Raul Roulien

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Intini and the second or paternal family name is Pepe.

Raul Roulien
Born	Raul Salvador Intini Pepe (1904-10-07)7 October 1904 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died	8 September 2000(2000-09-08) (aged 95) São Paulo, Brazil
Other names	Salvador Intini
Occupations	Actor singer screenwriter film director
Years active	1928–1970
Spouses	Abigail Maia ​ ​ (m. 1928; div. 1930)​ Diva Tosca ​ ​ (m. 1932; died 1933)​ Conchita Montenegro ​ ​ (m. 1935; div. 1937)​ Nelly Rodrigues ​ (m. 1950)​

Raul Salvador Intini Pepe Roulien (7 October 1904 – 8 September 2000), known professionally as Raul Roulien, was a Brazilian actor, singer, screenwriter and film director. He is widely considered the first male Brazilian star in Hollywood.

He worked briefly in Hollywood in the waning days of the American movies' embrace of the "Latin lover" (a title invented for the Italian actor Rudolph Valentino), a phenomenon that encouraged the Jewish-American actor Jacob Krantz to change his name to Ricardo Cortez.

Raul began recording in 1928 and grew in reputation as a theater actor and composer as well, being the greatest Brazilian heartthrob of his time. That same year, he formed the theatrical company Abigail Maia-Raul Roulien, with then wife, actress Abigail Maia, authoring a genre called "frivolity theater", which were quick shows that took place between breaks in the cinema.

In 1931, at the age of 29, with his talent and good looks, he went to the United States and was signed to Fox Studios, where he worked between 1931 and 1934. His career spanned a total of 18 films, including Delicious (1931) and Flying Down to Rio (1933), the latter starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their first dance together.

In 1933 his second wife, Diva Tosca (née Tosca Izabel Querze), was hit and killed as a pedestrian on Sunset Boulevard by John Huston.

Life and career

Raul Roulien was born Raul Salvador Intini Pepe on 7 October 1904, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Italian immigrants Biagio Pepe and Anna Intini. As a child, he used to sing all the time. He started his artistic career at age eight, as Raul Pepe, and he is reported to have performed to then President of Brazil Rodrigues Alves and to Brazilian writer, and his godfather, Ruy Barbosa.

While visiting one of his brothers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was hired to sing at Cine Porteño. There, he rose to fame as a chansonier, a pianist and a composer, and began to pursue a career in the theater. In 1928, back in Brazil, he founded the "Abigail Maya-Raul Roulien Theater Company", with then wife, actress Abigail Maia, and created a performance genre called "Theater of Frivolity," which were quick shows that took place between movie sessions.

In 1931, divorced from Abigail, he went to New York and was signed to Fox Studios, as an actor, where he worked until 1934. He made his debut in a Spanish-language version of the 1931 Hollywood film Charlie Chan Carries On, called There Were Thirteen (1931). His second movie was Delicious (1931), directed by David Butler, where Roulien played a Russian composer, and sang "Delishious", written by George Gershwin. In 1932, he starred in Careless Lady, State's Attorney, and The Painted Woman; and in 1933, in No Dejes la Puerta Abierta, El Último Varon Sobre La Tierra, and It's Great to Be Alive. That same year, he starred in the movie for which he is best remembered, Flying Down to Rio, as part of a romantic triangle with Gene Raymond and Dolores del Río, and for singing "Orchids in the Moonlight". The production is also memorable for featuring the first Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers cinematic pairing.

Stage and film work

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1931	There Were Thirteen	Max Minchin
1931	Delicious	Sascha	Singing "Delishious"
1932	Careless Lady	Luis Pareda
1932	State's Attorney	Señor Alvarado	Uncredited
1932	The Painted Woman	Jim Kikela
1933	El Último Varon Sobre La Tierra	Ralph Martin
1933	Primavera en otoño	Juan Manuel Valladres
1933	It's Great to Be Alive	Carlos Martin
1933	No Dejes la Puerta Abierta	Raul
1933	Flying Down to Rio	Julio Ribeiro	First Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers pairing Singing "Orchids in the Moonlight"
1934	Granaderos del Amor	Erich Remberg / Pierre Laval
1934	The World Moves On	Carlos Girard (1825) / Henri Girard (1914)
1935	Asegure a Su Mujer	Ricardo Randall
1935	Piernas de Seda	Frank Alton
1935	Te Quiero Con Locura	Alberto Foster
1937	O Grito da Mocidade	Raul Melo
1939	El Grito de la Juventud		Director
1939	Aves Sem Ninho		Director
1947	Road to Rio	Cavalry Officer	Uncredited, (final film role)
1948	Asas do Brasil		Story, screenwriter, director

Stage

Production	Year	Theater	Note(s)	Ref(s)
Malibu	1938	–	Director
Prometo Ser Infiel	1941	Teatro-Cassino Copacabana	Also director and translator
Patinho de Ouro	1941	Teatro-Cassino Copacabana	Also director
Garçon	1941	Teatro-Cassino Copacabana	Also director
Alguns Abaixo de Zero	1941	Teatro Boa Vista	Also director
Trio em Lá Menor	1941	Teatro Boa Vista	Also writer and director
Diana, Eu Te Amo	1941	Teatro Boa Vista	Also director
Coração	1941	Teatro Boa Vista	Also writer and director
Na Pele do Lobo	1942	Teatro Regina	Also director and translator

Bibliography

• Aubrey Solomon. The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography. McFarland, 2011.

External links

• Raul Roulien at IMDb