1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Nke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 7 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: In Hollywood, they say that it's who you know. The 8 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: right connections can give you a leg up. For instance, 9 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: director Sophia Coppola is an immense talent, but it's easier 10 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: to get noticed when your dad directed The Godfather right. 11 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: In fact, scores of our favorite celebrities, people with massive 12 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: amounts of talent come from Hollywood royalty. Nicholas Cage, George Clooney, 13 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: Emma Roberts. The list goes on and on. But while 14 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: these artists had a leg up, their talent is what 15 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: earned them job after job. After all, it's not how 16 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: you get the opportunity, it's what you do with it 17 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: that counts. And as one Hollywood starlet has proved, sometimes 18 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: a foot in the door is all someone needs to 19 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,320 Speaker 1: break the glass ceiling. In nineteen forty eight, an up 20 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: and coming actress arrived for her voice session at Columbia Pictures, 21 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 1: one of the leading film studios in Hollywood. She had 22 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: a good singing voice, but was untrained, so the studio 23 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: had her working with a composer named Fred Carger to 24 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: get her as ready as possible for the small parts 25 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: in an upcoming film. That afternoon, Fred handed the young 26 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: actress a vinyl record and encouraged her to listen to it. 27 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: The singer on the record was a moderately well known 28 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: crooner by the name of Ella Fitzgerald, and Fred thought 29 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: that the young actress might be able to learn a 30 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: few things about singing by listening to Ella. And the 31 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: actress did listen and found herself drawn in by Ella 32 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: Fitzgerald's low, sultry voice. She became an instant fan and 33 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: bought scool of Ella's records. As it turned out, Ella 34 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: Fitzgerald wasn't just a hypnotic singer, she was also prolific, 35 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: having released dozens of records since nineteen thirty five. Over 36 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: the next six years, the young actress spent countless hours 37 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,799 Speaker 1: listening to Ella's recordings. She followed her career even as 38 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,399 Speaker 1: her own career took off and she began to land 39 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: bigger and bigger roles in Hollywood. But much as she 40 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: loved Ella Fitzgerald, she didn't get to see her perform 41 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: until November of nineteen fifty four at a nightclub in 42 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: Los Angeles. After the show, the actress met Ella and 43 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: introduced herself as Marilyn Monroe, one of Ella's biggest fans, 44 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 1: and the two struck up a fast friendship. By this time, 45 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: Marilyn Monroe was one of the most famous celebrities on 46 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: the planet. Ella Fitzgerald was famous in her own right, 47 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: but had nowhere near Marylyn's star power. In fact, even 48 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: though Ella had been recording albums for almost twenty years 49 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: and had multiple songs topped the Billboard charts, she was 50 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: still struggling to book a lot of upscale clubs around 51 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: the country. She especially wanted to play the Mocambo, a 52 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: famous La nightclub, but the owner had so far refused 53 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: to book her. This was sadly a common problem for 54 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: black performers in the nineteen fifties. At the time, a 55 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: lot of clubs at Casino's practice segregation. These venues flat 56 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 1: out refused to hire black talent, or if they did, 57 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: musicians like Ella would perform and then be ushered out 58 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:28,239 Speaker 1: the back door without being allowed to stay in the 59 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: venue after their set. But that was only part of 60 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: why the Mcambo refused to book Ella. In fact, singers 61 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: like Dorothy Dandridge and Eartha Kit had already played the Mocambo, 62 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: so Ella wouldn't have been the first African American woman 63 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: to perform there. No, the problem was that Ella was 64 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: full figured. It seems that she didn't meet the traditional 65 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: beauty standards of the time, and the club's owner worried 66 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: that a heavy set woman like Ella would lack the 67 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: glamour needed to draw a crowd, and so for years, 68 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: Ella had been unable to change the club owner's mind 69 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: about her. But that was before she became friends with 70 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: Marilyn Monroe. So in the spring of nineteen fifty five, 71 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: Marilyn placed a call to the owner of the Mcambo 72 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: and made him a deal. If he booked Ella for 73 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: a run at the club, Marilyn would be there every 74 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: single night, and she would make sure that the paparazzis 75 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: got plenty of pictures of her sitting at the center table. 76 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: The club owner was a businessman first and foremost. His 77 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: only real issue with booking Ella was her ability to 78 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: draw a crowd, and Marilyn would certainly take care of 79 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: that with her at the performance. The Macambo would end 80 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: up being in the newspapers nights after night, so he 81 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: agreed and hired Ella for a couple of weeks in 82 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: March of nineteen fifty five. On opening night, Marilyn Monroe 83 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: kept her word. She showed up at the Mcambo dressed 84 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: to the nines, with the trail of reporters and photographers 85 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: right behind her. She sat at the very front of 86 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: the club so the whole audience could see her avidly 87 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 1: supporting her friend. Plus two more celebrity guests also showed 88 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: up to see Ella, Crune, Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra. 89 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: That night, Ella put on an unforgettable show to a 90 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: packed house. The rest of her run sold out, and 91 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: the Macambo decided to extend her contract for another week. 92 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 1: After selling out that club, Ella's entire career changed. She 93 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: was in demand at upscale clubs around the country. In fact, 94 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: there wasn't a stage she could not book. Years later, 95 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:24,919 Speaker 1: she said in an interview that after the Mocambo, she 96 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: never had to play a small jazz club again, and 97 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 1: even though her talent is what brought her so much success. 98 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: She always credited her good friend Marilyn Monroe for using 99 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: her star power to open a door that never should 100 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 1: have been closed to begin with. There's an old saying 101 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: that no press is bad press. It doesn't matter they 102 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: say what the conversation is, as long as it revolves 103 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 1: around you. And that's why so many celebrities and big 104 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: name brands rely on PR stunts to generate publicity. If 105 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: you're outrageous, you can get people talking. So when nav 106 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,239 Speaker 1: took a job as director of communications for a racing team, 107 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,599 Speaker 1: he wanted his race car drivers in the papers and 108 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: he would succeed, but only after learning how quickly a 109 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:26,679 Speaker 1: publicity stunt can become a PR nightmare. Now these days, 110 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: it seems like almost everyone as a fan of Formula 111 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: one racing or has at least heard of the hit 112 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: TV show Drive to Survive. But back in two thousand 113 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: and four, F one was a niche sport. It was 114 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: hard for any team to garner attention from the wider world, which, 115 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: for the owners of the teams was largely the point. 116 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 1: Car companies like Ferrari, Toyota, and Honda bought F one 117 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 1: teams to show off their auto making prowess. Only first 118 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: place teams like Ferrari ever made the newspapers. Seventh place 119 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: teams like Jaguar may as well have been invisible. But 120 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 1: that this was a big problem for Jaguar's parent company, 121 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: Ford Motors. Going into the two thousand and four season, 122 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: the Ford executives were beginning to feel like investing in 123 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: an F one team was a major waste of money. 124 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: There was a rumor that if Jaguar didn't garner some 125 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: major publicity, Ford would sell the team at the end 126 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: of the season. Jaguar knew that they weren't good enough 127 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: to win first place and make the papers, but they 128 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: wanted to save their team regardless, so Nov Sadu, the 129 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: director of communications, devised a different way of garnering attention. 130 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: The Monaco Grand Prix was coming up, a race that 131 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: always got more publicity than the rest because Monco races 132 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: were usually crawling with celebrities, and nav wanted to make 133 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: this year's race all about Jaguar, so he called up 134 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: the producers of a movie about to hit the theaters, 135 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: Oceans Twelve. He proposed that they send George Clooney, Matt 136 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: Damon and Brad Pitt to the Monaco Grand Prix. As 137 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: a publicity stunt, the Jaguar team would deck out their 138 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: cars in Ocean's twelve logos and after finishing touch Sadu 139 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: called the Steinmetz Group eight high end jeweler and he 140 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: asked to borrow two diamonds that would be fixed to 141 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: the front of the Jaguar race cars for the Grand Prix. 142 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: He thought that it would play up the jewel heist 143 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: nature of the Ocean's films. The jewelers agreed since it 144 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: would be great publicity for them as well. So on 145 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: the day of the race, both the drivers for Jaguar, 146 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: Mark Weber and Christian Clean took photos with Matt Damon, 147 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 1: Brad Pitt and George Clooney. The press went wild for 148 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:32,839 Speaker 1: their race cars, which had huge diamonds affixed to their 149 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: nose cones the front end of the cars. Each diamond, 150 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: by the way, was worth about a quarter of a 151 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: million dollars. But while everything was running smooth for the 152 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: Jaguar team, the Grand Prix got off to a rocky start. 153 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: When it was time for the race, all of the 154 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: cars got into their starting boxes on the track, but 155 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:52,520 Speaker 1: one of the Toyota drivers pulled up short of his 156 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: grid box, lending him right next to Christian Clean, the 157 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,959 Speaker 1: Jaguar driver. A rush of mechanics poured into the track, 158 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,679 Speaker 1: swarming the Toyota to change its tires, do a mechanical 159 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: check and position it correctly in place, and when they 160 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: finally cleared out, the race began, and right from the 161 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: start it was chaos. A pack of cars thundered around 162 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: hairpin turns at breakneck speed. Clean wove through the track 163 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: alongside the other drivers, screeching around corners and fighting to 164 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:23,959 Speaker 1: overtake the cars ahead of him, and at one point 165 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,079 Speaker 1: he realized that the right wing of his car was missing. 166 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: He wasn't sure what had happened, if another car had 167 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: knocked it off, or if he had tapped it on 168 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: a barrier when he was zooming around a turn, but 169 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 1: he didn't need it to control the car, and so 170 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: he pushed the pedal to the floor. Then six turns 171 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: into the race, he came up to a hairpin turn 172 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 1: and lost traction and ended up smashing nose first into 173 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: the barrier on the side of the track. Crew members 174 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: raced to clear the car off of the track, and 175 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,719 Speaker 1: by the time they got Clean's car to safety, one 176 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 1: of the crew noticed that the two hundred and fifty 177 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: thousand dollars diamond attached to the nose cone was missing. 178 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 1: The The entire Jaguar team jumped into action, canvassing the 179 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: area for the diamond. They searched the track and watched 180 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: the security footage, but there was no sign of the diamond, 181 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: and suddenly it seemed like the pr stunt had turned 182 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: into a plotline from an ocean's movie. The problem was 183 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: that a ton of unexpected people came in contact with 184 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,319 Speaker 1: the car, the mechanics at the beginning of the race, 185 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 1: the crew members who pulled the car off the track. 186 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:28,080 Speaker 1: If the diamond broke off during the race, a lucky 187 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: bystander might have been able to reach through the barrier 188 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: and grab it. There was no way of knowing who 189 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: took the diamond, and to this day it's never been found. 190 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:41,559 Speaker 1: So was this an unfortunate accident or a well planned 191 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: high stakes heist. Either way, Navsidu accomplished his mission. The 192 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: incident got Jaguar a ton of press, but it didn't 193 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: stop Forward from selling the team at the end of 194 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 1: the season anyway. At first, the sale seemed like a 195 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,839 Speaker 1: death knell for Jaguar. After all, the new owners were 196 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: not even automakers. They were a bever company, but they 197 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 1: poured a ton of money and resources into Jaguar and 198 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: renamed the team after the beverage company's energy drink. Today 199 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: they still make the papers, not for missing diamonds, but 200 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 1: because they're arguably the best racing team in the world. 201 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: You'd almost certainly recognize their name and their bright red logo. 202 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: F One fans know them today as Red Bull. 203 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,280 Speaker 2: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 204 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 2: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 205 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 2: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 206 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 2: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 207 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 2: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 208 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 2: called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, 209 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 2: and you can learn all about it over at the 210 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 2: Worldolore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.