special program at 10:00 a.m. eastern on fox news. ♪ >> a babe who photographed babies... >> she would get them to do the craziest things. >> ...becomes a celebrity herself. >> people knew her by name. she was a pin-up. >> there were definitely stories of skiing with the kennedys, definitely a lavish lifestyle for sure. >> what was her secret? >> isn't she adorable? >> what a winner shot. >> is it still gold today? >> is this collection potentially worth six figures, seven figures? [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm in littleton, colorado. it's a suburb of denver that, like all of suburbia, really

expanded after world war ii because of the baby boom. and speaking of babies, every parent, including me, knows the frustration of trying to get your little one to smile at just the right moment for just the right photo. well, we're about to tell the story of a woman who turned that challenge into an art form. >> my name is lynda bannister. when my mother, constance, passed away in 2005, she left me more more than 100,000 baby photos. she was the most accomplished baby photographer of her day. >> hi, lynda. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, too. you wrote me about your mom and something about babies. >> yes. >> are they here? >> yes, they are. please come in. >> okay. >> inside lynda's house is her strange inheritance left to her by her mother, baby photographer constance bannister. >> you've basically put together a museum all about your mom and all these babies. >> in total, there are more than

100,000 baby pictures -- yes, 100,000 photos. >> there are many files full of negatives. >> all negatives? >> all negatives. >> lynda has mom's old cameras, too. >> she was able to carry this? >> yes. actually, she would wear a harness and strap herself into it, as you can see. one of the first self-portraits, she's got the clicker in her hand. >> a selfie? >> yeah. >> lynda's mother's story begins in 1913 on a farm in tennessee. >> what kind of childhood did your mom have? >> she's second from the oldest of 17 children. >> 17? >> 17. she talked about playing in the creek, riding the cow -- just a real simple, healthy lifestyle. >> in the mid 1930s, young connie leaves her country home with dreams of becoming an artist in the big apple. >> she wanted to be somebody

and somebody big. >> in 1937, she enrolls at the new york institute of photography, and later that year marries the first of three husbands, stephen arthur bannister. >> that was finishing school for her. >> the marriage? >> yeah. >> why? >> he took the country girl, and he really showed her the life of an upper-class woman in manhattan. >> but the rich investment broker just can't compete with connie's greatest love -- the camera. they soon divorce, and connie gets her first paying gig as a society photographer in palm beach for the associated press. >> women, when she first started out, they were not doing careers. she basically stepped into a man's world and ran the show. >> after one year on the job, she returns to new york and works as a public-relations photographer on the maiden voyage of the s.s. brazil. then a lightning bolt of inspiration strikes.

>> she went into central park, and she basically just started photographing babies. >> why babies? >> when she was a young girl, she was always around babies. she naturally gravitated towards babies. she ended up going back the next day with prints selling some of her pictures to a mom, and the career was born. >> in 1940, constance opens a photo shop on central park south. she quickly becomes known for her ability to capture faces and expressions other baby photographers cannot. >> how unique were her techniques? >> she had a way with communicating with the baby, and she would get them to do the craziest things. [ camera shutter clicking ] >> she develops a lot of tricks, like filling her studio with plenty of toys, using honey to achieve that perfect hair curl, and brushing the baby's face with a feather before snapping the shot. >> she just knew exactly when

to snap that shutter and get that perfect shot. >> today lynda's gonna let me in on a few more of her mother's trade secrets at an actual baby photo shoot. >> oh, no, no, no. >> adele. >> look. we have a feather. >> i got a feather for you. >> [ crying ] >> ohh. >> this is more difficult than i thought, lynda. >> [ crying continues ] >> what's a wannabe to do, seriously? lynda tells me that's why mom always had back-up models. >> wow, two little teeth and a lot of drool. >> [ laughs ] >> can i take your picture? yes? >> no tears yet. >> can you explain, lynda, what you would do to make this perfect baby even more perfect? >> mom would always have a little jar of lemon juice and water, and she'd just take her finger and put it right in her mouth, and that's to get that kind of puckered face. isn't she adorable? >> what a winner shot. i got a whole calendar. >> oh, wonderful.

[ camera shutter clicking ] >> i may not have captured a bannister-caliber photo, few ever have, but constance has a knack for much more than photographing babies. she'll learn the camera loves her, too, and soon all of america will know her face. >> was she a celebrity? >> yes, in every sense of the word. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question... is it brad pitt and angelina jolie? kate middleton and prince william? or ivanka trump and jared kushner? the answer when we return.

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don't ignore the law. you must call 811 at least two to three days before any digging project so you can avoid hitting our essential buried utilities. for digging projects big or small... ...make the call... ...to 811. ♪ [ objects rattle ] >> so, which power couple sold photos of their newborn for $15 million? it's "a." in 2008, people and hello! magazine bought the exclusive rights to the baby photos of twins vivienne and knox jolie-pitt. the couple donated the proceeds to charity. ♪ >> it's 1941 and constance bannister has built a reputation as the go-to photographer to capture just the right baby shots. "she was a true pioneer," says getty images executive eric rachlis. >> she was able to capture the emotions of babies in a very pure form.

a lot of people relate to that sort of very innocent expression of emotion. >> during world war ii, her photos are used to help sell war bonds and promote the u.s.o. but when a magazine article is printed about her pin-up babies, connie becomes the babe the troops want to see. >> look magazine did an article called "pin-up babies," and they put a little picture of her in a bathing suit, a pin-up picture, and the servicemen just wrote her from all over the world, asking for an 8x10 signed picture of her for their foxhole or their bunker, and she did. >> i mean, a lot of guys had your grandmother's picture in their locker. >> oh, lord. yeah. [ laughs ] yep. that definitely happened -- yeah. she was definitely involved in some different shoots that were a little edgy for her time. >> meanwhile, after the war, births in the u.s. start surging as soldiers return home. america's great baby boom is on. perfect timing for a celebrity

baby photographer with tv-ready looks and a savvy business plan. >> she was a bit of a wheeler and dealer, so she would negotiate with the families and say, "okay, i won't charge you. you sign the release, and i'll give you beautiful pictures of your child for free." >> so your mom owned the pictures. >> she owns them. >> smart. >> very smart. ♪ >> with the photo rights secured, connie uses the images in her own business ventures -- books, calendars, magazines, her babies often accompanied with sassy one-liners. >> she took sort of traditional cute baby photography and kind of put sort of a satiric bent on how she pictured children and babies. >> soon bannister and her babies are everywhere, from newspapers... >> this is a comic strip that she did called "baby banters." it was syndicated for six years across the country. >> ...to department stores. >> mom produced a doll?

>> mom produced a doll. she produced that in the '50s, and, actually, macy's had it on sale for $9.98. >> did she also earn a lot of revenue? >> she did very well. she had an apartment at 24 central park south, her summer house, which was an estate on the north shore of long island -- 15 acres, pool, tennis court. >> tv host jack paar dubs constance the world's most famous baby photographer. her photo tips are even used to promote flashbulbs. >> was she a celebrity? >> yes, in every sense of the word. i have all her appointment books from the '40s and '50s, and every single page is filled with appointments, meetings, radio shows, television shows. people knew her by name. they knew her on sight. >> there were definitely stories of skiing with the kennedys, taking fabulous trips to different international places -- lavish lifestyle for sure. >> by the late 1950s, constance, now in her 40s and on her third

marriage, wants to start a family of her own. but the world's most famous baby photographer is the victim of a cruel irony. >> she wanted children, but she went to the doctor, and he said it just was not gonna be possible for her. it was actually very sad. >> connie and her husband, joseph hatcher, are blessed in 1958, adopting a baby girl, lynda. two years later, lisa joins the family. the real bannister babies quickly become regulars at mom's photo shoots. >> that's me and mom. >> oh, how sweet. >> and that's me. >> oh! oh, my god. she really could get babies to do everything. >> constance is still a hot ticket in the 1960s as the final frontier inspires another bannister business venture. >> the astronauts went to the moon, she created a baby book called "astrotots." >> this is adorable. >> she also weighs in on

the civil rights movement. >> she's one of the first women to put a black baby on a cover. >> so it wasn't just about picture-taking. >> no. >> she had a message. >> yes, she did. ♪ >> in the mid 1970s, however, constance, now in her 60s, decides it's finally time to hang up the camera and enjoy a well-deserved retirement far from the limelight. >> she was done. she just wanted to have peace and quiet. >> and that is pretty much all america hears from constance bannister, though she does pick up the camera from time to time behind closed doors. >> did she ever take your picture? >> um, sure. absolutely. it got very interesting behind the camera when she got back there. you can kind of see this different side of her. she got very expressive and silly almost. >> she would always bring out the best expressions out of children. >> in 2005, constance bannister passes away at age 92. lynda is named sole heir to her mother's baby pictures, all 100,000 of them. by then she assumes her mom and the bannister babies are

long forgotten. boy, is she wrong about that! >> i was fielding phone calls left and right from reporters from all over the country. >> that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you. this constance bannister model went on to become a big hollywood star. is it...? the answer after the break. six in the morning. she thought it was a fire. it was worse. a sinkhole opened up under our museum. eight priceless corvettes had plunged into it. chubb was there within hours. they helped make sure it was safe.

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>> so, who is this child model who grew up to become a famous actor in hollywood? it's "b," christopher walken. the star of "the deer hunter" and numerous "saturday night live" appearances kick-started his career working with constance bannister.

>> over her four-decade career, connie bannister snapped some of the most iconic images of infants and toddlers known as bannister babies. after her death in 2005, her daughter wonders how the woman once known as the world's most famous baby photographer will be remembered, if at all. >> when she passed, i contacted the associated press 'cause i didn't know if it was news or i had to write an obituary. >> the family quickly gets their answer. for the first time in decades, the name constance bannister is back in the public view. >> i was fielding phone calls left and right from reporters from all over the country. it was a celebration of her life. it was just wonderful. >> lynda is determined to keep her mother's memory and photos from fading into oblivion. one of her first steps in honoring the family name is to adopt it herself. she changes her given surname, hatcher, to bannister.

her next challenge, sorting through the massive photography archives that she's inherited from her mom. >> we're talking hundreds and hundreds of pounds of cabinets and drawers. >> pounds? >> it wasn't just the photos and the negatives. it was the cameras, it was the dolls, it was the books. it just was such an enormous collection. >> i was overwhelmed when i first got it all. it was just so mind-blowing. >> did she ever tell you what she wanted you to do with it? >> no. she actually told me, "don't mess it up, lynda." >> those are some fighting words. >> i know the pressure's on for me to do a good job and to make her proud. >> lynda starts to catalog and digitize over 100,000 photos. fortunately, mom left at least a little guidance. >> that's a signed release that she kept from when -- the '50s? >> i have them dating back to the early '40s. >> a little o.c.d.? >> yes, a lot o.c.d., actually. >> among those old releases,

lynda discovers some familiar names who modeled for her mother. >> name names. >> christopher walken, paris hilton's mother, kathy, kristina hagman, larry hagman's daughter. >> here's actress anne francis. she would star in two 1950's classics -- "blackboard jungle" and "forbidden planet." but what really gets lynda thinking is the thousands of regular old american babies. she decides to see how their lives turned out. >> how much time are you putting in to finding these bannister babies? >> i'm spending some serious time with it, but i'm enjoying every minute of it. >> what is it like for you when you hear from a bannister baby? >> it's a treat beyond treats. it intrigues me to know that she made so many people happy. >> people like lindley thomasset, a bannister baby from the late 1940s. >> she had a very special way of getting kids to respond to her. many of these photos were used

in advertisements for things like gerber baby food. >> were you a gerber baby? >> yes, that's right. >> excuse me. i've just met a gerber baby, okay? >> today lindley is hosting a bannister baby reunion at her home here in bedford, new york. >> i'm so glad you could all get together. it's incredible. i feel like you're a part of history. lynda has a surprise for you. >> lindley, we have from her archives for you... >> [ gasps ] >> oh, lindley. >> that's for your collection. >> thank you. >> this is linda byers. >> oh, linda. >> oh, my. >> let's see yours. >> oh. >> oh, wow. >> oh, my hair is different. >> and, also, mom made a note under the remarks that linda was cute. >> [ laughs ] >> how many bannister babies are there left? >> oh, there's hundreds left still. >> i bet we find more. >> that'd be great. >> it could make a good book, lynda thinks. meantime, as word gets out about the collection, lynda receives an offer from a buyer who wants to purchase the entire

photo library. it could be a big payday. other vintage collections are said to be worth millions. >> is this collection potentially worth six figures, seven figures? >> no idea. i don't know, and as far as i'm concerned, homina, homina, homina, i don't want to know. >> will lynda mess it up? or does she inherit her mom's business genius, too? find out in a snap. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website -- strangeinheritance.com. here's to the heroes -- america's small business owners. and here's to the heroes behind the heroes, who use their expertise to keep those businesses covered. and here's to the heroes behind the heroes behind the heroes, who brought us delicious gyros. actually, the gyro hero owns vero's gyros, so he should have been with those first heroes. ha ha! that's better. so, to recap -- small business owners are heroes, and our heroes help heroes be heroes

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>> now back to "strange inheritance." ♪ >> lynda bannister inherits more than 100,000 professional baby pictures taken by her mom, a true genius who was once the most famous baby photographer in america. >> and is this collection potentially worth six figures, seven figures? >> no idea. i don't know, and as far as

i'm concerned, homina, homina, homina, i don't want to know. >> it could be worth millions, but lynda won't talk to any potential buyers. >> you didn't even let him tell you what they were willing to pay? >> no. i don't want to sell it. my goal really is to just share the baby pictures with people around the world. her images were just so loved, beautiful pictures of children, and i just would like everybody to enjoy them. >> but we're not talking charity here. lynda's betting she can make more holding on to her strange inheritance. in 2010, she cuts a deal with stock photo agency getty images, which markets the pictures to clients who pay each time they use them. >> looking at constance's work, her eye, and the way that she captured these babies has really been a very commercially viable type of imagery that our customers, even today, are using. >> over time, the bannister babies begin to regain some of their former

popularity, starting with greeting cards. >> this is adorable. so they're taking the original images and then they're making them into characters? >> reinventing the babies. >> it's almost, john, like grandma's coming back. >> yeah. i'm seeing a rebirth of her through my mother. it's pretty incredible. >> getty strikes similar deals with the likes of microsoft, yahoo!, and sony. more cash flows in. >> so are you cleaning up financially? >> it's growing. i'm looking at it as my retirement. >> what can one image be worth? >> well, we actually got $25,000 for one image. it can be worth quite a bit of money. >> and here's that photo -- a cute girl in braids hugging her dog licensed for a national ad campaign for the tv show "true blood." >> you're sitting on thousands of these. this could be more than your retirement. >> it could be, it could be. we'll see. >> a tennessee farm girl hits the big time, becomes a glamorous celebrity,

then retires to the quiet life. but now she's back in the spotlight thanks to a dedicated daughter and all those adorable babies. >> i think what my grandmother accomplished was really remarkable, and my mom is giving us an opportunity to bring that amazing work back up to the surface, and that has just been such a remarkable thing for our family. >> she was bigger than life. she had a vision of just creating things with babies and making people laugh and happy, and she was just a wonderful woman. >> you've seen a lot of baby pictures in this episode, but there is one you haven't seen -- mine. here i am propped up on my brother jonathan's shoulders. this photographer got him to smile. i guess i needed some of constance bannister's magic. nope, i was no bannister baby, but if you were, i'd love to hear from you. e-mail that photo to me at jamie@strangeinheritance.com.

thanks so much for watching. and remember -- you can't take it with you. ♪ >> i am hoop. >> i'm baird jones. >> two eccentrics from new york's disco days. >> if you were on baird's list, your social life was assured. >> two oddball art collections. >> all right. >> mel brooks, david bowie, art carney, muhammad ali. >> but the weirdest thing about this story... >> and it's really solid. nothing's going to fall off. >> ...is how the square from the burbs ends up with both. >> i can only imagine this driving around the streets of new york. >> will this two-for-one strange inheritance -- >> i've got $150, can get a $175? once, twice. first piece sold. >> ...ultimately add up? [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]