>> a letter arrives in the mail with news of a strange and lucrative inheritance. >> the letter goes on to say, "if i got a letter like this, i would think it to be a scam." >> and i was like, "why are we named? somebody's scamming us." >> so, is it a scam? >> i said, "you know, ray, there's a fine between genius and idiot." he'd say, "yeah," and he said, "i cross that two or three times a day." >> who is this mysterious benefactor? >> he was a hidden man. >> he didn't have the family life. he didn't have a friend to talk to. >> he really, truly was a fan. >> but an inheritance? >> that's a strange inheritance and a stranger story still. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]

[ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm on old route 66 in central illinois. i'm heading to the small farming town of lincoln, where the strangest of inheritance stories unfolded. on a monday morning in july 2012, farmer bob pharis heads out to mow hay on some land he leases from an old friend named ray fulk. >> and it was very uncommon for ray not to come out and talk to me. and then i smelled something. i happened to look over and the bin door was open and that was not a good sign. i just went over there, and then i found him. and then i called 911 and... >> the county coroner, acting on info from a neighbor, contacts attorney don behle to inform him his 71-year old client has died

of heart failure. behle cannot even remember fulk. >> i hadn't seen him in 15 years, and so i had no idea who they're talking about. >> how strange is it that we're here right now talking to you about this guy you barely remember? >> [ laughs ] it's very strange. >> don checks his files and realizes he indeed worked with someone named ray fulk back in 1997. >> he wanted me to change his will and he brought it in to me and i was named as the executor. but all i had was a copy. it was 15 years later. he could have changed his will. >> don drives out to ray's farmhouse to find the original will. there he discovers an unsettling scene. >> it was absolutely covered with cobwebs and would remind you of a show where you'd have dracula involved. >> i mean, my house might sometimes be untidy. are we talking about more than that? >> we're talking about a hoarder show. the whole place reeked. >> somehow, the lawyer locates

ray fulk's will. it directs $5,000 dollars to a chicago animal shelter, but the next part is a puzzle. >> "i give and bequeath all my tangible personal property to my friends, kevin m. brophy of san fernando, california, and peter barton of valley stream, long island, new york. >> who are these guys? and how does don find them? that will take more digging -- digging through the debris. >> in ray's room, he had pictures of wolves torn out of magazines and put on the wall. i had no idea how it all fit together at that point in time. >> he'll start to fit it all together soon. among ray's many diaries written in neat cursive, don finds a scrapbook with a big clue. >> it said "lucan." i opened it up, and it had kevin's picture in there. >> "lucan" was a tv series starring kevin brophy as a boy raised by wolves.

it was cancelled after just 12 episodes in 1978, when ray fulk was 37 years old. >> it was pretty clear to me that show meant something to ray and he identified with it. >> don digs further and discovers the other man in the will -- peter barton -- also an actor. why fulk named him, is a bigger riddle. from to 1988 to '92, barton played dr. scott grainger in the soap opera "the young and the restless. >> how am i ever gonna be able to thank you? >> before that, he starred in a short-lived tv series called "the powers of matthew star." two basically unknown actors that ray had a fondness for. did you have any idea how much they were going to inherit? >> the inheritance consisted of approximately 165 acres, some c.d.s that were at the bank, and the cash that i found around the house. >> how much is it all worth? don's not exactly sure, but

figures hundreds of thousands of dollars easy, maybe even $1 million or more. so, the dutiful attorney writes letters to the two retired actors, informing them of their very strange inheritance. >> "he has named you, as his friends, beneficiaries of his estate." i was stunned. i was shocked. >> i took the other side of it completely, going, "kevin, if it's too good to be true, it probably is." >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. which strange personality willed that a séance be held for him every year? was it master of the macabre edgar allan poe, escape artist harry houdini, or horror-film icon vincent price? the answer in a moment. ♪

>> so, which strange personality willed an annual séance be held for him? it's "b," harry houdini, who died in 1926. he wanted to reveal himself to his wife once a year. >> let's reset. in august 2012, two former actors -- kevin brophy and peter barton -- each receive a letter informing them they are the co-inheritors of the estate of someone named ray fulk. ray had never met either of them.

leaving a huge amount of money to someone you've never met sounds more than eccentric, which leads me to a question for ray's attorney -- don behle. it says, as every will does, "ray fulk, of lincoln, illinois, being of sound and disposing mind and memory." was he? >> yes. he knew what he owned. he may have been odd, but he was of sound mind. >> my next stop is southern california to meet kevin brophy. >> my name is kevin brophy, and in 2012, i received a letter that was really about to change my life. >> it's here in the land of sun, surf, and palm trees kevin started his career more than 30 years ago. >> this is an episode of "lucan." he was a boy raised by wolves. that was the premise of the pilot, and the pilot went to 12 episodes over a two-year period. >> as so many actors will say,

it was a good ride while it lasted. it didn't last for you. >> my window was in my 20s, and i had my program and a great career. then the phone stops ringing. >> when the phone stops ringing, kevin finds a new line of work. he takes a job as a doorman in 1983 at the posh hotel bel-air and keeps it for the next 27 years. >> then the hotel closed and they went for remodeling and i was praying for a job and then the letter [chuckles] -- i refer to it as "the letter" -- comes. this is the original letter from the attorney saying, "you don't know me, but i represent ray e. fulk. he was a hermit and a hoarder and a farmer here in illinois." and don behle, who wrote the letter, goes on to say, "if i got a letter like this, i would think it to be a scam." >> turns out kevin once worked with the second beneficiary in ray fulk's will -- fellow actor peter barton. >> i did a movie in 1980 called "hell night," kind of a campy

horror story, but became friends with most of the cast members, including peter. >> peter now lives in upstate new york. so, you really don't hear much about kevin until you find out somebody died and you're the only two "friends" he names in his will. >> from the moment i opened that up and i saw kevin's name, i was like, "somebody's scamming us." >> the two men discuss what to do next. >> i said, "peter, i believe it. i believe it, and i'm going with it for gusto." >> i took the other side of it completely, going, "kevin, if it's too good to be true, it probably is." >> but peter agrees to make the 900-mile trip to lincoln, illinois, to find out for both of them. peter's home video begins to unravel the mystery. >> behind the silos, ray had a grave site with all his dogs. look at this, all the pet cemetery. queenie, 3-21-77.

10-15-87. '82, '80, '94. buddy, fred, fad. wow. a lot of dogs. >> the pet cemetery abuts 167 acres of prime soil, tillable for corn and soybean... >> wow. that's a lot of farmland out there. >> ...all this a gift from a man they never met. so, who was this guy? and why would he do this? >> dennis and nitsie gleason live a stone's throw away from ray fulk. how would you describe, in a word, ray? >> weird. >> i'd say weird, goofy. >> eccentric. "whoa." >> eccentric maybe for good reason. the neighbors explain that ray eugene fulk, born in 1941, was an only child and an outcast

at school, bullied by classmates and often by his own mother. >> his mother was real mean. i think he got along with his father more, but ray would tell me these different things that his mother would do to him. >> for example? >> well, she'd leave him out of the house. he couldn't come in the house for a while. he'd have to stay outside. he said he'd go sleep with the puppies. >> mm-hmm. never really had a friend. >> the only persons he trusted was, you know, his dogs and me and bob pharis. >> bob had known ray since they were teenagers. >> he probably had some type of a learning disability. and in today's education, they would have caught that, but they just didn't have that type of thing back there in the '50s. so, i think ray fell through the cracks. >> when ray graduates from high school in 1958, he joins the army. he loves it, bob says, but his

mother lobbies to get him an early release to help on the farm. >> it's too bad 'cause i think ray would have been better off if he would have remained in the army and away from mom and probably his life would have turned out a whole lot differently. >> in the diaries he kept for decades, ray compares himself to a wolf, "the most maligned, least understood animal," he writes, "that shares my same distrust of humanity. >> you know, he was very intelligent, and he and i would even joke about it. i said, "you know, ray, there's a fine line between genius and idiot." he'd say, "yeah," and he said, "i cross that two or three times a day." >> in 1981, ray's mother dies. for the next 15 years, ray shares the farmhouse with his dad. in the late 1990s, his father is in poor health and doesn't have much time left. ray confides in his friend bob that he suspects some of his

cousins are after the farm and his dad's investments. ray fears they're trying to have him declared mentally incompetent to take control of his father's estate. >> he was telling me about it, and i said, "ray, you need an attorney." >> ray's been using his father's attorney, but he now suspects that lawyer is in cahoots with his cousins and scheming against him. >> and that's when i mentioned don behle. >> and he told me about his dad and the problems he was having with cousins wanting to take over the control and care of his father. >> did ray say why he wanted his family to not benefit from the estate? what did they do to him? >> i think the fact that any relative went to an attorney to take away his father was the act that he thought was treacherous. >> don assures ray he'll help. then in 1997, ray's father dies. so ray makes one more trip to lincoln to amend his will and

name don behle as his executor. >> he no longer wanted the executor that he had previously named because those were the attorneys that had irritated him by talking to his other family members. >> were you surprised? >> it seemed to me that, even though ray was odd, he knew his relatives, didn't like them. >> but don knows full well that's not always the end of it, especially in situations like this, where a hermit, described as weird, eccentric, and goofy, bequeaths a family fortune to a couple of complete strangers. but you have to give relatives a chance to come forward, right? >> well, yeah. i mean, the relatives have the opportunity to contest a will. they have six months to do that. >> how'd that go? that's next -- and more. do you ever feel guilty taking an inheritance from a stranger? >> here's another quiz question for you. which of these pampered pets was willed the largest inheritance? fashion designer

alexander mcqueen's bull terriers, king of pop michael jackson's chimp, or real-estate mogul leona helmsley's maltese? the answer in a moment. [ applause ] thank you. it's an honor to tell you that liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. i love you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i want some more what's he doin?

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>> so, which pampered pet received the largest inheritance? it's "c." leona helmsley left her beloved maltese -- trouble -- a $12-million trust in 2007. [ dog barks ] >> two former actors get the surprise of a lifetime in 2012 when ray fulk, a man they've never met, leaves them a large inheritance. >> but it's no done deal yet. ray's relatives have six months to challenge the will, and ray long suspected that some of them

pegged him as mentally incompetent. you don't think of it as taking it away from other relatives of his? >> absolutely not because ray's story is a heartbreaking story caused by pain and loneliness. so, for ray to have looked on myself and peter with this incredible gift, this is doing exactly what ray wanted. ♪ >> exhibit "a," kevin brophy says -- ray's scrapbook, dedicated to his starring role in "lucan." >> "these are the chronicles that follow the young wolf man in the world of man in his quest to find his roots." and it's all hand-put-together. and the picture that i sent him -- there's the photograph. >> and he wrote, "this scrapbook would not be complete without a corresponding section devoted to kevin brophy." >> he really, truly was a fan. >> maybe, but kevin admits this is the stuff restraining orders are made of. >> you know, it could have come back as a stalking, horrible nightmare, but ray was just very, very introverted and loved

television. and thank goodness for "lucan." >> but an inheritance? >> that's a strange inheritance and a stranger story still. >> okay, with the scrapbooks, the wolf pictures, the dog cemetery, you get ray fulk's affinity for "lucan." but what's up with the soap-opera doc? peter barton finds the answer in ray's letters. >> i started reading these letters, and i'm like, "wow. this guy is talking about astral projecting. he's talking about things that my character did." >> not barton's "young and the restless" character, but in his role in "the powers of matthew star," a 1982 series about an alien with supernatural abilities. >> it's like he was searching and he saw matthew star and he went, "oh, my god," you know? >> a little crazy? >> i think he was a really smart guy who kind of built a cage around himself and then couldn't get out. that's what i wanted when i was doing "matthew star." i wanted to affect people like ray. >> did you ask don, the lawyer,

if ray had any other family that he might have given it to? >> for myself, it never really crossed my mind. >> you can leave anything to anyone, but you have to give relatives a chance to come forward, right? >> well, yeah. i mean, the relatives have the opportunity to contest a will. they have six months to do that. >> how'd that go? >> nobody contested it. >> so kevin brophy and peter barton are now the proud owners of 167 acres of corn and soybean fields. but is that the end of this strange inheritance story? not by a country mile. >> two hollywood characters come to town that ray never mentioned, and they're here to leave with cash. >> we were just a little leery about who they were that was getting the money. >> and exactly how much money? that's coming up, plus this. did ray save your life? >> ray indeed saved my life. ♪

>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> a fan leaves two former actors -- kevin brophy of l.a. and peter barton of new york -- a surprise inheritance that includes 167 acres of farmland in central illinois. what do you say to yourself? "what the heck am i gonna do with this? can i sell it?" could you sell it? >> peter had kind of thought of being a farmer there in illinois. but, no, i can't do winters, and i can't do farming. >> so the heirs ask ray's attorney, don behle, to sell it and see what they get. plenty of locals want ray's fertile land. the highest bid -- $800,000. add in another $500,000 in cash and stocks, and the entire estate is worth $1.3 million. in lincoln after the sale, peter and kevin headline a fundraiser in ray's name for a local humane society. >> ray had a very strange

upbringing and an odd life, but he loved his dogs. he loved his dogs probably more than himself. >> two hollywood characters come to town that ray never mentioned, and they're here to leave with cash. >> we were just a little leery about who they were that was getting the money, but after meeting them, they were two down-to-earth, good people that nitsie and i -- we just loved them to pieces. >> how did the money change your life? >> that's been a godsend because when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door. one year later, i was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. this was a devastating diagnostic for me in this world of healthcare where a doctor visit could be $200. it has certainly helped alleviate any concern i have for myself and my other extended family. >> did ray save your life? >> ray indeed saved my life. ♪ >> today kevin is still working as a doorman.

his new door has another swanky address. >> i am on rodeo drive. i have an incredible suit i get to wear. >> thank you. >> i have met so many people, i'm thinking of running for the mayor of beverly hills. >> so, the acting didn't make you rich. did the inheritance make you rich? >> the inheritance gave me confidence that i'm safe. maybe i want to say to ray, "thank you, ray. you made me safe." >> peter is currently working on a screenplay about this entire strange inheritance story. and who knows? it may get these two retired actors back into pictures, two lives touched forever by a man they'd never met. i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." thanks so much for watching. and remember -- you can't take it with you. do you have a "strange inheritance" story you'd like to share with us?

we'd love to hear it. send me an e-mail or go to our website -- strangeinheritance.com >> a "strange inheritance" mystery... >> i thought, "what? what is going on?" >> ...a norman rockwell shocker. >> is it a fake? >> well, this was the question that was in everyone's mind. >> oh, if these walls could talk. >> i want you to put your hands like this, and we're going to pull it toward me. >> aah! >> there you go. >> oh, my goodness. >> keep going. ♪ [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby in arlington, vermont, once home to norman rockwell. it was also home to a man who left his children a multimillion-dollar conundrum

involving the iconic american painter and illustrator. >> my name is don trachte jr. my siblings and i were supposed to inherit from our father one of norman rockwell's best-known paintings. what we got was a mystery. what the heck had dad done with it? >> hi, don. i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. >> so nice to meet you. so great to be in vermont. what is this place? >> this was my dad's studio. >> back in the 1950s, don's dad, donald trachte sr., is a syndicated cartoonist working on the popular strip "henry," which features a bald-headed boy, simply illustrated with clean lines and minimal backgrounds. can you support a wife and four kids drawing "henry"? >> it was a good living. my dad had to come up with all the gags... >> really? >> ...and he would have a sheet of paper next to his drawing board, and usually, he'd come up

with about three or four gags at a time. >> were they gags about you kids? >> well, sometimes they were. >> so life for the trachtes is pretty good here in arlington, a picturesque artist's colony with a world-famous resident -- norman rockwell. how did your dad meet norman rockwell? >> when we arrived in arlington, we met a realtor, and if you showed artistic ability, he probably dragged you down to norman rockwell's house. >> did rockwell come to your father's studio to visit? >> he did make a couple visits but very short. you know, norman worked seven days a week, and he just was on high gear. >> don sr. even poses for rockwell, playing the principal in one of his famous saturday evening post covers. and don jr. gets his shot as a rockwell model when his dad volunteers him to pose for this photo from which rockwell paints a child life magazine cover. is that you?

>> that's me. >> you're holding hands with the girl... >> yes. >> ...which you did not like yet. >> well, i may have liked her. i was just embarrassed. >> don sr. and rockwell develop a pretty close professional acquaintance. they share tricks of the trade and the same sense of humor. here's the cartoonist with the great painter wearing matching bow ties and french berets. how close did he get to rockwell? did he look over his shoulder while he was painting? >> my dad had a great sense of observation, and when he watched rockwell, he would look at his paints, his paintbrush, what kind of varnish. my dad just worshipped norman rockwell. >> they keep in touch after rockwell leaves vermont for stockbridge, massachusetts, in 1953, where he continues to paint some of the most iconic images of small-town america.

>> all the materials that you see here were actual rockwell tools. he was very neat. you can see how clean his brushes were. >> oh, my. stephanie plunkett is chief curator of the rockwell museum in stockbridge, which includes the painter's barn studio. i see the chair. it would mean a lot to sit in norman rockwell's. please? >> jamie, we would be honored to have you sit in rockwell's chair. >> oh, my gosh. this is amazing. norman rockwell painted in this chair. oh, my gosh. it's from this chair in 1954 that rockwell paints "breaking home ties," which will become one of the most popular saturday evening post covers of all time. what is the story in this? what did he want people to know? >> his idea was, this is a young man from a very rural community in america, and he is leaving home for the first time to go to college.

his father is a rancher, and he is slumped. he's holding two hats... >> oh. >> ...which is such a beautiful memento. he's holding his own and his son's. and the collie dog is feeling... >> sad. and dad is, what, reflecting on the end of an era maybe? his son won't be a rancher with him? >> very much so. >> classic rockwell -- a single scene tells a poignant story of the joys and laments, worries and hopes, sweet and bittersweet rhythms in the life of every american family, like the trachtes. as the years go by, "henry" gives elizabeth and don sr. the wherewithal to acquire their own impressive little art collection. it's in 1962 when they see "breaking home ties" for sale at a vermont art gallery. they buy it for $900. was there anything particular about the subject

of this painting that you think your father became particularly attracted to? >> well, two things. one is the character -- the old man sitting on the running board was our neighbor floyd, and my dad thought the world of floyd, as all of us did. i think also that the painting told a story. it's a separation of your children from home, so i think it's that emotional connection that probably grabbed my dad. >> do you think it could be you leaving? >> it could be. perhaps at that time, my father was experiencing the separation of all of his kids, and maybe that was it. >> did your dad know it was a good investment? >> you know, i don't think he bought it as an investment at all. he just thought it was such a wonderful piece of art. why would you even sell anything like that? >> of course, it is a good investment. just 2 years after he purchased it, don sr. receives an offer in 1964 for 35,000 bucks.

that's a lot of money then. >> it was an extraordinary amount of money. a lot of us would've just sold right then and there, wouldn't we? >> yes. >> but not my dad, not interested. i actually have a letter right here. take a look at that. >> from norman rockwell, stockbridge, mass. "dear don, you must be crazy not to sell it, but i adore your loyalty. as ever, norman." ha! >> that's it. >> he's saying you should've sold. >> that's right. >> "breaking home ties" remains on display in the trachtes' vermont home, but as more time passes, life for the trachtes resembles less and less a norman rockwell painting. when they divorced, i mean, how do you cut a rockwell in half? >> that's a terrible thought, isn't it? >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question. why did norman rockwell keep a mirror in his studio -- to reflect sunlight onto his paintings,

to watch himself while he worked or to look at his painting in reverse? the answer after the break.

♪ >> so why did norman rockwell keep a mirror in his studio? it was to look at his paintings in reverse. he believed that if the picture was also engaging when looked at backwards, it was sure to be a winner.

>> after purchasing the norman rockwell painting called "breaking home ties" for $900 in 1962, don and elizabeth trachte display it in their vermont home. don sr. continues drawing the comic "henry" but spends more and more time painting, too. >> he did a lot of painting later in his life. he did western art. he did what i call cape cod art. >> he's pretty good. >> he was pretty good. >> but he's increasingly withdrawn and estranged from elizabeth. at some point, do you get an inkling that your parents might divorce? >> i think it was just time for them to part ways. >> and they do in 1973 after 32 years of marriage. so what to do with the art they collected together? they have seven relatively

valuable paintings from lesser-known artists in addition to that famous rockwell. when they divorced, was there an issue about... i mean, how do you cut a rockwell in half? >> well, that's a terrible thought, isn't it? >> the couple agree to give the eight paintings to their children -- their inheritance to be received upon their parents' deaths. until then, elizabeth keeps five and don three, including the rockwell. by the way, it jumps in value when rockwell dies in 1978 at age 84. don sr. builds this home and art studio in the woods. he draws the sunday edition of "henry" until it's canceled in 1994. by 2001, now in his 80s, health problems force don sr. to lay down his pencils and brushes altogether, and he begins splitting his time living with his children.

>> we just wanted him kind of with us and safe. >> with their father's house empty and cold, don jr. and his siblings worry about their strange inheritance -- the famous painting on the wall that's now possibly worth millions. looking for a safer place, they call the norman rockwell museum and chief curator stephanie plunkett. >> they say, "would you like to exhibit it?" and we, of course, were thrilled because this is actually an icon in rockwell's career. >> did you tell dad? >> yes, and he never said anything. he just nodded. >> ever take dad to see it? >> oh, no. withing a year or two, he went into assisted living. i just thought it was a lot for him to absorb, so i never took him down to the museum. i said, "why put him through that?" >> don trachte sr. passes away in 2005 at age 89, but just as his four children formally inherit

"breaking home ties," they start hearing whispers that the famous painting just might be a fake. >> one art expert walked in and said, "it's a third-rate replica," and i thought, "what?" i was concerned, like, what is going on? >> here's another quiz question. to model the girl's black eye in this painting, did rockwell put a wanted ad in the paper for a kid with a shiner, visit a boxing gym or paint his own black eye? the answer when we return. time and time again, you know when i'm doing street magic..i'll walk up to someone and i can just see they're against me right? they don't want to be amazed. they don't want this experience to happen. ♪i needed to try

but then the magic happens. and all of that falls away. (amazement & laughter) it's the experience of waking up and seeing things the way you saw them before they became ordinary. ♪i need never get old i'm looking for that experience of wonder. at comcast, we didn't build the nation's largest gig-speed network just to make businesses run faster. we built it to help them go beyond. because beyond risk... welcome to the neighborhood, guys. there is reward.

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♪ >> so how did rockwell model the girl's black eye in this painting? it's a. he placed a wanted ad

offering 5 bucks for a kid with a black eye. he found this little guy, tommy forestburg, of worcester, mass, who'd taken a tumble down the stairs. >> don trachte jr. and his siblings face a multimillion-dollar mystery. they've loaned this painting, norman rockwell's "breaking home ties," to the rockwell museum in stockbridge, massachusetts, but now they're hearing questions about the authenticity of their strange inheritance. >> there were some doubts. in fact, one art expert walked in and said, "this is a fake." >> even don jr. sees subtle differences between his painting and the 1954 saturday evening post cover. >> look in the area of the boy's face, and look at those two side by side. >> well, his face is much fuller. >> yeah. there's some differences, aren't there? and that's primarily... >> eyes are different.

>> the eyes are different. >> mm-hmm. >> and the mouth is different. >> mm-hmm. but there must be an innocent explanation. the museum believes the painting was probably subjected to a subpar touch-up job. that's why, when don and his siblings decide it might be time to sell "breaking home ties," their comfortable reaching out to sotheby's in new york. sotheby's appraiser peter rathbone visits the rockwell museum to see it. like some other experts, he's perplexed. >> it just wasn't as well painted as one had sort of become accustomed to seeing in rockwell's work. but here you are in the norman rockwell museum, where the painting has been on public display for, you know, several years. >> rathbone believes the painting could bring between $3 and $5 million at auction. >> in 2002, we sold the iconic "rosie the riveter" that brought

just under $5 million, so we were obviously looking at a very bullish market for rockwell's work. >> but before they test the market, the family decides to test the painting. they send it to the williamstown art conservation center in 2006 for a detailed analysis. the family faces three possible outcomes. it's the original rockwell that's been touched up, or a second version of the painting by rockwell himself, or it could be a forgery. having them take a look could take the millions that you and your siblings are entitled to and throwing it out the window if it doesn't go your way. >> it could, but we were so adamant that we had to understand what is wrong with this painting? now, my best hope was that we'd actually find that this was the original painting, but someone had repainted or painted over parts of the painting. >> no dice. it turns out the painting

is a completely original and pretty well-executed fake! >> that's when, you know, the air was going out of the balloon. >> disheartened, confused and a lot poorer than they were days before, don jr. and his brother david go to their late father's studio in hopes of finding anything that could solve the mystery. what happened? >> when dave walked over here, he noticed this little crack. push against that. oh. uh-oh. >> wait a minute. it moves. >> it moves. we said, "what the heck is going on here?" >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. i joined the army after 911,

cuz, um, i thought that was what i needed to do. we got our orders to go overseas

and i went to baghdad, iraq. we were transporting a bomb sniffing dog to the polling stations. we rolled over two anti-tank mines, it blew my humvee up, killed my sergeant. after the explosion, i suffered a closed head injury, um, traumatic brain injury, loss of a limb, burns to 60% of my body. when the doctors told me i reached my plateau, i did not want to hear that because i do not believe i have a plateau. so, i had to prove 'em wrong, which i am doing to this day and i will still do until the end of my days. i've gotten to where i am at because of my family. and, the wounded warrior project has helped me more than i can ever imagine. they have really been there to support me in my endeavors. my number one goal, basically, is to get close to where i was.

i am more than ready to work hard to get to that goal. i am living proof to never give up and i will never give up. ♪ >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> don trachte jr. is in the middle of a "strange inheritance" enigma. this norman rockwell painting,

"breaking home ties," has been in his family for more than 40 years, but now it's revealed that they're holding on to a fake. what gives? don and his brother david search their late father's vermont art studio. >> my brother walked over to this space right here. he noticed this little crack, and he pushed against the wall. push against that, and you see? oh. uh-oh. >> wait a minute. it moves. >> it moves, and we said, "what the heck is going on here?" >> don and his brother snap these pictures as they begin to dismantle pieces of their father's bookcase. >> now, i want you to come over here. i want you to put your hands like this, and we're going to pull it toward me. >> ah! >> there you go. >> oh, my goodness. >> keep going. >> behind this secret sliding wall, don and his brother discover what they didn't even know the original rockwell painting,

"breaking home ties." did you scream, cry, hug each other? >> we didn't say a word. >> but they must say something to the curator at the rockwell museum. >> i received a call from don jr., and he said, "i have good news, and i have bad news. the good news is i know where the original is, and the bad news is that it's not at the museum." >> did word get out that the museum had a forgery? >> yes. as a matter of fact, it was a challenging moment for sure. >> the "strange inheritance" story makes headlines, which is actually good news to peter rathbone at sotheby's. >> we adjusted our estimate slightly from $3 to $5 million up to $4 to $6 million. this is the rockwell property of the trachte family collection. >> "breaking home ties" goes up for auction in new york city in november 2006. you remember the first bid?

>> i do. it was, "let's start the auction process at $4 million." >> i have $4 million, $4,100,000. >> so the bidding then continues. now we're at $6 million, $7,800,000, $8 million, $9 million. >> oh, my gosh. >> and then it started to go faster. >> ten million. i have 11 million. twelve million dollars. >> and then, all of a sudden, it stopped. >> all done? sold for $13,750,000. >> add to that the buyer's premium and the grand total hits $15.4 million -- at the time, a new world record for a rockwell painting. it's a happy ending for the trachte kids, even if the mystery is never to be completely solved. don can only deduce that sometime before his parent's divorce, his father was the one who copied the rockwell. accepted by a museum that just has norman rockwells. >> that's right.

>> did you know he was that good? >> no, i didn't. >> don is unsure of the answer to the bigger question. why did dad do this? >> i think he just wanted to protect this, and people would come up to me and they came up with all the "what ifs." what if the house burned down? what if it got bulldozed? what if we sold it? but i didn't have ready answers. >> all don is certain of is that his father wasn't trying to defraud anyone, much less his mother. he didn't have a war with my mom like a lot of people suspect. >> you had to let mom know. how did she react? >> she put her hands on her face like this and listened, and she said, "this doesn't surprise me." >> really? >> yeah. she was 89 at the time. >> she took it well. >> she took it well. >> by the way, remember those other pricey paintings? don sr. kept those originals hidden behind his secret wall, too. so he painted duplicates.

>> he painted eight duplicates. >> i decide to bounce off don my own theory about his cartoonist father. did your dad want to be norman rockwell? >> i don't think he wanted to be norman rockwell. i think he just wanted to absorb and be as, perhaps, as great as norman rockwell in his own right. >> and in a way, don is now helping make that happen. you're surely asking, "where is the fake rockwell now?" well, it's on its own museum tour. that's right. don jr. is showcasing his father's amazing rockwell duplicate along with the seven other paintings he copied, all nearly indistinguishable from the originals. the exhibit places the real and the duplicate painting side by side. imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. i'm jamie colby.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance," and remember -- you can't take it with you. lauren: it is 5:00 a.m. here are your top stories at this hour. at least five people are confirmed dead as hurricane dorian now a category 3 storm, packing winds of more than 150 miles an hour, the rains devastating the bahamas. the storm is sitting just off the florida coast. we're tracking hurricane dorian's every move as it's set to become one of the most damaging storms in recorded history. ashley: no end in sight for the u.s.-china trade wars, both sides can't come up with a plan to restart negotiations. beijing stepping up its attack, suing the u.s. over new tariffs on its goods that went into effect on sunday. lauren: why are you running? how0