In tampa, florida, to meet a man whose strange inheritance, a massive autograph collection, began with a chance encounter. One thing led to another and then, well, ill let him tell you. My name is juan carlos saucedocampos, and in 2012, my dear friend jack kuster left me his estate, including a collection that nobody has ever seen. Come in. Hi, juan carlos. Hi, jamie. How are you doing today . Thank you for inviting me to your home. Its my pleasure. Thank you for coming. It looks like youve been busy. Ive been working on putting everything together. Elvis presley, james dean. Wow. Marilyn monroe. Vivien leigh, paul newman even. Paul newman. Most of these photos are original pictures that juan carloss friend jack kuster snapped with his own camera, then collected an autograph for each one of them. Oh, look at jane fonda when she was just a teenager. So he took all these pictures and on top of it got the autographs . Yes. How did this all get started . Well, according to juan carlos, jack kuster acquires his first autograph in 1943 at the age of 14, when broadway and Hollywood StarCarmen Miranda pays a visit to his hometown, rochester, new york, for a uso show. The teenager musters the courage to approach the flamboyant singer for her swirling signature. From that moment forward, jack knows who he is an autograph hound. It takes a lot of guts for a 14yearold kid. For jack, collecting signatures was his calling. Soon afterwards, jack and his mother move to new york, where film and stage stars abound. Jack secures a day job as a graphic artist. At night, the stage door exits of manhattans legendary theaters are his favorite stomping grounds. Today im making a quick side trip to times square to meet bob levine, one of jacks fellow autograph hounds. Hi, jamie bob, how are you . How are you . Nice to meet you like jack, he began dogging the stars in the golden age of motion pictures. What is the thrill of autograph collecting . I dont know, but i get a thrill out of it. I started in 46. Then i met jack, and we were friends all through the years. Im wearing my hollywood glamour red lip, to represent the era of autograph signing. Yes, ha ha ha what was hollywood like back then . Hollywood was so glamorous, and when the movie stars came to new york, like lana turner or bette davis, it was a different era, and they treated the fans with respect. And now . The glamour is gone. Today they have bodyguards. These young kids, they all sign initials now. The autographs that we got then, you could still read them. Jack was so fussy, if he didnt like it, hed ask them to sign it again. Was he obsessive about collecting . Yes, yes. He was. Thats what his main purpose in life was, to take care of that collection. To save money and pursue more autographs, jack rents a tiny apartment on the citys upper west side. Jack told me many times, juan carlos, this is my profession. Its hard work, but somebody has to do it. A profession that requires coasttocoast travel. In the 1950s, jack hits the road to the back lots of Hollywood Studios. Clint eastwood was found by jack in 1954 outside Hollywood Studios in california. He was nobody at that time. He was so surprised to be asked for an autograph. Jack believes that that signature was the very first autograph ever given to anybody by clint eastwood. He got james dean, elvis presley, and many more before they were big stars. Was there anyone that was particularly nasty . Many. I remember the story of katharine hepburn. She would never sign. She would always go, no, never, never, never on the street. Very determined and difficult. Did he ever get her . He had to earn it, but shes right there. I see she doesnt look very pleased. Jacks persistence pays off in a big way. He shares a taxi with rock hudson and takes this photo. He captures this image of a typically deadpan alfred hitchcock. This one of joe namath in 1969, the year he won the super bowl. And sharon tate before her shocking murder. In time, he even begins traveling the world in pursuit of celebrity signatures. Throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, he snaps up sports figures, bollywood stars, politicians, and one of his favorites mexican telenovela actors. Its on a trip to mexico city in 1993 that jack now 64 years old approaches a struggling young mexican soap actor for an autograph. Now, the young guy in that picture looks a little bit familiar. Who is that . [ laughs ] youre funny. I was an actor. It was the end of winter in 1993 that i met jack in mexico city. I see jack coming up in the distance. I just know he was somebody different, and he says, are you an actor . I was ever so flattered. When i met jack, this is the card that i signed for him, and this is the picture he took of myself. Oh, my, juan carlos, look at you. Was this a love at first sight . Well, its one of those things that when you know youve found your soul mate. Call it what you want it, our chemistry was very compatible, how about that . How about that . Was it wonderful . It was amazing. Juan carlos and jack keep in touch over the years. In 1996 juan carlos moves to new york to pursue acting in the states, and jack offers him a place to live. That was the turning point. Jack made it possible for me to be american citizen. One of juan carloss oldest friends is spiro verras. He got to know jack as well. Juan carlos is an incredibly caring person. Jack needed someone in his life to care for him. In 2006, juan carlos decides to give up show business and become a certified skin care specialist. He leaves new york and moves to tampa, florida, to open his own spa business. I had already been trained as an aesthetician. And a medical company made me an offer that i could not resist to start my own practice, my own business. And jacks reaction . Jack was not very happy. However, he knew i needed to do something for my future and i needed to have a real profession. Ultimately, jack is the one who told him, you need to do this. Wow. You have to move on with your life. Back in new york, jack continues to add to his collection daily. How many autographs does he have . Seems only jack knows. Did you think it was 10,000 . 30,000 . I would even say, do you have about 2,000, thinking that that was a lot. And he would just laugh. Would he part with any of them . Absolutely not. He would never sell. But juan carlos worries about his friend jack, who is now 81 years old and living alone. He checks on him every day by phone. And as jack kuster grows more frail, it becomes a favorite topic among his competitors what will happen to his famous collection . I wrote to a lot of the auction houses. The largest ones knew who jack kuster was before i wrote to them. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question what pestered personality called autograph seekers mosquitoes . Sleepy hollow author Washington Irving . Supermodel kate upton . Or pro wrestler andre the giant . The answer in a moment. Hey america, still not sure whether to stay or go . When its go, the new Choice Privileges gets you there faster. And now, stay two times and you can earn a free night. Book now at choicehotels. Com if legalzoom has your back. S, over the last 10 years weve helped one million Business Owners get started. Visit legalzoom today for the legal help you need to start and run your business. Legalzoom. Legal help is here. [ theme music plays ] so, what pestered personality called autograph seekers mosquitoes . Its Washington Irving, annoyed by autograph seekers who showed up on his doorstep. By 2010, jack kuster, an aging new york autograph hound, has accumulated a jawdropping collection thousands of celebrity signatures from all over the world and matching photos he took himself. Jack tells his friend juan carlos saucedocampos that he plans to leave it all to him. One condition jack wants to keep his intentions a secret. He wanted to sound like the eccentric little man that he was and trying to keep it as a mystery. He liked the intrigue. He loved that, yes. Juan carlos now lives in tampa, florida, but every single day, he calls jack on the phone, and jack always answers. On july 24, 2012, jack doesnt pick up. I called 911. They went to his apartment right away. They found him dead on the floor by the door. He had a massive heart attack. As promised, juan carlos is named the executor of jacks estate and the heir to his entire collection. Did you really know how big it was going to be . I just did not know the magnitude of everything. In addition to screen stars like grace kelly and pop icons like michael jackson, jack has hundreds of International Figures whom juan carlos has never heard of. How many signatures are we talking about . Were talking about over 35,000 signatures. Wait, 35,000 . Thousand. Plus 1,700 original photos and hundreds more signed promotional stills. Juan carlos carts the whole kit and caboodle back to tampa and locks them inside a fire and waterproof safe. Then, he calls his friend and attorney, spiro verras, for help. Initially, i handled this as i would handle any probate in my practice. I wrote to a lot of the auction houses, and they were all extremely interested. The largest ones knew who jack kuster was before i wrote to them. What, in your wildest dreams, juan carlos, what is this collection worth . Its hard to put a price on it. Well, what would an appraiser say . What kind of numbers are we talking about . Give me a ballpark. Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. According to autograph magazine, which one of these celebrities is most unwilling to give autographs . Beyonce, angelina jolie, or Tobey Maguire . The answer when we return. For your retirement, you want to celebrate the little things, because theyre big to you. And that is why you invest. The best returns arent just measured in dollars. Td ameritrade®. [ theme music plays ] so, which of these celebrities is known as the least likely to sign an autograph . Its Tobey Maguire. According to autograph magazine, the spiderman star ranks among the most unwilling signers. In 2012, juan carlos saucedocampos inherits over 35,000 celebrity signatures and more than 1,700 photographs from his dear friend jack kuster. Among a tight circle of new york city autograph hounds, jack was a legend. Juan carlos recruits his friend and lawyer, spiro verras, to shop the collection around to auction houses and see what its worth. We would get a reasonable market value for the items. Juan carlos was struggling to grapple with the vastness of it. To get the ball rolling, lets bring in tim luke, who owns treasure quest Appraisal Group in south florida. Before that, he was a director of collectibles at the famed christies auction house in new york. 35,000 autographs in a collection, is that a stalker or an autograph hound . Well, it borders on hoarder almost, but it actually is a passion, and like insanity is on the edge of genius, its that kind of same thing with a collection this large. The other thing that i love about this is that jack got all of these signatures. The provenance is so important because there are a lot of fakes that are in the marketplace. Now, this blew my mind, alfred hitchcock, the photo, but also that he would draw his profile also adds to the value because the doodle is something. Its his profile. That became very iconic to alfred hitchcock. So, james dean, this is a very early, early photograph, isnt it . This is great, and this becomes a whole nother category when you look at james dean and also bruce lee because they both died unexpectedly early. So you have limited number of these signatures out there. The rarer is bruce lee because we also have a doodle from his character from the films. Ah, norma jean. [ chuckles ] tell me about these early pictures of marilyn monroe. The early photos, this is really great. Very desirable to any monroe collector. Tim figures the james dean autograph could fetch up to 4,000 at auction. Bruce lee, 5,000. And the marilyn monroe, 6,000. If these are some of the gold nuggets, whats the whole collection worth . What kind of numbers are we talking about . Give me a ballpark. I would say for insurance purposes, this is a milliondollar collection, easily, because of the condition. In tims opinion, it might have been worth even more. Theres a lot of variables that go into this. Lets take a look at the elvis photograph, for example. You see it says to jack . Yes. Well, because it says to jack, thats limiting the market because is jamie going to be interested in something that says to jack . Id rather just have a regular signature. So, with the to jack on it, youre looking at the 800 to 1,200 price range. I contacted several of the largest auction houses that deal in autographs. One suggested they will put together a book to honor jack kuster and market the product as the jack kuster collection. Juan carlos asked me, does this mean that people would be able to buy particular items out of the collection from this catalog . I said yes. The heir will have to think about that. So, you have full control over all this. A hundred percent. Arent i lucky . You are, but whats next . Juan carloss big decision. Jamie, this is what i want to show you. Would you do the honors . Thats next. [ gasps ] whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email, or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. 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Its 2015 in tampa, florida. Juan carlos saucedocampos has inherited a collection of photos and autographs from his beloved friend, jack kuster. It turns out that they could be worth a Million Dollars but to get the highest price at auction, hed have to split them up. As the offers come in, juan carlos thinks it over thinks about the money and about dearly departed jack. His decision . Im in no position to destroy this phenomenal legacy that my dear friend jack left to me. I want to keep it intact. But if he wont sell, will the money be there tomorrow . Or will it fade away like those goldenera screen stars jack adored . You know, ten years from now, some of these autographs wont be as relevant as they are right now. Timing is really an issue. Will he ever feel like he missed an opportunity . I dont know. Its something that ive actually thought about quite a bit. Im gonna keep it safe and in great condition, as it was left to me. Maybe in the future, i might change my mind. I dont know, but for the time being, i like to keep it close and admire it. Every time i see one signature, i think about jack. It seems like you put in a lot of hours to try to make some opportunity happen for him. Did you feel disappointed . Not at all. Not at all. Its a rare person who chooses sentiment over money. So, instead of collecting a check, juan carlos immerses himself in the painstaking task of archiving the autographs and transferring by hand the hundreds more photos from film slides to digital archive. Jamie, this is what i want to show you. Would you do the honors . Today, juan carlos has invited tim luke and me to see the culmination of that effort. What . The crown jewels of jack kusters collection, on display for the very first time. I cannot believe this. Hollywood glamour everywhere . Hello i have categorized by the vintage actors on this wall and the vintage actress on this wall over here. Wow, hotties over here and babes over here. I like it. Jack met all of these people facetoface . He saw them facetoface, and they all handed their signature to jack. On this part of the gallery, i have all these boxes full of signatures. Latin tv hosts, mexican stars, soaps. British actresses, ballet and dance. The forties, the fifties, the sixties, you name it, i have them all. Oh, my god. What do you think that jack would say if he saw this room . I can almost see his face right now. He will be absolutely thrilled to see what ive done with his collection, exactly what he wanted me to. Its beautiful. Well, my collection would not be complete if i dont have exactly. Whats a jamie colby going for nowadays . Especially with this provenance, its priceless. Its not every day that someone asks for my autograph. I feel like you felt the first time jack asked you for yours. Oh, well, its a pleasure. A collection that took a lifetime to acquire, now preserved for another lifetime, perhaps, thanks to juan carloss admiration for his cherished friend. Pop star taylor swift recently observed that with the advent of smartphones and frontfacing cameras, no one even asks for her autograph anymore. All these kids today want is a selfie. Oh, hey. Hi, are you jamie colby . Yes. Whats your name . Taylor. Would you mind taking a selfie with me . I would love to take a selfie with you, taylor. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. And remember, you cant take it with you. A precious heirloom. This was once the property of George Washington. Youre a v. I. P. [ laughing ] yeah. And the pride of a modest family. My father was a truck driver. We got along, but we were very frugal. So how did she end up with washingtons wallet . Are you a descendant of George Washington . No, im not. And its quite a long story. A story about love of country. We want these things because we want a connection to these men. The allure of big bucks. I established a value for the wallet. It was a lot of money. And some good oldfashioned intrigue. Someone took the wallet and disappeared. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, and today im crossing the Delaware River from pennsylvania into new jersey. Yes, im following the route that general George Washington took to his big victory during the revolutionary war the battle of trenton. Im tracking down what i believe is the most intriguing strange inheritance ive heard of so far, something the father of our country may have been carrying that fateful night his wallet. My name is Barbara Farwell, and this is my daughter, l