Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClean smith. For the weeks in between episodes, we look at the stories that, for one reason or other, didn't make it into the show. For the last episode, Lex Talionis, we took an in depth look into the tragic and strange story of Johnny Frank Garrett. In nineteen eighty two, Garrett was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Sister to day A Benz, a gentle and selfless nun of Saint Francis
Convent in Amarillo, Texas. He was eventually executed for the crime ten years later. In recent years, Garrett's execution has begun to look increasingly like a terrible miscarriage of justice, with Jesse Quackenbush's two thousand and eight documentary The Last Word doing much to raise awareness and expose a number
of inconsistencies that undermine the state's case against Johnny. Perhaps more than anything, however, what grips many people about the case is the revelation that shortly before Garret's execution, he had written a visceral and passionate final letter placing a curse on all those who had helped to secure his conviction. In the years following Garrett's death, incredibly, it seems many of those seemingly targeted in the letter appear to have succumbed to the hex Like a film from the Final
Destination franchise. The apparent curse took no prisoners from news reporter Cathy Jones, who, after reporting on the Garret case, died two years later in a freak plane crash, to the daughter of Jura Nathan Shackelford, who reportedly died after
a mysterious accidental gunshot wound to the head. Although many deaths supposedly related to the curse happened many years after Johnny's execution and under regular and mundane circumstances, the scenes little getting away from the enduring, lingering sense of the Garret Curse. Perhaps one of the most famous curses of recent times is that attributed to the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, of which we will be looking into in a bit
more detail later on in the series. The rediscovery of Tutankarman's tomb in November nineteen twenty two by a team led by British archeologist Howard Carter is considered by many in the field to be one of the greatest archeological finds of all time. A series of subsequent deaths and strange events afflicting members of Carter's team had others suggesting the famed archeologist might have been better leaving the tomb
well alone. Surely one of the more unexpected curse stories I have come across, However, is that relating to silent movie star and one of Hollywood's first great heartthrops, Rudolph Valentino. Regardless of the curse that some believed took Valentino's life, his is, by all accounts, one of the more extraordinary life stories in Hollywood movie industry history. Valentino was born Rudolfo in eighteen ninety five in the Italian city of Castellanetta.
After leaving school, Rudolfo struggled to find work in Italy, and, lured by the glittering promise of the United States of America, decided to seek his fortune there instead. With what little money he had, an eighteen year old Valentino arrived at
New York's Ellis Island in December thirteen. After working a series of low paid jobs bussing tables at restaurants, occasionally living on the streets, The charismatic Valentino found work as a taxi dancer, being paid to act as a dancing partner to customers at a venue known as Maxim's Restaurant and Cabaret. While working at Maxim's, Valentino became romantically involved with wealthy heiress Blanca de Soletz, who would later murder her ex husband in the aftermath of a messy and
complicated divorce. Having suffered through the publicity of Blanca's divorce hearing and fearing he might be called as a witness to her murder trial, Valentino found work with a traveling operetta company and promptly left town. The young dancer would eventually wind up in Los Angeles, his attention soon turning to the silver screen, where he quickly began securing a number of bit part roles the booming silent film industry.
By nineteen twenty one, with the release of his most popular film, The Shake, Valentino had become one of Hollywood's biggest stars. It was the year before. While in San Francisco, shortly after completing filming on The Shake, Valentino was out shopping one afternoon when he was strangely drawn to a
peculiar looking ring in a jeweler's window. It is said that, having recognized the young star, the shopkeeper made attempt to dissuade Valentino from buying the item, since he had come to believe it was cursed, but Valentino would not be put off. Known as a tiger's eye, the ring was comprised of a thick gold band in set with a large brown and amber quartz crystal. Valentino was so taken by the item that he wore it as part of
his costume on his next feature, The Young Rajah. As it would happen, the film was a complete disaster, performing dreadfully at theaters and much derided by the critics. Perhaps heeding the shopkeeper's advice, Valentino decided not to wear the ring any longer and kept it hidden away in a jewelry box. That was until five years later, when he reprised his role as the Shaik in the nineteen twenty six film Son of Shaik and decided to use the
ring again as part of his costume. A few months after the film was completed, the thirty one year old Valentino collapsed at the Hotel Ambassador on Park Avenue in Manhattan. What was first thought to be appendicitis was in fact a series of perforated gastric ulcers. The condition was worsened when Valentino soon after contracted peritonitis and pleuritis. After spending eight days in hospital, he died on August the twenty third, nineteen twenty six. Are you always taking care of your family?
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DC dot com Slash Unexplained podcast. Valentino was thought to have been involved with a number of women prior to his death, one of whom was the Polish born film star Poland Negri. After being given the opportunity to claim some of Valentino's possessions, Negri elected to take the peculiar signet ring he had bought six years previously while shopping
in San Francisco. The following year, Negri married the Georgian aristocrat Sergey M. Devani and became pregnant shortly after, but sadly lost the baby when she suffered a sudden miscarriage. After a long absence from acting due to a series of illnesses, Negri returned to work in nineteen thirty two when she met and became involved with the young actor Russ Columbo while working with him on a show in
New York. Negri was so taken with the young Columbo, who she thought bore a striking resemblance to her old flame Valentino, she gave him the tiger eye ring as a present. Two years later, Russ Columbo was visiting the home of his friend, photographer Lancing brown when Browne decided to show Columbo his large collection of firearms. While fooling around with one of the guns, an antique jeweling pistol,
Browne supposedly triggered it accidentally. The ball in the chamber ricocheted off a nearby table and struck Columbo in the head, just above the left eye. He died in hospital six hours later. Incredibly, many miles away and completely unaware of the event, Columbo's mother suffered a heart attack at almost exactly the same time that her son was shot. The ring was then said to have been given to a
friend of Columbo's named Joe Casino. Wary of the ring's history, Casino is believed to have kept it in a glass cabinet as a memento to his dear departed friend. Some time later, deciding that the curse would by now have been lifted, Casino removed the ring from the cabinet and placed it on his finger. A week later, Casino was hit by a heavy goods vehicle and killed instantly, but it doesn't end there. After Casino's death, the ring passed
into the hands of his brother, Del. Not one for super stition, Dell proudly wore the ring for a considerable time, suffering no ill effects whatsoever. It was sometime in early nineteen thirty eight that Del Casino's home was broken into. With the police having been alerted to the break in, one officer caught sight of the assailant running away from the building. The officer fired a warning shot which inavertibly struck the man in the stomach, who died minutes later
at the scene. Amongst the pieces he had stolen from the property was the large tiger eye signet ring that had once belonged to Rodolfo Valentino. Dell remained unmoved by the ring sinister reputation and thought little of lending it to his friend Edward Small. A few months later, Small, a Hollywood film producer, was developing a film about Valentino's life, and had just invited British ice skater Jackie Done to
try out for the leading role. Small encouraged Done to dress up in Valentino's old clothes for the screen test, also suggesting that he wear the tiger eye ring to complete the outfit within ten days. The twenty one year old Done would be dead after contracting to laremia, an extremely rare blood disease, which he is thought to have caught after handling rabbit carcasses on a hunting trip. At some point, the ring was placed in storage in a safety deposit box in the vault of a Los Angeles bank.
The following year, a team of robbers led by a man named Alfred Hahn apparently raided the bank, making off with over two hundred thousand dollars. A few days later, the police ambushed the robbers, resulting in the capture of two of them, including the team's leader, Alfred Hahn. At his subsequent trial, Hahn was said to have regretted his choice of bank, insisting that had he known it was also the home to Valentino's ring, he would have picked
himself another one. Today, the precise whereabouts of Valentino's ring remains a mystery. If you enjoy listening to Unexplained and would like to help supporters, you can now go to Unexplained podcast dot com forward slash support. All donations, no matter how large or small, are massively appreciated. All elements of Unexplained are produced by me, Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes. Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the
stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast dot com or on Twitter at Unexplained Pod. Now. It's time to take care of yourself. To make time for you, teledoc gives you access to a licensed therapist to help you get back to feeling your best. Speak to a licensed therapist by phone or video anytime between seven am to nine pm local time, seven days a week. Teledoc Therapy is available
through most insurance or employers. Download the app, or visit teledoc dot com Forward slash Unexplained Podcast Today to get started. That's t e l a DC dot com Slash Unexplained Podcast