1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 1: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. Mark Twain, Orson Welles, and 5 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: Will Rogers were all beloved entertainers with razor sharp minds, 6 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: but they were also captivating rack and tours. They knew 7 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: how to tell a story that would hold an audience's 8 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: attention so tightly that nothing could break it. They lived 9 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 1: fascinating lives and channel their experiences into books, films, songs, 10 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: and even the occasional dinner party conversation. But one man 11 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,200 Speaker 1: stands above them all in more than a few ways. 12 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: His accomplishments would have been enough for ten men, but 13 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: there was only one. Peter Frauken. Peter was born in 14 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,399 Speaker 1: Denmark in eighteen eighty six. His average childhood was all 15 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: because his father insisted on him having a normal life. 16 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: Peter's father had quite the influence on him, urging him 17 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: to pursue academics and get a medical decree at the 18 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: University of Copenhagen. But Peter wanted more. There was a 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: whole world out there, waiting to be discovered. He craved 20 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: the outdoors, not a stuffy classroom, so not long after 21 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: beginning his schooling, Peter dropped out. He joined the Denmark 22 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: Expedition of nineteen oh six on a voyage to Greenland's 23 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: northeastern coast, alongside the famous explorer canoe Ressmussen. He and 24 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: Rasmussen became partners. Once they traveled as far north as 25 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: the frigid waters would allow, they abandoned their ship and 26 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: rode a dog sled for the rest of their journey. 27 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: They traded with the local Inuit, who were both grateful 28 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: for the goods they brought, as well as Peter's imposing stature. 29 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: You see, polar bears were a particular threat in the area, 30 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: and Peter, all six ft seven inches of him, looked 31 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: like he could have taken one on with his bare hands. 32 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: In fact, he used the fur from one that he 33 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: had killed to make himself a new coat. Peter learned 34 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: the Inuit native language with the help of Rasmussen, setting 35 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: up a trading post which he named Tuli. It would 36 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,839 Speaker 1: be a base of operations for many of their expeditions 37 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: Between nineteen twelve and nineteen thirty three. He didn't start 38 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: small with his life of independent exploration either. He and 39 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: Rasmussen chose to test the theory that a channel separated 40 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: Greenland from perie Land Peninsula just off the coast. They 41 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: traveled across six d twenty miles of ice to find out. 42 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: During their trip, the men were hit by a massive blizzard. 43 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: Peter tried to avoid its wrath by waiting it out 44 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: under his dog sled, but the snow was coming down 45 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: too strong and too quickly. Before he knew it, he 46 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: was entombed under a mountain of snow that soon hardened 47 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: into ice. Peter hadn't bothered to grab the knives and 48 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: daggers out of his pack before he got snowed in. 49 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: Death was creeping in on him, and then he got 50 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: a brilliant and gross idea. He sharpened his frozen feces 51 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: into a dagger and dug his way to freedom. Unfortunately, 52 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 1: his time in the ice had done considerable damage to 53 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: one of his legs, and frost bite had begun to 54 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: set in. He didn't seek medical attention once he'd returned 55 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: to camp, though, he chose to handle the problem himself 56 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,839 Speaker 1: by cutting off his blackened toes and amputating his own leg, 57 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: all without anesthesia. In its place, he fitted himself with 58 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: a wooden peg leg. After that, Peter took a break 59 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: from his Arctic exploration and settled down with a local 60 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: Linuk woman named Makupo Luke, who accompanied him home to Denmark. 61 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: He and Rasmussen started lecturing Danish audiences on their travels, 62 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: and Peter got involved in politics. He and his wife 63 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: even had two children during his time there. Sadly, she 64 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: passed away from the Spanish flew in n one, but 65 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: Peter remarried, this time to a fellow Dane named Magdalen 66 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: van Luredson. He continued to write, now focusing on books 67 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: about his life, and took a job as an editor 68 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: in chief of a magazine that his wife's family owned. 69 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: He also became a film producer, together with MGM Studios 70 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: in America. He adapted one of his books into an 71 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: Oscar winning film. In nineteen thirty three, Peter appeared on 72 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: screen in the role of a ship captain, perhaps one 73 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: of the earliest known instances of typecasting. He and his 74 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: second wife remained together for twenty years before they split 75 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: during World War Two. It probably wasn't easy being married 76 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 1: to a man who was running off to fight injustice 77 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: wherever he went. Despite the peg leg and his advanced age, 78 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: Peter joined the underground Danish resistance movement against the Nazi 79 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: occupation in Denmark. Anytime he witnessed an active anti Semitism, 80 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: Peter would step forward and claim to be Jewish. No 81 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: one wanted to mess with a six foot seven pegg 82 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: leg Jewish explorer who had made his own coat out 83 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: of a polar bear skin, But the truth was he 84 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: couldn't beat everybody. His work with a Danish resistance got 85 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,359 Speaker 1: him noticed by Hitler himself, and he was shared by 86 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: the Nazis in France. He was set to be executed 87 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: until he broke out of prison and escaped to Sweden. 88 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: Just before the war ended. Peter got married for a 89 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: third and final time and moved to New York. His 90 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: adventuring days behind him. He focused his attention on his 91 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: film career and continued to write novels and memoirs about 92 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,160 Speaker 1: his travels. He even made an appearance on the nineteen 93 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: fifties game show The sixty four thousand Dollar Question, becoming 94 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 1: the fifth person in the show's history to win the jackpot. 95 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: Peter grew older and just kept adding more items to 96 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,559 Speaker 1: his seemingly endless list of accomplishments. Sadly, Peter Freukan passed 97 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 1: away on August thirty, nineteen fifty seven, of a heart attack. 98 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,840 Speaker 1: His ashes were scattered back Intouly, his home away from home, 99 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:48,679 Speaker 1: and where he had met his first wife. The world 100 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 1: lost a living legend that day, an Arctic explorer who 101 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,599 Speaker 1: had cut off his own limb, bought the Nazis, acted 102 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: in and produced his own movies, and always had a 103 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: story to tell no matter where he went. Peter's father 104 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 1: had always wanted a quiet, stable life for his son, 105 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: but I think we can all agree that his failure 106 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: as a parent turned out to be a wonderful thing. 107 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,279 Speaker 1: They call it development hell. When a studio buys the 108 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: rights to a movie, it often takes years before a 109 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: single shot has ever filmed. However, if development goes through 110 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: numerous screenplays, writers, and even directors on the way to production, 111 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,919 Speaker 1: it's said to be caught in development hell, and for 112 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,919 Speaker 1: many of those films they just never make it out. Sadly, 113 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: that list of films is long, and many of them 114 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:50,720 Speaker 1: are well known, but way at the bottom is a 115 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: film that few have heard about, called the incomparable A Took, 116 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: It was a fish out of Water satire written in 117 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three by Mordecai Richler. It follows the story 118 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: of a Took, an Inuit from Baffin Island off the 119 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,599 Speaker 1: coast of Canada. In the film, he finds his way 120 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: to the mainland and soon becomes the fascination of Toronto's elite. 121 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: The more time he spends with them, the more famous 122 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: he becomes, and eventually it comes to embody the same 123 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: greed and excess of his hosts forgetting where he originally 124 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: came from. In the nineteen seventies, the book caught the 125 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,680 Speaker 1: attention of Norman Jewison, a Canadian director who launched a 126 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: fame after directing Judy Garland's famous Comeback Special in nineteen 127 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: sixty one. He went on to direct several award winning 128 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: motion pictures, including In the Heat of the Night and 129 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: Fiddler on the Roof. It took several years to put 130 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: together a screenplay and get the project greenlit by a studio, 131 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: but by the early nineteen eighties Jewison was ready to 132 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: begin casting. His first choice to play A Took had 133 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: been Saturday Night live alum John Belushi. This was around 134 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: January or February of nineteen eighty two. However, on March 135 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: five of that year, Belushi was found dead of a 136 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: drug overdose in a Los Angeles This hotel with their 137 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: star tragically lost, The film sat in limbo. Then in 138 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: six stand up comic superstar Sam Kinison jumped on board, 139 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: insisting on playing the title character. According to people involved 140 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: in the production, Kinnison didn't even read the script before 141 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: accepting the role. He showed up two sets and managed 142 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: eight days of shooting in full costume, but he didn't 143 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: like the script and stopped production to perform rewrites. Naturally, 144 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: the studio wasn't happy about that, and they filed the lawsuit, 145 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: which put the project on hold for another several years 146 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: before it could resume. Though, Kinnison died in a tragic 147 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: car accident, but the Hollywood machine kept churning looking for 148 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: a lead actor for the film. Next in line was 149 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: John Candy, who was interested in the role but needed 150 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: time to read the script before he would accept. A 151 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: few months later, he died of a heart attack without 152 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 1: ever having made a decision. He'd also given friend and 153 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,679 Speaker 1: screenwriter Michael O'Donohue a look at the script. O'donahue had 154 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: been to have chronic migraines, but suddenly passed away of 155 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: a cerebral hemorrhage the same year. It seemed like any 156 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 1: actor who approached the role of A Took met a 157 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: tragic end, but every few years the script would surface 158 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: again and make another attempt at production. In it felt 159 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 1: like the right year to try, as another former SNL 160 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: cast member found himself on the top of the casting list. 161 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: Chris Farley had become a comedy icon by the time 162 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: he had turned thirty three, but died of a drug 163 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: overdose only months after reading the script. Just like John 164 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: Belushi and just like John Candy before him, Farley had 165 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 1: sent the script to a friend and fellow SNL cast 166 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:43,719 Speaker 1: member named Phil Hartman. Hartman died five months later. Since then, 167 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: no one has tried to revive the A Took project 168 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: for production, which is probably a good idea since no 169 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,440 Speaker 1: director was looking to cast an actual Inuit for the 170 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: role anyway. But beyond that, it appeared as though the 171 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,719 Speaker 1: film was cursed from the start, what with comedy legends 172 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: suddenly dying after coming in contact with the script. There 173 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,440 Speaker 1: are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the entire ordeal, 174 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:11,680 Speaker 1: but one thing is certainly clear. For everyone involved adapting 175 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 1: the incomparable A Took was no laughing matter. I hope 176 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 177 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 178 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 179 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how 180 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 181 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,680 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 182 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 183 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.