasons. At the time of his lawsuit against the studio, he was earning $1,250 per week, with an increase to $3,000 after three years. This was $7,000 per week less than Mary Pickford made in 1916. He was also upset over the broken promise of filming Blood and Sand in Spain, and the failure to shoot the next proposed film in either Spain or at least New York. Valentino had hoped while filming in Europe he could see his family, whom he had not seen in 10 years.

In September 1922, he refused to accept paychecks from Famous Players until the dispute was solved, although he owed them money he had spent to pay off Jean Acker. Angered, Famous Players, in turn, filed suit against him.

Valentino did not back down, and Famous Players realized how much they stood to lose. In trouble after shelving Roscoe Arbuckle pictures, the studio tried to settle by upping his salary from $1,250 to $7,000 a week. Variety erroneously announced the salary increase as a "new contract" before news of the lawsuit was released, and Valentino angrily rejected the offer.

Valentino went on to claim that artistic control was more of an issue than the money. He wrote an open letter to Photoplay magazine, titled "Open Letter to the American Public", in which he argued his case, although the average American had trouble sympathizing, as most made $2,000 a year. Famous Players made their own public statements deeming him more trouble than he was worth (the divorce, bigamy trials, debts) and that he was temperamental, almost diva-like. They claimed to have done all they could and that they had made him a real star.

Other studios began courting him. Joseph Schenck was interested in casting his wife, Norma Talmadge, opposite Valentino in a version of Romeo and Juliet. June Mathis had moved to Goldwyn Pictures, where she was in charge of the Ben-Hur project, and interested in casting Valentino in the film. However, Famous Players exercised its option to extend his contract, preventing him from accepting any employment other than with the studio. By this point, Valentino was about $80,000 in debt. He filed an appeal, a portion of which was granted. Although he was still not allowed to work as an actor, he could accept other types of employment.

Mineralava Dance Tour
In late 1922, Valentino met George Ullman, who soon became his manager. Ullman had previously worked with Mineralava Beauty Clay Company, and convinced them that Valentino would be perfect as a spokesman with his legions of female fans.

The tour was a tremendous success, with Valentino and Rambova performing in 88 cities in the United States and Canada. In addition to the tour, Valentino also sponsored Mineralava beauty products and judged Mineralava-sponsored beauty contests. One beauty contest was filmed by a young David O. Selznick, who titled it Rudolph Valentino and his 88 Beauties.

Return to films
Valentino returned to the United States in reply to an offer from Ritz-Carlton Pictures (working through Famous Players), which included $7,500 a week, creative control, and filming in New York. Rambova negotiated a two-picture deal with Famous Players and four pictures for Ritz-Carlton. He accepted, turning down an offer to film an Italian production of Quo Vadis in Italy.

The first film under the new contract was Monsieur Beaucaire, wherein Valentino played the lead, the Duke of Chartres. The film did poorly and American audiences found it "effeminate". The failure of the film, under Rambova's control, is often seen as proof of her controlling nature and later caused her to be barred from Valentino sets. Valentino made one final movie for Famous Players. In 1924, he starred in A Sainted Devil, now one of his lost films. It had lavish costumes, but apparently a weak story. It opened to strong sales, but soon dropped off in attendance and ended up as another disappointment.

With his contract fulfilled, Valentino was released from Famous Players, but was still obligated to Ritz-Carlton for four films. His next film was a pet project titled The Hooded Falcon. The production was beset with problems from the start, beginning with the script written by June Mathis. The Valentinos were dissatisfied with Mathis's version and requested that it be rewritten. Mathis took it as a great insult and did not speak to Valentino for almost two years. While Rambova worked designing costumes and rewriting the script for Falcon, Valentino was persuaded to film Cobra with Nita Naldi. He agreed only on condition that it not be released until after The Hooded Falcon debuted. After filming Cobra, the cast of The Hooded Falcon sailed for France to be fitted for costumes. After three months, they returned to the United States, where Valentino's new beard, which he had grown for the film, caused a sensation. "I opened once a paper and I tell you what was in. It was Rudolph Valentino with a beard upon his chin. My heart stopped off from beating and I fainted dead away, and I never want to come to life until the judgement day," was soon printed in Photoplay. The cast and crew left for Hollywood to begin preparations for the film, but much of the budget was taken up during preproduction. Due to the Valentinos' lavish spending on costumes and sets, Ritz-Carlton terminated the deal with the couple, effectively ending Valentino's contract with them.

United Artists
During the filming of Monsieur Beaucaire, both Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks approached Valentino privately, due to his contract with Ritz-Carlton, about joining with United Artists. Valentino's contract with United Artists provided $10,000 a week for only three pictures a year, plus a percentage of his films. The contract excluded Rambova from production of his films and the film set. Valentino's acceptance of the terms caused a major rift in his marriage to Rambova. George Ullman, who had negotiated the contract with United Artists, offered Rambova $30,000 to finance a film of her own. It became her only film, titled What Price Beauty? and starred Myrna Loy. Valentino chose his first UA project, The Eagle. With the marriage under strain, Valentino began shooting and Rambova announced that she needed a "marital vacation". During the filming of The Eagle, rumors of an affair with co-star Vilma Bánky were reported and ultimately denied by both Bánky and Valentino. The film opened to positive reviews, but a moderate box office.

For the film's release, Valentino travelled to London, staying there and in France, spending money with abandon while his divorce took place. Quite some time elapsed before he made another film, The Son of the Sheik, despite his hatred of the sheik image. The film began shooting in February 1926, with Valentino given his choice of director, and pairing him again with Vilma Bánky. The film used the authentic costumes he bought abroad and allowed him to play a dual role. Valentino was ill during production, but he needed the money to pay his many debts. The film opened on July 9, 1926, to great fanfare. During the premiere, Valentino was reconciled with Mathis; the two had not spoken in almost two years.

Public image
Dating back to the de Saulles trial in New York, during which his "masculinity" had been questioned in print, Valentino had been very sensitive about his public perception. With the Fairbanks type being the supposed epitome of manhood, Valentino was sometimes portrayed as a threat to the "All American" man. One man, asked in a street interview in 1922 what he thought of Valentino, replied, "Many other men desire to be another Douglas Fairbanks. But Valentino? I wonder ..." Women in the same interview found Valentino "triumphantly seductive. Puts the love-making of the average husband or sweetheart into discard as tame, flat, and unimpassioned."

Some journalists were still calling his "masculinity" into question, going on at length about his pomaded hair, his dandyish clothing, his treatment of women, his views on women, and whether he was "effeminate" or not. Valentino hated these stories and was known to carry clippings of the newspaper articles around with him and criticize them.

In July 1926, the Chicago Tribune reported that a vending machine dispensing pink talcum powder (face powder) had appeared in an upscale hotel's men's washroom. An editorial that followed used the story to protest the supposed feminization of American men, and blamed the talcum powder on Valentino and his films. The piece infuriated Valentino and he challenged the writer to his choice of a boxing or wrestling match, since dueling was illegal. Neither challenge was answered.

Shortly afterward, Valentino met with journalist H. L. Mencken for advice on how best to deal with the incident. Mencken advised Valentino to "let the dreadful farce roll along to exhaustion," but Valentino insisted the editorial was "infamous".

Mencken found Valentino to be likable and gentlemanly and wrote sympathetically of him in an article published in The Baltimore Sun a week after Valentino's death:

"It was not that trifling Chicago episode that was riding him; it was the whole grotesque futility of his life. Had he achieved, out of nothing, a vast and dizzy success? Then that success was hollow as well as vast—a colossal and preposterous nothing. Was he acclaimed by yelling multitudes? Then every time the multitudes yelled he felt himself blushing inside ... The thing, at the start, must have only bewildered him, but in those last days, unless I am a worse psychologist than even the professors of psychology, it was revolting him. Worse, it was making him afraid ...

Here was a young man who was living daily the dream of millions of other men. Here was one who was catnip to women. Here was one who had wealth and fame. And here was one who was very unhappy." After Valentino challenged the Tribune's anonymous writer to a boxing match, the New York Evening Journal boxing writer, Frank O'Neill, volunteered to fight in his place. Valentino won the bout, which took place on the roof of New York's Ambassador Hotel. Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, who trained Valentino and other Hollywood notables of the era in boxing, said of him: "He was the most virile and masculine of men. The women were like flies to a honeypot. He could never shake them off, anywhere he went. What a lovely, lucky guy." Valentino's sex symbol status and his untimely death were a biographical part in John Dos Passos's The Big Money in the U.S.A. trilogy. His title was the Adagio Dancer.

Other ventures
In 1923, Valentino published a book of poetry titled Day Dreams. He later serialized events in various magazines. With Liberty magazine, he wrote a series entitled, "How You Can Keep Fit" in 1923. "My Life Story" was serialized in Photoplay during his dance tour. The March issue was one of the best-selling ever for the magazine. He followed that with "My Private Diary", serialized in Movie Weekly magazine. Most of the serials were later published as books after his death.

Valentino was fascinated with every part of movie-making. During production on a Mae Murray film, he spent time studying the director's plans. He craved authenticity and wished to shoot on location, finally forming his own production company, Rudolph Valentino Productions, in 1925. Valentino, George Ullman, and Beatrice Ullman were the incorporators.

On May 14, 1923, while in New York City, Valentino made his only two vocal recordings for Brunswick Records; "Kashmiri Song" (The Sheik) and "El Relicario" (Blood and Sand). The recordings were not released until after Valentino's death by the Celebrity Recording Company; Brunswick did not release them because Valentino's English/Spanish pronunciation was subpar.

Valentino was one of the first in Hollywood to offer an award for artistic accomplishments in films; the Academy Awards later followed suit. In 1925, he gave out his only medal to John Barrymore for his performance in Beau Brummel. The award, named the Rudolph Valentino Medal, required the agreement of Valentino, two judges, and the votes of 75 critics. Everyone other than Valentino himself was eligible.

Personal life
Valentino once told gossip columnist Louella Parsons that: "The women I love don't love me. The others don't matter." He claims that despite his success as a sex symbol, in his personal love life he never achieved happiness. In 1919—just before the rise of his career—Valentino impulsively married actress Jean Acker, who was involved with actresses Grace Darmond and Alla Nazimova. Acker became involved with Valentino in part to remove herself from the lesbian love triangle, quickly regretted the marriage, and locked Valentino out of their room on their wedding night. The couple separated soon after, and the marriage was never consummated. The couple remained legally married until 1921, when Acker sued Valentino for divorce, citing desertion. The divorce was granted, with Acker receiving alimony. She and Valentino eventually renewed their friendship, and remained friends until his death.

Valentino first met Winifred Shaughnessy, known by her stage name, Natacha Rambova—an American silent film costume and set designer, art director, and protégée of Nazimova—on the set of Uncharted Seas in 1921. The two worked together on the Nazimova production of Camille, by which time they were romantically involved. They married on May 13, 1922, in Mexicali, Mexico, which resulted in Valentino's arrest for bigamy, since he had not been divorced for a full year, as required by California law at the time. Days passed and his studio at the time, Famous Players–Lasky, refused to post bail. Eventually, a few friends were able to post the cash bail. He was also investigated for a possible violation of the Mann Act.

Having to wait the year or face the possibility of being arrested again, Rambova and Valentino lived in separate apartments in New York City, each with their own roommates. On March 14, 1923, they legally remarried at the Lake County Court House in Crown Point, Indiana.

Many of Valentino's friends disliked Rambova and found her controlling. During his relationship with her, he lost many friends and business associates, including June Mathis. Towards the end of their marriage, Rambova was banned from his sets by contract. Valentino and Rambova divorced in 1925. The end of the marriage was bitter, with Valentino bequeathing Rambova one dollar in his will.

From the time he died in 1926 until the 1960s, Valentino's sexuality was not generally questioned in print. At least four books, including the notoriously libelous Hollywood Babylon, suggested that he may have been gay despite his marriage to Rambova. For some, the marriages to Acker and Rambova, as well as the relationship with Pola Negri, add to the suspicion that Valentino was gay and that these were "lavender marriages."

Some claim that Valentino had a relationship with Ramón Novarro, despite Novarro stating they barely knew each other. Hollywood Babylon recounts a story that Valentino had given Novarro an art deco dildo as a gift, which was found stuffed in his throat at the time of his murder. It is believed that no such gift existed. There were also claims that he may have had relationships with both roommates Paul Ivano and Douglas Gerrad, as well as Norman Kerry, and openly gay French theatre director and poet Jacques Hébertot. However, Ivano maintained that it was untrue and both he and Valentino were heterosexual. Biographers Emily Leider and Allan Ellenberger generally agree that he was most likely straight.

There was further supposed evidence that Valentino was gay; documents in the estate of the late author Samuel Steward indicated that Valentino and Steward were sexual partners. However, evidence found in Steward's claim was subsequently found to be false, as Valentino was in New York on the date Steward claimed a sexual encounter occurred in Ohio.

Shortly before his death, Valentino was dating Ziegfeld Follies showgirl Marion Wilson Benda while he was also involved in a relationship with actress Pola Negri. Upon his death, Negri made a scene at his funeral, claiming they had been engaged, in spite of the fact that Valentino had never mentioned this engagement to anyone himself.

Death

On August 15, 1926, Valentino collapsed at the Hotel Ambassador on Park Avenue in Manhattan. He was hospitalized at the New York Polyclinic Hospital. Following an examination, he was diagnosed with appendicitis and gastric ulcers, and surgery was performed immediately. (His condition would eventually be referred to as "Valentino's syndrome"—perforated ulcers mimicking appendicitis.) After surgery, Valentino developed peritonitis. On August 18, his doctors were optimistic about his prognosis. The media were told that unless Valentino's condition deteriorated, no updates would be given. However, his condition worsened on August 21. He was stricken with a severe relapse of pleuritis, which developed rapidly in his left lung due to his weakened condition. The doctors realized that Valentino was going to die, but as was common at the time, chose to withhold this information. Valentino reportedly believed that he would recover. During the early hours of Monday, August 23, Valentino was briefly conscious and chatted with his doctors about his future, but soon lapsed into a coma. He died a few hours later at the age of 31. Following Valentino's death, doctors who treated him later confirmed that the actor had contracted sepsis, an overwhelming infection.

Funeral
An estimated 100,000 people lined the streets of Manhattan to pay their respects at his funeral, handled by the Frank Campbell Funeral Home. Suicides of despondent fans were reported. Windows were smashed as fans tried to get in and an all-day riot erupted on August 24. Over 100 mounted officers and NYPD's Police Reserve were used to restore order. A phalanx of officers lined the streets for the remainder of the viewing. Polish actress Pola Negri, claiming to be Valentino's fiancée, collapsed in hysterics while standing over the coffin, and Campbell hired four actors to impersonate a Fascist Blackshirt honor guard, purportedly sent by Benito Mussolini. Media reports that the body on display in the main salon was not Valentino but a decoy were continually denied by Campbell.

Valentino's funeral mass in Manhattan was held on Monday, August 30 at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, often called "The Actor's Chapel," as it is located on West 49th Street in the Broadway theater district, and has a long association with show-business figures.

After Valentino's remains were taken by train from New York to California, a second funeral was held on the West Coast, at the Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Valentino had no final burial arrangements and his friend June Mathis arranged a temporary solution when she offered a crypt that she had purchased for the husband whom she had since divorced. Coincidentally, she died the following year and was interred in the adjoining crypt that she had purchased for herself; Valentino was never moved to a new location and he remained in the crypt next to Mathis. The two are still interred side by side at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (originally Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery) in Hollywood, California.

Estate
Valentino left his estate to his brother, sister, and Rambova's aunt Teresa Werner, who was left the share originally bequeathed to Rambova. His Beverly Hills mansion, Falcon Lair, was later owned by heiress Doris Duke. Duke died there in 1993. The home was later sold and underwent major renovations. The main building of the estate was razed in 2006, and the property was then put back on the market.

Legacy

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 memorial designed by architect Nicola Cantore with a blue ceramic statue of Valentino by Luigi Gheno was unveiled in 1961. The dedication of the memorial is the subject of a vignette in the documentary Mondo Cane. 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 the District of Columbia. 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.

Films
The life of Rudolph Valentino has been filmed several times for television and the big screen.

In 1923, he was referenced in the film Mud and Sand, a parody of Blood and Sand, which starred Stan Laurel as a bullfighter named Rhubarb Vaseline.

A 1951 feature film about Valentino's life, called Valentino, starred Anthony Dexter in the title role. Dexter bore a striking resemblance to the screen legend.

In the 1971 film They Might Be Giants, Oliver Clark makes a cameo, as a nonverbal psychiatric patient nicknamed Mr. Small, who is under the delusion that he is Valentino and refuses to speak until recognized. His delusion is quickly deduced by the main character, who is himself under the delusion that he is Sherlock Holmes.

In 1977, American Broadcasting Company produced the television movie The Legend of Valentino, with Franco Nero as Valentino.

In 1977, Ken Russell's film Valentino, Rudolf Nureyev portrays Valentino.

In the 1977 spoof comedy The World's Greatest Lover, Valentino was played by Gene Wilder.

In 1986, the French TV channel FR3 produced the television movie Série portrait, Rudolph Valentino, with Frédéric Norbert as Valentino.

In 2013, Valentino is played by actor/director Alex Monty Canawati in the motion picture Return to Babylon.

In 2015, Valentino is a supporting character in the fifth season of the horror anthology series American Horror Story. In the series, Valentino, who is played by Finn Wittrock, fakes his own death in 1926 after being transformed into a vampire. Valentino then turns his fictional lover, Elizabeth Johnson (Lady Gaga), into a vampire, as well. Elizabeth goes on to become the Countess, the central antagonist of the show's fifth season, while Valentino is eventually killed by Donovan (Matt Bomer), one of Elizabeth's many lovers, in a jealous rage.

In 2018, Vladislav Alex Kozlov had been set to play Valentino and direct an upcoming indie biopic Silent Life, with Franco Nero playing Valentino's spirit. Written by Vladislav Alex Kozlov, Ksenia Jarova, and Natalia Dar, the film stars Terry Moore, Isabella Rossellini, Franco Nero, Sherilyn Fenn, Jeff DuJardin, Paul Rodriguez, and Monte Markham. Dreamer Pictures, and Vladislav Alex Kozlov produces, and Joy Boileau, Tyler Cassity, and Yogu Kanthiah, executive produce. On 19 February 2023, Silent Life: The Story of the Lady In Black U.S. premiered at the Sedona International Film Festival.

Music
Shortly after his death, several songs in tribute to Valentino, including "There's a New Star in Heaven Tonight" and one by his first wife, Jean Acker, titled "We Will Meet at the End of the Trail", became bestsellers. In 1964, Freddie Hart recorded a ballad titled "Valentino".

Valentino is mentioned in the following songs: 'Lenny Valentino' by The Auteurs, 1994.
 * "Farewell, Angelina", written and recorded by Bob Dylan in 1965 but not released until 1991; best known from the 1965 recording by Joan Baez
 * "Miranda", written and performed by Phil Ochs in 1967 and later recorded by Melanie Safka in 1976
 * "Celluloid Heroes", written by Ray Davies and performed by The Kinks in 1972
 * "Right Before Your Eyes", written and performed by Ian Thomas in 1977 and later recorded by America in 1982
 * "Valentino", written by Shimrit Or and performed by Gali Atari in 1978.
 * "Tribute to Tino", written and performed by Dutch-Indonesian new-wave singer Taco for his album After Eight in 1982
 * Flagra written and performed by Rita Lee 1982
 * "Don't Look Down", written and performed by Iggy Pop in 1979 and later recorded by David Bowie in 1984
 * "Waiting for an Alibi," written by Phil Lynott and performed by Thin Lizzy in 1979
 * "Apache Dancing", written by Richard Barone and James Mastro and performed by The Bongos in 1985.
 * "Manic Monday," written by Prince and performed by The Bangles in 1986
 * "Valentino Song performed by Spanish band Cadilac in Eurovision song contest 1986.
 * "Big Guns," written and performed by Skid Row in 1989
 * "Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance) ", written by Leo Sayer and David Courtney and performed by Leo Sayer in 1974
 * "Y Viva España" by Sylvia, 1974
 * "Baby I'm Scared of You", from the album Love Wars, written by Cecil Womack and Linda Womack and performed by Womack & Womack in 1984
 * "Rudi" by Bebi Dol, Yugoslavia (Serbia) in 1983
 * "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", from the 1976 album A Day at the Races, written by Freddie Mercury, and performed by Queen.
 * "Dolly 25", written by Ricet Barrier and performed by Les Frères Jacques in 1958
 * "Heartbreak Kid", performed by Icehouse on the Man of Colours album, 1987
 * "James Cagney", by Nik Kershaw on the Radio Musicola album, Oct 1986
 * "Mr. Valentino," written and performed by Stanley Bad, 2020
 * Prince Charming's music video briefly has Adam Ant singing the song's refrain ("Prince Charming, Prince Charming, ridicule is nothing to be scared of") as Valentino in The Sheik.
 * "Valentino" was on Melanie Harrold's first LP ("Fancy That" released 1979 under the pseudonym "Joanna Carlin").
 * "Rodolfo" written and performed by Tatum Rush (Italy/Switzerland), 2023

Works

 * Valentino, Rudolph (1923). Day Dreams. New York: MacFadden Publications.
 * Valentino, Rudolph (1923). How You Can Keep Fit. New York: MacFadden Publications.
 * Valentino, Rudolph (1929). My Private Diary. Occult Publishing Company.

title: Rudolph Valentino