schumer's shoulders. in our online poll we asked you, do you agree with president trump's executive order temporarily suspending >> she's a jet-setter in the golden age of travel... >> pan am flight attendants were iconic. >> did she fit the bill? >> i think she created the bill. >> ...bringing back these from around the globe. >> indonesian, african, chinese -- they came from everywhere. i thought she was a smuggler, which made it even more exciting. >> what?! >> are they just silly trinkets... >> is there a big market for beads? >> there's a big market for beads. >> this is the real deal? >> this is the real deal. >> ...or historical treasures worth a mint? >> the dalai lama? >> yes. [ gavel bangs ] >> bidder 561 is for $11,000. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]

[ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, thrilled to be on my latest adventure, here in san francisco. the woman at the heart of this story also loved to travel and took home the smallest of souvenirs from every place she visited. those tiny keepsakes could add up to a big payday for her heirs. >> my name is lise mousel. for over half a century, my glamorous aunt naomi traveled the world in style. she always had a surprise for us, but the biggest one came after she passed away. [ knock on door ] >> i want to know more about those surprises, so i meet lise and her mother, carol, at the condo where aunt naomi lived for more than 30 years. lise now calls the place home. oh, i love the way it's decorated -- minimalist.

>> it wasn't always true, when naomi was here. >> really? >> yes, there was stuff everywhere. there was furniture and there were antiquities, and then there were the beads. >> beads everywhere. >> beads? >> beads. >> naomi lindstrom's story begins in a tiny logging town in british columbia, canada, where she's born in 1924. sister carol comes along nine years later. were you rich or poor? >> we were poor. naomi used to love to tell the story that if we needed a grouse for dinner, she'd take the shotgun and go and get it. >> but the backwoods life is too small for naomi's big dreams. by 18, she's a pre-med college student in seattle. >> she had one quarter left, but it was summer, and she saw a sign from united airlines saying "we're hiring." she thought, "i'll do it for the summer." >> what do you think it was about that sign asking for people to sign up to be

stewardesses that attracted her? >> it was the travel. she always was an adventurer. >> naomi instantly falls in love with the globe-trotting lifestyle. she was hooked. >> she was hooked, and she never regretted it. >> in 1952, she jumps ship to pan-american airways -- not just the most prestigious of carriers, but a cultural icon. pan am was founded in 1927 as america's first international airline. an innovator in the use of jet aircraft, pan am becomes legendary for its luxury, panache, and above all, its classy, gorgeous stewardesses. pan am flight attendants were iconic. did she fit the bill, lise? >> oh, good lord, i think she created the bill, actually. >> how'd she look in her uniform? >> oh, she looked gorgeous. she looked gorgeous until she retired.

>> the stew's life gives naomi the chance to see the world. during layovers, while her stewardess friends sit by the pool, naomi immerses herself in the local culture, which leads to a new hobby beads. that's how she befriends jamey allen -- over their shared love of the small mementos. what do you think naomi's fascination with beads was? >> she liked the fact that beads put you in touch with the culture that you admire or are interested in. >> in some cultures, they're money. in others, magical charms. for naomi, they slide easily into a suitcase and through customs. >> they are mankind's oldest portable art form. >> naomi soon identifies the perfect way to add to her bead count -- archaeological dig sites. and her $10 per diem from pan am comes in quite handy. >> at that particular point in

time, the archeologists weren't interested in beads, and for $10, she could get a lot of beads. >> what if she needed the money to eat? >> oh, she knew that she could find somebody who'd buy dinner for her. >> naomi's tiny keepsakes soon include glass beads from china, jasper from south america, stone beads from the middle east, and countless more from around the world. these red coral beads come from india. naomi gets them in 1959 after striking up an acquaintance with a famous passenger. filmmaker and broadcaster lowell thomas is on a mission trip to aid the dalai lama, and naomi tags along. the dalai lama? >> yes. naomi was working in first class. she met lowell thomas. he was looking for somebody who could buy, inexpensively, all the supplies to build houses for the refugees. >> that is amazing. over the decades, naomi

stockpiles her beads in her san francisco condo. >> i thought she was a smuggler, which made it even more exciting. >> what?! >> she was this kind of bigger-than-life, independent woman who did exactly what she wanted, and i thought she was magic. >> she never married? >> no, she never did. she had many proposals. she had so many diamond rings that she took all the diamonds and made one band. >> from different guys? >> all from different guys. >> by the early 2000s, naomi is long retired from pan am, and her world travels have come to an end. but even into her 80s, she's still feisty as ever. >> she was probably about a year beyond needing full-time care, but she kept sending her caregivers home. so mom and i decided that the best thing to do was to have a family member live with her, and i was portable at the time and eager because i loved her so much. >> lise lives with her aunt naomi for the next year. then, in march 2014, just weeks

shy of her 90th birthday, naomi peacefully passes away. she names her sister carol her sole heir, who, in turn, makes lise trustee of the estate. that's when they learn aunt naomi's little trinkets are a lot more than that. >> well, we were all astounded. we still were not prepared for what we found. >> i almost had a heart attack. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. which of the following was not a requirement for pan am stewardesses during the golden age of flying? the answer when we return. this is the silverado special edition.

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try them for 30 nights and get $50 off your first set at bollandbranch.com, promo code: tv. >> it's "b." pan am did not require its applicants to have gone to college. the three other answers really were requirements. >> pan am stewardess naomi lindstrom circumnavigates the world, amassing a huge assortment of beads from everywhere she goes. after her death in 2014, her

sister and niece are rummaging through her san francisco condo, wondering whether their inheritance is filled with treasures or trash. >> i was desperate to get things cleared out. it was overwhelming because i didn't have a clue what i was looking at. >> do you take a garbage bag and just get started? >> it was tempting. it was really tempting. there was drawer upon drawer upon drawer. and when you opened them, every drawer was just overflowing. >> she converted closets into bead drawers. these are beautiful. >> it's not just loose beads stashed everywhere, but hundreds of bead necklaces. >> we probably spent the better part of two days just taking the necklaces out and laying them across the beds. >> the handmade pieces range from glamorous to exotic to simply bizarre. >> this is a necklace that naomi

wore. it's dogs' teeth. >> dog teeth -- that's a new one. thousands upon thousands of beads. it's simply overwhelming for carol. when you looked at all the beads, what was your first reaction? >> "wow. what have we gotten into?" >> but help's just a phone call away -- to naomi's friend and fellow bead enthusiast jamey allen. >> well, we were all astounded. we were not prepared for what we found. >> jamey's first step is to catalog the collection. >> jamey and i spent months together, going through drawers, with me helping him sort and saying, "jamey, what's this? jamey, what's this?" >> the beads may look alike to lise, but not to jamey's discerning eye. he's able to deduce a bead's cultural origin by studying its material, shape, color, and markings. for instance, the distinctive

reddish hue on this strand reveals its provenance. >> these beads were made in burma. >> how do you know? >> whereas most amber is yellow, burmese amber is more often red. so, you can determine a lot of things visually -- by the color, by the clarity, by the uniformity of the color. >> other hints help determine a bead's age -- erosion signs, texture, and rarity. another clue -- older beads typically have larger holes, due to the lack of sophisticated cutting tools. >> beads were made by hand, and they were made by artisans, and they were made one at a time, and they had a lot of skill and time invested in them. >> jamey's analysis yields a stunning conclusion -- many of naomi's beads are not only very old, but rare. ancient items include 17th century glass trading beads from venice and these amber ones from the chinese qing dynasty. >> they probably were originally

in a mandarin court necklace about 150 years ago. >> other beads, he tells them, are even older. there's west african quartz more than 1,000 years old, pre-columbian ceramic from peru, and afghani beads from the 3rd millennium b.c. are these museum-worthy? >> absolutely. there are many, many museum-worthy pieces in the lindstrom collection. >> i had no idea. i mean, to me, it's a bunch of beads. >> a bunch of beads that jamey says might be worth their weight in gold. >> a well-made bead from 3,000 years ago is a very valuable thing. >> but just how valuable? >> before i knew it, she was practically hyperventilating. >> i was just overtaken by the beauty of everything that she had. >> that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you.

the answer after the break.

>> so, which of these beads is typically the most valuable? it's "c." imperial jade is a prized material symbolizing water and life. in 2014, a jade necklace sold in hong kong for more than $27 million. >> after the death of her glamorous aunt naomi, a retired pan am stewardess, lise mousel and her mother, carol, are astonished to learn the exotic details of naomi's vast bead collection. >> it spans about 5,000 years of history and everything from

indonesian, african, chinese, japanese, european. they came from everywhere. >> naomi also created one-of-a-kind necklaces from her tiny treasures -- beaded jewelry that now might be worth a small fortune. did you have any idea how much they were all worth? >> no. i knew nothing about beads. >> she finds out when she invites rhonda harness of michaan's auctions to naomi's san francisco condo. >> when i walked in the house, i was just overtaken by the beauty of everything that she had. you just don't see these items. the collection is phenomenal. >> it's immediately clear to rhonda that this is one of the top bead collections in america and deserves its own stand-alone auction -- which i'm previewing today, just hours before the big event. what are you wearing, to start? >> i'm wearing an ancient tibetan necklace of coral.

>> from what i understand, the piece you're wearing has an estimate of $30,000. >> that is correct. coral is so popular right now, and you just don't see it -- the size, the color, the quality. it's almost impossible to find. >> is there a big market for beads? >> there's a big market for beads. beads are the first jewelry that was ever worn. beads were worn before clothes were worn. >> they were also used as charms -- like this ancient tibetan dzi bead, said to bring good luck and ward off evil. i see people walking around new york city with evieye bracelets. this is the realeal? >> this is the real deal. >> what would this little bead go for? >> well, we have it very reasonably priced at $1,500 to $2,000. this is an incredible necklace right here. they're ancient beads from afghanistan, and they're glass beads. >> its pre-sale estimate -- $3,000. this really caught my eye. >> it's pre-columbian, and it's

beautiful beads of crystal carnelian. very rare to find these. can i put this on you? >> please do. why wait? >> it looks like it was made for you. >> and it could be mine for $6k. rhonda tells me that memento from naomi's time helping the dalai lama should also attract attention. >> i have had so much interest in it. i feel this is going to do very well. >> the pre-sale estimate -- more than 10 grand. while this central asian necklace from 700 b.c. is appraised at $18,000. there's no telling what the entire cache will bring in. ready to find out? that's next. are you nervous? >> i'm terrified. >> with that, we will begin. >> i am hoping that i've done everything i could have done up to this point. >> $500 is bid. online at $500. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our

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for just $99 a month. learn more at your john deere dealer. >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> $200 to start. do i have any takers for $200? $200 right there. $225 now. $225. do we go $250? >> in march 2016, the naomi lindstrom collection hits the auction block at michaan's in alameda, california. the treasure trove includes ancient beads and necklaces spanning more than 5,000 years of history that the pan am stewardess acquired from around the globe and bequeathed to her sister carol... like these ancient beads excavated in mali. >> these are at least 1,000 years old. >> wow. unfortunately, this day is gonna cost me some money. >> i'd say collect it now, because you'll never see it again. >> naomi would be standing there with her chest out, her head back, and a big smile on her face, saying, "yes, i did this." she'd be so proud.

she'd be thrilled. >> naomi felt all of these things were her babies. and today, we're looking for a lot of good homes. >> $475. >> $475 now. $475's the bid. go $500? >> the auction gets going. some of the pre-sale estimates are right on the button. >> lot number 4418 -- an ancient afghanistan glass bead necklace. >> those afghani glass beads i tried on... >> $3,000. [ cash register dings ] >> 4359, tibetan coral bead, gilded silver needle case necklace. and we'll start the bidding off on this at $6,000. >> $6,500. >> that necklace from naomi's time helping the dalai lama... >> bidder 561 is for $11,000. >> whoo! >> way to go. >> [ laughs ] >> whew! >> yeah. >> this is fun, isn't it? [ laughter ] >> it's even more fun when items go way above their appraisals. many do. remember that tiny tibetan spiritual bead priced at $1,500? >> and we'll start the bidding off on that at... >> this is the best one.

>> $1,500 is bid. $1,500, $1,600, $1,700, $1,800. >> $1,900. >> $1,900, $2,000 -- >> $2,250. >> $2,500. $2,500. now go $2,750s online. $3,000 the bid. we're holding at $3,000. on the floor with $3,000. >> $2,250. now go $2,500. $2,500. $3,500 is on the floor. $3,750s online. no advance. >> $4,000. >> $4,000 still bidding online. $4,250. now go $4,500. >> $4,500. >> $4,500 is bid. online at $4,500. [ gavel bangs ] sold online for $4,500. >> that's triple its pre-auction estimate. more big sales follow... >> chinese white jade necklace. and we'll start the bidding off on that at $1,000. >> ...like this chinese white jade necklace... [ gavel bangs ] >> $4,250. [ cash register dings ] >> ...and an ancient himalayan strand that earns $5,900. [ gavel bangs ] >> bidder 604 for $3,000. >> the auction goes on for more than five hours. >> last call -- $3,750.

>> nearly 300 lots, thousands of beads on the block. [ gavel banging ] in total, the auction earns more than 300,000 bucks. when you first looked at this collection and think, "ohhh! there's a lot of beads," and then you walk away with hundreds thousands of dollars. that was an incredible gift from your aunt. >> oh, my gosh. it really was. and she'd be happy that people thought her things were interesting enough to buy them. >> and that may be just the beginning. many top-tier items that didn't hit their reserve will be re-offered down the line, like that ancient tibetan coral strand, the central asian stone necklace, and these mongolian beads. >> the plan is to market the heck out of it. and then we'll just hope that the right buyers are there on that particular day, looking. >> day of the auction, did it feel like naomi was there? >> she was. >> excuse me? >> i had her ashes in my purse.

>> she went to the auction. >> absolutely. she wanted to be put in a lake in british columbia, and i called mom and said, "would it be okay with you if we kept half of her ashes out and took them with us?" and she said, "sure. why not?" i think it's the best memorial service we could have given her. >> a fitting tribute to the pan am stewardess and her precious keepsakes from a life adventurously lived. on $10 a day... >> $10 per diem. [ laughs ] >> so, if lise brought half of aunt naomi's ashes to the auction, what happened to them afterward? well, once they gave naomi one final day with her precious beads, they decided to scatter the rest in places dear to naomi's heart. some will go in the soil outside her condo, while others will be sprinkled from this balcony over the city san francisco that she loved so much. bon voyage, naomi. thanks so much for watching

"strange inheritance." i'm jamie colby. remember -- you can't take it with you. >> muscle-bound heroes... >> my dad said, "if i'm gonna do conan, it's gonna be done my way." >> curvy vixens... >> when i look at the female characters that dad did, mom was okay with that? >> the da vinci of fantasy art. >> this entire visual genre traces back to this one artist. >> how much did it sell for? >> about $1.1 million. >> but when he's gone, a real battle takes shape. >> how bad did it get? >> i'm not close to my brother anymore. even today we don't talk. >> can the next generation save the family and its fortune? >> i think i was like their last hope. >> my grandfather deserves to live on, and what better place than comic-con? [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]

[ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, driving through east stroudsburg, pennsylvania, about 100 miles north of philadelphia. i'm headed to a fantasy world that sprang from the mind of an artist whose name you may not know, but whose work you've surely seen. >> my name is bill frazetta. my father was an incredibly successful artist and a great dad, but not such a great estate planner, so when he died, he left my siblings and me a valuable inheritance that nearly tore us apart. >> i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. how are you? bill frazetta. >> i meet bill in front of the costume shop he's been running for 36 years. can we go in? >> come on in. >> on the third floor, bill leads me to what he calls his private horror bar. >> i'd like to show you a couple of oil paintings that my dad did.

these were done back in the '60s. you got "wolf moon" here. this was the "sea monster." >> what do you call these? i've never seen art like this. >> this is science-fiction art, fantasy art. >> the true story of this fantasy art begins in the sheepshead bay section of brooklyn, new york, where frank frazetta is born in 1928. what do you know about his childhood? >> he loved sports, loved playing stickball. he loved the streets of brooklyn. >> when he's not playing ball, little frank enjoys drawing and coloring. >> from the time he picked up a crayon, it was just a god-given talent. >> holly frazetta-taylor is frank's eldest daughter. >> his grandma would give him a penny every time, and he would draw on toilet paper. whatever there was he could find, he would draw on it. >> in grade school, frank shows off for classmates by sketching his favorite comic-book heroes. >> one of his teachers actually got mad at his father -- "why aren't you doing something with this boy?"

they couldn't believe how good he was, and that's when they put him into art school. >> so young frank studies pencil sketching, oil painting, and watercolors. but when the art school shuts down, frank, now 16, strikes out on his own. he creates this original comic story about an ax-wielding snowman. his work's good enough to land him a job at a bustling comic-strip production house in manhattan. frank gets his "snowman" comic published his first year in the biz. >> he was very versatile. he could do realistic war stories, crime stories. he could do westerns. >> in 1952, a neighborhood cutie with a comic-book name -- ellie kelly -- takes an interest in the 24-year-old artist. and who can blame her? with this physique, the kid could have been his own model. they get married in 1956... >> they had movie-star good looks, both of them. they were a really, really

handsome couple. >> ...with, in due course, four gorgeous kids, including holly and bill. >> the great thing about being an artist, you can work from home. he loved playing with us all the time and drew at night a lot of times when we'd go to bed. >> frank contributes to big-name titles like "buck rogers" and "flash gordon"... then as a ghost illustrator on the weekly strip "li'l abner." >> it was a really good paycheck for the day, but he just got tired of doing the same. there was no creativity in it, and he just wanted to do something else. >> so frank leaves his salary job with "li'l abner" in 1961 and takes a shot at freelancing. banking on his reputation, he waits for the phone to ring. it doesn't. wow. what happens when you have kids at home, and you go from being very successful with a nice paycheck to nothing? >> mom was furious. i'm sure there was a lot of fighting going on. [ laughs ] but, you know, i mean, then it turned around.

>> what happened next? >> he did an ad in a mad magazine. >> on the back cover of mad magazine, frank creates a parody ad for a men's shampoo called "blecch," featuring the famous beatle, ringo starr. >> that nice full head of hair that ringo had, big full lips, the nose was -- you know, everything was a little over-exaggerated. >> that was mad magazine. >> that was. >> somebody in hollywood saw it and loved it and immediately hired him to start doing movie posters. >> frazetta's first go is this poster for the 1965 comedy "what's new pussycat?," starring peter o'toole and woody allen. it's a hit. dozens more follow, including "hotel paradiso" and "the secret of my success." >> the movie posters started really setting his career off. >> next thing you know, frank is creating a new world of barbarians, blades, and babes -- many we wouldn't think of airing on a family program.

>> he brought the sex and violence of the pulps of his youth to a whole new level. >> the most bruising fight, however, won't be fought on frank's canvases, but over them. how bad did it get? >> this whole story, it brings back a lot of bad memories. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question... the answer after the break.

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♪ >> so, which bikini was inspired by frank frazetta's work? it's "b." princess leia's slave costume is recognized as being influenced by this frazetta book cover. >> it's 1966, and 38-year-old artist frank frazetta is creating movie posters for hollywood. a new york publisher approaches him to do original cover art for the release of a paperback book series featuring conan the barbarian. >> my dad said, "if i'm gonna do conan, it's gonna be done my way." >> with oil on canvas, a hulking hero emerges, conan the adventurer. >> when he did this first conan here, that's when he was put on

the map, and it's almost like everything's jumping off the canvas at you. >> it's got everything -- weaponry, chains, the damsel in distress. >> this is everything that came right out of his mind. he was so powerful as a person that he put himself into a lot of his barbarians. >> with conan, he saw a great potential to put himself into it, the wilder side of frank. >> frank goes on to do seven more conan covers, including "conan the conqueror," "the buccaneer, and "the avenger" -- a mix of of muscles, gore, and girls. the frazetta covers help sell more than 10 million copiese nee of fantasy art. >> younger people today have no idea that this entire visual genre traces back to this one artist. >> frank's so in demand, that ellie, who runs the business, is able to insist that they only accept projects where they hold on to the original artwork,

including the rights to reproduce prints. >> my dad and my mother loved the art pretty much the same. my dad didn't want to give up any of his art and neither did mom. >> you know, when i look at the female characters that dad did, they're like, uh, buxom and pretty sexy, curvy girls. mom was okay with that? >> she did not mind that at all. she thought the body was beautiful to see on canvas the way he painted it. >> in 1971, frank decides to pack up the family in brooklyn and head to the country for some space and serenity. they land near east stroudsburg, pennsylvania, and buy an old farmhouse on 80 acres. what was it like growing up in the country? >> oh, it was so nice 'cause we had like no neighbors, so it was just a big play land out there. >> nestled in the pocono mountains, frank churns out more otherworldly scenes. his influence keeps creeping

across american culture. tv series like "battlestar galactica" commission his work for their advertisements. and in 1983, his art hits the big screen in the animated adventure film "fire and ice." then, in 1986, the army iii corps, nicknamed the phantom warriors, adopt his "death dealer" character as their symbol. they even erect a bronze statue outside their fort hood headquarters in texas. with an inventory of about 170 oil paintings on hand, ellie frazetta opens a frazetta museum in 2000 on the grounds of the family estate in the poconos. >> you would get people with phd's, and you would get bikers, and everything in between, and they just had an absolute reverence for seeing these originals. >> but frank's professional career comes to an end when,

in his late 60s, he suffers a series of debilitating strokes. >> it was horrible. i lost part of him. he was never the same -- you know, not being able to get the right words out and speak, and it would frustrate him. >> then frank's wife of 53 years loses her battle with cancer. in 2009, ellie frazetta dies at 74. but even as the family mourns mom's death, a feud begins brewing. it will flare up into a fight as fierce as anything on frank's canvases. >> billy called, and he's like, "oh, my gosh. the alarm's going off at the museum." >> what happened? that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you. who used frank frazetta's "the brain" as an album cover? the answer when we return.

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♪ so, who used "the brain" as an album cover? it's "b," nazareth. the group's 1977 release, "expect no mercy," was one of many albums that featured frazetta's work. >> legendary fantasy artist frank frazetta depicted hundreds of epic, otherworldly battles. but in 2009, the conflict comes home. after his wife's death, and with frank recovering from a series of strokes, his kids begin feuding over the rights to his valuable paintings. did mom leave instructions of what she would want to happen to dad's art if she passed? >> i wish i could say yes, but she didn't. she really kind of left us a little clueless. >> there was no communication going on amongst us. it was a really bad, dark,

dark time. >> for more than a decade, bill and holly's older brother, frank jr., who declined to be interviewed for this program, had been working with their mother, running the frazetta fantasy empire. >> she let junior run the business with her because i think it was old school, firstborn, and we all wanted to have a part of it. i think that's where frankie felt entitlement because he did it so long with mom that it was his. and, of course, you know, "sure, frankie, you can have the art." [ laughs ] i don't think so. >> in despair over the family strife, 81-year-old frank frazetta steps in, creating a trust so that all his children will benefit from his art and the business. but that settles nothing. how bad did it get? >> well, there's so much i could tell you, i could make a movie out of this. >> on december 9, 2009, bill receives a phone call from a security company.

the alarm had been tripped at his father's museum. as bill drives onto the scene, he comes upon his older brother, frank jr., leaving the museum in his truck pulling a trailer. he was coming towards you? >> coming towards me. >> what'd you do? >> put a stop to it. >> how? >> blocking him. i kind of met him head on. it was just a tap, but enough for me to wave to him, "you're not going nowhere." >> police look inside the trailer and discover that frank jr. took about 90 paintings from the museum. he's arrested and charged with burglary and trespassing. >> it was just a tough time in my life, i'll tell you. [ sniffles, sighs ] >> i bet really hard to tell your dad, too. >> it was. [ sniffles ] it's hard sometimes to talk about it because, you know, i'm not close to my brother anymore, you know, and we don't talk, and family is supposed to be everything, and it's

just sad when it -- things fall apart. >> frank jr. claims his father gave him written instructions remove the pains from the museum. >> my goal was to hopefully get myather back control to protect him, and that's all -- simple as that. i love my father dearly. i wish i could see him. >> it's painful for any father to go through something like this, you know, but, once again, hopefully, somehow we can work things out. >> charges are eventually dropped by the family. five months after the incident, frank frazetta sr. dies of a stroke. he's 82. >> the pouring out of the fans, it was overwhelming. i knew how much he inspired millions of people out there. he was a gift to all of us. >> in the months following his death, the frazetta family infighting only intensifies. each sibling has a different idea of how to capitalize on their father's lucrative legacy. >> tension was very thick. >> sara frazetta-taylor is

frank frazetta's oldest grandchild and holly's daughter. >> there was a little bit of rivalry between the boys and the girls because of different beliefs on how the art should be handled. >> what was the issue with each one? >> there was no way that all four siblings could agree to do a business together, licensing, merchandising, selling the artwork. >> in july 2010, with legal costs mounting, the family decides to sell one oil painting -- "conan the destroyer." the private sale brings in one and a half million dollars, a record price for fantasy art. unfortunately, bill says the family sees very little of the proceeds. >> sadly to say, a lot of it ended up going towards lawyers. so granddaughter sara says she volunteers to try and broker a peace among her warring elders. >> i wasn't a lawyer, and i think i was like their last hope to some kind of resolution.

>> what made you want to get involved in what had become a real family mess? >> i've always been a natural mediator. i've always seen both sides of every argument, and i could remain neutral. >> the assumption was always they'd keep the collection together, but maybe it's best for frank's kids to divvy up the 160 artworks equally. what's step one? >> there was a lot of confusion. how do you split pieces of art that are worth so much money, and how do you even put a value to them? >> sara consults with each family member individually. using a tier system, the heirs take turns picking their favorites, from the high-end "conan" and "death dealer" oil paintings all the way down to lesser-known pen-and-ink drawings. how'd that go? >> well, the process caused me to be in extreme adrenal fatigue because of so much stress. so, if the picks were conflicting, and they both wanted the same thing, that's

when there would be a little bit of turmoil, and we would have to decide what was fair when the dust settles, each frazetta heir walks away with about 40 artworks, including oil paintings, pencil sketches, and ink drawings. >> no one wanted to fight anymore. that was the truth of it. >> were you satisfied? >> i was very satisfied because the pain wasn't worth what we were going through. >> now everyone's free to do as they wish with their strange inheritances. hold them... hang them... even sell. and they know just where the buyers are. tell me about the deals that you've done for the family. what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. my business was built with passion... but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on

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♪ >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> it's 2016, and frank frazetta's catalog of 160

art pieces has been split up among his four children. the epic family feud has subsided. so frazetta's heirs can really find out what it's all worth. ♪ today i'm at one of the world's largest comic conventions, new york comic-con, and catch up with vincent zurzolo, co-owner of metropolis collectibles. he tells me that frazetta's art is still influential, popular, and very valuable. this is spectacular. what's this one called? >> this is called "warrior with ball and chain." >> tell me about the deals that you've done for the family. >> one of the pieces i recently sold was the painting called "spider man, and it's not the amazing spider-man, it's a barbarian killing a spider, and we recently sold that for $350,000. i've also sold the "battlestar galactica" painting for about $150,000.

>> then there's frank's 1974 piece, "at the earth's core," sold by holly frazetta-taylor through heritage auctions. and how much did it sell for? >> about $1.1 million. >> another recent sale, bill frazetta's "sea witch" brings in 750 grand. the next generation of frazettas, meantime, is promoting their grandfather's work. what are you doing exactly with your mom now? >> well, five years ago we decided that we were going to start frazetta girls, llc. we're making tons of different prints like canvas prints, textured art prints, patches, pins -- just my goal is for everyone to know who frank frazetta is, the godfather of fantasy art. >> at a booth here at comic-con, i meet with danielle frazetta, bill's daughter and sara's cousin. she, too, runs her own business, selling her grandfather's art. do younger people recognize this as a frazetta? >> either they know who he was, and they're just like,

"this is the master," or they don't, and they're just like in complete awe. >> what is your dad's legacy? >> just being the greatest fantasy illustrator that ever walked the face of the earth. i think he's gonna be remembered as someone that just touched the world with his art. >> the family tells me that amid the fighting and bickering over the division of their father's art, one piece stood apart -- his self-portrait. back in 1962, frustrated and unable to find work, 34-year-old frank channeled his anger and put it to the canvas. what emerged was a portrait of determination, a precursor of his success to come. today holly frazetta owns the original portrait, and she guarantees it's one that will never go up for sale. i'm jamie colby.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. a paid advertisement for time life's music collection. ♪ chances are 'cause i wear a silly grin ♪ there are artists we'll always remember... ♪ mona lisa, mona lisa ♪ men have named you there are beautiful songs, words and memories that will always touch our hearts... ♪ it's impossible ♪ to tell the sun to leave the sky ♪ ♪ it's just impossible this is the music of your life.