Born Hershel Geguzin in Lithuania around 1890, the boy who would become famous as Prince Michael Alexandrovitch Dmitry Obolensky Romanoff immigrated to New York as a child and was raised in an orphan asylum. Blessed with an astonishing memory, aristocratic posture, and an impeccable Oxford accent, Harry Gerguson realized that high society preferred a charming royal imposter over an honest commoner. Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, he crisscrossed Europe and the American East Coast, leaving behind unpaid hotel bills and baffled victims while claiming to be the nephew of Tsar Nicholas II.
In the 1930s, Romanoff set his sights on Hollywood, a land built on make-believe where his grand facade fit right in. Despite many knowing he was a fraud, the Hollywood elite fell in love with his refined wit, theatrical dignity, and unmatched swagger. Studio heads like Darryl Zanuck and stars like Humphrey Bogart embraced him.
In 1940, with financial backing from celebrity friends like Charlie Chaplin, he opened Romanoff's restaurant in Beverly Hills. It quickly became the ultimate power dining spot in Los Angeles. Prince Michael sat starlets at prestigious tables, insulted moguls to their faces, and insisted on being treated like royalty.
Even when immigration authorities exposed his real identity, the government struggled to deport him because no country would claim him. He lived out his life as Hollywood royalty, proving that in Tinseltown, a well-executed persona is just as good as real blue blood.