American Experience

Ripley: Believe It or Not

Season 27 Episode 1 | 52m 25s  | Video has closed captioning.

Watch Preview

LeRoy Robert Ripley rose to fame during the Great Depression, transforming himself from a skinny, buck-toothed boy into an entertainer who mesmerized the nation with his razzle-dazzle blend of homespun Americana, colorful exotica and freakish oddities. Americans not only loved his bizarre fare, but were fascinated by the man himself.

Aired: 01/06/15

Expired: 01/05/18

Rating: NR

Buy Now:

Problems Playing Video? | Closed Captioning

For Season 27 of American Experience, exclusive corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance, major funding by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS stations.

Support provided by:

American Experience.

Explore Free Resources
(Trans)formation: Christine Jorgensen

Clip

(Trans)formation: Christine Jorgensen

Christine Jorgensen was one of the first people to successfully undergo gender affirmation surgery.

Watch

More History Shows

  • Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator
  • American Masters
  • Secrets of the Dead
  • The Roosevelts
  • The Civil War
  • Dante: Inferno to Paradise
  • Benjamin Franklin
  • The Vietnam War
  • Origin of Everything
  • Monstrum
  • Hemingway
  • The National Parks