Nigel Wolcott was a British professor who taught and mentored Henry Jones, Sr at Oxford University in the late 1800s. However, Wolcott also lived a double life as a notorious Greek art/antiquity thief known as Markos Kourou.
Biography[]
Professor Nigel Wolcott lectured at Oxford University where he taught and mentored Henry Walton Jones, Senior.[1]
At some point in his life, Wolcott took on a second identity. Disguising himself as a mustachioed Greek called Markos Kourou and assisted by twins Theo and Jannis, the professor would rob museums and private collectors he'd previously visited as Wolcott. Kourou became famous and the Medusa-head cane he wielded a trademark.[1]
As Kourou, Wolcott was apparently married to Kalitsa Tstouris, who was aware of her husband's duplicity.[1]
In 1913, policeman Ari Naxakis got too close to discovering the truth about Kourou so Walcott had him shot. Though Naxakis survived, the bullet in his spine consigned him to a wheelchair.[1]
The next year, Wolcott robbed a museum in Romania and took the Pietroasa bowl back to his home in Athens. About a fortnight later, a visiting Henry Jones and his son, Indiana turned up at Wolcott's home.[1]
Indiana discovered Markos Kourou's true identity but Wolcott fled. However, the teenager recovered the Pietroasa bowl which the professor had repainted blue and used to carry figs.[1]