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 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: Eugene Frecois Vidoc was a scoundrel born in seventeen seventy 7 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: five in Airiss, France. He was never interested in following 8 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: his father's footsteps as a baker. Instead, he rebelled, beginning 9 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: his life of crime. At the tender age of thirteen, 10 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: Little Eugene stole all of his family's silver cutlery, sold it, 11 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: and spent every cent that he got that same day. 12 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: His parents were understandably show and hoping to nip such 13 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: delinquency in the bud, they enrolled their teenager in a 14 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,559 Speaker 1: reformatory school. Eugene came back home a few weeks later, 15 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: purporting to be completely reformed, but his good behavior only 16 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: lasted about a year. At the age of fourteen, he 17 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: was taking a fencing lesson when he killed his instructor, 18 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: which is a big leap from stealing spoons, I know, 19 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,960 Speaker 1: but seeing as this happened about two hundred and fifty 20 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: years ago, nobody really knows the specific details. It might 21 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: have been an accident, but if so, Eugene didn't own 22 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: up to his deadly mistake. Instead, he stole his parents' 23 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: life savings and ran away, hoping to sail to America 24 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:41,199 Speaker 1: and start a new life. Unfortunately for Eugene, his escape 25 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: plan quickly soured. He lost all the money. It's not 26 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: clear how, but before he even made it out of 27 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: France it was gone. Unable to face his family, he 28 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: spent the next two years working as a circus performer 29 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: slash traveling salesman before enlisting in the army at the 30 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: age of sixteen. There, Eugene gained a reputation as a 31 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: man who was quick to argue and even quicker to 32 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: demand a duel. He took up arms against at least 33 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: fifteen of his fellow frenchmen, killing two of them. All 34 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: of this could apparently be forgiven, but when Eugene full 35 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: on hit his commander, he was forced to leave the army. 36 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: At this point, now Eugene was eighteen, and for the 37 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: next fifteen years he did whatever he had to to 38 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: get by. He had love affairs with women from the 39 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: very bottom to the very top of social hierarchy. He 40 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: enlisted in the army multiple times under false identities, usually 41 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: being promptly discovered and kicked out. He got into bar 42 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: fights and committed petty crimes. Eugene was always in and 43 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: out of jail, although mostly out. He mastered the art 44 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: of disguise and learned how to escape from practically every 45 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: prison in Paris. But as he reached his thirties, Eugene 46 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: grew tired of running and scheming. He wanted to turn 47 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: over a new leaf. In eighteen oh nine, at thirty 48 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: three years old, he turned himself into the authorities. But 49 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: there was a catch. Eugene told the friend police he 50 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: would not go back to jail as a prisoner, but 51 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: rather as a secret government informant for the police. This 52 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: was a huge opportunity. Eugene was a slippery criminal who 53 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 1: they couldn't manage to keep behind bars, but if he 54 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,679 Speaker 1: was willing to work for them instead of against them, 55 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: well it could be the beginning of a beautiful, if 56 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: unlikely partnership. The police took Eugene up on his offer 57 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: and for the next twenty one months, the criminal turn 58 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: cop supplied them with info from inside prison walls. He 59 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: then got official permission to fake a prison escape so 60 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: he could continue his work on the streets. There, Eugene 61 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: organized in undercover crime fighting units made up entirely of 62 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: his old criminal contacts. And I know what you're thinking, 63 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: how effective could they possibly have been? Well, by one account, 64 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: they helped lower crime rates in Paris by around forty percent. 65 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: They were fantastic at their jobs precisely because they'd spent 66 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: so many years skirting the law. They knew the tricks 67 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: that criminals pulled, so they knew how to catch and start. Heck, 68 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: at one point, Napoleon soon signed a degree making the 69 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: group an official law enforcement brigade known as the National 70 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: Security in English. From there, Eugene worked his way up 71 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: in French law enforcement, pioneering all kinds of investigative techniques 72 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: that we take for granted today, for example, undercover detective work, 73 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: criminal records, ballistic testing, shoe print analysis, forensic fingerprinting. These 74 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:30,799 Speaker 1: were all Eugene's ideas. Eugene Vydac was the first modern detective. 75 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: Eventually he became an esteem member of French society and 76 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: rubbed shoulders with some very important people like Victor Hugo, 77 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: the author of Les Misrah Hugo based the characters of 78 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: Jean Valjean and Inspector Jauvert off of Eugene, and Eugene's 79 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: literary influence didn't stop there. Edgar Allan Poe referenced him 80 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: in the short story The Murders in the Room Morgue, 81 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: which is considered the first ever detective tale. Sir Arthur 82 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,799 Speaker 1: Conan Doyle modeled Sherlock Holmes partially after Eugene, and Agatha 83 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: Christie was so inspired by the Frenchman that she went 84 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: on to create one of the most recognizable French speaking 85 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: investigators in literature, her Cule Poirot. Eugene Francoisse Doc lived 86 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: a crazy, curious life, but despite his flawed beginnings, he 87 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: influenced detective work for the better and inspired characters we 88 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: wouldn't want to live without. It can be very tempting. 89 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 1: A locked door, a warning sign in bright red letters 90 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: saying stay out or no admittance. It's natural to want 91 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: to peek behind the curtain, to go where we're not 92 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: meant to go. What's on the other side? Why are 93 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: we not allowed in there. But as enticing as it 94 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: may be to sneak inside and have a look for ourselves, 95 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: most of us will never take that step. The last 96 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: thing we want is to get caught breaking and entering. 97 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,839 Speaker 1: But James Connolly didn't worry about such things. If he 98 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: wanted in, he would find a way. Connolly was born 99 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty nine in Massachusetts. His parents and sister 100 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: died when he was only ten years old, and he 101 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: was sent to live in an orphanage. Over the years, 102 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: he developed a keen sense for navigating the streets, finding 103 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: his way into spaces where he wasn't allowed or wanted. 104 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: When he got older, Connolly was known around town as 105 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: One Eye, on account of having lost one of his 106 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: eyes when he was only eighteen. It's what cost him 107 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: a career as a professional boxer, but he still loved 108 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: watching the matches anyway. He would even travel out of 109 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: state to watch certain fights, like the time he went 110 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 1: to New Orleans to see John L. Sullivan and gentleman 111 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: Jim Corbett battle it out in eighteen ninety two. He 112 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: showed up at the gates without a penny in his pocket. 113 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: Thinking on his feet, he gave the guard a story 114 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: about having a message for Sullivan from his brother. The gatekeeper, 115 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: thinking nothing of it, led him through and escorted him 116 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: to the boxer's prep area. Connolly came about the lie, 117 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: but Sullivan didn't kick him out. He admired his gumption 118 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: and let him watch the match anyway. From there, Connolly 119 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,679 Speaker 1: only got more brazen in his deceptions. He would flash 120 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: a fake press badge at the door, or haul a 121 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: block of ice into a venue, claiming that he was 122 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: delivering it to a concession stand. He even wore the 123 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: uniform of an ambulance driver and made up a story 124 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: about responding to an emergency inside the building. The one 125 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: particular ruse involved Connolly dressing up as a painter and 126 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: pretending to paint a stadium. He asked a guard where 127 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: he should paint next, and was instructed to go inside 128 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 1: and ask the person in charge. Of course, someone as 129 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: notable as James Connolly soon found himself recognized at every 130 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: gate he tried to crash. Gatekeepers and guards were on 131 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: the lookout, ready to pounce on the wily one eyed 132 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: weasel as he tried to slip inside every arena, theater, 133 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: and stadium without pain. One time in Jersey City, New Jersey, 134 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: he was stopped from crashing a boxing match thirteen times 135 00:07:57,880 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: before he picked up a coffee jug and a back 136 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: full of sandwiches and made his way through the fourteenth 137 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: Gate unnoticed. In his later years, though, he moved to Chicago, 138 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: a new city full of new possibilities. It was there 139 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: where he truly became famous too, especially for one particular 140 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: businessman named Andy Frayn. You see, frain supplied venues with 141 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 1: ushers and other staff for games and matches of all kinds, 142 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 1: and there was Connolly trying to find new ways to 143 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: breach the perimeter of each of those places. But it 144 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: wasn't about the money. Connolly often took random jobs here 145 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: and there to make ends meet. He worked as a 146 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: waiter for a short time, as well as an elevator attendant. 147 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: I guess my point is that he didn't need to 148 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: sneak inside. He could have bought a ticket, and so 149 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: for a long time he would find his way into 150 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: an arena or a theater inevitably staffed by Frayne, and 151 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: each time he would be discovered and kicked out, But 152 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: eventually Frayne stopped fighting him. There were other gate crashers 153 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: to stop, and what better way to catch them than 154 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: to put the best one on the payroll. Oh Frayne 155 00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:04,319 Speaker 1: hired Connolly as a gatekeeper himself, sticking him at one 156 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,200 Speaker 1: of the entryways to Wrigley Field during a World Series 157 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:09,839 Speaker 1: game in nineteen forty five. It was a game between 158 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 1: the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. Then on that day, 159 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: one man tried to push his way into the stadium 160 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: without a ticket, but Connolly wouldn't have it. He knew 161 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: all of the tricks well except for one. The man 162 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: he was keeping out was Philip Wrigley, the owner of 163 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: the Cubs and the man whose family name was on 164 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: the building. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, 165 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: Connolly just sneered and said, that's for the birds, please 166 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: go away. James Connolly died in nineteen fifty three at 167 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: the age of eighty four. When asked about his late acquaintance, 168 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: mister Frayn said, I will give you eight to one 169 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: that he crashes the pearly gates. I'd like to see 170 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:57,319 Speaker 1: Saint Peter keep him out. I hope you've enjoyed today's 171 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 1: guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free 172 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,719 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by 173 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. This show was created by 174 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I 175 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,319 Speaker 1: make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 176 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 177 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until 178 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:27,199 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.