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SHATNER: A master surgeon
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with no medical training.
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A Hollywood producer
whose most outrageous story
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turned out to be
the one about himself.
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And a jazz musician
whose greatest performance
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was the one
that was given offstage.
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What makes a person want
to become someone else?
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Is it to escape their life?
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Or is it to fool someone?
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Or is there an even
more profound reason?
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Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.
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♪
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♪
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SHATNER:
As the Korean War rages around it,
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the Royal Canadian destroyer
HMCS Cayugabrings aboard
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19 badly wounded
South Korean soldiers
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requiring immediate surgery.
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Dr. Joseph Cyr, the ship's
newly arrived physician,
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is called upon to perform
a series of procedures
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to save the men's lives.
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There's quite a few wounded men.
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They're taken on board, and
the ship captain tells Dr. Cyr,
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"You have to operate.
You have to save these guys."
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So, according to all accounts,
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Dr. Cyr takes this
relatively calmly
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and goes to it.
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SHATNER:
While the patients are prepped for surgery,
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Dr. Cyr reviews
a medical textbook
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in his private quarters
to prepare himself
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for what would be
the defining moment
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of not only his career,
but his entire life.
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NATE HENDLEY:
He performs a number of operations
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on these wounded
South Korean soldiers,
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removing bullets,
doing chest surgery.
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And by all accounts,
he was successful.
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SHATNER:
The story of Dr. Cyr's valiant performance
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hit Canadian newspapers
and spread like wildfire.
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Across the country, people read
about the naval doctor's
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heroic efforts
to save the lives
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of the Korean soldiers.
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But there was at least
one woman who was stunned
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by the news that Dr. Joseph Cyr
had become a national hero.
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And as it turned out,
she had a very good reason
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to be surprised.
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HENDLEY:
The mother of Dr. Joseph Cyr was reading the newspaper,
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and reads this account
of her son.
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So she phones her son up,
and her son is sort of like,
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"Uh, no, I'm still posted
in New Brunswick.
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I'm not on a ship.
What are you talking about?"
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And it becomes obvious
very quickly
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that the guy on board
the destroyer is an imposter.
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The mother of the real doctor
contacts the RCMP,
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Canada's equivalent of the FBI,
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and the shipboard captain
on the destroyer is told,
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"Uh, well, your surgeon
is an imposter.
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Uh, we've, uh, got to take him
into custody."
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He's taken back to Canada,
he's put before a court
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that would reveal
that he's Ferdinand Demara,
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of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
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SHATNER:
An American from Massachusetts
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masquerading
as a Canadian naval doctor
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in the Sea of Japan?
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But how?
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And why?
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HARVEY ROSENSTOCK:
Ferdinand Demara
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is a very fascinating man.
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First of all, he came
from a middle-class family.
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Very comfortable.
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But then they suffered
the Great Depression,
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They had to move.
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They had to downgrade,
as it were.
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They get to a poor neighborhood,
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less of the affluent
or semi-affluent amenities.
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So he went from a lot to less,
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but it seemed to bother him
more than his parents,
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the best that we can tell.
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And therefore, he had
to fill in the difference.
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HENDLEY:
By all accounts, he's a very smart kid.
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You know, does well at school.
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But he drops out of high school,
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and he starts
this weird sort of moving around
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and trying on new personas.
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ROSENSTOCK:
It turns out that he has the ability
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to memorize very quickly.
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He even claimed that
he had a photographic memory.
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So that he
could look at something,
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say, "That really belongs
to me,"
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and with a very good intellect,
he could carry this off.
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And he found
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he could "borrow"
any kind of credential
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and become that person
represented by that credential.
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HENDLEY:
He starts that from a very early age,
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and he joins the military,
goes AWOL,
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joins other branches
of the military.
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In one of his
very early impersonations,
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he pretends
to be a Trappist monk
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and joins a monastery.
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At the time he was pretending
to be a Christian monk,
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he made friends with a Canadian
doctor named Joseph Cyr,
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and he then goes to enlist
in the Canadian Navy
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and announces
that he's Dr. Joseph Cyr
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and uses the same credentials
that the real doctor had.
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There's a war going on
at the time in Korea,
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so they don't ask
too many questions.
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They're just delighted
to get a surgeon.
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SHATNER:
In addition to posing
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as a military surgeon
and a monk,
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Demara tried his hand
at impersonating
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a number of other professions,
including
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civil engineer, zoologist,
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psychologist,
philosophy professor
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and lawyer, among many others.
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Demara became so adept
at impersonation
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that he eventually became known
by his most famous alias of all:
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The Great Imposter.
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Ironically, Demara's life
went full circle.
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After pretending to be
all these different identities
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his whole life, in the end
he became famous for who he was.
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Oh, I've been
a surgeon lieutenant
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in the Royal Canadian Navy.
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- You operated on people?
- Mm-hmm.
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[audience gasping, chuckling]
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Isn't that rather dangerous?
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- You might say that.
- Uh-huh.
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Where did you steal
your new credentials?
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- I acquire these things.
- Oh.
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I know.
You keep telling me that.
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I hate to bring the word "steal"
into this conversation.
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HENDLEY:
He appeared on You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx,
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and he makes it clear
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that he, "acquired credentials,"
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and that he's going to use
his prize money
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to buy more credentials.
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Were you in jail in...
in, uh, Canada?
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- No, no.
- In the United States, have you ever been in jail?
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Yes, I have been in jail.
I spent a year
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in the Texas State Penitentiary.
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- Well, it's about time, I...
- [laughter]
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that somebody nails you.
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What were you in there for?
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Uh, I was in there
as deputy warden.
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[laughter]
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ROSENSTOCK:
As a result of that,
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everybody wants to meet him,
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wants to talk about him,
wants to hear about him.
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- Are you Martin Goddard?
- Yes, I am.
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And your real name is
Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr.?
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ROSENSTOCK:
And then when Tony Curtis acted
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in The Great Imposter,
he became famous
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because he could fool the world.
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ALEXANDER STEIN:
In many respects,
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to be an imposter is...
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fairly normal,
although we think of them as...
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somehow pathological.
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In fact, there are many people
who do it for work.
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Actors are a form of imposters.
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There are people who put on
a costume or a uniform
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to transform themselves
in some way that gives them
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some measure of authority
in their work.
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SHATNER:
Let's face it: at one time or another,
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most of us have fantasized
about trying on a new identity.
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Like when we engage
in role-playing games
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or wear costumes on Halloween.
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For most of us, of course,
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the fantasy remains
simply that: a fantasy.
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But in the case
of Ferdinand Demara,
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The Great Imposter,
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by pretending to be a surgeon,
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is it possible that--
in his mind, at least--
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he actually became one?
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Ferdinand Demara
impersonated a surgeon.
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He wasn't a surgeon,
but during the Korean War
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while he was on a ship,
he saved lives.
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His ability to adapt
from impersonation
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might have given him
the ability to adapt
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under a stressful situation.
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"Con man," of course,
"con" is a kind of a nickname.
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The origin of that word
is "confidence."
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In the case of someone
like Ferdinand Demara,
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because of his success
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in being able to truly believe
every one of his fantasies
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as one new piece of reality,
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he can act it out
in such a real way
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for a limited period of time.
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SHATNER:
By the time of his death,
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00:09:05,689 --> 00:09:08,965
from a heart attack
on June 7, 1982,
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Ferdinand Demara had spent the
last several years of his life
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as a Baptist minister
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and later a counselor
at Good Samaritan Hospital
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in Anaheim, California.
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00:09:19,793 --> 00:09:24,103
In his obituary, Demara's lawyer
and good friend, Melvin Belli,
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is quoted as saying...
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And why should there be?
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After all, most of us can
only live one life at a time.
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Ferdinand Demara was able
to live several.
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PETER LANPHOTOGRAPHER:
Chris! Chris, Chris!
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SHATNER: French movie producer
Christopher Reyes
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is the talk of Tinseltown.
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PHOTOGRAPHER:
Where's the girls tonight?
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SHATNER:
Between a movie deal
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00:10:00,724 --> 00:10:03,551
with action star
Jean-Claude Van Damme,
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00:10:03,655 --> 00:10:07,034
co-ownership of two chic
Beverly Hills boutiques,
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00:10:07,137 --> 00:10:10,586
a perfume line endorsed
by singer Michael Jackson
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00:10:10,689 --> 00:10:14,344
and a PlayboyPlaymate wife,
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00:10:14,448 --> 00:10:18,172
it appears
Reyes's burgeoning reputation
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as a Hollywood player is secure.
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00:10:20,241 --> 00:10:21,517
PHOTOGRAPHER:
Thanks, Chris.
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- Good to see you.
- All right.
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He would mix with some of
the movers and shakers in L.A.
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00:10:27,724 --> 00:10:30,620
Uh, so he'd throw kind of
glamorous dinner parties.
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00:10:30,724 --> 00:10:33,689
He'd invite all of his friends
that he'd met,
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and he'd make sure that they saw
that he was being generous
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00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:37,206
during these parties.
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00:10:37,310 --> 00:10:39,206
He said he was
a venture capitalist.
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00:10:39,310 --> 00:10:42,172
He was in L.A. and he was
mixing with the kind of people
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00:10:42,275 --> 00:10:43,896
who are also
millionaires.
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00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,172
He would talk of how
he was Sophia Loren's son,
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00:10:48,275 --> 00:10:51,137
he was Oscar de la Renta's
nephew, and there was no reason
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00:10:51,241 --> 00:10:52,551
for people
to disbelieve him.
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00:10:52,655 --> 00:10:54,448
He would maybe say,
"Do you want to invest?
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00:10:54,551 --> 00:10:56,724
He'd give them an opportunity,
and they would think
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that they were gonna
get something from him.
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PHOTOGRAPHER:
Chris! Let's go.
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SHATNER:
To everyone he meets, it seems Christopher Reyes
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00:11:04,655 --> 00:11:07,586
has perfected the recipe
for Hollywood success.
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00:11:07,689 --> 00:11:11,551
Except there's one
key ingredient missing.
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00:11:11,655 --> 00:11:14,586
Because, as it turns out,
the man claiming
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00:11:14,689 --> 00:11:17,965
to be Christopher Reyes
is a bigger fiction
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00:11:18,068 --> 00:11:21,551
than any conceived
by a Hollywood screenwriter.
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00:11:21,655 --> 00:11:24,344
He is actually a notorious
French con artist
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00:11:24,448 --> 00:11:28,172
named Christophe Rocancourt.
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00:11:28,275 --> 00:11:31,758
Well, Rocancourt was the world's
coolest con man, in essence.
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00:11:31,862 --> 00:11:35,482
Um, you know, he was smooth,
he was charismatic.
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00:11:35,586 --> 00:11:37,689
He was ambitious.
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00:11:37,793 --> 00:11:40,379
So, he had all the traits
of a classic con man.
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00:11:40,482 --> 00:11:42,275
HENDLEY:
By all accounts,
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00:11:42,379 --> 00:11:46,413
Christophe's approach
was very simple, but direct.
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00:11:46,517 --> 00:11:48,586
He would tell people,
you know "If you invest
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00:11:48,689 --> 00:11:51,655
in my various enterprises,"
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00:11:51,758 --> 00:11:54,275
you know, "I can
vastly increase your money."
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00:11:54,379 --> 00:11:57,517
So his methods
were not terribly,
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00:11:57,620 --> 00:12:00,034
you know, sophisticated,
but they worked,
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00:12:00,137 --> 00:12:03,275
and he pulled in a lot of money
from people.
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00:12:07,241 --> 00:12:10,137
IANTORNO:
In Paris, he'd set up this alias for himself,
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00:12:10,241 --> 00:12:11,827
a wealthy Russian nobleman.
246
00:12:11,931 --> 00:12:15,103
From just sheer confidence
and imagination,
247
00:12:15,206 --> 00:12:19,068
he was able to pull off
a few scams. Uh, most notably,
248
00:12:19,172 --> 00:12:22,448
when he managed to forge
the deeds to a building in Paris
249
00:12:22,551 --> 00:12:24,655
and sell it for over
a million dollars.
250
00:12:24,758 --> 00:12:26,931
SHATNER:
As he scammed his way across Europe,
251
00:12:27,034 --> 00:12:30,241
Christophe Rocancourt
defrauded dozens of victims
252
00:12:30,344 --> 00:12:32,620
under numerous aliases.
253
00:12:32,724 --> 00:12:34,724
But while authorities
had a mountain of lies
254
00:12:34,827 --> 00:12:37,620
and fake identities
to sort through,
255
00:12:37,724 --> 00:12:41,310
they were missing
one elusive truth:
256
00:12:41,413 --> 00:12:43,379
who actually was
257
00:12:43,482 --> 00:12:45,896
Christophe Rocancourt?
258
00:12:49,172 --> 00:12:51,310
IANTORNO:
Rocancourt grew up, um, in a small town
259
00:12:51,413 --> 00:12:53,172
on the Normandy coast,
260
00:12:53,275 --> 00:12:55,551
uh, just where the-the River
Seine meets the English Channel.
261
00:12:55,655 --> 00:12:58,034
Uh, it's a lovely place, um,
262
00:12:58,137 --> 00:13:00,206
but he didn't have
the best childhood.
263
00:13:01,448 --> 00:13:03,827
His father was an alcoholic
264
00:13:03,931 --> 00:13:07,344
and his mother had
to resort to prostitution.
265
00:13:07,448 --> 00:13:11,827
HARVEY ROSENSTOCK:
Here is a young person who is in
266
00:13:11,931 --> 00:13:16,206
a desperate survival mode
from the earliest stages.
267
00:13:16,310 --> 00:13:20,827
This kind of person really has
no reason to trust the world.
268
00:13:20,931 --> 00:13:24,103
And so he found out
269
00:13:24,206 --> 00:13:29,068
that he can acquire wealth
by deceptive means.
270
00:13:29,172 --> 00:13:31,103
There's no reason for him
to feel sorry
271
00:13:31,206 --> 00:13:33,793
about the next person,
'cause in his mind,
272
00:13:33,896 --> 00:13:36,344
presumably, no one
felt sorry for him.
273
00:13:38,206 --> 00:13:40,586
JONATHAN YOUNG:
I think the game had its own reward.
274
00:13:40,689 --> 00:13:42,137
This is a very hostile game,
275
00:13:42,241 --> 00:13:44,517
and this is a wounded,
aggressive person.
276
00:13:44,620 --> 00:13:47,793
He wanted to hurt people.
He wanted to take their money.
277
00:13:47,896 --> 00:13:51,206
It was a coldhearted
transaction.
278
00:13:52,965 --> 00:13:55,551
SHATNER:
For most people, the notion of scamming
279
00:13:55,655 --> 00:13:58,586
and conniving their way
to wealth and happiness
280
00:13:58,689 --> 00:14:00,000
is unthinkable.
281
00:14:00,103 --> 00:14:04,310
So, what drives
serial impostors
282
00:14:04,413 --> 00:14:07,310
like Christophe Rocancourt
to use impersonation
283
00:14:07,413 --> 00:14:10,448
to not merely pretend
to be someone else,
284
00:14:10,551 --> 00:14:13,172
but to actually inflict harm?
285
00:14:13,275 --> 00:14:18,896
And not just once or twice,
but over and over again?
286
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,965
ROBBINS: For a lot
of impostors that grow up
287
00:14:21,068 --> 00:14:23,034
in a damaged childhood
where they're facing abuse
288
00:14:23,137 --> 00:14:25,689
or traumatic events,
they have to develop
289
00:14:25,793 --> 00:14:27,965
these sort of
coping mechanisms.
290
00:14:28,068 --> 00:14:31,068
One, they start to see
themselves on the outside
291
00:14:31,172 --> 00:14:33,689
of the normal reality
that everyone else does.
292
00:14:33,793 --> 00:14:35,620
The society as a norm is here,
293
00:14:35,724 --> 00:14:37,241
and they're on
the outskirts of that.
294
00:14:37,344 --> 00:14:40,172
So, then they start
to categorize people as others.
295
00:14:40,275 --> 00:14:42,103
The second
is that they have to be able
296
00:14:42,206 --> 00:14:44,482
to anticipate
the actions of their abuser.
297
00:14:44,586 --> 00:14:46,758
So, this starts to form
an unusual kind
298
00:14:46,862 --> 00:14:50,068
of predictive empathy
in order for them to survive.
299
00:14:55,310 --> 00:14:57,862
SHATNER:
No matter the reason for their duplicity,
300
00:14:57,965 --> 00:15:00,275
once discovered,
most impostors' lives
301
00:15:00,379 --> 00:15:02,620
are shattered beyond repair.
302
00:15:02,724 --> 00:15:04,448
But while
you might think someone
303
00:15:04,551 --> 00:15:07,379
as internationally notorious
as Christophe Rocancourt
304
00:15:07,482 --> 00:15:08,827
would stop his antics
305
00:15:08,931 --> 00:15:13,758
after being
so thoroughly exposed, well,
306
00:15:13,862 --> 00:15:16,000
you'd be wrong.
307
00:15:16,103 --> 00:15:18,586
Eventually things came
tumbling down when people
308
00:15:18,689 --> 00:15:20,655
started suspecting
that he was a fraud.
309
00:15:20,758 --> 00:15:23,931
So when he moved
from L.A. to New York,
310
00:15:24,034 --> 00:15:25,620
Rocancourt was running
the same scams
311
00:15:25,724 --> 00:15:26,931
as he always had done.
312
00:15:27,034 --> 00:15:28,965
He was having
lavish dinner parties,
313
00:15:29,068 --> 00:15:31,241
he was inviting
exclusive guests.
314
00:15:31,344 --> 00:15:33,551
He was getting them to invest
large sums of money,
315
00:15:33,655 --> 00:15:36,206
$50,000 or a $100,000
at a time.
316
00:15:36,310 --> 00:15:39,137
I think people started
suspecting Rocancourt
317
00:15:39,241 --> 00:15:42,448
when a few things
just stopped adding up.
318
00:15:42,551 --> 00:15:45,827
He was driving a Mazda
rather than the kind of car
319
00:15:45,931 --> 00:15:47,862
that you'd expect
a millionaire to be driving.
320
00:15:47,965 --> 00:15:49,793
He tasted some wine
that was cheap wine,
321
00:15:49,896 --> 00:15:52,000
and he thought it
was expensive wine.
322
00:15:52,103 --> 00:15:54,068
Maybe he was
just getting sloppy.
323
00:15:54,172 --> 00:15:56,793
And it was an unpaid hotel bill
in the end
324
00:15:56,896 --> 00:16:00,206
that was the thing
that got him caught.
325
00:16:00,310 --> 00:16:04,379
SHATNER:
In 2003, Christophe Rocancourt plead guilty
326
00:16:04,482 --> 00:16:08,862
to charges of bribery,
theft and fraud.
327
00:16:08,965 --> 00:16:12,896
He was ordered to pay
$1.2 million to his victims
328
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,655
and sentenced to 46 months
in federal prison.
329
00:16:16,758 --> 00:16:20,068
After his release
in October 2005,
330
00:16:20,172 --> 00:16:22,000
Rocancourt returned to Europe
331
00:16:22,103 --> 00:16:24,724
where his notoriety
as a smooth-talking con man
332
00:16:24,827 --> 00:16:27,827
continued to make headlines.
333
00:16:27,931 --> 00:16:31,482
But Rocancourt's deceptions
appear almost benign
334
00:16:31,586 --> 00:16:34,931
when compared to those
of another famous impostor,
335
00:16:35,034 --> 00:16:38,206
one who became so desperate
to hide his true identity
336
00:16:38,310 --> 00:16:41,448
that it not only cost people
their fortunes,
337
00:16:41,551 --> 00:16:45,551
it also cost them their lives.
338
00:16:54,551 --> 00:16:57,827
SHATNER:
Sandra Boss, a recent Harvard Business School graduate,
339
00:16:57,931 --> 00:17:01,724
marries Clark Rockefeller,
a man who is known to her
340
00:17:01,827 --> 00:17:04,310
as a member
of one of the wealthiest
341
00:17:04,413 --> 00:17:06,413
and most powerful families
in America.
342
00:17:08,413 --> 00:17:10,275
After the couple's
fairy-tale wedding,
343
00:17:10,379 --> 00:17:11,758
Sandra went to work
344
00:17:11,862 --> 00:17:14,137
for a prestigious
consulting firm in Boston
345
00:17:14,241 --> 00:17:18,103
while Clark resumed working
on international poverty relief.
346
00:17:18,206 --> 00:17:20,965
But the fairy tale
didn't last long.
347
00:17:21,068 --> 00:17:24,068
MARK SEAL:
He claimed he was working on so many high-level things,
348
00:17:24,172 --> 00:17:26,965
but he wasn't contributing
to the marriage financially.
349
00:17:27,068 --> 00:17:29,344
And he said, "Well, to charge
these struggling countries
350
00:17:29,448 --> 00:17:32,068
a fee would be, you know,
unconscionable."
351
00:17:32,172 --> 00:17:35,758
He didn't seem to want to go
out and get a regular job.
352
00:17:35,862 --> 00:17:39,103
And so she was beginning
to get tired of this.
353
00:17:42,379 --> 00:17:44,137
SHATNER:
After more than ten years of marriage,
354
00:17:44,241 --> 00:17:47,517
Sandra Boss finally had enough
and filed for divorce.
355
00:17:47,620 --> 00:17:51,034
It was a decision that would
not only unravel her marriage,
356
00:17:51,137 --> 00:17:56,241
but also unravel the strange
truth about her husband.
357
00:17:56,344 --> 00:17:58,241
SEAL:
Clark Rockefeller had
358
00:17:58,344 --> 00:18:01,724
no passport, no credit cards,
no birth certificate
359
00:18:01,827 --> 00:18:04,034
that she could find.
360
00:18:04,137 --> 00:18:06,068
HENDLEY:
She can't come up with any documentation.
361
00:18:06,172 --> 00:18:09,034
So she really has the whip hand
during the divorce,
362
00:18:09,137 --> 00:18:13,241
and she ends up winning custody
of their daughter, Snooks.
363
00:18:13,344 --> 00:18:17,000
He's absolutely gobsmacked
by this, and he's miserable,
364
00:18:17,103 --> 00:18:19,413
because he is actually
devoted to his daughter.
365
00:18:19,517 --> 00:18:21,586
So he comes up
with this harebrained plan
366
00:18:21,689 --> 00:18:24,310
and he kidnaps his daughter.
367
00:18:24,413 --> 00:18:26,448
SHATNER:
The FBI immediately launched
368
00:18:26,551 --> 00:18:28,137
a nationwide manhunt,
369
00:18:28,241 --> 00:18:31,931
but Clark Rockefeller
had vanished into thin air.
370
00:18:32,034 --> 00:18:34,620
And the reason the authorities
had such a hard time
371
00:18:34,724 --> 00:18:36,586
tracking down Clark Rockefeller
372
00:18:36,689 --> 00:18:38,517
was because
373
00:18:38,620 --> 00:18:42,103
there was no Clark Rockefeller.
374
00:18:42,206 --> 00:18:44,758
So, I'm at home.
My brother calls me.
375
00:18:44,862 --> 00:18:48,344
He goes,
"Turn on CNN right now."
376
00:18:48,448 --> 00:18:52,275
I turn on the TV,
and I look, and I go,
377
00:18:52,379 --> 00:18:55,482
"That's
Christian Gerhartsreiter."
378
00:18:55,586 --> 00:18:58,000
And it says right across
the top, "Clark Rockefeller."
379
00:18:58,103 --> 00:19:00,620
So we called the FBI and said,
380
00:19:00,724 --> 00:19:02,379
"This is
Christian Gerhartsreiter."
381
00:19:02,482 --> 00:19:04,931
He was a German exchange
student that came to our house.
382
00:19:05,034 --> 00:19:07,344
I was 15 at the time,
383
00:19:07,448 --> 00:19:11,034
and he was 17.
384
00:19:11,137 --> 00:19:13,275
But the FBI, like,
they didn't even know his name.
385
00:19:14,758 --> 00:19:17,103
SEAL:
It was covered in all the media, on television,
386
00:19:17,206 --> 00:19:21,586
and when the AMBER Alert
was issued, he was apprehended.
387
00:19:21,689 --> 00:19:25,241
He was returned
to Boston to face charges.
388
00:19:25,344 --> 00:19:28,172
And that's when
his incredible life
389
00:19:28,275 --> 00:19:32,448
of all these different
personas unspooled.
390
00:19:32,551 --> 00:19:35,344
SHATNER:
At trial, Sandra watched as her husband, the man
391
00:19:35,448 --> 00:19:38,862
she had believed to be a member
of the Rockefeller family,
392
00:19:38,965 --> 00:19:41,551
was sentenced to
four to five years in prison
393
00:19:41,655 --> 00:19:44,241
for custodial kidnapping.
394
00:19:44,344 --> 00:19:47,689
But what was it
that compelled Christian
395
00:19:47,793 --> 00:19:49,793
to lie to his friends, family
396
00:19:49,896 --> 00:19:52,517
and associates for so long?
397
00:19:54,793 --> 00:19:57,413
ROBBINS:
The phenomenon of an impostor is an interesting dichotomy
398
00:19:57,517 --> 00:19:59,068
that somebody
has to live with.
399
00:19:59,172 --> 00:20:01,827
They have two stories
constantly colliding.
400
00:20:01,931 --> 00:20:04,344
And often, if you're going to
perpetuate that consistently,
401
00:20:04,448 --> 00:20:07,034
you have to almost
have a form of delusion,
402
00:20:07,137 --> 00:20:09,068
to be able to compartmentalize
one of those realities
403
00:20:09,172 --> 00:20:10,655
so that you can live your life
404
00:20:10,758 --> 00:20:13,793
without having this other one
on the back burner.
405
00:20:13,896 --> 00:20:17,310
SHATNER:
Are impostors who carry out elaborate deceptions
406
00:20:17,413 --> 00:20:21,137
acting out
a kind of wish fantasy?
407
00:20:22,517 --> 00:20:24,655
And if so,
how does this fantasy
408
00:20:24,758 --> 00:20:26,758
first take hold in their mind?
409
00:20:26,862 --> 00:20:30,620
For the answer, perhaps it's
best to look all the way back
410
00:20:30,724 --> 00:20:32,482
into Christian's past.
411
00:20:34,344 --> 00:20:36,172
Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter
412
00:20:36,275 --> 00:20:38,517
grew up in West Germany.
413
00:20:38,620 --> 00:20:41,275
By all accounts, he was
kind of a bit of an oddball,
414
00:20:41,379 --> 00:20:43,379
prone to fantasy,
a little on the nerdy side,
415
00:20:43,482 --> 00:20:47,586
and really wanted to get out
of West Germany.
416
00:20:47,689 --> 00:20:52,137
So in 1978,
he travels to the United States
417
00:20:52,241 --> 00:20:55,482
and shows up on the doorstep
of this family in Connecticut
418
00:20:55,586 --> 00:20:57,206
called the Savios,
419
00:20:57,310 --> 00:20:59,413
and just sort of went
into high school,
420
00:20:59,517 --> 00:21:02,172
said he was an exchange student,
and things got
421
00:21:02,275 --> 00:21:05,000
progressively stranger
from there.
422
00:21:05,103 --> 00:21:08,103
SAVIO:
He told me that his father created parts
423
00:21:08,206 --> 00:21:09,862
for Mercedes-Benz.
424
00:21:09,965 --> 00:21:11,862
And, of course,
you know, they had money.
425
00:21:11,965 --> 00:21:13,896
You know, servants.
426
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,310
We all knew it was ridiculous.
427
00:21:15,413 --> 00:21:17,758
We laughed at it at the time.
428
00:21:19,275 --> 00:21:21,689
SHATNER:
By 1985, Christian had taken up residence
429
00:21:21,793 --> 00:21:23,275
on the West Coast.
430
00:21:23,379 --> 00:21:26,344
He had also taken a new name.
431
00:21:26,448 --> 00:21:28,620
He moved to San Marino,
which is a rich community
432
00:21:28,724 --> 00:21:30,034
in Southern California,
433
00:21:30,137 --> 00:21:32,965
and assumed the name
Christopher Chichester,
434
00:21:33,068 --> 00:21:36,448
and announced that he was part
of the British royal family.
435
00:21:36,551 --> 00:21:39,896
He would go get free lunches
at social clubs
436
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:41,448
and private members clubs.
437
00:21:41,551 --> 00:21:44,931
He'd start schmoozing up
all the rich ladies in town,
438
00:21:45,034 --> 00:21:47,275
attends a very fancy church.
439
00:21:47,379 --> 00:21:49,724
Ends up living
in the guesthouse
440
00:21:49,827 --> 00:21:53,689
of a local woman
named Ruth Sohus.
441
00:21:53,793 --> 00:21:55,448
He lives there rent-free,
442
00:21:55,551 --> 00:21:58,344
and all is well
for a while, but then
443
00:21:58,448 --> 00:22:03,034
Ruth's son, John,
shows up with his wife Linda.
444
00:22:03,137 --> 00:22:04,793
And John, apparently,
445
00:22:04,896 --> 00:22:08,172
was a bit suspicious of this
446
00:22:08,275 --> 00:22:10,758
strange guy living
in Mom's guesthouse.
447
00:22:10,862 --> 00:22:14,758
And then, all of a sudden,
Linda and her husband disappear.
448
00:22:14,862 --> 00:22:17,965
SHATNER:
Soon after Linda and John Sohus disappeared,
449
00:22:18,068 --> 00:22:20,448
so did Christopher Chichester.
450
00:22:20,551 --> 00:22:24,413
And Christian the imposter
moved back to the East Coast,
451
00:22:24,517 --> 00:22:28,172
where he would eventually live
under his most infamous alias:
452
00:22:28,275 --> 00:22:30,103
Clark Rockefeller.
453
00:22:30,206 --> 00:22:33,862
The rest, as they say,
is history.
454
00:22:33,965 --> 00:22:35,448
But not before
this bizarre story
455
00:22:35,551 --> 00:22:38,965
took yet another
unexpected twist.
456
00:22:39,068 --> 00:22:41,724
In March of 2011,
457
00:22:41,827 --> 00:22:45,206
after Christian was convicted
of kidnapping his daughter,
458
00:22:45,310 --> 00:22:47,931
authorities in California
gathered enough evidence
459
00:22:48,034 --> 00:22:50,310
to charge him
with a more serious crime
460
00:22:50,413 --> 00:22:53,965
than any he
had been charged with before:
461
00:22:54,068 --> 00:22:56,551
the 1985 murder
462
00:22:56,655 --> 00:22:58,551
of John Sohus.
463
00:23:00,655 --> 00:23:03,655
MARK SEAL:
Ruth Sohus had passed away,
464
00:23:03,758 --> 00:23:06,172
and another couple
had bought her home
465
00:23:06,275 --> 00:23:08,517
and were installing
a swimming pool.
466
00:23:08,620 --> 00:23:11,310
HENDLEY:
Where Christian lived in San Marino,
467
00:23:11,413 --> 00:23:15,172
they dug up the backyard
and discovered human remains.
468
00:23:15,275 --> 00:23:18,413
And the body was cut up
into pieces,
469
00:23:18,517 --> 00:23:20,448
but it was wearing
the same kind of clothes
470
00:23:20,551 --> 00:23:23,034
that John Sohus typically wore:
471
00:23:23,137 --> 00:23:25,068
jeans and a flannel shirt.
472
00:23:25,172 --> 00:23:28,758
And apparently,
parts were in bags from schools
473
00:23:28,862 --> 00:23:32,241
that Christian Gerhartsreiter
had attended.
474
00:23:32,344 --> 00:23:36,310
So then he was put on trial
for murdering John Sohus.
475
00:23:36,413 --> 00:23:38,931
He was found guilty,
and he is now an inmate
476
00:23:39,034 --> 00:23:41,241
in San Quentin Prison
in California.
477
00:23:41,344 --> 00:23:43,448
The police detective
that I interviewed
478
00:23:43,551 --> 00:23:45,620
said that the motive was money.
479
00:23:45,724 --> 00:23:48,344
He was to inherit
a sizable amount of money
480
00:23:48,448 --> 00:23:52,034
from Ruth Sohus,
and that's what they believed.
481
00:23:52,137 --> 00:23:54,965
And Linda Sohus had disappeared
482
00:23:55,068 --> 00:23:56,758
off the face of the earth.
483
00:23:56,862 --> 00:23:58,206
What happened to Linda?
484
00:23:58,310 --> 00:24:01,275
That's still an enduring mystery
of this case.
485
00:24:01,379 --> 00:24:03,103
SHATNER:
Imposters like Christian,
486
00:24:03,206 --> 00:24:04,586
who are willing to lie--
487
00:24:04,689 --> 00:24:08,586
or even kill-- for the sake
of protecting an illusion,
488
00:24:08,689 --> 00:24:10,827
would certainly seem
to be troubled,
489
00:24:10,931 --> 00:24:13,275
misguided individuals.
490
00:24:13,379 --> 00:24:16,448
But if that's true,
then why do so many of us
491
00:24:16,551 --> 00:24:18,758
fall for their deceptions?
492
00:24:20,206 --> 00:24:22,068
YOUNG:
Part of the magic story
493
00:24:22,172 --> 00:24:24,379
is using a name
like Rockefeller.
494
00:24:24,482 --> 00:24:27,310
It has a mana, a glitter to it.
495
00:24:27,413 --> 00:24:29,275
It draws people.
496
00:24:29,379 --> 00:24:32,206
And there is an element
of collusion.
497
00:24:32,310 --> 00:24:34,793
So the inability
to catch the warning signs
498
00:24:34,896 --> 00:24:38,793
has to do with the intentional
blindness of the victim.
499
00:24:38,896 --> 00:24:42,137
They want something, and they
want this story to be true,
500
00:24:42,241 --> 00:24:44,827
so they're participating.
501
00:24:44,931 --> 00:24:46,931
ROBBINS:
That's really the secret to a con.
502
00:24:47,034 --> 00:24:49,344
It's not about manufacturing
a whole fake reality.
503
00:24:49,448 --> 00:24:50,965
Instead, it's finding the story
504
00:24:51,068 --> 00:24:52,931
that people
are telling themselves
505
00:24:53,034 --> 00:24:54,413
and just elaborating on it.
506
00:24:54,517 --> 00:24:56,344
They're able to compartmentalize
this reality,
507
00:24:56,448 --> 00:24:58,517
because they're not
worried about somebody else.
508
00:24:58,620 --> 00:25:00,379
These, together,
present opportunity
509
00:25:00,482 --> 00:25:02,586
for somebody to be very evil.
510
00:25:04,103 --> 00:25:07,275
SHATNER:
Today, instead of going by the name Clark Rockefeller,
511
00:25:07,379 --> 00:25:11,551
Christian is known
as inmate number AR3108
512
00:25:11,655 --> 00:25:14,551
at San Quentin State Prison.
513
00:25:14,655 --> 00:25:17,379
Hopefully, his days
of adopting false identities
514
00:25:17,482 --> 00:25:19,448
have been ended forever.
515
00:25:19,551 --> 00:25:22,655
Unlike another imposter,
516
00:25:22,758 --> 00:25:25,379
whose assumption of
a new identity was so credible
517
00:25:25,482 --> 00:25:27,517
and so enduring
518
00:25:27,620 --> 00:25:30,655
that many remain convinced
that her deception was true,
519
00:25:30,758 --> 00:25:34,344
even decades after her death.
520
00:25:39,758 --> 00:25:44,000
HENDLEY:
In the case of impostors who have a damaged past,
521
00:25:44,103 --> 00:25:47,103
does the assumption
of a new identity help them
522
00:25:47,206 --> 00:25:49,689
to recover the details
of a forgotten life?
523
00:25:51,655 --> 00:25:55,206
Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining the case of a woman
524
00:25:55,310 --> 00:25:58,344
who many called an imposter,
525
00:25:58,448 --> 00:26:01,379
but who, until the day she died,
526
00:26:01,482 --> 00:26:03,551
insisted she was really
527
00:26:03,655 --> 00:26:07,448
a long-lost Russian princess:
528
00:26:07,551 --> 00:26:11,965
the Grand Duchess, Anastasia.
529
00:26:19,275 --> 00:26:22,103
In the aftermath
of the Bolshevik Revolution,
530
00:26:22,206 --> 00:26:25,310
the exiled emperor,
Tsar Nicholas II,
531
00:26:25,413 --> 00:26:28,620
his wife Alexandra,
and their five children
532
00:26:28,724 --> 00:26:32,172
are awakened in the night
by their captors.
533
00:26:32,275 --> 00:26:34,862
Frightened and confused,
534
00:26:34,965 --> 00:26:37,758
they are herded along with four
of their loyal servants
535
00:26:37,862 --> 00:26:41,517
into the basement
of the Ipatiev House.
536
00:26:41,620 --> 00:26:44,310
There, while waiting
for further instructions,
537
00:26:44,413 --> 00:26:46,896
a group of Soviet secret police
538
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,379
enter and raise their pistols.
539
00:26:50,482 --> 00:26:53,896
The last thing
the confused family hears.
540
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:55,689
is the sound of gunfire.
541
00:26:55,793 --> 00:26:58,896
[gunshots echoing]
542
00:27:00,620 --> 00:27:03,655
After the execution,
the bodies of the Romanov family
543
00:27:03,758 --> 00:27:06,965
were burned
and then buried in a mass grave.
544
00:27:10,655 --> 00:27:14,241
But in the wake of the killing,
rumors emerged
545
00:27:14,344 --> 00:27:17,344
that the youngest daughter,
Anastasia,
546
00:27:17,448 --> 00:27:20,172
had survived the slaughter.
547
00:27:23,068 --> 00:27:27,620
I think the idea that
An-Anastasia might have escaped,
548
00:27:27,724 --> 00:27:32,379
it seems to be because of
the chaos and the time it took
549
00:27:32,482 --> 00:27:37,137
for the true events that night
to come out.
550
00:27:37,241 --> 00:27:39,344
It was said that
the gunmen were drunk,
551
00:27:39,448 --> 00:27:43,034
and the cellar
was full of smoke.
552
00:27:44,137 --> 00:27:46,482
The story, such as it is,
553
00:27:46,586 --> 00:27:49,103
is that she somehow
survived the shooting
554
00:27:49,206 --> 00:27:51,379
and that one
of the Bolshevik guards
555
00:27:51,482 --> 00:27:53,068
noticed she was alive
556
00:27:53,172 --> 00:27:56,241
and had this residual sympathy
for the royal family,
557
00:27:56,344 --> 00:27:58,206
and sneaked her out
of the death house
558
00:27:58,310 --> 00:28:00,310
and put her on a horse cart
559
00:28:00,413 --> 00:28:02,758
and rode her to Romania.
560
00:28:16,586 --> 00:28:18,655
SHATNER:
The limp body of a young woman
561
00:28:18,758 --> 00:28:20,586
is pulled from a canal
562
00:28:20,689 --> 00:28:23,482
after a failed suicide attempt.
563
00:28:23,586 --> 00:28:27,965
Suffering from traumatic amnesia
and severe depression,
564
00:28:28,068 --> 00:28:30,862
she is admitted
into a mental hospital.
565
00:28:30,965 --> 00:28:34,896
The doctors, unable
to verify the woman's identity,
566
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,862
refer to her
as Fraulein Unbekannt:
567
00:28:37,965 --> 00:28:40,758
Miss Unknown.
568
00:28:40,862 --> 00:28:43,310
WELCH:
She became known as Miss Unknown,
569
00:28:43,413 --> 00:28:45,206
which lasted for months.
570
00:28:45,310 --> 00:28:48,379
And she was ripe
for having an identity
571
00:28:48,482 --> 00:28:49,896
sort of thrust on her.
572
00:28:51,310 --> 00:28:53,793
ROSENSTOCK: Most likely,
she has a primary diagnosis
573
00:28:53,896 --> 00:28:56,137
of post-traumatic
stress disorder.
574
00:28:56,241 --> 00:28:58,379
Therefore, we have some deficits
575
00:28:58,482 --> 00:29:00,241
in cognition,
576
00:29:00,344 --> 00:29:02,758
we have some
bizarre emotionality,
577
00:29:02,862 --> 00:29:05,793
and we have someone
who's in a state
578
00:29:05,896 --> 00:29:10,551
of confusion, which comes and
goes in different gradations.
579
00:29:11,931 --> 00:29:14,068
Over the course
of about a year or so,
580
00:29:14,172 --> 00:29:17,137
another patient sort of notices
she looks a bit like
581
00:29:17,241 --> 00:29:20,586
one of the Romanov daughters,
and so these rumors emerge
582
00:29:20,689 --> 00:29:23,000
that she's connected
to the royal family.
583
00:29:24,689 --> 00:29:27,655
WELCH:
Once they've latched on to some evidence
584
00:29:27,758 --> 00:29:30,068
that she might be Anastasia,
585
00:29:30,172 --> 00:29:33,758
it's all sort of a case
of confirmation bias.
586
00:29:33,862 --> 00:29:35,758
Everybody looks for the things.
587
00:29:35,862 --> 00:29:37,827
And I think, in a general way,
588
00:29:37,931 --> 00:29:41,172
people wanted hope
out of a terrible tragedy.
589
00:29:41,275 --> 00:29:43,137
It's a human instinct.
590
00:29:43,241 --> 00:29:46,448
And the survival of Anastasia
represented hope.
591
00:29:46,551 --> 00:29:48,724
SHATNER:
In 1922,
592
00:29:48,827 --> 00:29:50,448
the mysterious woman,
593
00:29:50,551 --> 00:29:52,862
who had also
gone by the name Anna Anderson,
594
00:29:52,965 --> 00:29:54,827
was released from the hospital
595
00:29:54,931 --> 00:29:58,068
and soon began
calling herself Anastasia.
596
00:29:58,172 --> 00:30:01,275
And it wasn't long
before her haunting story
597
00:30:01,379 --> 00:30:03,379
made worldwide headlines,
598
00:30:03,482 --> 00:30:05,517
prompting many to ask,
599
00:30:05,620 --> 00:30:08,620
"Was the woman in Berlin
an imposter
600
00:30:08,724 --> 00:30:11,068
or the Russian grand duchess?"
601
00:30:12,827 --> 00:30:15,862
STEIN: She went viral,
in a sense, at that time,
602
00:30:15,965 --> 00:30:20,482
because the world was hungry
for that kind of scandal.
603
00:30:20,586 --> 00:30:23,551
Because she wasn't out there
604
00:30:23,655 --> 00:30:27,551
energetically trying
to perpetrate frauds
605
00:30:27,655 --> 00:30:29,034
under the guise
of being this person.
606
00:30:29,137 --> 00:30:31,689
In a sense,
she was just put into a role.
607
00:30:33,931 --> 00:30:35,551
ROBBINS:
She was somebody who was desperately
608
00:30:35,655 --> 00:30:37,034
searching for a reality,
609
00:30:37,137 --> 00:30:40,655
and she danced
through multiple realities.
610
00:30:40,758 --> 00:30:43,137
The question of whether she
was intentionally impersonating
611
00:30:43,241 --> 00:30:45,724
someone else
or whether that was the truth
612
00:30:45,827 --> 00:30:48,689
is still left up to history.
613
00:30:50,758 --> 00:30:53,827
There were quite a few
Anastasia imposters,
614
00:30:53,931 --> 00:30:57,241
but she benefitted from having
this sort of definite transition
615
00:30:57,344 --> 00:31:00,068
where she was pulled
from the canal.
616
00:31:00,172 --> 00:31:04,793
And the reason for her success
was because she was supported
617
00:31:04,896 --> 00:31:07,931
by members
of the Romanov family.
618
00:31:08,034 --> 00:31:11,896
Unfortunately, she was also
not supported by a lot of them.
619
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,034
She had supporters
and detractors.
620
00:31:14,137 --> 00:31:16,241
But I think once you have
a grand duke
621
00:31:16,344 --> 00:31:18,172
or a prince on your side,
622
00:31:18,275 --> 00:31:20,344
then people will flock around.
623
00:31:20,448 --> 00:31:24,068
HENDLEY:
There's these rumors that the Romanovs banked
624
00:31:24,172 --> 00:31:27,448
outside of Russia,
that they had millions of rubles
625
00:31:27,551 --> 00:31:29,655
in a British bank and all this.
626
00:31:29,758 --> 00:31:31,827
So the real Anastasia
627
00:31:31,931 --> 00:31:33,896
could be in for a fortune.
628
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,620
So for a period of time
was really living it up.
629
00:31:37,724 --> 00:31:41,724
She, at one point, was staying
with European royals.
630
00:31:41,827 --> 00:31:44,551
WELCH:
Two of her big supporters
631
00:31:44,655 --> 00:31:46,206
in Germany were aristocrats,
632
00:31:46,310 --> 00:31:49,172
who supported Anastasia,
believed in her cause,
633
00:31:49,275 --> 00:31:51,310
even though she was
very difficult to handle.
634
00:31:51,413 --> 00:31:54,068
But these people were so sure
635
00:31:54,172 --> 00:31:56,758
that she was Anastasia,
they put up with a lot.
636
00:31:58,034 --> 00:31:59,586
SHATNER:
Given that she possessed
637
00:31:59,689 --> 00:32:02,034
what was thought
to be a Russian accent,
638
00:32:02,137 --> 00:32:04,103
had scarring
across much of her body,
639
00:32:04,206 --> 00:32:07,310
which seemed consistent
with bayonet wounds,
640
00:32:07,413 --> 00:32:09,655
and cornflower-blue eyes,
641
00:32:09,758 --> 00:32:13,068
which matched those
of the missing Grand Duchess,
642
00:32:13,172 --> 00:32:15,275
there was enough
compelling evidence to suggest
643
00:32:15,379 --> 00:32:18,275
that the young woman
pulled from the German canal
644
00:32:18,379 --> 00:32:20,793
might really be Anastasia.
645
00:32:20,896 --> 00:32:23,551
But given the nature
of the tsar's family's
646
00:32:23,655 --> 00:32:25,275
bloody execution,
647
00:32:25,379 --> 00:32:27,793
how could anyone survive?
648
00:32:39,896 --> 00:32:42,965
ROSHATNER::
The young woman claiming to be the Grand Duchess, Anastasia
649
00:32:43,068 --> 00:32:45,620
has taken up residence
at Castle Seeon
650
00:32:45,724 --> 00:32:48,344
as a guest of Duke George
of Leuchtenberg,
651
00:32:48,448 --> 00:32:51,482
a distant relative
of Tsar Nicholas II.
652
00:32:51,586 --> 00:32:53,655
But the aristocrats
and European royalty,
653
00:32:53,758 --> 00:32:56,827
who had been hosting
the strangely eccentric woman
654
00:32:56,931 --> 00:32:59,724
are beginning to suspect
that there is no way
655
00:32:59,827 --> 00:33:03,103
she could actually be
the long-lost Russian princess.
656
00:33:03,206 --> 00:33:06,724
Especially after it is
reported that Anna Anderson
657
00:33:06,827 --> 00:33:10,586
actually had yet another name.
658
00:33:10,689 --> 00:33:13,413
HENDLEY:
What happened was in 1927,
659
00:33:13,517 --> 00:33:15,172
a detective looked
into her background,
660
00:33:15,275 --> 00:33:18,793
and the detective says,
"This is not Anastasia."
661
00:33:18,896 --> 00:33:22,758
This is a Polish peasant girl
named Franziska.
662
00:33:22,862 --> 00:33:25,793
And Franziska moved
from Poland to Berlin
663
00:33:25,896 --> 00:33:29,034
during the first World War and
suffered a severe head injury
664
00:33:29,137 --> 00:33:31,034
while working
in a munitions plant.
665
00:33:31,137 --> 00:33:35,758
There was an explosion,
so she had brain damage,
666
00:33:35,862 --> 00:33:38,620
went into mental homes
after that,
667
00:33:38,724 --> 00:33:41,827
and then all of a sudden
jumps into a canal in 1920.
668
00:33:41,931 --> 00:33:44,689
And this triggers
this decades-long argument.
669
00:33:44,793 --> 00:33:47,206
You know,
is this really Franziska
670
00:33:47,310 --> 00:33:49,689
or is this Anastasia?
671
00:33:49,793 --> 00:33:53,000
SHATNER:
In 1938, as the controversy
672
00:33:53,103 --> 00:33:56,862
regarding Anna Anderson's
identity reached a fever pitch,
673
00:33:56,965 --> 00:33:59,689
the woman who had by now
firmly convinced herself
674
00:33:59,793 --> 00:34:02,586
that she was
the real Anastasia
675
00:34:02,689 --> 00:34:05,241
petitioned a German court
to try her case
676
00:34:05,344 --> 00:34:07,379
and restore her birthright.
677
00:34:07,482 --> 00:34:10,655
It marked the beginning
of the longest-running lawsuit
678
00:34:10,758 --> 00:34:12,068
in German history.
679
00:34:12,172 --> 00:34:15,137
For decades,
evidence was presented
680
00:34:15,241 --> 00:34:17,931
both for and against
Anna's claim,
681
00:34:18,034 --> 00:34:21,206
including comparisons
of handwriting samples
682
00:34:21,310 --> 00:34:26,793
and photographic comparisons
of Anna and Anastasia's ears.
683
00:34:26,896 --> 00:34:30,724
Officially, Anna's court case
ended in 1970,
684
00:34:30,827 --> 00:34:33,793
with neither side able
to conclusively establish
685
00:34:33,896 --> 00:34:36,586
the would-be monarch's identity.
686
00:34:36,689 --> 00:34:39,793
But that was by no means
the end of the story.
687
00:34:39,896 --> 00:34:44,206
In 1991, seven years
after Anna's death,
688
00:34:44,310 --> 00:34:47,586
the mangled remains
of the Romanov family were found
689
00:34:47,689 --> 00:34:50,275
buried in a mass grave
just a short distance
690
00:34:50,379 --> 00:34:51,965
from where they were executed.
691
00:34:54,724 --> 00:34:57,724
And the investigators
were shocked to find
692
00:34:57,827 --> 00:35:01,172
that the remains
of the tsar's son Alexei
693
00:35:01,275 --> 00:35:03,655
and one of the Romanov's
four daughters
694
00:35:03,758 --> 00:35:06,551
were missing.
695
00:35:06,655 --> 00:35:09,068
WELCH:
In 1978,
696
00:35:09,172 --> 00:35:10,965
one of the killers
of the Romanov family
697
00:35:11,068 --> 00:35:13,931
made a confession,
and as a result of that,
698
00:35:14,034 --> 00:35:16,758
bodies were found
under some railway sidings.
699
00:35:16,862 --> 00:35:20,068
HENDLEY:
The guy who found the remains
700
00:35:20,172 --> 00:35:22,620
kept this a secret, though,
for two decades
701
00:35:22,724 --> 00:35:24,448
because the communists
were still in power
702
00:35:24,551 --> 00:35:27,862
and he kind of sensed this might
be a bad idea to tell everybody.
703
00:35:27,965 --> 00:35:30,931
WELCH:
This was in the '90s and Anastasia,
704
00:35:31,034 --> 00:35:33,862
Anna Anderson, had already died,
unfortunately.
705
00:35:33,965 --> 00:35:36,448
But it was discovered that
two of the bodies were missing.
706
00:35:38,275 --> 00:35:40,862
SHATNER:
Two of the bodies missing?
707
00:35:40,965 --> 00:35:44,517
Could it be that Anna Anderson
was not an impostor
708
00:35:44,620 --> 00:35:47,517
after all,
but the real Anastasia?
709
00:35:47,620 --> 00:35:49,655
WELCH:
When the news came through
710
00:35:49,758 --> 00:35:53,103
that two bodies were missing,
everybody was rather excited
711
00:35:53,206 --> 00:35:57,068
and thought, "Well, this proves
that Ana-Anastasia lived."
712
00:35:57,172 --> 00:36:01,586
However, the bodies
were then tested for DNA.
713
00:36:01,689 --> 00:36:05,172
HENDLEY:
They compared samples of Anna
714
00:36:05,275 --> 00:36:08,379
and find that she doesn't
match the Romanovs at all.
715
00:36:08,482 --> 00:36:10,827
But there is a match between
716
00:36:10,931 --> 00:36:13,862
Anna and her relatives
of Franziska.
717
00:36:13,965 --> 00:36:18,620
Later on, a second
plot of bodies was found,
718
00:36:18,724 --> 00:36:22,068
and the body of Anastasia is
719
00:36:22,172 --> 00:36:24,172
actually found and DNA-tested.
720
00:36:24,275 --> 00:36:26,931
For a second time,
DNA testing is brought in
721
00:36:27,034 --> 00:36:29,551
and said, "No, no, no,
Anastasia was buried
722
00:36:29,655 --> 00:36:31,068
along with the rest
of her family."
723
00:36:31,172 --> 00:36:34,379
And Franziska
was totally deluded.
724
00:36:34,482 --> 00:36:38,793
But even today, there's people
who insist that the DNA tests
725
00:36:38,896 --> 00:36:41,413
were all fake and that
this really was Anastasia,
726
00:36:41,517 --> 00:36:43,896
and someone really did survive
727
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,068
this brutal slaughter
of the royal family.
728
00:36:47,310 --> 00:36:49,275
YOUNG:
Strangely, Anna Anderson did
729
00:36:49,379 --> 00:36:51,344
become something
larger than life.
730
00:36:51,448 --> 00:36:52,896
She became a legend.
731
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,172
There have been many books.
732
00:36:56,275 --> 00:36:58,379
There have been movies,
a musical.
733
00:36:58,482 --> 00:37:00,448
We still love the story,
734
00:37:00,551 --> 00:37:03,862
and when it is retold
in the fictionalized versions,
735
00:37:03,965 --> 00:37:06,862
she is always
really the princess.
736
00:37:06,965 --> 00:37:10,965
STEIN:
She was just a puppet of forces
737
00:37:11,068 --> 00:37:13,000
that were beyond her.
738
00:37:13,103 --> 00:37:15,068
And she was clearly
quite malleable
739
00:37:15,172 --> 00:37:18,379
and was willing to become
740
00:37:18,482 --> 00:37:20,931
the persona that had
been assigned to her.
741
00:37:21,034 --> 00:37:23,862
Her capacity to be
742
00:37:23,965 --> 00:37:27,586
delusional clearly played
a part in the formation
743
00:37:27,689 --> 00:37:30,931
of this false identity,
744
00:37:31,034 --> 00:37:35,448
which she seemed to live
as if it were actual.
745
00:37:38,034 --> 00:37:40,551
SHATNER:
Whether Anna Anderson truly believed
746
00:37:40,655 --> 00:37:45,620
or simply wanted to believe
that she was Anastasia Romanov,
747
00:37:45,724 --> 00:37:48,689
she never wavered from her claim
748
00:37:48,793 --> 00:37:51,068
even until the day she died.
749
00:37:51,172 --> 00:37:54,172
But what drives someone
750
00:37:54,275 --> 00:37:57,034
to stick to their story,
no matter what?
751
00:37:57,137 --> 00:37:59,724
For some, as it turns out,
it is not merely
752
00:37:59,827 --> 00:38:02,862
a choice, a con or a delusion.
753
00:38:02,965 --> 00:38:05,965
Some people are simply
born to be someone else.
754
00:38:13,034 --> 00:38:16,586
Tipton, once a popularjazz musician and band leader
755
00:38:16,689 --> 00:38:21,448
during the 1940s and 50s, dies
at the age of 74 in his home.
756
00:38:21,551 --> 00:38:25,689
But when the paramedics arrive,
they make a shocking discovery.
757
00:38:25,793 --> 00:38:28,724
Billy Tipton was, in fact...
758
00:38:28,827 --> 00:38:30,793
a woman.
759
00:38:30,896 --> 00:38:34,000
Here's someone who was gifted,
a great pianist,
760
00:38:34,103 --> 00:38:39,275
a great saxophone player,
someone who had dramatic talent.
761
00:38:39,379 --> 00:38:42,689
But every time
Dorothy Lucille Tipton
762
00:38:42,793 --> 00:38:45,275
went for a musical audition,
763
00:38:45,379 --> 00:38:48,517
she was turned down
regardless of obvious talent.
764
00:38:48,620 --> 00:38:51,862
YOUNG:
One day here she is, Dorothy Lucille Tipton
765
00:38:51,965 --> 00:38:54,103
changes her name
to Billy Tipton,
766
00:38:54,206 --> 00:38:57,965
cuts her hair short, puts on
a suit, goes in, gets the job.
767
00:38:58,068 --> 00:39:00,482
She's got the chops,
she's got the talent,
768
00:39:00,586 --> 00:39:02,068
and now she has the work.
769
00:39:02,172 --> 00:39:04,241
And she has a successful career,
770
00:39:04,344 --> 00:39:07,344
decades as
a successful jazz pianist.
771
00:39:09,275 --> 00:39:11,896
The Billy Tipton Trio
were quite popular.
772
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:13,448
They played all over the place.
773
00:39:13,551 --> 00:39:15,724
And by all accounts,
774
00:39:15,827 --> 00:39:18,379
they were
a well-regarded jazz trio
775
00:39:18,482 --> 00:39:21,241
back in this era,
in the '50s, '60s.
776
00:39:21,344 --> 00:39:25,586
STEIN: Billy Tipton was
looking to do something
777
00:39:25,689 --> 00:39:29,379
that was critically important
to her life-- to make music
778
00:39:29,482 --> 00:39:32,206
and to be accepted
into a society
779
00:39:32,310 --> 00:39:34,896
that would not have her
as herself.
780
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,965
She wasn't gonna let
something like gender
781
00:39:38,068 --> 00:39:41,000
or prejudice get in her way.
782
00:39:43,586 --> 00:39:47,965
SHATNER:
Eventually, Billy became so committed to living as a man
783
00:39:48,068 --> 00:39:50,758
that even his wives,
of which he had five
784
00:39:50,862 --> 00:39:52,241
over the course of his life,
785
00:39:52,344 --> 00:39:55,344
claimed to never know
the truth about Billy.
786
00:39:56,482 --> 00:39:59,551
The 30s, 40s, 50s were
much primmer than today.
787
00:39:59,655 --> 00:40:02,517
Husbands and wives typically
didn't parade around naked
788
00:40:02,620 --> 00:40:03,931
in front of each other.
789
00:40:04,034 --> 00:40:07,655
ROSENSTOCK:
This individual said,
790
00:40:07,758 --> 00:40:09,862
"I have a certain
kind of problem
791
00:40:09,965 --> 00:40:12,068
"where I can't have sex.
792
00:40:12,172 --> 00:40:13,965
"It comes from
a childhood injury,
793
00:40:14,068 --> 00:40:15,862
"too difficult to explain.
794
00:40:15,965 --> 00:40:19,655
"But I can be
a wonderful husband.
795
00:40:19,758 --> 00:40:21,965
I can be a wonderful father."
796
00:40:22,068 --> 00:40:24,620
And, therefore,
he was able to carry out
797
00:40:24,724 --> 00:40:28,103
this facade as Billy Tipton.
798
00:40:28,206 --> 00:40:31,137
STEIN:
There are people in certain societies
799
00:40:31,241 --> 00:40:33,862
all over the world who,
800
00:40:33,965 --> 00:40:36,931
by virtue of the prejudice
of the society
801
00:40:37,034 --> 00:40:38,379
or the community
in which they live,
802
00:40:38,482 --> 00:40:41,689
cannot allow themselves
to be themselves,
803
00:40:41,793 --> 00:40:43,724
which seems
like a real perversity
804
00:40:43,827 --> 00:40:46,827
that the only way they could
be real is to be fake.
805
00:40:46,931 --> 00:40:48,931
Because you are
living the secret,
806
00:40:49,034 --> 00:40:50,448
not just living with a secret.
807
00:40:50,551 --> 00:40:53,793
We have many characters
within ourselves.
808
00:40:53,896 --> 00:40:55,517
We're not consistent.
809
00:40:55,620 --> 00:40:58,068
We have a business self,
we have a social self,
810
00:40:58,172 --> 00:41:00,172
we have a parental self,
we have a good-citizen self.
811
00:41:00,275 --> 00:41:04,517
And this brings up
some issues about reality.
812
00:41:04,620 --> 00:41:07,275
An old thief once told me that
you have to die with a lie.
813
00:41:07,379 --> 00:41:09,206
If somebody finds out
that you're a fraud,
814
00:41:09,310 --> 00:41:11,586
they'll think you're a fraud
from that point forward.
815
00:41:11,689 --> 00:41:14,965
Billy Tipton died with that lie,
but for him, that wasn't a lie.
816
00:41:15,068 --> 00:41:17,034
That was his truth.
817
00:41:18,931 --> 00:41:23,000
SHATNER:
For Billy Tipton, living as a man was more than a role.
818
00:41:23,103 --> 00:41:25,896
It was his life.
819
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,413
But when a person
commits themselves
820
00:41:28,517 --> 00:41:30,827
to an impersonation
so thoroughly,
821
00:41:30,931 --> 00:41:33,413
which part of them is more real?
822
00:41:33,517 --> 00:41:35,275
Who they were?
823
00:41:35,379 --> 00:41:39,034
Or who they've chosen to become?
824
00:41:40,551 --> 00:41:44,448
Perhaps they exist
to remind us that who we are
825
00:41:44,551 --> 00:41:47,103
and who we think we are
are not always the same.
826
00:41:47,206 --> 00:41:50,241
And that our own
carefully constructed facades
827
00:41:50,344 --> 00:41:52,724
could shatter at any moment,
828
00:41:52,827 --> 00:41:55,862
exposing the parts of ourselves
we would prefer to keep hidden
829
00:41:55,965 --> 00:41:59,068
and, um... unexplained.
65966
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