Im jamie colby, and today, im driving in the San Francisco bay area in benicia. Im here to meet two brothers who wrote to me, saying theyve inherited a pretty hefty haul. My mission to assess the gravity of their situation. My name is ron wagner. My father was bill wagner, one of the most prolific artists of his day. My brother and i realize that his art should never be judged by the pound, but the situation does weigh on us. I meet ron at his Fathers House here in benicia. Hi, ron. Im jamie. Hi, jamie. Its nice to meet you. Its clear from the front porch that his dad was a creative and colorful guy. My dad painted every one of these tiles individually by hand. And theres lots more inside. Yes, im coming inside. Yes. Suddenly, im surrounded by this strange inheritance. Ron, the door was just a tease. Every room is covered in painted tiles. Look at this incredible and thats just the beginning. His fathers art studio is jam packed with thousands more. This is all your dads . This is just a little bit, actually. He was very prolific. These are very beautiful. It looks like each one does tell a story. They do. Stories about the life of bill wagner, who was born in 1923 in San Francisco. His own murals tell his tale. You think he was born an artist . I think his artistry came from being whisked off to Central America by a cantankerous father who had gold fever. His father never finds that gold, but the colorful misadventures will have a big impact on young bills imagination. The family returns to california in 1934 to start again from scratch. As a teenager, bill dreams of attending art school, but world war ii intervenes. He enlists in the army. Dday, june 6, 1944. Hes in a boat. The conditions are horrible. The next thing he has to do is get off that boat and jump on a beach. Not just any beach, normandy. Normandy. He walked onto the beach and was immediately hit by a bomb. How close to death was he . Very close. He was given the last rites three times. He remembered hearing the medics tell him that he wasnt going to make it. Hes shipped back to a Veterans Hospital in california. His recovery, slow and painful. He lost a kidney. He was almost paralyzed in one leg. He was flat on his back, dealing with pain, dealing with the medication. To cope with the trauma, bill turns to his passion. When he was in the hospital, he started sketching and drawing fulltime. He also finds love of another kind. Thats where he met my mom, who used to come and tell him stories and read to him. The two are married in 1945, and start a family. Bill finally gets around to taking those art classes and soon deploys his talents in the new medium of television. He was in charge of all of the costumes, all of the lighting, all of the set construction, going to work every day in a suit and tie, doing art, but still playing the company role. In the late 1970s, when bill is in his mid50s, he quits his job, gets divorced and decides to become a fulltime artist. He also changes his name to something more exotic. His longtime friend toni andrews tells me more. All he said was, whos gonna buy something from bill wagner . Guillermo is bill in spanish. Granizo is his mothers maiden name. And he says, id buy something from from Guillermo Granizo, but bill wagner, i dont know. How did his look change . He went from very cleancut to start wearing brightercolored shirts, and then his hair grew long. We used to call him the hippie. Here i was with a suit and tie on, going to work, and he was going with a paintbrush to the canvas. Make that paintbrush to terra cotta. Inspired by mexican artists such as diego rivera, granizo devotes himself to painting ceramic tiles, an ancient art form. He comes up with his own techniques and secret recipes for his glazes. In some ways, this is liquid glass. And you can see that these glazes are very similar in color, so you really dont know what theyre gonna turn out to be until you fire them. Youre saying that, once in the kiln, can turn out and be as bright and beautiful as these . Absolutely. They go from grays to bright colors. How did granizo know what color he was painting with . Its not with his eyes, but his fingertips. Got to the point where he could tell the color by just putting his hand in the glazes just by the thickness. So hed say, oh, these are greens. These are reds. And now were gonna start laying in color by just squeezing this syringe. Do you want to try it . I do want to try it, but, you know, when i used to color, i could never stay in the lines. This definitely takes time and patience, but after seeing the tile run through the kiln at 2,500 degrees, its all worth it. Wow look how colorful it is the colors have now been heated up, and they bring the full color to it. Absolutely beautiful. And the process is his. It took him years and years to develop the steps. By the early 80s, the great granizo is about to truly arrive on the art scene, ready to make his mark. How important a name is he in ceramic art . In my way of thinking, there are no comparables. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. What performing artists real name is Reginald Kenneth Dwight . Elton john, jamie foxx, or vin diesel . The answer after the break. Dear predictable, theres no other way to say this. Its over. Ive found a permanent escape from monotony. Together, we are perfectly balanced. Our senses awake. Our hearts racing as one. I know this is sudden, but they say. If you love something set it free. See you around, giulia [radi alarm] julie is living with metastatic Breast Cancer, which is Breast Cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. Shes also taking prescription ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive her2 metastatic Breast Cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. Ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. And ibrance plus letrozole shrunk tumors in over half of these patients. Patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. Before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts. Infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Julie calls it her new normal. Because a lot has changed, but a lot hasnt. Ask your doctor about ibrance, the numberoneprescribed, fdaapproved oral Combination Treatment for hr her2 mbc. So Reginald Kenneth Dwight is which performers real name . Its a, elton john. For the record, jamie foxxs real name is eric bishop, and vin diesels is mark vincent. In the late 1970s, bill wagner quits his 9to5, changes his name to Guillermo Granizo, and becomes a fulltime artist. Did he live and breathe art . Yes, 100 percent. It was serious to him. He had to paint every single day. He would be in the studio from morning to night, and the whole basement was filled with his artwork. He was just prolific. Whats so special about this art . The man first, the colors second. Joe taylor is the founder of an organization for lovers of ceramic art, the tile heritage foundation. No doubt he was inspired by great artists like picasso, but everything that he created was totally original. Soon enough, the emerging artist is receiving highprofile commissions. By the early 80s, his murals are on display throughout california in napa, monterey, benicia and beyond. He always would make six paintings at once. Incredibly, granizo never uses a sketch while painting his tiles or a blueprint when putting together his murals, many comprised of hundreds upon hundreds of tiles. And that, to me, is really one of the miracles of his artwork, the fact that he could conceive of what that whole was going to look like in his head. Its enough to make my head spin. Were going to try to assemble a pile of tiles that we really dont know if it was a painting, a portrait. Want to help . I do want to help. Well, that looks like a shoulder. Oh, the sun is shining, or its an egg. Cant tell. Okay. Dont help. Okay. No, your head doesnt go on your elbow. Are you sure these go together . Its always a mystery. Could this be upside down . The man has no head. We need a head. Oh, my and it looks like were gonna be looking for more tiles. Now imagine youre in a cherry picker, assembling a mural about the size of a Basketball Court like this one in los angeles, 24 feet tall and 96 feet long. Granizo creates it for the 1984 olympics. At the time, its the largest tile mural in the world by a single artist. But Square Footage isnt the only thing that makes it so ambitious. What he did was incorporate every single sport in the world that he could on that mural. Granizo handpaints more than 2,200 tiles in just 10 weeks. And he did it by barely sleeping. He had such a passion for doing this mural. He did it day and night. Hes paid 96,000 for his time and materials. Did every penny that would come in go out in supplies . Yeah. But, you know, thats an artist. Its not for the money. Its for the love. Soon, granizos murals are on display around the world alaska, japan, spain, and everywhere in between. He would smile because he says, im in 40 countries now. In 1993, at the age of 70, granizo is diagnosed with lymphoma. All he said was, ive got some drawing to do, and i will beat this because i have no intention of dying. He remains defiant, even as his cancer spreads. Dad, just before he passed, supplied himself with 12 years worth of supplies. There are hundreds of gallonbuckets of glaze. He just never saw his death coming. It comes as granizo finishes his final commission, a group of murals for the city of pleasanton, california. As we were installing that, he was sitting in a chair off to the side, literally dying. He only had a few weeks left to live. But when bill wagner passes away in november 1995 at age 72, he leaves behind much more than Guillermo Granizos legacy of public art. Theres also a massive body of private works. He has thousands of pieces. This is just a fraction of it. You werent kidding. Theres more. Oh, yeah. Along with a final request for his sons. Fulfilling it will be a heavy lift. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. What debuted as an olympic sport in the 1984 summer games in los angeles . Wind surfing, softball or Beach Volleyball . The answer when we return. 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And of course, tripadvisors freshest, lowest prices. So if youre anything like me. Youll want to check tripadvisor. We now instantly compare prices from over 200 booking sites. To find you the lowest price. On the hotel you want. Go on, try something fresh. Tripadvisor. The latest reviews. The lowest prices. So what debuted as an olympic sport in the 1984 summer games . Its a, wind surfing. Softball and Beach Volleyball arrived in 1996. Master tile artist Guillermo Granizo created thousands of pieces each year. His art is still on display around the globe. After his death in 1995, his sons, ron and bob, inherit their fathers vast store of private works. And theres a lot of it this is just a fraction of it. Theres some more in here, too. You werent kidding. Theres more. Check out these portraits. There are hundreds of them a man caught in the rain, a lonely smoker, and creatures of the night. You never know what youre gonna find. Then theres that set of autobiographical murals. It starts with his childhood when he was traveling through mexico and guatemala. This one depicts a dream granizo had as a child. Thats him riding a bike across the ocean with Robinson Crusoe showing him the way. And heres one of him on utah beach on dday. Barely made it alive and probably was why he did all this painting all of his life. There are 120 of them in all. Theres even one that features ron and bob as kids. And then, finally, this is the culmination of his decision to be a creative person. It would have been a shame if he didnt pursue this, wouldnt it . Absolutely. The brothers find stack after stack, box after box, of tiles. Some pieces are standalone, others, parts of unassembled murals. Can you describe the enormity, sizewise, of this inheritance . The weight of it all is about 15,000 pounds. Or nearly 8 tons of artwork. [ elephant trumpets ] do you ever wish there was a little less to inherit . The metaphor was, talk about inheriting some heavy stuff. Heavy stuff that comes with a hefty price tag. I had it appraised 21 years ago, and it was worth about 300,000 at the time. Chaching, assuming the brothers are willing to sell off their dads work in pieces, but thats an issue. Did he tell you what he wanted you to do with all the ceramic tile art . One of the things that was always a concern was he never wanted the collections to be broken up. Not knowing what to do, ron and bob do nothing. Painted tiles collect dust for the next 21 years. But every single day of those 21 years, i thought, what am i gonna do with it . One of the reasons why i delayed was because i just didnt want to be on the premises. It was sad. After ron retires in 2016, the brothers decide its finally time to deal with the artwork. Dad would never want these things to be in storage. The big deal is making sure his work endures, is shown, is appreciated. And they realize the only way to do that split up the tiles and get them into the hands of art lovers. But first, the brothers have to get it all out of dads house. And with the murals weighing as much as 75 pounds each, thats a heavy burden. Excuse me. I got this. Come on. You cant lift these. Is it bolted to the floor . Lets call in the reinforcements. You go have a cup of coffee. Ill take care of the rest. No problem. Ill just let the guys do the lifting. Twentyone years worth of dirt and dust here. Okay. Theres three. Only 65 more to go [ chuckles ] yeah. I have to tell you, these are solid. Theyre not going anywhere. With the tiles loaded up and headed to rons home, the brothers are ready to sell off their strange inheritance to the highest bidders. If only it were that simple. There is a big risk when you put artwork out on the market, and you dont know what youre doing. Thats next. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Copd makes it hard to breathe. So to breathe better, i go with anoro. Go your own way copd tries to say, go this way. I say, ill go my own way with anoro. Go your own way oncedaily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that Work Together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. Anoro is not for asthma. It contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. The risk is unknown in copd. Anoro wont replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma, prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. These may worsen with anoro. Call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. Ask your doctor about anoro. Go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro. Com. Now back to strange inheritance. Guillermo granizo, a tile artist formerly known as bill wagner, was wildly popular around the world. Twentyone years after granizos death, his sons, ron and bob, are trying to sell the thousands of painted tiles they inherited from their dad. What makes you think theres a market for his unique style of ceramic tile art . Were trying to find out what the market is. Neither one of us have sold art before. There is a big risk when you put artwork out on the market, and you dont know what youre doing. Makayla van swoll is a fine art adviser whos helping ron and bob with their strange inheritance. You can burn an artwork, and you can definitely put your values at risk. Granizos private artwork was appraised for 300,000 20 years ago. But makayla tells the brothers that means little today. An appraisal is never fixed. Its just like the stock market. Something could happen tomorrow, and poof, all of a sudden, itll be highly valuable or not at all. It really depends on how the heirs decide to develop his estate. She urges ron and bob to get their dads name and artwork back into the public conversation. It will help them to reestablish a presence in the San Francisco bay area, develop a market for the artists work that hopefully will grow. The heirs begin to display his murals across the bay area, including at the benicia historical museum. They said they were going do an entire art gallery based around dads work. They also make a deal for a book featuring granizos private works. So the book seems to be the only way that it will be held as a collection forever. And they donate a favorite selfportrait of their dad to the city of pleasanton to be put on permanent display in the same park as their fathers final commission. The mural is unveiled at a ceremony attended by city officials and friends of granizo. [ applause ] this, to me, has been his memorial. So were very proud to donate this. When he could not make his dedication 21 years ago, he sent ron and i to tell you, in his place, thank you. He would love it if we could get more of it out there for people to enjoy. And remember that dozen years worth of supplies he ordered right befo