Robert Ripley - an odd everyman whose uncommon interests in oddities and odd facts catapulted him unexpectedly into public renown and lasting fame.
Bucktoothed but athletic, shy, stuttering and stammering newspaper sports cartoonist Leroy Robert Ripley catapulted into national celebrity when his interests in odd facts and Asian cultures caught widespread public interest under his column heading of Believe It or Not, making him the most unsuccessfully imitated and traveled man of his time.—statmanjeff