25. She Was Managed by a Fake Count
Early in her French career, Josephine Baker met a Sicilian named Giuseppe Pepito Abatino, who introduced himself as a count. In reality, he was no aristocrat, but a former stonemason. Nonetheless, he convinced her to let him manage her, and he succeeded in transforming her stage and public persona. Baker throve with Abatino handling the bookings and business side of things, and eventually, star and manager became lovers. They would have married, were it not for the fact that Baker was still married to her second husband, Willie Baker.