Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a franchise which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. The Believe It or Not franchise started in 1918 as a newspaper cartoon panel featuring unusual and startling facts from around the world. Conceived and drawn by Robert Ripley, the panel proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, a chain of museums, a book series and a pinball game (produced by Stern Pinball, Inc.). The Ripley collection includes 10,000 photographs, 20,000 artifacts and more than 130,000 cartoon panels. With 50-plus attractions, the Orlando-based Ripley Entertainment, Inc. is a global company with an annual attendance of more than 12 million guests. Ripley Entertainment's publishing and broadcast divisions oversee numerous projects, including the syndicated TV series, the newspaper cartoon panel, books, posters, games and mobile phone content.

Some of the claims made by Ripley's Believe it or Not are not always accurate or at least suspect or simply "legends." Examples include the claim that Thomas Edison tapped his marriage proposal to his fiancée using Morse Code into her hand, and the (common, but untrue) claim that David Rice Atchison was President of the United States for a day.

Syndicated feature panel

"Ripley’s Believe it or Not!" is a registered trademark of Ripley Entertainment, Inc. Originally involving sports feats, Ripley first called his cartoon feature Champs and Chumps, but less than a year later he changed the title to Believe It or Not, and it premiered on December 19, 1918, in the New York Globe. When the Globe folded in 1923, Ripley moved to the New York Evening News. That same year, Ripley hired Norbert Pearlroth as his researcher, and Pearlroth spent the next 52 years of his life in the New York Public Library, working ten hours a day and six days a week in order to find unusual facts for Ripley. Other writers and researchers included Lester Byck and Don Wimmer.

Artists who assisted Ripley or worked on the syndicated newspaper panel after Ripley included Joe Campbell (1946-1956), Art Sloggat, Clem Gretter (1941-1949), Carl Dorese, Bob Clarke (1943-1944), Stan Randall, Paul Frehm (1938-1978 - Frehm became full time artist in 1949) and his brother Walter Frehm (1948-1989 - Walter worked part time with his brother Paul and became full time Ripley artist from 1978-1989). Paul Frehm won the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1976 for his work on the series. Clarke later drew parodies of Believe It or Not! for Mad, as did Wally Wood, and Ernie Kovacs, who also did a recurring satire called "Strangely Believe It!" on his TV programs. At the peak of its popularity, the syndicated feature was read daily by about 80 million readers, and during the first three weeks of May 1932 alone, Ripley received over two million pieces of fan mail. Dozens of paperback editions reprinting the newspaper panels have been published over the decades. Other strips and books borrowed the Ripley design and format, such as Strange As It Seems by John Hix and It Happened in Canada. Recent Ripley's Believe It or Not! books containing new material have mostly done away with illustrations in favor of photographs.

Believe It or Not! was the first publication of artwork by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. Schulz submitted a cartoon claiming his dog was "a hunting dog who eats pins, tacks and razor blades." Schulz's dog Sparky later became the model for Peanut's Snoopy.

Radio

In April of 1930, Ripley brought "Believe It or Not" to radio, the first of several series heard on NBC, CBS and Mutual. As noted by Ripley On Radio, Ripley's broadcasts varied in length from 15 minutes to 30 minutes and aired in numerous different formats. When Ripley's 1930 debut on The Collier Hour brought a strong listener reaction, he was given a Monday night NBC series beginning April 14, 1930, followed by a 1931-32 series airing twice a week. After his strange stories were dramatized on NBC's Saturday Party, Ripley was the host of The Baker's Broadcast from 1935 to 1937. He was scheduled in several different 1937-38 NBC timeslots and then took to the road with popular remote broadcasts. See America First with Bob Ripley (1939-40) on CBS expanded geographically into See All the Americas, a 1942 program with Latin music. In 1944, he was heard five nights a week on Mutual in shows with an emphasis on WWII. Romance, Rhythm and Ripley aired on CBS in 1945, followed by Pages from Robert L. Ripley's Radio Scrapbook (1947-48).

Ripley is known for several radio firsts. He was the first to broadcast nationwide on a radio network from mid-ocean, and he also participated in the first broadcast from Buenos Aires to New York. Assisted by a corps of translators, he was the first to broadcast to every nation in the world simultaneously.

The early years of these radio shows were marked by nervousness on the part of Ripley who could sometimes be heard stuttering or dropping the scripts. As the years went on, the show became less about oddities and featured guest-driven entertainment such as comedy routines. Sponsors over the course of the program included Pall Mall cigarettes and General Foods. The program ended its successful run in 1948 as Ripley prepared to convert the show format to television syndication.

Films and television

The newspaper feature has been adapted into more than a few films and TV shows.

Ripley hosted a series of at least a dozen Believe it or Not! theatrical short films in 1930 and 1931 for Warner Brothers Vitaphone. He also appeared in a Vitaphone musical short, Seasons Greetings (1931), with Ruth Etting, Joe Penner, Ted Husing, Thelma White, Ray Collins and others.

The first Believe it or Not TV series, a live show hosted by Ripley, premiered March 1, 1949. Shortly after the 13th episode, Ripley died May 27, 1949 of a heart attack and was replaced by Robert St. John who served as host until the series ended on October 5, 1950.

Ripley's Believe it or Not! aired from 1982 to 1986 on the American ABC Network. Character actor Jack Palance hosted the popular series throughout its run, while several different co-hosts appeared from season to season, including Palance's daughter, Holly Palance, actress Cathie Shirriff, and singer Marie Osmond. The 1980s series reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the late 1990s.

An animated series, Ripley's Believe it or Not!, was produced in 1999 and followed the adventures of "Michael Ripley", Robert Ripley's nephew. The show was aimed at a younger audience, and would often feature Michael going around the world.

The most recent series based upon the comic strip, once again titled Ripley's Believe it or Not! also debuted in 1999 on TBS. Hosted by actor Dean Cain, the series took a slightly more sensationalistic approach to its subject matter, often finding excuses to show scantily clad women between coverage of legitimate oddities from the Ripley archives. It was also criticized for using subtitles when interviewing English-speaking people with non-American accents. The series was cancelled in October of 2003. Like the previous syndicated live-action series before it, the series has been moved to the Sci-Fi Channel as reruns, as of 2005.

Believe It or Not! (2007) is an announced biographical film from director Tim Burton with Jim Carrey in the role of Ripley.

Museums

When Ripley first displayed his collection to the public at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, it was labeled Ripley’s Odditorium and attracted nearly two million visitors during the run of the fair. That successful exhibition led to trailer shows across the country during the 1930s, and Ripley's collections were exhibited at many major fairs and expositions, including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas and Cleveland. In New York, the famed Times Square exhibit opened in 1940 on Broadway. In 1950, a year after Ripley's death, the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida.

As of October, 2005, there are 29 Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the world. Odditoriums, in the spirit of Believe It or Not!, are often more than simple museums cluttered with curiosities. Some include theaters and arcades, such as the one in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Others are constructed oddly, such as the Orlando, Florida, Odditorium which is built off-level. The first one was opened in Chicago in 1933, where, in an apparent promotional gimmick, beds were provided in the Odditorium for people who "fainted" daily.

St. Augustine, Florida

Ripley's second Odditorium, located in the Castle Warden, was purchased shortly after his death in 1949 and opened in 1950. Prior to becoming home to Ripley's vast collections from his many travels, "The Castle" as it is known, was a hotel which played host to many famous guests, including Ripley himself and author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. "The Castle" was originally a Moorish Revival style mansion, built in 1887 by millionaire William Warden as a winter home. The popularity and success of this museum led Ripley's heirs to open new establishments throughout the United States and the world. But "The Castle" remains the permanent home of Ripley's personal collections and is the flagship of Odditoriums. Perhaps not surprisingly, it is also rumored to be haunted. The most recent Ripley's TV series was filmed here.

Gatlinburg

The original Gatlinburg, Tennessee museum, built in the 1970s, was destroyed by a massive fire caused by a faulty light fixture in a neighboring shop on July 14, 1992. The museum had to be completely rebuilt. Many of Ripley's most prized and unique possessions were consumed by the blaze. The current museum opened in 1995, with a tribute to the city's firefighters included among the collections. Artifacts salvaged from the blaze sport "I Survived The Fire" decals. The new building also has nearly twice the amount of exhibit space as the original. Ironically, the new building has caught fire twice since being rebuilt, in 2000 and again in 2003. Both of those fires were also caused by faulty light fixtures and caused only cosmetic damage.

As with some other Ripley museums, this building has a theme. The museum looks as if it has survived a major earthquake. The interior and exterior of the building feature "cracks" throughout, adhering to the theme. The original museum featured the same theme, although the 1995 museum features a much more elaborate design. In fact, the only remaining artifact of the original museum's building is one of the "cracks" that still stretches onto the city sidewalk...

The Ripley's Company has since opened several other attractions in the area, including a "four-dimensional" theater, a state-of-the-art aquarium, a haunted mansion, several arcades and miniature golf attractions, all of which carry the Ripley's brand name and signature logo.

Atlantic City

The Ripley's Museum in Atlantic City, New Jersey is located on the boardwalk between New York Avenue and St. James Place. It is a popular destination for tourists and shoobies.

Branson

The Branson, Missouri museum looks like a stone edifice that was cracked by an earthquake.

Myrtle Beach

The Myrtle Beach, S.C. museum looks like a building cracked by an earthquake also. Ripley's has three other attractions in Myrtle Beach besides the museum: an aquarium, a moving-theater attraction and a haunted house.

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Odditorium is located in the second and third floor of the Peak Tower. There are eleven different galleries in it:

Robert Ripley
Sharks
Primitive & Jungle
Chamber of Tortures
Bathing Beauty
Make-a-face
Animal and Human Oddities
Dangerous Driver
Ripley's Adventures
Interactive Fun Zone
Rotating Tunnel

Apart from the special galleries, it contains a lot of special and valuable exhibits, which make many tourists feel surprised after seeing them. This museum was permanently closed in 2005.

Malaysia

The Ripley's Believe or Not! museum is located inside the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands, Malaysia.

Mexico City

Opened in 1992, the Mexico City's Ripley's Museum is shaped like a Medieval castle and has 14 exhibitions halls within it. It was the first one in Latin America to be opened.

Guadalajara

The Guadalajara, Mexico museum has recently opened and hosts a small number of pieces for exhibition.

Niagara Falls

The museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada is shaped like the Empire State Building fallen over, with King Kong standing on top of it.

Australia

The Ripley's Believe It or Not! musuem located in the Cavill Mall of Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland features an oversized running water tap which appears to be hanging in mid air without support.

Blackpool, England

The only Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum located in the UK is based in the popular holiday destination, Blackpool

Copenhagen, Denmark

There is one Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ocean City, Maryland

The Ripley's Museum in Ocean City, Maryland is located on the boardwalk at Wicomico Street. It is a popular destination for tourists and it sits on top of the entrance to Jolly Roger's Pier Amusement Park.

Listen to

Ripley Retro Radio, podcast and Widget

External links

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