inheritance.com." (?) >> a letter arrives in the mail with news of a strange and lucrative inheritance. >> if i got a letter like this, i would think it was a scam. someone is scamming us. >> so is it a scam? >> i said, you know, ray, there is a fine line between a genius and idiot. he said, yeah, i crossed that two or three times a day. who is this mysterious benefactor? >> he's a hidden man. >> he didn't have the family life. he didn't have a friend to talk to. he really truly was a man -- >> but an inheritance? >> that's the "strange inheritance." and the strangest story still.

jamie: today i'm old route 66 in central illinois. i'm heading into the small farming town of lincoln where the strangest of inheritance stories unfolded. on a monday morning, farmer bob heads out to mohay for some land he's leasing called ray. >> it's very uncommon for ray not to come out and talk to me. my aunt looked over. the bin was open. that was not a good sign. i went over there, and i found him. and then i called 911. and -- jamie: the county coroner acting on info from a neighbor,

contacted him to tell him his 70-year-old client died of heart failure. >> i hadn't seen him in 50 years. i had no idea what they were talking about. >> you barely remember. >> it's very strange. >> don checks his files and realizes he indeed worked for one named ray falk back in 1997. >> he wanted me to change his will. i was named as the executor. all i had was a copy. fifteen 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 it would remind you of a show where you had dracula involved. >> 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 falk's l. it directs $5,000 to a chicago animal shelter. the next part is a puzzle. (?) i bequeath all my tangible personal properties to my friend kevin of san fernando, california. and peter of long island, new york. >> who are these guys? how does don find them? >> that will take more digging. digging through the debris. >> in ray's room, he had pictures of wools torn out of magazines. i had no idea how it fit together at that point in time. he'll fit it together soon. among ray's many diaries written in neat cursive, he finds a scra scrapbook with a -- lucan was a tv

series named kevin as a boy raised by wolves. it was canceled when ray was 37 years old. >> it's pretty clear to me that that show meant something to ray. >> don discovers the other man in the will, peter barton, also an actor. why falk named him is a bigger riddle. from 1988 to '92, he played a role in the young and the restless. before that, he was in a short-lived tv series called the powers of matthew starr. >> two basically unknown actors that ray had a fondness for. did you have any idea how much they would inherit? >> iit consisted of the land. the cash i found around the house.

jamie: how much is it worth? >> don is not sure, but figures hundreds of thousands of dollars easily. maybe even a million or more. so the dutiful attorney writes to the retired actors telling them about the "strange inheritance." >> he's named you as his friend. beneficiary of the estate. >> i was stunned. i was shocked. >> kevin. if it's too good to be true, it probably is. jamie: 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 ma cob edgar allan poe♪

>> so which strange personality willed an annual séance be held for him? it's b. harry houdini. he wanted to reveal himself to his his wife once a year. jamie: let's reset. in august 2012, 2 former actors, kevin and peter each receive a letter informing them they are the coinheritors of ray

falk. ray 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 bailey. it says as every will does, ray falk of lincoln, illinois, being of sound of 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 to meet kevin in california. >> i received a letter that was really about to change my life. jamie: it's here in the land of sun, surf, and palm trees, kevin started his career more than 30 years ago. >> this was an episode of lucan. boy raised by wolves. the pilot went to 12 episodes over a 2-year

period. jamie: 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. had my go. then the phone stops ringing. jamie: when the phone stops ringing, kevin finds a new line of work. takes a job as a doorman at the posh hotel bellaire and keeps it for the next 27 years. >> the hotel then closed. they went for remodeling. i was applying for a job. then the letter. 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 falk. he was a hermit and a hoarder and a farmer here in illinois. don says, 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 falk's will.

fellow actor, peter barton. i did hell night. became friends with most of the cast members including peter. peter lives in upstate, new york. >> you find out that somebody died and you're the only two, quote, unquote, friends he names in his will. >> from the moment i open that up, and i saw kevin's name, and i was like, someone is scamming us. >> the two meniscus what to dmen discusswhat to do next. >> kevin, if it's too good to be true, it probably is. >> peter agrees to make the trip to find out for both of them. peter's home video begins to unravel the mystery. >> ray had a gravesite with all of his dogs. look at this.

queeny. (?) 101587. '80. '94. buddy. fred. thathad. a lot of dogs. >> 160 acres of prime soil tillable for soy. >> all this a gift from a man they've never met. who was this guy and why would he do this? these people live a stones throw away from ray falk. how would you describe in a word ray? >> weird. >> i'd say weird. goofy. eccentric. jamie: eccentric, may be for good reason. the neighbors explain that ray eugene falk 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? >> she would leave him out of the house. he couldn't come in the house for a while. he would have to stay outside. he would go sleep with a puppy. >> never really had a friend. >> the only persons he trusted was his dogs and me and bob farris. >> bob knew ray since they were teenagers. >> he probably had some type of a learning disability. and in today's education, they would have caught that. they just didn't have that type of thing back in the '50s. i think ray fell through the cracks. jamie: 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 because 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 that shares my same distrust for humanity. >> you know, he was very intelligent. and he and i would even joke about, i said, you know, ray there's a fine line between a genius and idiot. >> he said, yeah, i crossed that two or three times a day. >> in 1981, ray's mother dies. ray shares the farmhouse for the next 15 years with his dad. in the late 1990s, his father is in poor health and doesn't have much

time left. he suspects some of his cousins are after the farm and his dad's investments. ray fears they're trying to claim he's mentally incompetent to take control of his father's estate. >> i said, ray you need an attorney. >> ray has been using his father's attorney. but he suspects that attorney is in cahoots with his cousin's attorneys. >> that's when i mentioned don bailey. >> he told me about his dad and problems with his cousin taking control of his father. jamie: did he 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 felt was treacherous. jamie: don assures ray he'll help. in 1997, ray's father dies. so ray makes one more

trip to lincoln to amend his will and name don bailey as his executor. he no longer wanted the executor he had previously named because those were the attorneys that had irritated by talking to other family members. jamie: were you surprised? >> it seemed to me, even though ray was odd, he relatives didn't like him. jamie: 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 bequeaths a family fortune to strangers. >> you have to give relatives a chance to come forward. >> yeah, relatives have the chance to contest the will. they had six months to do that. >> how did that go? that's next and more. do you 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 terrier or the maltese of leona. the answer in a m eh, you don't want that one. yea, actually i do. it's mucinex fast-max night time and it's got a nasal decongestant. is that really a thing? it sounds made up. mucinex fast max night time for multi-symptom relief. breathe easy. sleep easy. let's end this.

>> so which pampered pet received the largest inheritance? it's c. she left her beloved maltese a 12 million-dollar trust in 2007. >> two former actors get the surprise of a lifetime in 2012 when ray falk, 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. 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 heartbroken story. for ray to look at us with an incredible gift, this is doing exactly what ray wanted. >> exhibit a, ray's scrapbook, dedicated to his starring role in luke can. >> the young wolf man in the quest to find his roots. that's all hand put together. (?) >> and he wrote this scrapbook would not be complete without a corresponding section devoted to kevin. >> he really truly was a man -- >> maybe, but kevin admits this is the stuff restraining orders are made of. >> it could have come

back as a stalking horrible nightmare, but ray was very intro the verdict and loved television. >> but an inheritance? >> that's a "strange inheritance." and a stranger story still. >> with the scrapbooks, the wolf pictures, the dog cemetery, you get ray's affinity for lucan. what's up with the soap opera rant. they find the answer in his letters. >> i think, wow. he's talking about things that my character did. >> not barton's young and the restless character, but in the powers of matthew star. a 1982 series about an alien with supernatural abilities. (?) >> it's like he was searching. he saw matthew starr and said, oh, my god. >> a little crazy? >> i think he was a smart guy who kind of built a cage around himself and couldn't get out. that's what i wanted when i was doing matthew

starr. i wanted to affect people like ray. >> did you ask don the lawyer, if ray had any family that he might have given it to? >> for myself, it never crossed my mind. you can leave anything to anyone, but you have to give relatives a chance to come forward. right? >> yeah, relatives have the chance to contest the will. six months to do that. jamie: how did that go? >> nobody contested it. >> so kevin and peter are the proud owners of 167 acres of corn and soy field. is that the end of this story? not by a country mile. >> two hollywood characters come to town that ray never mentioned. they're here to leave with cash. >> we were just a little leery about who they were that was given the money. >> and exactly how much money. that's coming up. plus, this. did ray save your life? >> ray indeed

>> >> of face and leaves to former actors from los angeles and it is space surprising years since that includes 167 acres of farmland in central illinois. >> what do you say to yourself? what the heck of my going to do with this? could you sell its? >> i cannot do winters and farming. >> so the attorney was asked to sell it to see what they get. plenty of locals wanted the land but the highest bid was $800,000 at another half a million of cash and stock and the entire estate is worth 1.$3 million. after the sale period and kevin headline of

fund-raiser in his name for a local humane society. >> he had a very strange upbringing but he loved his dogs probably more than himself. >> to hollywood characters come to town and they are here to leave with cash. >> we were just a little theory but after reading them they were down to earth and good people that we just love them to pieces. >> how did the money change your life? >> that is a godsend because when the life is on an easy street life is at your door but then i was diagnosed as colorectal cancer one later level of bond dash later in wherever doctor visit could be $200 it has alleviate any concerns i have for my health or extended family is the bank did he save your life? >> indeed.

he did save my life. >> today still working as a doorman but he has a new address. >> diamine rodeo drive. i have met so many people i am thinking of running for mayor of beverly hills. >> the acting did not make you rich kid the inheritance? >> gave me confidence that i am safe. i want to say thank you. you made me say if. >> peter is currently working on a screenplay about the entire stranger inheritance story end it may get the two retired actors back into the picture to lives touched for ever by a man they had never met. thanks for watching remember you cannot take it with you.

site. -- go to our web site. >> a texas family inherits a house full of history, millions. >> bob davis was a world class collector. >> and speaking of love affairs. >> what is this gun? >> a sawed off shotgun that was carried by the barrow gang. jamie: like bonnie and clyde barrow? >> they spawn a legend. >> those images of young outlaws shooting up the highways of america, somehow touches people. >> it may yield a fortune. >> the place is packed, people on the telephones are bidding, in is interest in the bonnie and clyde story. >> a mind blower to watch