"Ripley's Believe It or Not" is as American as apple pie, baseball, & Superman. This one-hour documentary shows how a country bumpkin named Leroy Robert Ripley began his career in San Francisco before moving to New York. This globe-trotting newsman/cartoonist/showman was very awkward on the camera & had fears (like the fear of flying), but he did not let those concerns stand in his way of impacting the American culture & living his life to the fullest.

Before watching this documentary (which could have easily been multiple hours) I always thought of Ripley as a later incarnation of P. T. Barnum, but I believe I was mistaken. He did not merely show these people & the feats they could accomplish as a "side show" or "freak show" but as one commentator said in the piece, as a "celebration of the underdog."

If you are even remotely interested in this small piece of American culture, I highly recommend you watch this brief documentary.

LeRoy Robert Ripley rose to fame during the Great Depression, transforming himself into an entertainer who mesmerized the nation with his razzle-dazzle blend of homespun Americana and freakish oddities. This is the story of the man who popularized the iconic phrase, and proof of why we still can't resist his challenge to "Believe it -- or not!"

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Ripley: Believe It or Not

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