Harry F Gerguson

[Kimberly]

I have always thought this guy was a delight and I expect some of the other "oldies" on this forum will have heard of him too
Harry claimed to have been born Prince Michael Dimitri Alexandrovich Obolensky-Romanoff- sometimes nephew, or cousin or illigitimate son of Tsar Nicholas. He occasionally claimed to be a descendant of William Gladstone, Rockefeller,William K Vanderbilt and even a close relative of "the man who killed Rasputin". Prince Mike was befriended by nobility and was introduced to a particularly expensive brand of tobacco by the Prince of Wales (David) whilst the two were out foxhunting together.He was, in fact, a "professional imposter" and was an extremely popular character among the movie colony in Hollywood. He counted some of the greatest stars of the day as his close friends (Niven, Bogart, Flynn) and opened a very successful restaurant.
He accumulated an enormous amount of knowledge and supposedly attended many of the greatest universities,Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge and Heidelberg. This fascinating man with a cut-glass Noel Coward accent was, in fact, either the orphaned son of a Cincinnati tailor or a "pants presser" from Brooklyn

[Denise]

I had forgotten about this guy!!  I remember reading about him in Lauren Bacall's bio, and how he used to play chess with Bogie.  Thanks for the background!  I never knew more than what Bacall relayed.

[Kimberly]

David Niven devotes a whole chapter to him in his book"Bring on the Empty Horses". The fascinating thing is, that for all Mike Romanoff's "Tall Tales". He always had something that would back the tale up to a degree.

[Denise]

David Niven devotes a whole chapter to him in his book"Bring on the Empty Horses". The fascinating thing is, that for all Mike Romanoff's "Tall Tales". He always had something that would back the tale up to a degree.

Hmmmm.  Thanks!!  I may have to see if my library has that book.  Even though he was not a "real" Romanov, Prince Mike was quite the interesting character!  

[Kimberly]

Oh Denise, you must try and get hold of it, its hilarious.

[Denise]

Kimberly, you twisted my arm!    I just ordered a copy off Amazon--$4.98 including shipping!  I love Hollywood bios, so knowing David Niven, the whole book ought to be entertaining.