Make it 4,500. Last call. Yep 4,500. Now 4,750. Its what makes an auction so exciting. Yep and it is sold [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, and today im outside seattle, washington, headed to meet a man whose starstruck family left him a massive inheritance. Next came a scramble to turn celebrity ink into cold, hard cash. My name is david kuflik. My father and aunt were both rabid autograph hounds. Their hobby took over their lives, now its taking over mine. David asks me to meet him here at his home office. This is where he says hes been curating his family autograph collection. What do you have . I have lots of autographs over here. Some samples ive got alfred hitchcock, robin williams, johnny depp the list just goes on and on. The collection is a whos who of stars from yesteryear through today. Liz taylor. To cameron diaz. Cary grant. To george clooney. Grace kelly. To Sandra Bullock all acquired by davids father, harvey, and his aunt rhoda. Is this all of it . Oh, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The story of these signatureseeking siblings begins in brooklyn, new york, in 1938 when rhoda kuflik is born. Little brother harvey arrives three years later. As the children of hardworking immigrants, theyre often left to entertain themselves. Luckily, its the golden age of the silver screen. They spent a lot of their free time going to movie theaters. [ film reel clicking ] and shooting their own home movies. Hey, thats sophia loren. And tony curtis in the 1950s, you can spot as many stars here as in hollywood. So rhoda starts a new hobby autograph collecting. This right here is the autograph book that started everything. Perry como to start it off . 1953, april 6. We have a jackie robinson. Henry fonda. Lucy and desi. Amazing. Both of them. What a gem soon enough, rhodas dragging along her kid brother, harvey, on her autograph hunts. How do you think they found out where all these celebrities were . Theyd go to all different kinds of events, restaurants where celebrities maybe went to, the theater district. The wild celebrity goose chase sends the kids all over town. Did rhoda ask her parents permission . Both my grandfather and grandmother worked very long hours, and im not really sure that they even knew the extent of what was going on. They were latchkey kids . Yes, its fair to say they were latchkey kids. But soon celebrity ink isnt enough. They want signed photos of the stars. Rhoda buys an inexpensive camera to snap celeb shots herself. Not only did she take the pictures, but then she went out after the fact, found them a second time, and went and got them signed. Theres paul newman grabbing a smoke. And Jimmy Stewart hopping into a cab. And rhoda herself with Marilyn Monroe. Rhoda kept some pretty good company. She sure did. But by the early 60s, that lack of parental supervision has repercussions on young harvey. My father got involved in drugs at an early age. I think he was a heroin addict at 16, 17 years old. He ended up in sing sing prison at the age of 18 years old. After a year behind bars, harvey moves away, leaving his celebritypursuing sister to prowl new york alone. He gets married, has a son, david, and dedicates his life to helping other drug addicts. When he ends up working at a v. A. Clinic in los angeles, harvey relapses into his oldest habit autograph hunting. He worked in the westwood area, and he would see stars when he was going to lunch, getting coffee. Teresa priem is herself an autograph hound who worked the circuit with harvey. She tells me sometimes harvey spends all night outside a restaurant trying to spot an elusive star. Other times hes crashing up to five hollywood functions in the same night. If it was a good event, harvey would probably get 30, 40, 50 autographs in one night. There he is with robert duvall. Goldie hawn. Charlton heston. And so many more. In the late 1970s, harvey begins dragging his 9yearold son, david, along on autograph hunts. The star will always go to the child before hell sign for other people. Did you love it or hate it . I loved autograph collecting when i was a child. By the time maybe i became a teenager, though, its not what i really wanted to be doing. I think i retired at the age of 13. But harveys not ready to hang up his sharpie. Over the next two decades, he gathers thousands more signed celebrity photos. He was a pure collector. He did it for the love. Hardestworking guy in hollywood as far as im concerned. Hardest working right till the end, which comes in 2002 when harvey kuflik dies from Liver Disease at 61. His only child, david, inherits all he had all this. Were you prepared for that . I was not quite prepared for it. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. Who sent autograph seekers stock letters that read im afraid im much too important to write notes to people like you . The answer after the break. Today, were out here with some big news about type 2 diabetes. You have type 2 diabetes, right . Yes. So let me ask you this. How does diabetes affect your heart . It doesnt, does it . Actually, it does. Type 2 diabetes can make you twice as likely to die from a cardiovascular event, like a heart attack or stroke. And with Heart Disease, your risk is even higher. You didnt know that. No. Yeah. But, wait, theres good news for adults who have type 2 diabetes and Heart Disease. Jardiance is the only type 2 diabetes pill with a lifesaving cardiovascular benefit. Jardiance is proven to both significantly reduce the chance of dying from a cardiovascular event in adults who have type 2 diabetes and Heart Disease and lower your a1c. Jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration. This may cause you to feel dizzy, faint, or lightheaded, or weak upon standing. Ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, and trouble breathing. Stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of ketoacidosis or an allergic reaction. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include rash, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. Do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. Other side effects are sudden kidney problems, genital yeast infections, increased bad cholesterol, and urinary tract infections, which may be serious. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. So now that you know all that, what do you think . That its time to think about jardiance. Ask your doctor about jardiance. And get to the heart of what matters. [ intense music playing ] ] its here, but its going by fast. The opportunity of the year is back the mercedesbenz summer event. Get to your dealer today for incredible onceaseason offers, and start firing up those grilles. Lease the e300 for 569 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Mercedesbenz. The best or nothing. So, who wrote autograph seekers, im afraid im much too important to write notes to people like you . Its john cleese, the funnyman who became a star with monty python and has been a fixture in hollywood comedies ever since. David kuflik is a blood relative of two inveterate autograph hounds his father, harvey, and his aunt rhoda. But david doesnt inherit the gene, so hes not quite sure what to do with the enormous autograph collection his dad left behind in 2002. It contains a whos who of stars from the golden age through today. He had everybody. Absolutely everybody. David, a Microsoft Program manager, is just too busy to deal with hundreds of boxes of signed photos. I was working a fulltime job. We had two kids that were just born. It was too much. And thats why my fathers collection sat in storage. I really didnt have any plans to do anything with them. And he doesnt do anything with them for a decade. Then, in 2012, aunt rhoda passes away and leaves david her lifelong collection. Hes going to need a bigger storage locker. Two years later, davids employer deals him a setback and an opportunity. For right or wrong, i was part of a massive layoff, and id always planned that if id ever left this company, id take a year off just to dry out, become human again, decompress, and then i would go over this collection. Thats because david figures there have to be quite a few valuable items in his strange inheritance. So he starts cataloging whats in those hundreds of boxes. He treats the monumental chore as his new fulltime job. The discovery process was so much fun because each box, i didnt know what i was gonna find. Like his father, david becomes enthralled by the signed celebrity photos. I would be up all night long. Id sleep in the morning, id get back up. We got john lennon right there. It was a very obsessive thing for a while. The collection is more extensive than david ever imagined. He estimates he has around 80,000 autographs. Thats right 80,000 signatures of hollywood icons. And theres not just one of each celebrity the collection contains lots of multiples. Hes got 30 of this person, 20 of that person. These are cool cast photos. Heres one from the movie the Breakfast Club, featuring the brat pack of the 1980s. And another of the original star trek cast. Now, have i seen everything . Oh, not even close. While the autographs make great dinner conversation, there are still bills to pay, and by 2016, davids been out of work for two years. His wife, suzie, gets a little nervous. I dont like to think about how much money we paid in storage over the years. So in an ideal world, someone would come and buy the whole collection. What do you think your collection is worth . Thats a good question. Whats your price . It would definitely be, uh, seven figures without a doubt. But theres a catch. You really can have too much of a good thing. What happens when you try to sell five or six of each of these people . Theres not enough demand for the supply. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. Who often includes this simple selfportrait with his autograph . Former tonight show host jay leno . Former president ial candidate john kerry . Or mark zuckerberg, ceo of facebook . The answer after the break. Potsch you each drive a ford pickup, right . in unison russ, leland, gary yes. Gary i have a ford f150. Michael ive always been a ford guy. Potsch then i have a real treat for you today. Michael awesome. Potsch im going to show you a next generation pickup. Michael lets do this. Potsch this new truck now has a cornerstep built right into the bumper. Gary super cool. Potsch the bed is made of highstrength steel, which is less susceptible to punctures than aluminum. Jim aluminum is great for a lot of things, but maybe not the bed of a truck. Potsch and best of all, this new truck is actually gary all laughing oh my. Potsch the current chevy silverado. Gary im speechless. Gary this puts my ford truck to shame. James ill tell you, i might be a chevy guy now. laughing i am totally blind. And non24 can make me show up too early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442342424. So which celebrity often includes this simple selfportrait with his autograph . Its, a, jay leno, whos known as one of the friendliest signers in hollywood. David kuflik has spent the last two years cataloging and archiving his strange inheritance an autograph collection that includes 80,000 signatures of hollywood stars. You got barbra streisand, sigourney weaver, lucy, suzanne somers. Yeah. David, this is truly unbelievable. Now the pressure is on to capitalize on his celebrity autographs. So david calls rr auction in new hampshire. What was your reaction when you saw the magnitude of what he had . I was blown away. Ceo bob eaton cant wait to handle the account. Is there any collection like this out there . Sizewise, no. Some people have 30,000 or 40,000 autographs, but they dont have signed photographs. Bob calls in bill white, a handwriting expert with 30 Years Experience to make sure all the is are dotted and ts crossed. Today bill teaches me how to spot a forgery of Ronald Reagan. There are two ways to get somebodys autograph. You either meet them in person or you write to them in the mail. When you wrote to Ronald Reagan in the 40s, you would get a membership card with his signature on it, and very often a whole handwritten note on the back. Did Ronald Reagan write, dear ruth golly it was a swell gesture on your part sending in the dues . Sure sounds like he wrote it, doesnt it . Golly, yes. Ronald reagan . Ronald reagans mother. What . Reagans mother, nelle, was hired by the studio to answer her sons fan mail, and she tried to sound like him, and she tried to write like him, but all these people that wrote to reagan in the 40s who thought they were carrying on a correspondence, they were talking to his mom. Talk about trust, but verify. So how can you tell if the reagan signatures in davids collection are the real deal . These are perfect examples of reagans signature. The angle from the top of the l to the d, theres an angle like that every time. And the thing that i always look for in reagan is the e. His e tends to be straight up. It doesnt lean to the right, ever. Its either straight up or it leans 45 degrees back. I see it here and here. You always look at the e. Time to put the whole shooting match on the Auction Block . Well, not so fast. What happens when you try to sell five or six of each of these people . Theres not enough demand for the supply. Strategy is extremely important. So bob and david come up with a 5year plan to slowly sell off the collection. They select 160 photos to be offered at an initial auction a mix of golden age stars and modern ones. The idea is to use that kind of as a test balloon to really figure out what we think will get the highest value and what future auctions may show for us. Included in the batch steve mcqueen, julia roberts, and this Marilyn Monroe portrait taken by davids aunt rhoda. So, heres the classic of the classics. Gorgeous photograph, beautiful smile, and so that should sell for 2,000 to 3,000. Beautiful. But which hollywood legend can draw the Biggest Box Office . And 220 bid. Now 250. Find out next. Last call 250 . Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Liberty mutual stood with us when a fire destroyed the living room. We were able to replace everything in it. Liberty did what . Liberty mutual paid to replace all of our property that was damaged. And we didnt have to touch our savings. Yeah, our insurance wont do that. Well, there goes my boat. You can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Now back to strange inheritance. In september 2016, in cambridge, massachusetts, 160 signed celebrity photos from david kufliks massive collection hit the Auction Block. These are the very first autographs ive ever sold out of this collection. Im a bit nervous. This is really the start of a journey. Here we go. This is it. Lets see. Whenever you put fresh material like the kuflik collection into the marketplace for the first time, you never know whats gonna happen. Something that i might think would go for 5,000 might go for 500, but then something that we thought would go for 200 or 300 will go for 5,000. Its what makes an auction so exciting. Up first. Grace kelly. A vintage grace kelly candid signed in blue ink. Lets see what happens. And 220 bid. Now 250. And 220 bid. Now 250. 250. Its 220 bid. Davids baffled. 250 . 250. Last call. This is sold 220. Thats only 20 bucks more than the minimum. Liz taylor signed original candid photograph. 250 bid. Liz taylor doesnt fair much better. Sold 225. I was hoping it was gonna get higher. The candid photos that rhoda took over the years didnt quite get what i thought it deserved. A discouraging sign. David figured the stars of yesteryear would draw the biggest bucks. And 332. 50. Sold to the internet but to everyones surprise, the contemporary celebrities not only hold their own, but in many cases outperform the golden agers. Big sales include that Breakfast Club cast signature for 2,500. And the late rapper Tupac Shakurs autograph 3,300. I was not expecting that. A lot of the more modern stuff sold very well, and that was a great test balloon to tell me that we can do a lot more of that. But dont count out the classics just yet. Ronald reagan and his wife, nancy davis, bring in 1,500. This Audrey Hepburn goes for 2,400. The duke adds 3 grand more. While Marilyn Monroe gets ready for her closeup. Marilyn monroe signed original candid photograph. Remember, rhoda took that picture. We have an absentee bid of 3,500. Looking for 3,750. 3,750. 4,000. Now 4,250. Looking for 4,250. Make it 4,500. Last call at 4,500. And it is sold 4,250. [ Cash Register dings ] not bad, but not the best. Make it 5,500. That honor goes to magnificent seven star steve mcqueen, who ropes in a pretty magnificent 6,600. I expected it to do well. I didnt think it would do that well. And ive got more, by the way. [ applause ] the sale brings davids total up to nearly 75 grand. And remember. He still has around 80,000 autographs to sell. This collection is gonna see a whole lot of money. Its hard to add it all up, but when you start getting 5,000, 6,000, 3,000, 4,000, its an immense and exciting collection. You sure five years is gonna be enough . It could take longer, but the plan is five years. I have lots of things that are rare, high demand. Theyll kind of sell themselves. Two latchkey kids with a passion for hollywood turn a hobby into a lifelong pursuit. And now their heir has transformed their celebrity obsession into a serious business. I cant even express the gratitude i have to my aunt and my father for leaving me this collection for myself and my family. Team kuflik its unbelievable. It is a blessing in every way. David says one autograph eluded both his father and aunt for decades comedian benny hill, whose british tv show was a hit in the 80s. One night harvey spotted hill outside the famous l. A. Restaurant spago and scored this signature. Hill mentioned he was off to new york, so harvey quickly called his sister, rhoda, who was still living there. She found out bennys hotel and captured a second hill. The autograph hounds once again tracked down their man. Im jamie colby. Thanks for watching strange inheritance. And remember you cant take it with you. A regular old dad. All he said was, whos gonna buy something from bill wagner . Turned art scene heavyweight. He went from very cleancut to start wearing brightercolored shirts, and then his hair grew long. How important a name is he . There are no comparables. He leaves behind a puzzle. Oh, the sun is shining. Or its an egg. Are you sure these go together . Its always a mystery. This is all your dads . Its a very small portion of the art that he produced. How do you handle an 8ton inheritance . Every single day, ive thought, what am i going to do with it . [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]
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