Jacobi Sparochi

Jacobi Sparochi was an Italian businessman dealing with the harvesting and selling of deep water pearls. He hired a partner, Frederico, but he was greedy and found a cursed black pearl, which gave him supernatural powers. He gave Jacobi immortality, but without eternal youth. He then turned into a monster and corrupted the Sparochi mansion. For the next two and a half centuries, Jacobi was a boatman.

Physical appearance
As a young man, Jacobi was a handsome middle-aged Caucasian man in Victorian finery with a gray wig tied back in a ponytail. Following Frederico's curse, he was an elderly gondolier in a gray jacket, red and white striped shirt and boater hat.

History
Jacobi Sporachi was the last surviving member of the Sporachi family. The family made its fortune harvesting and selling deep water pearls which their divers acquired from the waters off the island where the family's ancestral mansion was. Jacobi inherited the business from his parents. To help him run the business, he hired a partner, Frederico, little suspecting that Frederico was a greedy man.

One day a diver found a large, flawless black pearl and brought it to Jacobi. The pearl turned out to be cursed, and corrupted Frederico with its evil power, amplifying his already negative personality traits, transforming him into a monster. With his newfound power, Frederico cursed Jacobi to eternal life - without eternal youth. Thereafter, Jacobi left and pursued a career as a Venice boatman, a career he followed for two-and-a-half centuries. During this time, Frederico gradually transformed into a monster physically, and infested the Sporachi mansion with his evil.

Two-hundred years later Jacobi was the boatman who carried the Quests to the island to oversee the testing of Professor Francois and Professor Eric's machine. He warned Jonny Quest not to enter the house, but Jonny didn't listen. As a result, that night, Frederico killed François and Erik and absorbed and imprisoned Race Bannon and Hadji Singh. After this, Jacobi finally came forward and identified himself, telling his story to Dr. Quest in the hopes of assisting the scientist in destroying Frederico.

He told Quest that the way to destroy Frederico's ghost was to destroy the black pearl, which Frederico kept hidden somewhere in the mansion. Together the three located the pearl, but Frederico, now a hideous, mutated otherworldly monster, emerged from a fountain and seized Jacobi and Dr. Quest with his tentacles. Jonny saved them by smashing the pearl, destroying Frederico's evil once and for all, which also released Race and Hadji.

Afterward, with Frederico gone, the curse he placed upon Jacobi two-hundred years before wore off, and the old boatman gladly withered to dust and was at peace.

Appearances

 * The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
 * 226. More Than Zero