Posted in August 2011
5. Pope Joan
One of the most famous Popes of all time is the one that
modern day scholars believe probably didn’t exist. Pope Joan was a figure who
was once believed to have served as Pontiff for a few years around 853-855 A.D.
Her story first appeared in the 13th century writings of a Dominican Friar
called Jean De Mailly, and for centuries it was a well-known legend in Europe. The tale came in many forms, but the most popular
version described Joan as pious and brilliant woman who, after disguising
herself as a man, rose quickly through the ranks of the Catholic Church and was
chosen as Pope. Her reign supposedly came to an end when, while riding on horseback
one day, she suddenly fell ill and gave birth to a child. Here the story takes
many different turns: some versions say she died in childbirth, others say
natural causes, and others still say that an angry mob murdered her. While
historians have found enough evidence to reject the idea that Pope Joan ever
really existed - some have claimed that the tale originated in a satirical story
about Pope John XI - there’s no denying her legend played a major part in the
religion of the Middle Ages. Religious scholars and popular writers like
Boccaccio often made references to her, and there are reports of statues of her
being erected. The legend persisted for several hundred years, and it took
until 1601 before Pope Clement VIII officially denied the story.
The internet has long been a breeding ground for hoaxes and
alter egos, and lonelygirl15 is perhaps the most famous example. The name
refers to the YouTube handle of a 16-year-old girl named Bree who started
posting video blogs on the site in 2006. At first, the videos were nothing more
than the online diary of an average high-school student, complete with quirky
effects and complaints about how boring her hometown was. Lonelygirl15 quickly
became a hit, and was eventually the most popular channel on YouTube. But after
a few episodes, Bree’s growing fan base began to be suspicious over whether the
videos were a hoax. A number of websites and forums soon sprang up, and amateur
detectives began poring over the videos looking for clues and inconsistencies.
It didn’t take long before it was discovered that “Bree” was in fact Jessica
Rose, a 19-year-old L.A.-based actress, and that her YouTube account was
actually a carefully scripted media hoax designed to eventually expand into a
full-fledged television show. The whole episode briefly made lonelygirl15 a cultural
phenomenon, and the show continued for a further two years, eventually taking
on a quasi-sci-fi plot that featured a sweeping narrative and multiple
characters. The character of “Bree,” once considered by many to be a real
teenager, was killed off of the show in 2007.
3. Tony Clifton
Comedian Andy Kaufman was famous for playing with audience
expectations by mixing performance art and mysterious alter egos into his stand
up. One of his most famous creations was Tony Clifton, a washed-up, vulgar, and
often-drunk lounge singer who served as the opening act for Kaufman’s comedy
gigs. With his terrible singing voice, confrontational attitude, and tendency
to forget his lyrics, Clifton
summed up every stereotype of the aging Vegas entertainer, and he soon became a
popular character. After it surfaced that Clifton was actually being portrayed
by Kaufman in costume and makeup - something both men denied - Kaufman enlisted
both his brother and his friend Bob Zmuda to portray the character on stage in
order to further the illusion that he and his creation were separate people.
Tony Clifton was soon making appearances on everything from David Letterman’s
late night show to Dinah
Shore’s talk show, where
he was famously thrown out of the studio for dumping a plate of eggs on the
host’s head. He was even slated to appear as a special guest on the sitcom
Taxi, but was kicked off the set for being disruptive. Kaufman died in 1984
without ever revealing the truth about the character, and even today it’s not
widely known how many times he actually appeared as Clifton, or how many times an accomplice
stepped into the role. The gruff lounge singer has continued to make
appearances since Kaufman’s death, which has only furthered the illusion that
Tony Clifton is actually a real person.
2. Alan Smithee
Director Alan Smithee has enjoyed a long and varied career,
which has seen him make everything from feature films to television pilots,
cartoons, and music videos. He’d be one of Hollywood’s most prolific filmmakers if not
for one key fact: he doesn’t exist. Since 1968, directors who wish to have
their name removed from the credits of their films have used the name “Alan
Smithee” as a pseudonym. Alan Smithee was first employed by Don Siegel on the
film Death of a Gunfighter, and it’s since been used whenever a director feels
that their creative control over a film project has been compromised to the
extent that the final product is no longer their work. With this in mind, Alan
Smithee now has 73 directorial credits on the website Internet Movie Database,
including such lamentable productions as Hellraiser: Bloodline and Solar Crisis,
along with TV projects including episodes of The Cosby Show and MacGyver.
Mainstream directors like Michael Mann and Paul Verhoeven have also used the
credit in instances where movies like Heat or Showgirls are significantly
edited for exhibition on television. The Director’s Guild of America officially
abandoned Alan Smithee in the late nineties, after the release of a film called
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn drew unwanted attention to the
name. Since then, unhappy filmmakers have chosen their own pseudonyms,
but others continue to use Alan Smithee as a sort of tribute. In fact, since
2000, the phantom director has racked up a further 18 film credits.
1. Prester John
There might be more well known entries on this list, but
none of them had the same influence on world politics, religion, or exploration
as Prester John, a mythical king who was once believed to have presided over a
Christian empire in Asia. His legend dates
back to the 12th century, when it arose as an amalgam of adventure stories,
true histories of Christian missionaries, and the exploits of Alexander the
Great. Prester John and his kingdom became a true sensation in 1165, when a
letter supposedly written by him began circulating around Europe.
According to these fantastical sources, Prester John was a direct descendant of
one of the Three Wise Men. His kingdom, which was suspected to be in India or
the Middle East, was seen by the Europeans of the time as a shining light of
civilization in a region that was viewed as exotic and barbarous. Prester John
himself was believed to be a kind and wise man who ruled over an empire of
great wealth, and his kingdom was often said to include such wonders as the
Fountain of Youth and even the Garden of Eden. Despite little evidence of his
existence, the legend of Prester John persisted for several hundred years, and
for a time he was even linked with the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan. It would
take until the 1600s before academics and travelers were able to prove that
Prester John was nothing but a myth, but in the interim the legendary king had
managed to affect everything from religion to world trade. Not only had
missionaries stepped up their efforts in Asia and Africa in the hope of
discovering Prester John’s kingdom, but explorers like Magellan were encouraged
to seek out new lands in the hope that they might one day stumble upon the
mythical ruler.
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