Rodolfo Gucci

Rodolfo Gucci was born in 1912 in Florence, Italy to Aida Calvelli and Guccio Gucci.{{Cite web|date=2016-09-20|title=Guccio Gucci|url=https://fashionelite.com/profile/guccio-gucci/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=Fashion Elite|language=en-US}} He was one of five sons and one daughter.

He was spotted by the director Alfred Lind who gave him his film debut in 1929. The same year he appeared in Mario Camerini's Rails, which launched his career.{{Cite book|last=Landy|first=Marcia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eh3EcauEi2AC|title=The Folklore of Consensus: Theatricality in the Italian Cinema, 1930–1943|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1998|isbn=9780791438039|pages=182}} He used Maurizio D'Ancora as his screen name. While filming Together in the Dark, he met his future wife.{{Cite book|last=Forden|first=Sara G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EExuyvAOiNgC&pg=PA16|title=The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed|date=2012-05-08|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=978-0-06-222267-1|pages=16|language=en}} He was married in 1944 in Venice, Italy to the actress Sandra Ravel.{{Cite web|date=2009-06-17|title=Guccio Gucci|url=https://www.theflorentine.net/2009/06/18/guccio-gucci/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=The Florentine|language=en-US|quote=the Flora scarf, created in 1967 by his son, Rodolfo, for Grace Kelly.}} Their only child was born in 1948, Maurizio, named after his father's stage name.

He was one of the five sons of Guccio Gucci, founder of the eponymous fashion house. In January 1953, D'Ancora left acting and returned to the family business after the death of his father. In 1952, Rodolfo and his brothers Aldo and Vasco traveled to New York City. They opened the first Gucci store outside of Italy in New York City, only two weeks before their father's death. In 1967, he created the Gucci Flora scarf for Grace Kelly.

After their brother Vasco Gucci died in 1974, Rodolfo and Aldo divided the business among themselves 50/50.{{Cite web|last=Moore|first=Claire|date=January 6, 2006|title=PrimeTime: Gucci, Glamour and Greed|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132294&page=1|access-date=2020-10-12|website=ABC News|language=en}} However, Aldo's sons felt that Rodolfo had not contributed enough to the growth of the business. In an attempt to increase his profits, Aldo set up a perfume subsidiary and held 80 percent of its ownership for himself and his three sons. This rivalry eventually spiralled into family warfare.

Rodolfo Gucci died in 1983 in Milan.{{Cite news|date=1983-05-16|title=Rodolfo Gucci Is Dead at 71; Brother in Leather Goods Firm (Published 1983)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/16/obituaries/rodolfo-gucci-is-dead-at-71-brother-in-leather-goods-firm.html|access-date=2020-10-12|issn=0362-4331}} After his death, his son Maurizio Gucci inherited his majority stake in the company and became the majority shareholder. After a nearly six-year legal battle for control over Gucci against Aldo Gucci, in 1989 Maurizio Gucci was made chairman of the Gucci group.{{Cite news|date=19 October 1990|title=GUCCI RESTORES ITS TARNISHED IMAGE|language=en-US|work=Financial Review|url=https://www.afr.com/companies/gucci-restores-its-tarnished-image-19901019-kan8z|access-date=1 August 2021}} Maurizio did not have a background in business, and by 1993 the business was in dire economic and creative straits. That year Maurizio Gucci resigned and sold his remaining interest to Investcorp, ending the Gucci family's association with the company. In 1995, Maurizio Gucci was gunned down by a hired hit man. In 1998, his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani was convicted of arranging the killing.{{Cite news|last=Stanley|first=Alessandra|date=1998-11-04|title=Former Wife Given 29 Years for Ordering Gucci Slaying (Published 1998)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/04/world/former-wife-given-29-years-for-ordering-gucci-slaying.html|access-date=2020-10-12|issn=0362-4331}}

In the film House of Gucci (2021), Rodolfo Gucci is played by English actor Jeremy Irons.{{cite web|url=https://www.eonline.com/photos/32497/house-of-gucci-cast-vs-real-life |title=House of Gucci Cast vs. Real Life |publisher=E! |date=29 July 2021 |accessdate=2 August 2021}}

{{Reflist}}

• Landy, Marcia. The Folklore of Consensus: Theatricality in the Italian Cinema, 1930–1943. SUNY Press, 1998.

• {{IMDb name|0195208}}

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Category:1912 births

Category:1983 deaths

Category:Italian male film actors

Category:Male actors from Florence

Category:20th-century Italian male actors

Rodolfo

Category:Businesspeople from Florence