1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menkey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Some directors like to drop easter eggs into 7 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: their films, little bonuses in their films for the eagle 8 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: eyed viewers to spot. Alfred Hitchcock often inserted himself into 9 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: the backgrounds of his films. Finding him became kind of 10 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: a game, one that was sometimes so distracting viewers needed 11 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: to watch a movie more than once because they didn't 12 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: catch the story the first time around. Random characters or 13 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: props do a little more than entyson audience to pay 14 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: closer attention to the background of a scene. In one instance, however, 15 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,680 Speaker 1: a piece of films set decoration set off a firestorm 16 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: through the international art world, and it was all thanks 17 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: to a mouse. It all started around nineteen six. The 18 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: Hungarian artist Robert Barny had a big name in the 19 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: avant garde scene at the time. He had already brought 20 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: Expressionism and Cubism to the country prior to the start 21 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: of World War One. Before that, he had studied in Paris, 22 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: focusing on post Impressionism and studying the works of Van 23 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: Gogh and go Again. After a few exhibits of his paintings, 24 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: Barony returned to Budapest and founded his own small art 25 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: collective in nineteen eleven. He caused waves that year when 26 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: the public attended his exhibition. His paintings were so unlike 27 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: what the Hungarian critics were used to, and while some 28 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: enjoyed it, many did not. Around nineteen nineteen, Barony left 29 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: Hungary to live in Berlin, where he stayed for several years. 30 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: He had painted recruitment posters in support of the Ungarian 31 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: Democratic Republic, a communist state that had formed in the 32 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: collapse of Austro Hungary after the end of World War One. 33 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 1: When that republic fell in November of nineteen nine, Barony 34 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: was forced to flee. He continued to paint, though, pushing 35 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: the boundaries of Cubism and expressionism. He also became a 36 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: composer for a short time to make ends meet. Then, 37 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: in the mid nineteen twenties, Barony returned to his home 38 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: country by that time, though another style had taken hold 39 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: of him. Art Deco combined the Cubism he was familiar 40 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: with with a bold new color pellette, and incorporated influences 41 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: from all over the world, including China and Persia, and 42 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: above all else. Art Deco represented the future, the future 43 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: of art, of technology, and of architecture. Barony was inspired 44 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: to paint his second wife in the Art Deco style. 45 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: The portrait, measuring two feet by almost three feet, was 46 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,359 Speaker 1: titled Sleeping Lady with Black Vase. It depicted a woman 47 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: in a blue dress reclining on a large brown couch 48 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: yellow table, with a black vase stood in front of her. 49 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: The painting was put on display in budapest Earned Museum 50 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: in nine, supposedly the last time anyone saw it before 51 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: it disappeared. It had been sold to a Jewish buyer 52 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 1: who eventually fled Hungary just before World War Two. After that, 53 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: no one ever laid eyes on it again, that is 54 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 1: until Greg Lee Barky sat down to watch a movie 55 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,959 Speaker 1: with his daughter in two thousand nine. Barkey had been 56 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: a historian at the Hungarian National Gallery, an art museum 57 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 1: in Budapest. On Christmas Eve of that year, he'd come 58 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: home after a long day at work to watch a 59 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: movie on television with his young daughter. She settled into 60 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: his lap and Barky turned on the children's movie Stuart Little. 61 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: Part Way into the film, he saw it. It was 62 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: hanging on the wall behind the three main human characters 63 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: and the computer generated mouse. Barkey almost dropped his daughter 64 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: to the floor and shock the sleeping lady had been found. 65 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: He immediately began emailing every casting crew member connected with 66 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: the film, asking them about the whereabouts of the painting. 67 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: A response came from an assistant set designer who had 68 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: worked on the picture. Two years later, it turned out 69 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: that the story of Baronie masterpiece was a mysterious one. 70 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: The painting had surfaced fifty years after World War Two 71 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: at an auction in San Diego, California. The buyer at 72 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: the time had paid all of forty dollars for it. 73 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: It then ended up in an antique store, having been 74 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: sold to the shop for a whopping four hundred dollars. 75 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: Apparently nobody knew what they really had. It wasn't long 76 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: before a local woman walked into the store and purchased 77 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: the painting to hang in her own home. She happened 78 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: to work as a set designer in Hollywood, creating and 79 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 1: decorating the sets that would be seen in major motion pictures. Then, 80 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: while decorating the Stewart Little set, the woman realized Baroness 81 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: painting would look perfect hanging over the little family's fireplace 82 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: in the movie. She took it off her own wall 83 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: and brought it to the set. When filming completed, the 84 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: painting went back home with her. Barquis. The woman eventually 85 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 1: arranged a meeting he flew to her house in Washington, 86 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: where he was able to see the once lost work 87 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: in person. Sadly, he didn't get to take it home 88 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: with him. Sleeping Beauty with Black Vace went up for 89 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: auctions several years later, selling for over two hundred and 90 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: eighty five thousand dollars, But the story does have a 91 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: kind of happy ending. The painting wound up in the 92 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: possession of a Hungarian buyer, bringing Baronies masterpiece home once 93 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: and hopefully for all. Sometimes we reach a point in 94 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: our lives where we feel the need to reinvent ourselves. 95 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,039 Speaker 1: Perhaps we grow tired of our careers and decided to 96 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: make a change, or we chop off the hairstyle we've 97 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 1: had for twenty years in favor of something a little boulder. 98 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,239 Speaker 1: At the dawn of World War Two, one man saw 99 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: a need to reinvent himself. But he changed more than 100 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 1: his hair. He changed everything. Casper brand Hoffer was an actor. 101 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,679 Speaker 1: It had been his calling from a young age. Born 102 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: in Austria, Hungary in eighteen ninety one, he began attending 103 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: the prestigious University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna 104 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: when he was just twenty two, the same school that 105 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,359 Speaker 1: had once counted among its students composers Gustav Mahler and 106 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: Jean Sibelius. He then enlisted in World War One, joining 107 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: the Austro Hungarian Army as a private. Brand Hoffer eventually 108 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: rose to the rank of lieutenant and was awarded a 109 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: Medal for valor after being wounded in battle. He also 110 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: became a family man, settling down and having two children, 111 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: a boy and a girl, but brand Hoffer never forgot 112 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: his first love the theater. When the war ended, he 113 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,159 Speaker 1: started performing in plays all over Germany, playing the Duke 114 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: of Albany in a Viennese production of King Lear, then 115 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: joining a theater company in Munich in nineteen one, before 116 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:58,040 Speaker 1: eventually moving to Berlin. Sadly, his marriage suffered from all 117 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: the travel and work. Brand Hoffer was divorced in nine 118 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: and started a theater company with his new love, actress 119 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: Agnes Strob, but brand Hoffer was forced to leave Berlin 120 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: several years later. He retreated to a mountain cabin in 121 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: the state of t Roll in western Austria. For one 122 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: year he honed his craft while the Nazis took over Germany. 123 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: Brand Hoffer eventually returned, though, sporting a full beard and 124 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: whitened hair, intent on making his mark once more. Except 125 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: something was different about him, something other than his looks. 126 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: He was suddenly unfamiliar with aspects of the theater that 127 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: he'd known so well before. In fact, one cast mate 128 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: had to explain the concept of a monologue to him, 129 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: which brand Hoffer understood is something he called a dialogue 130 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: with my Lord God. He also fancied himself a natural actor, 131 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: issuing the formal education he had received when he was younger. 132 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: As far as the other cast members knew, he had 133 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: taught himself everything he knew. Brand Hoffer's first leaped back 134 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: into the theater world was a production of a play 135 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: called fraeulein Elsa. The show opened in December of night 136 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: teen thirty six. Critics loved his performance, and so did 137 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: the Nazis. They rallied behind him, lauding his rise to 138 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: start them as a self taught natural actor and a 139 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: poster child for their aryan agenda. The director of the 140 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: show offered brand Hoffer a three year contract. All that 141 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: had taken was one role, and he was on top 142 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: of the world in a way he'd never been before. 143 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: But then one week later, brand Hoffer came clean. He 144 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: couldn't deal with his success leading to the growth of 145 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: a Nazi party, and so he told them the truth. 146 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: His name was not Casper brand Hoffer, it was Leon Reese. 147 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: He'd been born to Jewish parents and had first taken 148 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: on the stage name of Leo Russ. When the Nazis 149 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: took over Berlin, the actor fled to the mountains of 150 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: t Roll, where he concocted a whole new persona for himself. 151 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: He learned to act and speak like the local farmers. 152 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: He let his hair get long, and he grew a beard. 153 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: Reese then soaked all the hair on his body in 154 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: hydrogen peroxide baths to diet blonde. Finally, he positioned himself 155 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: as a Christian act or, one who did not study 156 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: at a prominent German school. He was self taught, and 157 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: he took on the name of Casper brand Hoffer. Nobody 158 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: in Berlin recognized him, not even the actors and directors 159 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: he'd previously worked with his one year sabbatical had worked. 160 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: Following his confession, Reese was hauled into court and tried 161 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 1: for living under a false name. He made a stand 162 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: advocating that being an actor came down to one's talent, 163 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: not their race. A fine was levied against him for 164 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: his actions, but he knew it was only a matter 165 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,320 Speaker 1: of time before he had faced harsher punishment, and so 166 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: he left Germany altogether. In nineteen thirty seven, Reese came 167 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 1: to the United States and changed his name once more. 168 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: He now went by Lionel Royce. Working his way up 169 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 1: with small parts in major motion pictures, he built a 170 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 1: nice career for himself in Hollywood, acting alongside legends like 171 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: Tyrone Power, Rita Hayworth, and Edward G. Robinson. Leon Reese 172 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: died of a heart attack in nineteen forty six, at 173 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: the age of fifty five. He acted in many fine 174 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,680 Speaker 1: films towards the end of his life, but his finest 175 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 1: perform Mints was that of a Jewish actor playing an 176 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: arian who made the fools of the Nazis. Too bad 177 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: there wasn't an oscar for that category. I hope you've 178 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:17,079 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe 179 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the 180 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was 181 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. 182 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: I make another award winning show called Lore, which is 183 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 1: a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can 184 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: learn all about it over at the World of Lore 185 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,959 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.