Newsroom
Welcome to Ripley Entertainment's official Press Site! Here you will find the latest news from all Ripley attractions as well as the latest corporate happenings.
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Ripley's VP of Communications, Tim O'Brien can be reached at obrien@ripleys.com or in his office at 615-646-7465 or on cell at 615-496-5949.
News Articles
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Opens in Times Square in New York City
Posted by Tim O'Brien on June 21, 2007NEW YORK, NY - (June 21, 2007) - New York City welcomes back the spirit of Robert Ripley with the opening of Ripley's Believe It or Not!® Times Square Odditorium. Thursday's opening marks the return of Ripley to New York, his home for more than 30 years, and to the city that proved that truth can truly be stranger than fiction.
Ripley's Times Square houses the ultimate in the odd and bizarre including 24 shrunken heads, a section of the Berlin Wall and a 3,197 lb. meteorite, as well as items that are genuine New York including Babe Ruth's "Believe It or Not's??? New York team baseball uniform.
To celebrate the grand opening, Ripley's is hosting a celebratory ribbon cutting featuring iconic shrunken heads. In true Believe It or Not! fashion, a world-renowned sword swallower will cut the shrunken head ribbon after he pulls the 24 inches of solid steel from his own throat! Ripley's is also inviting New Yorkers and visitors to "Show Us Your Oddities??? prior to the ribbon cutting this morning, in which people showcase their own everyday oddities with an opportunity to win an invitation to the red carpet party this evening. The VIP extravaganza continues tonight in the quirky spirit of Robert Ripley, with celebrities like Kelly Osbourne, Jenny McCarthy and Carmen Electra who will walk a red carpet of hot coals along with performers from all walks of life including Lizardman, Catman and the woman with the world's longest fingernails. To view the red carpet action live, log onto http://www.ripleys.com/ tonight at 7 pm EST and see the star-studded web cast in real time.
"New York City is one of the most amazing cities in the world and it's easy to see why Robert Ripley made the Big Apple his home,??? said Bob Masterson, President, Ripley Entertainment Inc. "We are thrilled to bring Believe It or Not! back to the city where, in 1918, Ripley coined that now famous phrase. Ripley's Times Square Odditorium will house the greatest collection of unbelievable odd and unusual items ever assembled under one roof, from this world and beyond! This fantastic collection captures the essence of Mr. Ripley, the eccentric collector who proved to the world that truth could indeed be stranger than fiction.???
Robert Ripley's New York
Robert Leroy Ripley, an icon in the world of cartoon art, the first person to be elected to the Trivia Hall of Fame, and the founder of an entertainment empire based on the premise that "truth can be stranger than fiction,??? first came to New York from San Francisco in 1913 at the age of 23. Working as an illustrator in San Francisco, Ripley was encouraged by his friend Jack London to go to New York and pursue his baseball dream or at least make more money from his drawings. He landed a job as an illustrator with the New York Globe and in 1914 he tried out for the New York Giants - and made the team! Unfortunately, in his very first game with the Giants, he broke his pitching arm. With his baseball career over, Ripley returned to the drawing board at the Globe and to living a full and rich New York City life including marrying a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl, living in a 28-room stone mansion on a private island off Mamaroneck and hosting grand parties during prohibition that would dazzle even the most jaded New Yorker.
The Ripley's Times Square Highlights
Like the Ripley's Believe It or Not! attractions around the globe, each item inside Ripley's Times Square will appeal to man's basic curiosity and desire to know more about this world...and New York City. Guests will find only authentic, original and unbelievable exhibits in the Times Square Odditorium, including locks of hair that belonged to Elvis Presley, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George Washington, Ripley's collection of Olympic torches, and animal oddities including a two-headed calf, a six-legged cow and an albino giraffe. Some other key exhibits will include:
Shrunken Heads
The Odditorium will feature the world's largest display of shrunken heads - 24! Personally collected and brought back to New York City by Ripley, the heads were the spoils of war for the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador. Believe it or not, Ripley's Times Square will boast more shrunken heads on display than the American Museum of Natural History.
"The Believe It or Not's??? Baseball Uniforms
On May 5, 1939 in Madison Square Garden, Robert Ripley led a band of celebrities called the "Believe It or Not's??? to the plate against an equally elite team called the Nine Old Men, led by radio and newspaper journalist Lowell Thomas, to benefit the Boys Club of New York. In total more than 60 celebrities played for the two teams, including two of the greatest baseball players of all time, pitcher Walter Johnson, and heavy hitter Babe Ruth. Also playing for Ripley's team were boxing champion Jack Dempsey, comedians Jimmy Durante, Bugs Baer and W. C. Fields, actors George Raft and Al Jolson, World War I Hero and founder of Eastern Airlines, Eddie Rickenbacker, and billionaire William Randolph Hearst Jr.
3,197-lb. Meteorite
Found in Guangxi, Nantan County, China in 1958, Ripley's Times Square Odditorium will house a giant 3,197-lb. meteorite that fell to earth during the Ming Dynasty on June 11, 1529. Composed of 92% iron, the meteorite will be the third largest Nantan meteorite on display anywhere in the world.
http://www.ripleystimessquare.com/
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About Ripley Entertainment
Ripley Entertainment, Inc. (http://www.ripleys.com/) is a leading global attractions company with annual attendance of more than 13 million. In addition to its 60-plus attractions, the Orlando-based company has publishing and broadcast divisions that oversee projects including the globally syndicated Believe It or Not! television show, best-selling books and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley's Believe It or Not! that still runs daily in 200 newspapers in 42 countries. There are now 30 Ripley's Believe It or Not!® odditoriums (including NYC) in operation with another to open in late 2007 in India. The unique attractions feature exhibits that one must see to believe - exhibits that are so bizarre, so odd, so strange, that even the most worldly and knowledgeable guests will be awestruck.
About Big Apple Entertainment Partners LLC
Big Apple Entertainment Partners LLC is a franchisee of Ripley Entertainment Inc. formed to develop and operate the Ripley's Times Square Odditorium. Big Apple Entertainment Partners LLC is controlled by Carni Development Group LLC, an investment vehicle established for the purpose of making investments in entertainment properties worldwide.
About Ripley's Believe It or Not!® Times Square Odditorium
Address: 234 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenue)
Phone Number: (212) 398-3133
Hours: Open 365 days a year from 9am to 1am
Pricing: Adults - $24.95; children ages 4 - 12 years old - $18.95; students, seniors and military
personnel - $21.95
For additional information, please contact:
Judee Sidorsky, PMK/HBH (212) 373-6135, judee.sidorsky@pmkhbh.com
Tim O'Brien, Ripley Entertainment Inc. (615) 646-7465, obrien@ripleys.com
Monthly Arhives
Students win National Award for Work with Ripley AquariumPosted by Tim O'Brien on June 18, 2007
Chance to Become Part of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! HistoryPosted by Tim O'Brien on June 14, 2007
Ripley Entertainment Inks Deal with Tara Toy Corp.Posted by Tim O'Brien on June 11, 2007