Rudolph Valentino (1895–1926)

Born: May 6, 1895 in Castellaneta, Puglia, Italy
Died: August 23, 1926 (age 31) in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

A few months before Valentino’s death, a Chicago newspaper columnist attacked his masculinity in print, referring to him as a “pink powder puff”. A lawsuit was pending when Valentino was fatally stricken. One of his last questions to his doctor was, “Well, doctor, and do I now act like a ‘pink powder puff’?” His doctor reportedly replied, “No, sir. You have been very brave. Braver than most.”.

[after his divorce from Jean Acker] She said she was my soul mate, but she proved to be my check-mate!