Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum

When I was in L.A. recently, I spent several days on Hollywood blvd. One of the attractions that I visited was the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum. Here are some of the pics that I took and a story about my day.

I’ve been to Hollywood several times over the years and saw this building but never went inside.

They have the entry area decorated well. I like the color choices.

Here is the entrance to the museum.

The first room had a lot to see and read.

Here is what I found about Ripley…

“LeRoy Robert Ripley (February 22, 1890 – May 27, 1949) was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist, who is known for creating the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! newspaper panel series, television show and radio show, which feature odd facts from around the world.”

Mirror selfie.

Robert Wadlow’s shoe. It is size 36D and 17 1/2 inches long. It weighs 4 1/2 pounds. You know what they say about big shoes…

The museum had some great displays.

In 1919, Ripley married 14 year old film actress Beatrice Roberts, a child 15 years his junior. A 29 year old man marrying a 14 year old. Let that sink in.

Great display.

Love the color.

“Ripley made his first trip around the world in 1922, publishing his travel journal in the newspapers. He became fascinated with unusual and exotic foreign locales and cultures.”

Marilyn is everywhere.

Great art.

Frank was one of America’s first teen idols.

Fact: He couldn’t read music.

“Liz Taylor’s instinctive sense of her own worth led her to negotiate the first $1 million dollar contract for an actor for her role in Cleopatra. She was also the first celebrity to launch a hit fragrance brand and became the first female social entrepreneur.”

One of her lovers said that she had the body of a porn star. I would have liked to find that out for myself if I was young with her.

“Throughout 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 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.”

Made from Starburst wrappers.

Crazy.

Darth Vader.

R2D2 and C-3PO.

“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 the world in search of curiosities and expanded his media to include radio and Hollywood.”

Some weird stuff coming.

I’m betting he had no teeth.

That’s a lot of ink.

Would a woman want to French kiss him?

And the female version.

Can you imagine bringing her home for Thanksgiving dinner? What would your family say?

Strange eyes.

One big Native American.

“Ripley started building museums in major cities. Funding for Ripley’s highly publicized global travels was provided by the Hearst organization.”

Christopher Reeve has been called the G.O.A.T. when it comes to playing Superman.

“Always in search of the bizarre, Ripley recorded live radio shows underwater and from the sky, the Carlsbad Caverns, the bottom of the Grand Canyon, snake pits, and other exotic locales.”

This display was great. The Terminator was rotating.

Wild.

How long did this take?

Such detail with nuts.

My girl.

Some interesting facts about Marilyn… she had a hard time memorizing lines.

She was never nominated for an Oscar.

36 magazine covers in one year. Wow!

Sometimes she talked about herself in 3rd person.

Joe DiMaggio had flowers placed at her grave 3 times a week for 20 years.

“The Seven Year Itch” is my favorite Marilyn movie. She does a commercial in that movie.

This dark area could have been better.

If you cared to eat some insects they had a vending machine.

“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.”

“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.”

“Pearlroth spent 52 years as the feature’s researcher, finding and verifying unusual facts for Ripley.”

Guess who this is supposed to be.

I don’t see it.

“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.”

These mirrors are the last thing you see in the museum.

I did get some pics of Marilyn while going through.

“Some like her because she was sexy and beautiful; others because she was a funny comedienne. There are people who adore her sensitivity and others who love the way she never stopped trying to make her life more fulfilling.”