| Porfirio Rubirosa | |
|---|---|
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| Born | January 22, 1909 San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic |
| Died | June 5, 1965 (aged 56) Bois de Boulogne, France |
| Occupation | Diplomat, polo player, race car driver |
| Spouse(s) | Flor de Oro Trujillo, Danielle Darrieux, Doris Duke, Barbara Hutton, Odile Rodin |
| Parents | Pedro Maria Rubirosa and Ana Ariza-Almanzar |
Porfirio Rubirosa Ariza , (January 22, 1909 - July 5, 1965) was a Dominican diplomat, polo player and race car driver who competed in the 1950 and 1954 24 Hour of Le Mans, but was best known as an international playboy for his jet setting lifestyle and legendary prowess with women.
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Early life
Born to an upper middle-class family, he was the son of an army general. He grew up in Paris, France, after his father was appointed the chargé d'affaires at the Dominican consulate in 1920. He returned to the Dominican Republic at 17 to study law but did not complete his schooling, instead enlisting in the military.
Personal life
He was linked romantically to Dolores del Río, Eartha Kitt, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Soraya Esfandiary, Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Joan Crawford, Veronica Lake, Kim Novak, Judy Garland, and Eva Peron. He dallied with his ex-wife Flor de Oro Trujillo Ledesma during his marriage to Doris Duke, and with Zsa Zsa Gabor during his marriage to Barbara Hutton. He was named a co-respondent in at least two divorces, the husbands charging adultery. He was also famous for the rumored length of his penis—Truman Capote, in Answered Prayers, described it as eleven inches long—and to this day the extra-long pepper mills in French bistros are called "Rubirosas".[1]
He married Danielle Darrieux on September 18, 1942. Duke (whom he married on September 1, 1947), and Hutton (whom he divorced just 53 days after their December 30, 1953 wedding) made him wealthy: Duke gave him $500,000, a stable of polo ponies, several sports cars, and a converted B-25 bomber, and gave him a 17th Century house in Paris in the divorce settlement; Hutton bought him a coffee plantation in the Dominican Republic, another B-25, and paid him a reported $3.5 million in their settlement. His last marriage was at age 47 in 1956 to then-19-year-old French actress Odile Rodin.
Death
Rubirosa died early in the morning on July 5, 1965 when he crashed his Ferrari into some trees after an all-night celebration at the Paris nightclub "Jimmy's" in honor of winning the Coupe de France polo cup.
Portrayals
The Preston Sturges film 'The Palm Beach Story' (1940) has a character called 'Toto' who is supposedly inspired by Rubirosa.
Composer Don Arrington, lyricist Peter Johnson and writer Raphael Pallais teamed up to create a Broadway Musical based on the life of Porfirio Rubirosa. [1]
In October 2007, several press agencies have reported that Antonio Banderas has plans to bring the life of Rubirosa to the silver screen, with himself in the role of the playboy [2], though the idea has been discussed since 2004, when Spanish and Venezuelan investors started pitching the idea.
His life is portrayed as the main character, Dax Xenos, in the Harold Robbins novel, The Adventurers.
Brett Easton Ellis in American Psycho mention a pink gold Rolex watch owned by Porfirio Rubirosa ("rosa" in Spanish means "pink").
Formula One
Rubirosa entered one Formula One race, in 1955, the Grand Prix de Bordeaux on April 25. He planned to drive his own Ferrari 500, identical to the one which brought Alberto Ascari the 1952 and 1953 Drivers' World Championship.[2] However, he fell ill before the race and did not drive.[3]
Bibliography
- Levy, Shawn (2005), The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa, New York City, New York: Fourth Estate, ISBN 978-0-00-717059-3.
- Clase Hijo, Pablo (1978), Porfirio Rubirosa: El Primer Playboy del Mundo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Biblioteca Taller.
- Gabor, Zsa Zsa (1991), One Lifetime Is Not Enough, London, England: Headline Book Publishing, ISBN 0-7089-8694-3.
- Frank, Gerold (1960), Zsa Zsa Gabor: My Story, Cleveland, Ohio: The World Publishing Company.
- Collado, Lipe (2005), La Impresionante Vida de un Seductor: Porfirio Rubirosa, Gazue, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Editora Collado, S.A., ISBN 99934-29-20-1.
References
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