Prince Michael Romanoff: The High Prince of Hollywood | 164

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 23 June 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Polish immigrant Hershel Geguzin fled to the U.S. from the faltering Russian Empire at the turn of the 20th century. And like many scammers around this time, he adopts a fabulous new identity: as Prince Michael Romanoff, the last living member of the former Russian ruling family. Everyone knows the new prince is lying about his royal heritage, but he’s such a good hang, he floats from party to party across the U.S. and Europe for decades. In the end, Prince Michael sets up shop in Hollywood, hosting mega-stars from Humphrey Bogart to Frank Sinatra. Prince Michael’s story is the ultimate lesson in faking it until you make it.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, scamfluencers fans.
0:02.0	Want to be the first to know how these wild scams unfold.
0:05.0	Join us on Patreon to get early access to episodes,
0:08.3	add free listening,
0:09.4	and exclusive content that reveals even more of the drama.
0:13.0	Just search for scamfluencers on Patreon
0:15.0	and dive deeper into the scandal.
0:17.6	A heads up to our listeners.
0:19.1	This episode contains reference to someone being drugged without their knowledge or consent.
0:23.5	Listen with care.
0:30.5	Sarah, how much do you care about the Romanovs, which is, you know, as you know, the last royal dynasty in Russia?
0:37.1	You know, it's one of those things where I know about it because of Anastasia, the movie,
0:42.4	but I feel like I should be really interested in it.
0:45.4	But I don't know where to start because there's just so much there.
0:48.6	Okay, well, the only reason I care about the family is because of the 1997 Fox Animation Studios classic, Anastasia.
0:56.3	I was going to ask you if you've seen it as a kid, but it's clear you've seen it.
0:59.9	Oh, yeah, it was so... I mean, it's a very beautiful film, and the guy in it's so hot.
1:05.0	Sarah?
1:05.7	I was so ready to defend.
1:08.4	Defend what, beauty?
1:09.8	To defend that movie being responsible for so much of my sexual awakening as a child.
1:14.1	No, he's the hottest cartoon ever.
	...

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