1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 2: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 2: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. In Boston, Massachusetts, there's a 7 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 2: museum dedicated to showcasing paintings that all have one thing 8 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 2: in common. 9 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: They're terrible. The Museum of Bad Art exists to house 10 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: works that are so poorly executed and so aesthetically disastrous 11 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: that it's actually kind of impressive. The ugliness of the 12 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: art becomes its charm. It's so bad it's good. The 13 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: same he said for one aspiring actor who lived in 14 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: Regency England. His name was Robert Coates, although he had 15 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:11,680 Speaker 1: many nicknames, including Diamond Cockadoodle Doo, and Romeo, and each 16 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: of his monikers came with a backstory. First up, Diamond, 17 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 1: as you might imagine, this name referred to Robert's riches. 18 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: Born in Antigua in seventeen seventy two, he was the 19 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 1: son of a wealthy plantation owner. His family had the 20 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: resources to send him to England for school, and he 21 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: continued living in the UK as a young adult. When 22 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: his father died in eighteen oh seven, Robert was the 23 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 1: only next of kin, making him the heir to a 24 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: massive fortune, and he wanted everyone to know about it. 25 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: One contemporary describe Robert's appearance as follows, and I quote 26 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: his dress was remarkable. In the daytime, he was covered 27 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: at all seasons with enormous quantities of fur. But the 28 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: evening costume in which he went to balls made a 29 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: great impression from its gaudy appearance. For his buttons as 30 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: well as his knee buckles were of diamonds. Now, listen, 31 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: I don't even have knee buckles, let alone ones made 32 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: of diamonds. But Robert, well, he lived for attention. He 33 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,119 Speaker 1: flaunted his wealth constantly. He wanted to be recognized everywhere 34 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: he went, even while riding in his carriage, so he 35 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: had a totally obnoxious vehicle custom built. The carriage itself 36 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: was shaped like a seashell, the wheels were all different colors, 37 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: and the sides were painted with images of roosters crowing. 38 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: And that's where Robert got his second nickname. When people 39 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: saw his carriage rolling down the street. They would shout 40 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,959 Speaker 1: out cockadoodle. Do I have to assume that they were 41 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: mocking him, But Robert didn't see it that way. To him, 42 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: all attention was good attention, which brings me to his 43 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: third nickname, Romeo. While Robert's already had a fortune, he 44 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 1: dreamt of fame. He wanted to become known as a 45 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: great actor. In eighteen ten, when he was thirty eight 46 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: years old, he volunteered to take part in a charity 47 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: theater production in Bath, England. The organization was putting on 48 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,119 Speaker 1: a performance of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and I'm sure 49 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: you can guess which role Robert asked to play now. 50 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: Audience members did not arrive expecting Broadway level talent. It 51 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: was a charity performance after all, just a bit of 52 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: light entertainment. But nobody, and I mean nobody, could have 53 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: anticipated just how horrible Robert Coates version of Romeo would be. 54 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,519 Speaker 1: To start, his costume didn't fit. Robert, who had enough 55 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,079 Speaker 1: money to buy whatever clothes he wanted, chose to wear 56 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: pants that were so tight they split in the middle 57 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: of the show. During the famous balcony scene, he paused 58 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: in the middle of his delivering his lines to start 59 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: chewing tobacco. After Juliet died, he tried to pry open 60 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: her tomb with an actual crowbar. A reviewer had this 61 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: to say about Robert's performance, quote, his delivery was uncouth, 62 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: his attitude most awkward, and his emphasis uniformly misplaced. At 63 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: the beginning of the fourth act, the curtain was dropped. 64 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: In other words, Ibert's performance was so disgraceful that the 65 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: show had to be ended early. However, even as the 66 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: curtain closed, he ran out to the front of the 67 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: stage and kept trying to act. He had to be 68 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: carried away from the theater by force. As for the audience, 69 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: if you can believe it, they were kind of sad 70 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: to see Romeo go. His performance might have been awful, 71 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: but it was also entertaining. This production of Romeo and 72 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: Juliet didn't ruin Robert's acting career, It actually kickstarted it. 73 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 1: Over the following years, he continued to appear on stage, 74 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: each time delivering performances that were described by some as quote, 75 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: irrational and disgusting. But at the same time, Robert gained 76 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: a cult following. He was ridiculous, melodramatic, and pompous. He 77 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: lacked any kind of artfulness or refinement. He was so 78 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: bad he was good in a way. Robert Romeo Coates 79 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: got his wish. He became a famous actor. Even after 80 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: he passed away in eighteen forty eight, his name lived on, 81 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: although it was used as an insult. Calling an actor 82 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: a mister Romeo Coates was a way of calling them 83 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: absolutely awful. But hey, Robert believed that all attention was 84 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: good attention, so he would probably be happy that we're 85 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: talking about him at all. In two thousand and two, 86 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: a ninety two year old Brazilian man named Francisco Xavier Candito, 87 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: better known as Chico, passed away. Chico was so beloved 88 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: that his funeral became a national event. His wake lasted 89 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: two full days. During that time, people waited in line 90 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: that stretched over two and a half miles to stay 91 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: their goodbyes. About twenty five hundred mourners passed by his 92 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: coffin every hour. When his casket was finally taken to 93 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: the cemetery, a police helicopter showered his grave with rose petals. 94 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,160 Speaker 1: The governor of Chico's home state announced that his burial 95 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: would be followed by three official days of Mourning. So 96 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: I'm sure you're asking now what made people love Chico 97 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: so much? Well, he was an author. He had written 98 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: approximately four hundred and ninety books during his lifetime. But 99 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: that's absolutely prolific output. Wasn't what made him special, is e. 100 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: Chico was a self identified psychic medium. He claimed that 101 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: the vast majority of his books weren't actually written by him. 102 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: They had been dictated to him by ghosts. This is 103 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: a practice known as psychography, and it didn't originate with Chico. 104 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: As early as the eighteen hundreds, spiritualists in the United 105 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: States claimed that they could receive messages from the dead. 106 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: Sometimes these mediums would fall into a trance while holding 107 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 1: a pencil and paper. When they regained consciousness, the paper 108 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: would be covered in sentences that, according to them, were 109 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: written by ghosts. Over time, the words came through tools 110 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: like the Ouiji board, which spirits could supposedly use to 111 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: communicate with the living. Some of these messages ended up 112 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: being long and dare I say, quite artful. In the 113 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundreds, one ghost author actually gained commercial popularity. 114 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: Her name was Patience Worth. I've covered her here on 115 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: this show before, but as a reminder. Patience reportedly lived 116 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: in the seventeen hundreds, but managed to pen three novels 117 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: over two hundred years after her death. As for who 118 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: held the paper and pencil, that was Pearl Curran, a 119 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: housewife from Saint Louis, who claimed that patient's spirit moved 120 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: through her. Pearl serving as the conduit for patients became 121 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: a literary sensation, and the saying was true of Chico. 122 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: Although his story was far stranger than Pearls. He didn't 123 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: need a pencil, paper, or a Ouiji board to talk 124 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: to spirits. They simply came to him. In nineteen fourteen, 125 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: when he was four years old, Chico started hearing voices 126 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: and having visions. His parents were scared. They thought that 127 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: he was possessed by the devil. A local priest gave 128 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: advice for how to get the demon out, too, like 129 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: having Chico repeat thousands of prayers a day, but it 130 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: didn't work. The boy's connection to the spirit world seemed unbreakable. 131 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 1: As a teenager, Chico began reading about spiritualism. He realized 132 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: that he had a gift, and he resolved to use 133 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: his abilities to help other people. He first began using 134 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: psychography to comfort parents whose children had died. He would 135 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: connect with these children's spirits and allow them to write 136 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: letters through him. Most often they told their parents that 137 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: they missed them, they loved them, and their spirits lived on. Eventually, though, 138 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: Chico moved on from using psychography to write letters to 139 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: write books. He published his first work in nineteen thirty two. 140 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: It was called Poetry from Beyond the Grave and featured 141 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty nine poems that had been quotes unquote, 142 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: revealed to him by the spirits of fifty six dead poets. 143 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: And the book was a commercial success, and Chico continued 144 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: to write at a breakneck pace. Between nineteen thirty two 145 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,320 Speaker 1: and two thousand and two, he wrote nearly five hundred books, 146 00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:00,080 Speaker 1: which sold over twenty five million copies. Many contained over 147 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: religious messages, establishing him as one of Brazil's foremost spiritual leaders. 148 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: At the same time, Chico made a point of engaging 149 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: in humanitarian work and donating all of his profits to charity. 150 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 151 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,920 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty one and nineteen eighty two. So whether you 152 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: believe in psychics or not, it's impossible to deny that 153 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: Chico brought people comfort and hope, and that's why his 154 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: funeral was such a massive event. Still, not everyone was 155 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: convinced of his power. Plenty of people tried to prove 156 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,679 Speaker 1: that he was a fraud, but none were successful. At 157 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: one point, a woman brought him to court over a 158 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: book of poetry. Chico claimed the book had been dictated 159 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: to him by the ghost of a famous Brazilian poet, 160 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: Umberto de compos So. Umberto's widow sued Chico for a 161 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: share of the prophets. However, the judge ruled in Chico's favor, 162 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: citing the fact that Umberto was dead and dead people 163 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: have no property rights. These days, Chico is remembered as 164 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: one of the most important religious figures in Brazilian history, 165 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: and while he died over twenty years ago, it's possible 166 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,199 Speaker 1: he still has more stories to tell. This time, maybe 167 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: he'll be the one sending the messages from the great beyond. 168 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 169 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 170 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 171 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 172 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,959 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works, I make another award winning show 173 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television 174 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,079 Speaker 1: show and you can learn all about it over at 175 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 1: the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.