On August 23, 1926, the most heartbreaking Hollywood news of the silent film era reached the general public when New York City’s Polyclinic Hospital announced that Rudolph Valentino was dead.
Valentino -- known as the “Sheik” and “Hollywood’s Greatest Lover” – had died from a burst appendix. It seemed too boring of a death for a man like Valentino and, not surprisingly, rumors followed him to the grave.