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47-591: Ripley's Believe It or Not! is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley , which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel , the Believe It or Not feature proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, comic books, a chain of museums, and a book series. The Ripley collection includes 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels. With 80-plus attractions,

94-481: A Ripley's film series. In addition to Jacks, Sean Daniel and Richard D. Zanuck were to serve as producers for the film. Zanuck spent six weeks in China to scout filming locations for the project. In June 2006, Paramount delayed the start of production on the film for at least a year because its projected budget went over the allowed $ 150 million. Carrey had waived his entire upfront salary to help keep costs low, but

141-881: A heart attack in New York City. He was buried in his home town of Santa Rosa in the Oddfellows Lawn Cemetery , which is adjacent to the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery. Ripley's cartoon series was estimated to have 80 million readers worldwide, and he is said to have received more mail than the President of the United States. He became a wealthy man, with homes in New York and Florida, but he always retained close ties to his home town of Santa Rosa, California, and he made

188-549: A day and six days a week in order to find unusual facts for Ripley. Other writers and researchers included Lester Byck. In 1930, Ripley moved to the New York American and was picked up by the King Features Syndicate , being quickly syndicated on an international basis. Ripley died in 1949; those working on the syndicated newspaper panel after his death included Paul Frehm (1938–1978; he became

235-484: A point of bringing attention to the Church of One Tree , a church built entirely from the wood of a single 300-ft (91.4-m)-tall redwood tree, which stands on the north side of Juilliard Park in downtown Santa Rosa. Ripley claimed to be able to "prove every statement he made" because he worked with professional fact researcher Norbert Pearlroth, who assembled Believe it or Not! 's array of odd facts and also verified

282-503: A sports cartoonist for various newspapers. In 1913, he moved to New York City. While drawing cartoons for The New York Globe newspaper, he created his first "Believe It or Not!" cartoon, published in the December 19, 1918, issue. With a positive response from readers, the cartoon began appearing weekly. In 1919, Ripley married fourteen-year-old film actress Beatrice Roberts , a child 15 years his junior. He made his first trip around

329-488: 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 (1938–40) on CBS expanded geographically into See All

376-479: A wide variety of small-town American trivia ranging from unusually shaped vegetables to oddly marked domestic animals, all documented by photographs and then depicted by his drawings. LeRoy Robert Ripley was born on February 22, 1890, in Santa Rosa, California , although his exact birthdate is disputed. He dropped out of high school after his father's death to help his family, and at age 16, he began working as

423-481: A writer afterwards. Paramount planned to release the film in 2011, and hoped that it would be the start of a Ripley's film series. In January 2011, Eric Roth was hired to write the script, with Carrey still attached to star. Ken Atchity and Chi-Li Wong joined the project as producers, alongside Jacks and Daniel. When Ripley first displayed his collection to the public at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, it

470-503: Is Key's "soul-stirring" words. By a law signed on March 3, 1931, by President Herbert Hoover , "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the national anthem of the United States. Ripley prospered during the Great Depression, netting $ 500,000 a year by the end of the 1930s. He employed a large staff of researchers, artists, translators, and secretaries to handle a deluge of suggestions for new oddities to report – and he traveled

517-523: Is a hardback reference book of unusual stories and images. The books consist of hundreds of snippets and longer in-depth articles, illustrated with glossy photographs. Twelve books have been produced since 2005 and they are published worldwide by Ripley Publishing . The Ripley’s annual has featured on the New York Times bestseller list on multiple occasions. In the US, the year is not included on

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564-537: Is emphasized on its television show, where they often say "If you see it on Ripley's , you can bet that it's real". However, two claims appearing in their books have been dubbed "myths" by the Discovery Channel television show MythBusters . One claim which had previously appeared in Ripley's books, concerning an "accidental" execution of 1,200 Turkish prisoners when something uttered by Napoleon Bonaparte

611-595: Is they're after, it is so important to them that all the rest of the world can go on without them. They want to make something that makes them immortal, makes them a little different than you and me". Despite the wide range of true and unbelievable art, sculpture, photographs, interactive devices, animal oddities, and recycled objects contained within the collection, alien or witchcraft-type stories are rarely considered as they are (according to Meyers) difficult to prove. To be included in Ripley's Believe It or Not books, museums or television shows, items must undergo scrutiny from

658-446: The King Features Syndicate . In 1929, Hearst was responsible for Believe It or Not! making its syndicated debut in 360 newspapers and 17 languages worldwide. With the success of this series assured, Ripley capitalized on his fame by getting the first book collection of his newspaper panel series published. On November 3, 1929, he drew a panel in his syndicated cartoon saying "Believe It or Not, America has no national anthem." Despite

705-666: The Odditorium , in Chicago in 1933. The concept was a success, and at one point, Odditoriums were in San Diego , Dallas , Cleveland , San Francisco, and New York City. By this point in his life, Ripley had been voted the most popular man in America by The New York Times , and Dartmouth College awarded him an honorary degree. World travel became impossible during World War II, so Ripley concentrated on charity pursuit. In 1948,

752-689: The Ripley's Twists , the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Special Edition in conjunction with Scholastic USA and a number of other titles. At the height of his popularity, Robert Ripley received thousands of letters a day from the public and Ripley Entertainment continues to encourage submissions from readers who have strange stories and photographs that could be featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! books and media. The people whose items are featured in such books as Strikingly True have what Edward Meyer, Vice President of Exhibits and Archives at Ripley Entertainment Inc., describes as an obsession: "Whatever it

799-463: The 1920s, Ripley continued to broaden the scope of his work and his popularity increased greatly. He published a guide to the game of American handball in 1925. In 1926, he became the New York State handball champion and also wrote a book on boxing. With a proven track record as a versatile writer and artist, he attracted the attention of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst , who managed

846-473: 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 World War II. Romance, Rhythm and Ripley aired on CBS in 1945, followed by Pages from Robert L. Ripley's Radio Scrapbook (1947–48). Robert 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

893-793: The Orlando, Florida-based Ripley Entertainment, Inc. (a division of the Jim Pattison Group ) hosts more than 12 million guests annually. Ripley Entertainment's publishing and broadcast divisions oversee numerous projects, including the syndicated TV series, the newspaper cartoon panel, books, posters and games. Ripley called his cartoon feature (originally involving sports feats) Champs and Chumps when it premiered on December 19, 1918 in The New York Globe . He began adding items unrelated to sports and in October 1919, he changed

940-488: The decades. Recent Ripley's Believe It or Not! books containing new material have supplemented illustrations with photographs. Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz 's first publication of artwork was published by Ripley. It was a cartoon claiming his dog Spike was "a hunting dog who eats pins, tacks, screws, nails and razor blades". Said dog would later became the model for Snoopy . Some notable books include: A series of paperback books containing annotated sketches from

987-436: The exploits of Robert Ripley, one of the most popular newspaper cartoonists in the '30s and '40s, who was well known for going around the world and looking for oddities and getting into adventures while doing so. We want to make a series of movies that, if not quite the truth, are the adventures that should have happened. We want to turn it into an Indiana Jones , a goofy version, as played by Johnny Depp . When they saw we had

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1034-610: The famed Times Square exhibit opened in 1939 on Broadway. In 1950, a year after Ripley's death, the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida . The Odditorium is housed in the Castle Warden, built in 1888 by an associate of Henry Flagler , President of the Florida East Coast Railway . As of May 2023, there are 28 Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the world. Odditoriums (in

1081-456: The film was delayed further to allow Burton to film Sweeney Todd . In December 2006, Burton and Carrey approved writer Steve Oedekerk to rewrite the script. Oedekerk had worked with Carrey on several previous projects. Production was to begin in China in winter 2008, for a 2009 release. Later in January, Zanuck said he was no longer involved with the project, and that he was unaware that it

1128-459: The first broadcast from Buenos Aires to New York City. Assisted by a corps of translators, he was the first to broadcast to every nation in the world simultaneously. 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

1175-424: The first of a series of two dozen Believe It or Not! theatrical short films for Warner Bros. and Vitaphone , and King Features published a second collected volume of Believe it or Not! panels. He also appeared in a Vitaphone musical short, Seasons Greetings (1931), with Ruth Etting , Joe Penner , Ted Husing , Thelma White , Ray Collins , and others. After a trip to Asia in 1932, he opened his first museum,

1222-527: The full-time artist in 1949), and his brother Walter Frehm (1948–1989); Walter worked part-time with his brother Paul and became a full-time Ripley artist from 1978 to 1989. Others who assisted included Clem Gretter (1941–1949), Bob Clarke (1943–1944), Joe Campbell (1946–1956), Art Sloggatt (1971–1975), Carl Dorese, and Stan Randall. Paul Frehm won the National Cartoonists Society 's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1976 for his work on

1269-563: The newspaper feature: Ripley Entertainment produces a range of books featuring unusual facts, news stories and photographs. In 2004, Ripley Entertainment founded Ripley Publishing Ltd , based in the United Kingdom, to publish new Believe It or Not titles. The company produces the New York Times bestselling Ripley's Believe It or Not! Annuals , the children's fiction series Ripley's RBI , an educational series called

1316-487: The panel from 1989 to 2004. John Graziano from 2005 to 2021. The current artist is Kieran Castaño, who is supported by the Ripley's Research Team. At the peak of its popularity, the syndicated feature was read daily by about 80 million readers; 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

1363-861: The panel's full-time artist in 1949, and his brother Walter Frehm (1948–1989). Ripley's ideas and legacy live on in Ripley Entertainment , a company bearing his name and owned since 1985 by the Jim Pattison Group , a privately held company based in Canada. Ripley Entertainment airs national television shows, features publications of oddities, and has holdings in a variety of public attractions, including Ripley's Aquarium, Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museums, Ripley's Haunted Adventure, Ripley's Mini-Golf and Arcade, Ripley's Moving Theater, Ripley's Sightseeing Trains, Guinness World Records Attractions, and Louis Tussaud's Wax Museums. Ripley%27s Believe It or Not Annual Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Annual

1410-569: The project remained over budget. Burton and Carrey also wanted to have Alexander and Karaszewski make changes to the film's script to focus more on Ripley's Believe It or Not column. Carrey was adamant on avoiding what happened with his previous project Fun with Dick and Jane , which required reshoots and additional editing as a result of beginning production without a script. Filming had been scheduled to begin in China in November 2006. Although Paramount could have delayed production to spring 2007,

1457-413: The series. Clarke later created 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. Other strips and books borrowed the Ripley design and format, such as Ralph Graczak's Our Own Oddities , John Hix's Strange as It Seems , and Gordon Johnston's It Happened in Canada . Don Wimmer took up

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1504-434: The show format to television. The newspaper feature has been adapted into more than a few films and TV shows. In October 2004, Paramount Pictures announced plans for a film that would chronicle the life of Robert Ripley. The film was to be produced by James Jacks and his Alphaville Films company, associated with Paramount. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski were hired to write the script. Jacks explained: "It's about

1551-697: The small-town claims submitted by readers. Pearlroth spent 52 years as the feature's researcher, finding and verifying unusual facts for Ripley, and after Ripley's death, for the King Features syndicate editors who took over management of the Believe it or Not! panel. Another employee who edited the newspaper cartoon series over the years was Lester Byck. Others who drew the series after Ripley's death include Don Wimmer, Joe Campbell (1946–1956), Art Slogg, Clem Gretter (1941–1949), Carl Dorese, Bob Clarke (1943–1944), Stan Randall, Paul Frehm (1938–1975), who became

1598-519: The spirit of Believe It or Not! ) are often more than simple museums cluttered with curiosities. Some include theaters and arcades, such as the ones in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Others are constructed oddly, such as the Orlando, Florida Odditorium which is built off-level as if the building is sinking (a commemoration of a sinkhole that opened on the site while construction

1645-503: The staff and be 100% authenticated. In 1953, Harvey Comics published the first Ripley's Believe It or Not! comic book, titled Ripley's Believe It or Not! Magazine and lasted for four issues until March 1954. From 1965 until 1980, Gold Key Comics published the second Ripley's Believe It or Not! comic book, which lasted for 94 issues. In 2002, Dark Horse Comics published the third Ripley's Believe It or Not! comic book, written by Haden Blackman, which lasted for three issues and

1692-611: The title to Believe It or Not . When the Globe folded in 1923, he moved to the New York Evening Post . In 1924, the panel began being syndicated by Associated Newspapers , (formed as part of a cooperative that had included the Globe ). 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

1739-522: The widespread belief that " The Star-Spangled Banner ", with its lyrics by Francis Scott Key set to the music of the English drinking song " To Anacreon in Heaven ", was the United States national anthem, Congress had never officially made it so. In 1931, John Philip Sousa published his opinion in favor of giving the song official status, stating, "it is the spirit of the music that inspires" as much as it

1786-523: The world in 1922, publishing his travel journal in the newspapers. He became fascinated with unusual and exotic foreign locales and cultures. Because he took the veracity of his claims quite seriously, in 1923, he hired a researcher and polyglot named Norbert Pearlroth as a full-time assistant. In 1926, Ripley's cartoons moved from the New York Globe to the New York Post . Throughout

1833-623: The world in search of curiosities and expanded his media to include radio and Hollywood. He started building museums in major cities. Funding for Ripley's highly publicized global travels were provided by the Hearst organization. Always in search of the bizarre, he recorded live radio shows underwater and from the sky, the Carlsbad Caverns , the bottom of the Grand Canyon , snake pits, and other exotic locales. The next year, he hosted

1880-408: The writers from Larry Flynt , they thought that we wanted to make the kinky version, but we saw a chance to do a Spielberg -type movie with one of their characters". In November 2005, Tim Burton was attached to direct the film, with Jim Carrey starring as Robert Ripley. Filming was to begin in October 2006, for a 2007 release. Paramount hinted that the film, if successful, could be the start of

1927-496: The year of the 20th anniversary of the Believe it or Not! cartoon series, the Believe it or Not! radio show drew to a close and was replaced with a Believe it or Not! television series. This was a rather bold move on Ripley's part, because of the small number of Americans with access to television at this early time in the medium's development. He completed only 13 episodes of the series before he became incapacitated by severe health problems. On May 27, 1949, at age 59, he died from

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1974-465: Was in progress). Alphabetical, by country or district: The aquarium, opened in 1997 at Broadway at the Beach , does scientific research and veterinary care for sharks, turtles and other fish but is not always taken seriously because of the Ripley's reputation. Authorities at the company insist that they thoroughly investigate everything and ensure their accuracy before they publish their research. This

2021-497: Was labeled Ripley's Odditorium and attracted over two million visitors during the run of the fair (in an apparent promotional gimmick, beds were provided in the Odditorium for people who "fainted" daily). That successful exhibition led to trailer shows across the country during the 1930s and his collections were exhibited at many major fairs and expositions, including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, and Cleveland. In New York City,

2068-712: Was later collected in a trade paperback published by Dark Horse in May 2003, entitled Ripley's Believe It or Not! ( ISBN   1-56971-909-8 ) In 2015, Zenescope published a two issue comic edited by Terry Kavanagh. On April 14, 1930, Ripley brought Believe It or Not to radio, the first of several series heard on NBC , CBS and the Mutual Broadcasting System . As noted by the website 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

2115-527: Was misunderstood, has had its accuracy challenged by Snopes . Ripley's has reported the urban legend of Frank Tower —an individual who was supposed to have survived the sinkings of the RMS Titanic , RMS Empress of Ireland , and RMS Lusitania —as being factual, but this story has been debunked by several sources. Ripley's has also repeated the Muhlenberg legend , which claims that German

2162-710: Was once one vote short of becoming the official language of the United States. Ripley's has mentioned a well-known myth that claims the Great Wall of China is visible from the Moon with the naked human eye. The 2013 videogame Grand Theft Auto V features a business called Bishop's WTF on Vinewood Boulevard, based on the Ripley's located on Hollywood Boulevard. Robert Ripley Subjects covered in Ripley's cartoons and text ranged from sports feats to little-known facts about unusual and exotic sites. He also included items submitted by readers, who supplied photographs of

2209-580: Was proceeding. Oedekerk's draft was completed in June 2007, and was approved that month by Paramount, Burton, and Carrey. At that time, Carrey hoped to have production finished by summer 2008. Later that month, Paramount was searching for a new director. In October 2008, Chris Columbus pitched an idea for the film that was approved by Carrey and Paramount. Columbus' idea involved scrapping the previous China-based storyline entirely. Negotiations were underway that month to hire Columbus as director, with plans to hire

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