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

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 American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from 1949 to 1950, and was hosted by Robert L. Ripley 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. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

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

Jack Palance Walter Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk, , ''Volodymyr Ivanovych Palahniuk''; February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American screen and stage actor, known to film audiences for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominat ...

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

Dean Cain Dean George Cain ( né 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! ...

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. He played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles with whom he won the UAAP title in 2008. He went on to play his entire professional ...

, 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 television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

in June 2019, with

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' horror series, beginning with the short movie '' Within the Woods'' (1978). He has also f ...

as the host.

Original series (1949–1950)

The first ''Believe It or Not!'' TV series, a live show hosted by Robert L. Ripley, 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 Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and several of his friends substituted as host, including future ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' president Doug Storer. 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 Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

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, and singer

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl next door, girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musi ...

. The 1980s series reran on the Sci-Fi Channel (UK) and Sci-Fi Channel (US) during the 1990s.

Animated series (1999)

In December 1995, development was underway by Canadian studio

Cinar The Cookie Jar Group, commonly known as simply Cookie Jar and formerly known as CINAR, was a Canadian animation studio, media production and distribution company that existed from 1976 until it was folded into DHX Media, now WildBrain, on Dec ...

(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 and Gaumont Alphanim) is a French animation studio owned by Gaumont founded in February 1997 by Christian Davin. The company's animated catalog comprises over 800 half-hours, broadcast in over 130 ...

, which was founded in 1997. The series premiered on

Fox Family Channel American cable and satellite television network Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes during its history. This article details th ...

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) was 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 ...

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 it was partially owned by the former Weigel Broadcasting (seven years later, the network was acquired ...

up until 2009.

Second revival (2000–2003)

In December 1998,

TBS Superstation TBS (an initialism of Turner Broadcasting System) is an American basic cable television network owned by the Global Linear Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It carries a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy, along with som ...

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, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...

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 (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

, 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

List A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...