Porfirio Rubirosa(1909-1965)
From childhood he enjoyed a life of luxury. In early childhood, Rubirosa moved to Paris with his father, where he headed the Dominican legation in France. In the French capital, Rubirosa enjoyed two years of university education. At the same time, he developed a strong affinity for nightlife and sports. Returning to the Dominican Republic, Rubirosa joined the army there. In 1932, as a lieutenant, he was personal assistant to the dictator Rafael Léonida Trujillo Molina. At an international polo competition, Rubirosa met the dictator's older daughter, Flor de Oro Trujillo, who had also previously studied in Paris. The lovers married in December 1932. As a result, thanks to his father-in-law's favor, Rubirosa made a career in the civil service. He worked, among other things, as Undersecretary of State for Foreign Relations and as President of the state insurance company. In 1934 he was promoted to captain in the army.
In 1935, a politically undesirable Dominican exile was murdered in New York: Rubirosa was also linked to the act, which was ordered by Rafael Trujillo and carried out by one of his relatives, but he always denied his involvement. A little later, Rubirosa was promoted to diplomatic service in 1936: he was sent with his wife Flor de Oro to National Socialist Germany, where he was deployed as first secretary in the Dominican embassy and first attracted the attention of the international press and bitterness as a plaboy and bon vivant attracted his wife's attention. His marriage to the dictator's daughter ended in divorce in 1937, but this did not affect his friendship with the head of state, who appointed him ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Argentina in 1938. A year later, Rubirosa arrived in France as a diplomatic envoy, where he was wounded in a mysterious shootout on the streets of Paris.
It was also the year in which the Second World War was started by Hitler's Germany. After the German occupation of France, the Dominican diplomat was imprisoned by the Gestapo every six months. After his release, Rubirosa met the French actress Danielle Darrieux, with whom he was married for five years. At the same time, however, he continued to pursue his affairs. He was then briefly married to the rich tobacco heiress Doris Duke. At the end of 1952, Rubirosa met the film star Zsa-Zsa Gabor in New York, with whom he had a highly publicized affair. A few years later he married her sister, Eva Gabor. In the 1950s, Rubirosa was in the headlines so often for adultery, which had destroyed the marriages of several prominent couples, that dictator Trujillo had to temporarily suspend him from diplomatic service.
The next stop in Rubirosa's married life at the end of 1953 was Barbara Hutton, the granddaughter of the Woolworth founder, another rich heiress. However, the connection only lasted until February of the following year. When another Dominican exile was murdered in the United States on Trujillo's orders in 1956, the press again linked Rubirosa to the crime, who denied any involvement. That same year, the playboy married 19-year-old French actress Odile Rodin, with whom he had his last marriage. Until the end, Rubirosa's married life was repeatedly disturbed and interrupted by affairs and sex affairs. His lovers included Soraya of Persia, Evita Peron, Marilyn Monroe and Veronica Lake. Thanks to his scandalous love life, Rubirosa became the most famous playboy of his time. In addition to his affairs with women, Rubirosa was particularly enthusiastic about racing. So he drove the Carrera Panamericana. Rubirosa also enjoyed playing polo.
When sanctions were imposed on Trujillo's regime by the Organization of American States in 1960, Rubirosa tried to defend the dictatorship by intervening with President John F. Kennedy. When Rafael Trujillo was assassinated in May 1961, the diplomat remained loyal to his son and other representatives of the regime. In 1962 Rubirosa was dismissed from the diplomatic service. After losing diplomatic immunity, he had to undergo an interrogation by the New York prosecutor's office in connection with the murder of the exiled Dominicans, which ended without charges.
Rubirosa died on July 5, 1965 in Paris after driving his Ferrari into a tree in the Bois de Boulogne.
The legend of Plaboy lived on after his death. Numerous dining establishments around the world named themselves after the dandy. In 1992, Andreas Zielcke and Kurt Scheel published the book "The Last Playboy. The Life of Porfirio Rubirosa". The dramaturg published in 2003 in New York the radio play "Splendor and Death of Porfirio Rubirosa", which clearly reconstructs the biography of the bon vivant. In 2004, the novel "Playboy" was published in Austria, with which Armin Rachet presented a fictional and ironic expansion of Rubirosa's life story.
In 1935, a politically undesirable Dominican exile was murdered in New York: Rubirosa was also linked to the act, which was ordered by Rafael Trujillo and carried out by one of his relatives, but he always denied his involvement. A little later, Rubirosa was promoted to diplomatic service in 1936: he was sent with his wife Flor de Oro to National Socialist Germany, where he was deployed as first secretary in the Dominican embassy and first attracted the attention of the international press and bitterness as a plaboy and bon vivant attracted his wife's attention. His marriage to the dictator's daughter ended in divorce in 1937, but this did not affect his friendship with the head of state, who appointed him ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Argentina in 1938. A year later, Rubirosa arrived in France as a diplomatic envoy, where he was wounded in a mysterious shootout on the streets of Paris.
It was also the year in which the Second World War was started by Hitler's Germany. After the German occupation of France, the Dominican diplomat was imprisoned by the Gestapo every six months. After his release, Rubirosa met the French actress Danielle Darrieux, with whom he was married for five years. At the same time, however, he continued to pursue his affairs. He was then briefly married to the rich tobacco heiress Doris Duke. At the end of 1952, Rubirosa met the film star Zsa-Zsa Gabor in New York, with whom he had a highly publicized affair. A few years later he married her sister, Eva Gabor. In the 1950s, Rubirosa was in the headlines so often for adultery, which had destroyed the marriages of several prominent couples, that dictator Trujillo had to temporarily suspend him from diplomatic service.
The next stop in Rubirosa's married life at the end of 1953 was Barbara Hutton, the granddaughter of the Woolworth founder, another rich heiress. However, the connection only lasted until February of the following year. When another Dominican exile was murdered in the United States on Trujillo's orders in 1956, the press again linked Rubirosa to the crime, who denied any involvement. That same year, the playboy married 19-year-old French actress Odile Rodin, with whom he had his last marriage. Until the end, Rubirosa's married life was repeatedly disturbed and interrupted by affairs and sex affairs. His lovers included Soraya of Persia, Evita Peron, Marilyn Monroe and Veronica Lake. Thanks to his scandalous love life, Rubirosa became the most famous playboy of his time. In addition to his affairs with women, Rubirosa was particularly enthusiastic about racing. So he drove the Carrera Panamericana. Rubirosa also enjoyed playing polo.
When sanctions were imposed on Trujillo's regime by the Organization of American States in 1960, Rubirosa tried to defend the dictatorship by intervening with President John F. Kennedy. When Rafael Trujillo was assassinated in May 1961, the diplomat remained loyal to his son and other representatives of the regime. In 1962 Rubirosa was dismissed from the diplomatic service. After losing diplomatic immunity, he had to undergo an interrogation by the New York prosecutor's office in connection with the murder of the exiled Dominicans, which ended without charges.
Rubirosa died on July 5, 1965 in Paris after driving his Ferrari into a tree in the Bois de Boulogne.
The legend of Plaboy lived on after his death. Numerous dining establishments around the world named themselves after the dandy. In 1992, Andreas Zielcke and Kurt Scheel published the book "The Last Playboy. The Life of Porfirio Rubirosa". The dramaturg published in 2003 in New York the radio play "Splendor and Death of Porfirio Rubirosa", which clearly reconstructs the biography of the bon vivant. In 2004, the novel "Playboy" was published in Austria, with which Armin Rachet presented a fictional and ironic expansion of Rubirosa's life story.