''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is the name of several

documentary television series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

based on the newspaper feature. The first series aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from 1949 to 1950, and was hosted by

Robert L. 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, ...

until his death, after which several substitute hosts filled in. The series was revived again on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, running from 1982-1986, and was hosted primarily by

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

. Another revival debuted on TBS in 2000, and aired until 2003, with

Dean Cain Dean George Cain ( Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and ...

as the host. A Filipino version, hosted by

Chris Tiu Christopher John Alandy-Dy Tiu (born July 15, 1985) is a Filipino former professional basketball player who is currently a television presenter. He played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles with whom he won the UAAP title in 2008. He ...

, debuted in 2008. An animated series based on the ''Ripley's'' franchise was also created, and premiered in 1999. Another revival premiered on

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

in June 2019, with

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' franchise, beginning with the 1978 short film ''Within the Woods''. He has starred in many low ...

as the host.

Original series (1949–1950)

The first ''Believe It or Not!'' TV series, a live show hosted by

, premiered on

television on March 1, 1949. Shortly after the 13th episode, on May 27, 1949, Ripley died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and several of his friends substituted as host, including future ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' president

Doug Storer Doug Storer (1899–1985) was a radio producer, talent agent, and writer responsible for creating and producing radio programs from the 1930s to the 1960s, including ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and ''Renfrew of the Royal Mounted''. External li ...

. Robert St. John served as host from the second season until the series ended on October 5, 1950. In 1956, ABC Films Syndication had John Gibbs and Meridian Pictures prepare a ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!''

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

Revival (1982–1986)

''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' later returned to television in a second series from 1982 to 1986, on the US

network. Actor

hosted the popular series throughout its run, while three different co-hosts appeared from season to season, including Palance's daughter, Holly Palance, actress

Catherine Shirriff Catherine Shirriff is a Canadian actress. Shirriff was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her notable roles include the horror comedy '' Vampira'' (1974), Bob Fosse's film '' All That Jazz'' (1979), as the Klingon Valkris in '' Star Trek III: The ...

, and singer

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...

. The 1980s series reran on the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

(UK) and Sci-Fi Channel (US) during the 1990s.

Animated series (1999)

In December 1995, development was underway by Canadian studio

Cinar Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. (also known as Cookie Jar Group and originally known as CINAR; renamed as DHX Cookie Jar Inc. from 2012 until 2014, or simply just Cookie Jar) was a Canadian media production and distribution company owned by DHX M ...

(now WildBrain) for an animated series based on ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!''. The 26-episode series, titled ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'', was co-produced by French production company

Alphanim Gaumont Animation (formerly known as Alphanim) is a French animation studio. It was acquired by Gaumont Film Company in 2008 as a return to television production, and an entry into English-language productions, after Gaumont Television was sold ...

, which was founded in 1997. The series premiered on

Fox Family Channel The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its hi ...

on July 14, 1999, and was about three young people who discover unexplained mysteries and unusual items. Reruns would be shown on

This TV This TV (also known as This TV Network and alternately stylized as thisTV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally fo ...

as part of

Cookie Jar Toons Cookie Jar Toons (also known as This Is for Kids) was a daily children's programming block on the This TV digital broadcast network when that network was partially owned by the former Weigel Broadcasting (7 years later, the network was acquired b ...

up until 2009.

Second revival (2000–2003)

In December 1998,

TBS Superstation TBS (an abbreviation for Turner Broadcasting System) is an American pay television network owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It carries a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy, alo ...

outbid two broadcast network competitors to purchase the rights from

Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company that was active from 1994 to 2002. It was operated as the third name of the early television studio Screen Gems and the fourth ...

Distribution for a new ''Ripley's'' series that would be an update of the earlier program that aired from 1982 to 1986. The new series, titled ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'', premiered on TBS on January 12, 2000, with

as host. Most episodes open with an act that is performed in front of a live audience, while the rest of the episode involves Cain introducing various segments, each one for a different subject.

Kelly Packard Kelly Chemane Packard (born January 29, 1975) is an American actress and television personality. She is best known for her roles as Tiffani Smith on ''California Dreams'' and April Giminski on ''Baywatch'', as well as co-hosting ''Ripley's Beli ...

became a field correspondent in 2002, and would host coverage of events in which people demonstrate their unusual abilities, usually in front of an audience.

2008 version

On August 18, 2008, a new version of the series, hosted by

, began airing on

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

, a Philippine television channel and lasted until September 22, 2010.

2019 version

A new ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'', with

as the host, was announced in January 2019. The series premiered on

on June 9, 2019.

References

External links

* * * * *
TV.com summary (third run)

fan site with episode descriptions and video clips of the 1980s and 2000s (decade) series {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripley's Believe It or Not!, List of Ripley's Believe It or Not! television series

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''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'' feat ...