Raul Roulien
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 Roulien
- Name
- Raul Roulien
- Birth Name
- Raul Salvador Intini Pepe
- Born
- 7 October 1904
- Birthplace
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Died
- 8 September 2000
- Place of death
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Occupation
- * Actor
- Nationality
- Brazil
- Languages
- Portuguese
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
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.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Raul Roulien. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2133263 · wikipedia · Raul Roulien
In this article
Biography
Biography
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.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Raul Roulien • Birth Name — Raul Salvador Intini Pepe • Born — 7 October 1904 • Birthplace — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • Died — 8 September 2000 • Place of death — São Paulo, Brazil • Other Names — Salvador Intini • Occupation — * Actor • singer • screenwriter • film director • Years Active — 1928–1970
Life and career
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
Stage
• Production — Year — Theater — Note(s) — Reference(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
Identity
Identity
Raul Roulien is recorded with the occupation television presenter. Recorded with the occupation film producer. Recorded as actor, film director, television presenter, screenwriter and film producer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1905
Raul Roulien was born on 8 October 1905.
2000
Raul Roulien died on 8 September 2000.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Raul Roulien was born at Rio de Janeiro.
Birthplace
Raul Roulien died at São Paulo.
Deathplace
Rio de Janeiro.
Birth place
São Paulo.
Death place
Films
• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Reference • There Were Thirteen — Max Minchin • Delicious — Sascha — Singing "Delishious" • Careless Lady — Luis Pareda • State's Attorney — Señor Alvarado — Uncredited • The Painted Woman — Jim Kikela • El Último Varon Sobre La Tierra — Ralph Martin • Primavera en otoño — Juan Manuel Valladres • It's Great to Be Alive — Carlos Martin • No Dejes la Puerta Abierta — Raul • Flying Down to Rio — Julio Ribeiro — First Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers pairing Singing "Orchids in the Moonlight" • Granaderos del Amor — Erich Remberg / Pierre Laval • The World Moves On — Carlos Girard (1825) / Henri Girard (1914) • Asegure a Su Mujer — Ricardo Randall • Piernas de Seda — Frank Alton • Te Quiero Con Locura — Alberto Foster • O Grito da Mocidade — Raul Melo • El Grito de la Juventud — Director • Aves Sem Ninho — Director • Road to Rio — Cavalry Officer — Uncredited, (final film role) • Asas do Brasil — Story, screenwriter, director
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Raul Roulien”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2133263: Raul Roulien
General reference · Wikidata
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,832 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Raúl LavistaPerson
- Raul ManglapusPerson
- Raul MidónPerson
- Raul PazPerson
- Raul SeixasPerson
- Rauli SomerjokiPerson
- Rauno LehtinenPerson
- RauryPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Raul Roulien?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.