1 00:00:14,771 --> 00:00:18,729 (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) 2 00:00:20,729 --> 00:00:22,979 JOHNNY OLSON: A fortune in fabulous prizes 3 00:00:23,062 --> 00:00:24,688 may go to these people tonight 4 00:00:24,771 --> 00:00:27,646 if they know when The Price is Right. 5 00:00:29,771 --> 00:00:34,145 And now, here's the ultimate: a three-wheeled car! 6 00:00:34,229 --> 00:00:36,688 (CHEERING) 7 00:00:36,771 --> 00:00:37,771 It's the Dale, 8 00:00:37,854 --> 00:00:39,646 a whole new concept in automotive design, 9 00:00:39,729 --> 00:00:41,437 a three-wheeled chassis with a high-impact 10 00:00:41,521 --> 00:00:45,270 plastic resistant Rosen body, top speed of 85 miles per hour. 11 00:00:45,354 --> 00:00:47,437 For comfort and economy, it's the Dale 12 00:00:47,521 --> 00:00:49,896 by Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation. 13 00:00:49,979 --> 00:00:51,562 NEWS ANCHOR #1: ...a rough-talking promoter 14 00:00:51,646 --> 00:00:52,896 named Elizabeth Carmichael. 15 00:00:52,979 --> 00:00:55,562 She's president and prime mover behind the Dale. 16 00:00:55,646 --> 00:00:57,437 NEWS ANCHOR #2: The miracle is in the mileage, 17 00:00:57,521 --> 00:00:59,729 a promise of 70 per precious gallon. 18 00:00:59,813 --> 00:01:02,104 ELIZABETH GERALDINE CARMICHAEL: We've taken a total concept, 19 00:01:02,187 --> 00:01:06,270 integrated it, and built a whole new means of transportation. 20 00:01:06,354 --> 00:01:08,270 MALE VOICE: Mrs. Carmichael is no pessimist. 21 00:01:08,354 --> 00:01:10,521 REPORTER #1: Think you're going to be able to take on GM? 22 00:01:10,604 --> 00:01:11,729 We're gonna whip GM. 23 00:01:11,813 --> 00:01:14,104 A couple of nights ago, on the television show 24 00:01:14,187 --> 00:01:15,312 The Price is Right, 25 00:01:15,396 --> 00:01:18,604 the grand prize was a three-wheeled Dale automobile. 26 00:01:18,688 --> 00:01:21,145 That embarrassing show was taped several months ago 27 00:01:21,229 --> 00:01:23,104 when the Dale was getting reams of publicity. 28 00:01:23,187 --> 00:01:26,104 But is the Dale all it's been cracked up to be? 29 00:01:26,187 --> 00:01:27,521 Now state officials tell us 30 00:01:27,604 --> 00:01:29,354 that Mrs. Carmichael's fingerprints 31 00:01:29,437 --> 00:01:31,688 match those of a notorious conman. 32 00:01:31,771 --> 00:01:32,979 Mrs. Elizabeth Carmichael 33 00:01:33,062 --> 00:01:35,145 is actually Mr. Jerry Dean Michael. 34 00:01:35,229 --> 00:01:36,938 And the secret life of Jerry Michael 35 00:01:37,020 --> 00:01:39,437 is the stuff of wildly imaginative adventure novels. 36 00:01:39,521 --> 00:01:42,312 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 37 00:01:45,187 --> 00:01:48,354 There's so much to say about my father. I... 38 00:01:49,187 --> 00:01:51,187 How long you got? 39 00:01:51,270 --> 00:01:53,813 SUSAN STRYKER: She lived as a man for a long time, 40 00:01:53,896 --> 00:01:56,062 but that doesn't mean that she wasn't trans. 41 00:01:56,145 --> 00:01:58,896 CANDI MICHAEL: My father was my hero. 42 00:01:58,979 --> 00:02:00,396 CHARLES RICHARD BARRETT: I'll tell you what. 43 00:02:00,479 --> 00:02:02,896 There was so much cloak and dagger going on. 44 00:02:04,479 --> 00:02:08,354 It was a difficult life. That's all. 45 00:02:08,938 --> 00:02:10,646 (TAPE RECORDER CLICKS) 46 00:02:10,729 --> 00:02:14,270 CARMICHAEL: The very first piece of literature I can ever remember moving me 47 00:02:14,354 --> 00:02:19,187 was about in the... third grade, maybe, 48 00:02:19,270 --> 00:02:22,604 a teacher reading a little thing. 49 00:02:22,688 --> 00:02:27,187 It was the story of a spider who leaped from a windowsill 50 00:02:27,270 --> 00:02:28,604 and failed to reach the side 51 00:02:28,688 --> 00:02:30,270 where it was trying to string its web, 52 00:02:30,354 --> 00:02:31,854 then climbed back up and leaped again, 53 00:02:31,938 --> 00:02:33,729 climbed back up and leaped again. 54 00:02:33,813 --> 00:02:36,562 And the moral of the story is if you first don't succeed, 55 00:02:36,646 --> 00:02:37,646 try and try again. 56 00:02:37,729 --> 00:02:39,145 That's the first thing that I can remember 57 00:02:39,229 --> 00:02:41,396 being impressed by in literature. 58 00:02:41,479 --> 00:02:43,729 -(TAPE RECORDER CLICKS) -(CRICKETS CHIRPING) 59 00:02:49,312 --> 00:02:51,187 It's so hard to explain to people 60 00:02:51,270 --> 00:02:54,938 because Liz is like two people to me. 61 00:02:56,938 --> 00:02:58,854 The first part of the transition 62 00:02:58,938 --> 00:03:03,521 was just calling Daddy "Jerry." 63 00:03:03,604 --> 00:03:07,354 And it took several years, but eventually Jerry 64 00:03:07,437 --> 00:03:12,979 became Aunt Jerry, then Aunt Liz, and then Mother. 65 00:03:13,062 --> 00:03:16,187 This is a course of over probably three years. 66 00:03:16,270 --> 00:03:18,312 So from that point on, 67 00:03:18,396 --> 00:03:20,187 my father, Jerry Dean Michael, 68 00:03:20,270 --> 00:03:24,145 became my mother, Elizabeth Geraldine Carmichael. 69 00:03:24,229 --> 00:03:25,729 ♪ (PIANO MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 70 00:03:25,813 --> 00:03:29,562 CANDI: Jerry Dean Michael was born a farm boy, 71 00:03:29,646 --> 00:03:32,437 but was too smart for his own good. 72 00:03:33,312 --> 00:03:34,437 (TAPE RECORDER CLICKS) 73 00:03:34,521 --> 00:03:38,562 CARMICHAEL: I was born on a dirt farm, very poor. 74 00:03:38,646 --> 00:03:41,729 I did occasionally get to go to the movies. 75 00:03:41,813 --> 00:03:44,729 Here I saw people driving fancy cars 76 00:03:44,813 --> 00:03:46,729 and living in fancy buildings. 77 00:03:46,813 --> 00:03:48,479 (GUNSHOTS) 78 00:03:48,562 --> 00:03:51,062 And somewhere about 15 years of age, 79 00:03:51,145 --> 00:03:53,229 I realized that there was a better way to live 80 00:03:53,312 --> 00:03:55,187 than on a dirt farm. 81 00:03:56,479 --> 00:03:57,646 (TAPE RECORDER CLICKS OFF) 82 00:03:59,145 --> 00:04:01,270 (MUSIC CONCLUDES) 83 00:04:05,104 --> 00:04:06,646 It was a brick home. 84 00:04:06,729 --> 00:04:08,854 Probably one of the nicer ones around. 85 00:04:16,020 --> 00:04:17,062 (CHUCKLES) 86 00:04:19,813 --> 00:04:20,979 (INDISTINCT CHATTER) 87 00:04:37,729 --> 00:04:40,145 ♪ ("BABY COUNT TEN" BY THE BELL SISTERS PLAYING) ♪ 88 00:04:40,229 --> 00:04:41,479 ♪ One ♪ 89 00:04:42,729 --> 00:04:44,354 ♪ Baby, count one ♪ 90 00:04:45,729 --> 00:04:48,646 ♪ While you're having fun With someone else ♪ 91 00:04:48,729 --> 00:04:50,020 ♪ Don't come around ♪ 92 00:04:50,104 --> 00:04:54,270 CARL ZUKUNFT: 93 00:04:54,354 --> 00:04:55,396 ♪ Two ♪ 94 00:04:56,562 --> 00:04:57,854 ♪ Baby, count two ♪ 95 00:04:59,479 --> 00:05:02,646 ♪ But when you're all through With your romance ♪ 96 00:05:02,729 --> 00:05:04,229 ♪ Leave me alone ♪ 97 00:05:07,062 --> 00:05:08,104 ♪ Ten... ♪ 98 00:05:08,187 --> 00:05:10,145 ZUKUNFT: Three or four cars may have passed us 99 00:05:10,229 --> 00:05:12,813 the whole time we was walking ten miles. 100 00:05:12,896 --> 00:05:15,604 ♪ But when you've the yen To count me in ♪ 101 00:05:15,688 --> 00:05:16,771 ♪ Count me out ♪ 102 00:05:16,854 --> 00:05:18,896 ZUKUNFT: He said, "Aw, we're just unlucky." 103 00:05:18,979 --> 00:05:21,104 ♪ Count me out ♪ 104 00:05:21,187 --> 00:05:23,187 ♪ One, two, three, four, five Six, seven, eight, nine ♪ 105 00:05:23,270 --> 00:05:24,396 ♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪ 106 00:05:37,437 --> 00:05:38,813 (LAUGHTER) 107 00:05:39,938 --> 00:05:41,813 (SIREN WAILING) 108 00:05:45,688 --> 00:05:48,813 KENNETH YERYAR : 109 00:05:50,896 --> 00:05:53,020 (CROWD CLAMORING) 110 00:05:53,104 --> 00:05:56,771 YERYAR : 111 00:06:19,312 --> 00:06:20,771 When Jerry was young, 112 00:06:20,854 --> 00:06:24,896 he had a couple marriages before he met my mother, 113 00:06:24,979 --> 00:06:27,354 and was always going out for adventures, 114 00:06:27,437 --> 00:06:31,521 whether they'd be business or just mischief in general. 115 00:06:31,604 --> 00:06:34,270 FBI NARRATOR: FBI case file: Jerry Dean Michael. 116 00:06:34,354 --> 00:06:36,479 1946 to 1958. 117 00:06:37,938 --> 00:06:40,229 Kenneth Paul Wolf advised that he is a one-time friend 118 00:06:40,312 --> 00:06:41,979 of the subject, Jerry Dean Michael, 119 00:06:42,062 --> 00:06:45,145 as they both grew up together in Jasonville, Indiana. 120 00:06:45,229 --> 00:06:48,187 Wolf advised that in 1946, he enlisted in the army 121 00:06:48,270 --> 00:06:50,229 and came in contact with Jerry Dean Michael. 122 00:06:50,312 --> 00:06:51,854 Wolf advised that he and the subject 123 00:06:51,938 --> 00:06:53,479 were shipped overseas to Germany. 124 00:06:53,562 --> 00:06:56,312 WAR VIDEO NARRATOR: The problem now is future peace. 125 00:06:56,396 --> 00:06:59,813 That is your job in Germany. 126 00:06:59,896 --> 00:07:02,104 FBI NARRATOR: The next time he had occasion to see the subject 127 00:07:02,187 --> 00:07:03,229 was in 1948. 128 00:07:04,729 --> 00:07:06,270 At that time, the subject was married 129 00:07:06,354 --> 00:07:08,688 to a German girl by the name of Marga. 130 00:07:08,771 --> 00:07:10,938 Marga advised that she married Jerry Dean Michael 131 00:07:11,020 --> 00:07:12,646 during his military service in Germany 132 00:07:12,729 --> 00:07:14,521 and has two children by him. 133 00:07:15,813 --> 00:07:16,854 (DOOR OPENS) 134 00:07:17,854 --> 00:07:19,104 Jerry Dean Michael was charged 135 00:07:19,187 --> 00:07:21,270 with desertion of his wife, Marga, and their children 136 00:07:21,354 --> 00:07:23,312 with a penal sum of 1,000 dollars. 137 00:07:23,396 --> 00:07:25,020 The subject entered a plea of guilty, 138 00:07:25,104 --> 00:07:27,270 receiving one to three years at Indiana Reformatory 139 00:07:27,354 --> 00:07:28,979 plus court costs be paid by Marga 140 00:07:29,062 --> 00:07:30,479 and the subject's mother. 141 00:07:30,562 --> 00:07:32,813 The sentence was suspended and the subject was released 142 00:07:32,896 --> 00:07:34,145 on his own recognizance. 143 00:07:37,020 --> 00:07:39,813 Jerry Dean Michael married Juanita Haseman in 1954, 144 00:07:39,896 --> 00:07:41,437 and her father paid the down payment 145 00:07:41,521 --> 00:07:42,979 on their first apartment. 146 00:07:43,062 --> 00:07:45,145 -(KNOCKING ON DOOR) -The subject appeared to be a smooth talker 147 00:07:45,229 --> 00:07:47,145 and sold knitting machines which he built with the promise 148 00:07:47,229 --> 00:07:49,396 that he would by the products the customer produced. 149 00:07:49,479 --> 00:07:50,688 (PHONE RINGS, BEEPS) 150 00:07:50,771 --> 00:07:52,479 AUTOMATED VOICE: The number you are trying to reach 151 00:07:52,562 --> 00:07:53,896 has been disconnected. 152 00:07:53,979 --> 00:07:55,938 FBI NARRATOR: Juanita Haseman advised that she and the subject 153 00:07:56,020 --> 00:07:58,187 changed residences twenty-one times 154 00:07:58,270 --> 00:07:59,479 in the three years of their marriage, 155 00:07:59,562 --> 00:08:00,896 and they resided in the states of New York, 156 00:08:00,979 --> 00:08:04,187 California, Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, and Florida. 157 00:08:04,270 --> 00:08:05,521 (KNOCKING ON DOOR) 158 00:08:05,604 --> 00:08:08,229 Juanita's father described the subject as "no-good, 159 00:08:08,312 --> 00:08:09,979 always attempting some unethical means 160 00:08:10,062 --> 00:08:11,979 of shortcutting to success." 161 00:08:12,062 --> 00:08:13,229 (KNOCKING ON DOOR) 162 00:08:15,354 --> 00:08:16,646 In the spring of 1956, 163 00:08:16,729 --> 00:08:18,771 Juanita had finally had enough of this marriage 164 00:08:18,854 --> 00:08:20,479 and left the subject. 165 00:08:20,562 --> 00:08:22,771 Juanita had two children by Jerry Dean Michael, 166 00:08:22,854 --> 00:08:24,938 but he has never seen the youngest child. 167 00:08:27,896 --> 00:08:30,604 The subject Jerry Dean Michael operated a small newspaper 168 00:08:30,688 --> 00:08:32,896 over a local grocery store. 169 00:08:32,979 --> 00:08:35,354 The subject did not enjoy a very good reputation 170 00:08:35,437 --> 00:08:37,104 -in the community. -(GRUMBLING) 171 00:08:37,187 --> 00:08:38,813 FBI NARRATOR: The newspaper had been unsuccessful, 172 00:08:38,896 --> 00:08:40,854 and no paper was continued after the subject 173 00:08:40,938 --> 00:08:43,604 left the small town of Elnora. 174 00:08:43,688 --> 00:08:45,729 The subject changed residences frequently, 175 00:08:45,813 --> 00:08:48,062 commenting that it was cheaper than paying rent. 176 00:08:50,604 --> 00:08:54,437 Jerry Dean Michael worked for United Vacuum Cleaners in 1957. 177 00:08:54,521 --> 00:08:56,062 The subject was an excellent salesman 178 00:08:56,145 --> 00:08:57,521 and had a good mechanical knowledge 179 00:08:57,604 --> 00:08:59,854 of vacuum cleaners and sewing machines. 180 00:08:59,938 --> 00:09:01,104 The subject was fired, 181 00:09:01,187 --> 00:09:05,104 as he was pocketing down payments made by customers. 182 00:09:05,187 --> 00:09:08,145 Jerry Dean Michael considered himself a soldier of fortune, 183 00:09:08,229 --> 00:09:09,813 divulging that he was going to Cuba 184 00:09:09,896 --> 00:09:11,270 to join the revolutionaries, 185 00:09:11,354 --> 00:09:13,604 and expressed other ideas which were considered wild 186 00:09:13,688 --> 00:09:15,145 by anyone hearing them. 187 00:09:16,312 --> 00:09:18,145 Jerry Dean Michael once told an acquaintance 188 00:09:18,229 --> 00:09:19,688 that he hauled guns for distribution 189 00:09:19,771 --> 00:09:21,604 to Castro's troops, 190 00:09:21,688 --> 00:09:24,187 and that he was put in jail in Cuba by Batista 191 00:09:24,270 --> 00:09:27,020 and freed by Castro's revolutionary forces. 192 00:09:27,104 --> 00:09:28,479 (INDISTINCT SHOUTING) 193 00:09:28,562 --> 00:09:30,479 The subject said he returned to the United States 194 00:09:30,562 --> 00:09:31,562 by fishing vessel 195 00:09:31,646 --> 00:09:34,270 and swam ashore at Bakers Hollow, Florida. 196 00:09:35,729 --> 00:09:38,062 Mrs. Betty Sweet stated she met Jerry Dean Michael 197 00:09:38,145 --> 00:09:40,813 in Linton, Indiana, during the spring of 1958, 198 00:09:40,896 --> 00:09:43,104 and after acquaintance of approximately four weeks, 199 00:09:43,187 --> 00:09:44,479 married the subject, 200 00:09:44,562 --> 00:09:46,270 and thereafter lived with him for a period of two months, 201 00:09:46,354 --> 00:09:48,354 during which time she conceived a child. 202 00:09:48,437 --> 00:09:50,604 She related the subject was continually involved 203 00:09:50,688 --> 00:09:51,938 in trouble with law enforcement, 204 00:09:52,020 --> 00:09:53,270 and she therefore separated from him 205 00:09:53,354 --> 00:09:54,771 in August of 1958. 206 00:09:54,854 --> 00:09:57,604 She stated the child, a girl, was born, 207 00:09:57,688 --> 00:09:59,688 and the subject has never seen her. 208 00:10:03,813 --> 00:10:05,521 (INDISTINCT CHATTER) 209 00:10:05,604 --> 00:10:10,270 BARRETT: Vivian met Jerry when she was 16 210 00:10:10,354 --> 00:10:12,396 at Pam's, where she worked. 211 00:10:14,396 --> 00:10:16,187 And she probably flirted with him, 212 00:10:16,270 --> 00:10:18,437 to be quite honest, you know. 213 00:10:18,521 --> 00:10:23,270 She, uh, had a wit about her, and she was very intelligent. 214 00:10:23,354 --> 00:10:25,813 She could talk you into things... 215 00:10:25,896 --> 00:10:28,020 (CHUCKLING) ...if she really wanted to. 216 00:10:28,104 --> 00:10:31,312 She was beautiful. She was a really pretty woman. 217 00:10:31,396 --> 00:10:35,229 Guys were always looking at her, you know, including Jerry. 218 00:10:36,104 --> 00:10:38,646 He was, to me, an old man 219 00:10:38,729 --> 00:10:40,729 because I'm 14 years old 220 00:10:40,813 --> 00:10:43,354 and he took an interest in my sister, 221 00:10:43,437 --> 00:10:44,646 which I didn't care for 222 00:10:44,729 --> 00:10:48,896 because that's my buddy he's messing with. (LAUGHS) 223 00:10:49,729 --> 00:10:51,354 And that changed later. 224 00:10:52,479 --> 00:10:55,979 Jerry was really kind of suave, I guess. 225 00:10:56,062 --> 00:10:59,646 Easygoing, always smiling. 226 00:10:59,729 --> 00:11:02,896 Uh, I mean, you talk to him for a few minutes, 227 00:11:02,979 --> 00:11:05,604 and all of a sudden, you've got a friend. 228 00:11:08,270 --> 00:11:10,688 Vivian's older than I am, but we were the same age. 229 00:11:10,771 --> 00:11:12,688 We were only a year apart, roughly. 230 00:11:12,771 --> 00:11:16,437 And we plotted and we schemed about things, 231 00:11:18,229 --> 00:11:19,938 and we were very tight. 232 00:11:24,771 --> 00:11:29,062 I remember the day that her and Jerry left. 233 00:11:29,145 --> 00:11:32,521 And that upset me, really upset me. 234 00:11:32,604 --> 00:11:34,104 She came to me and she said, 235 00:11:34,187 --> 00:11:36,104 "Richard, I'm gonna tell you something." 236 00:11:36,187 --> 00:11:39,104 She says, "I love Jerry... 237 00:11:43,521 --> 00:11:46,270 and I'm gonna leave with him." 238 00:11:46,354 --> 00:11:49,896 And I said, "Okay. What's going on?" 239 00:11:49,979 --> 00:11:53,104 She says, "Well, we're gonna get married. 240 00:11:53,187 --> 00:11:54,938 We're going to California. 241 00:11:55,646 --> 00:11:57,396 You gotta promise me, Richard, 242 00:11:57,479 --> 00:12:00,604 that you can't tell Mom and Dad." 243 00:12:00,688 --> 00:12:04,354 I said, "Oh. Are you sure?" 244 00:12:04,437 --> 00:12:06,020 She says, "I'll be fine." 245 00:12:06,104 --> 00:12:09,521 She says, "He loves me. We're leaving." 246 00:12:09,604 --> 00:12:11,312 ♪ (SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 247 00:12:11,396 --> 00:12:14,437 Well, I'm crying. 248 00:12:15,312 --> 00:12:17,562 (CRICKETS CHIRPING) 249 00:12:17,646 --> 00:12:20,938 Gets toward late at night, and my dad comes home. 250 00:12:21,020 --> 00:12:22,229 He's mad. 251 00:12:22,312 --> 00:12:25,938 He gets me out of bed, and he says, "Where is she?" 252 00:12:26,020 --> 00:12:28,270 He said, "Is she running around with that guy?" 253 00:12:28,354 --> 00:12:29,854 I said, "I don't know." 254 00:12:29,938 --> 00:12:31,896 I said, "I haven't seen her since school." 255 00:12:31,979 --> 00:12:34,562 And I'm trying to lie as best I can. 256 00:12:34,646 --> 00:12:40,270 Bottom line, she left, and I... I just could not believe it. 257 00:12:40,354 --> 00:12:42,187 It was-- I was torn up. 258 00:12:42,270 --> 00:12:45,854 And my dad was abusive, he was bad. 259 00:12:47,187 --> 00:12:50,312 Jerry offered Vivian a way out. 260 00:12:52,562 --> 00:12:54,229 I mean, uh... 261 00:12:54,312 --> 00:12:58,604 man, she gets to leave 262 00:12:58,688 --> 00:13:02,771 and start her own real life, you know, and she did. 263 00:13:02,854 --> 00:13:04,521 ♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 264 00:13:06,437 --> 00:13:09,020 They complemented each other. 265 00:13:09,104 --> 00:13:11,187 There was something in their psyche 266 00:13:11,270 --> 00:13:14,396 that both of them clicked, and they did. 267 00:13:15,604 --> 00:13:18,688 They knew what the others were thinking. 268 00:13:23,854 --> 00:13:27,521 A year later, my sister, Vivian, said she was pregnant. 269 00:13:29,396 --> 00:13:32,312 She said, "I don't know what to do." 270 00:13:32,396 --> 00:13:35,396 And Mom said, "Well, there's a house next door. 271 00:13:35,479 --> 00:13:38,145 Why don't you come over and see if I can get that house 272 00:13:38,229 --> 00:13:41,396 and you can be here for the baby being born." 273 00:13:42,104 --> 00:13:44,020 So they moved in there. 274 00:13:45,771 --> 00:13:51,145 Jerry had a very endearing, charismatic personality. 275 00:13:51,229 --> 00:13:55,437 When Jerry made a friend, they were friends for life. 276 00:13:55,521 --> 00:13:58,813 BARRETT: I just followed him like a puppy dog... 277 00:13:58,896 --> 00:14:01,270 (CHUCKLING) ...'cause he was so cool. 278 00:14:02,229 --> 00:14:03,646 We did a lot of... 279 00:14:03,729 --> 00:14:05,521 I guess you'd call them illegal things. 280 00:14:05,604 --> 00:14:08,270 At the time, it was just an adventure. 281 00:14:09,312 --> 00:14:11,062 I learned things from Jerry. 282 00:14:11,145 --> 00:14:15,854 I learned how to create any kind of identities. 283 00:14:15,938 --> 00:14:19,729 It used to not be difficult to change your identification. 284 00:14:19,813 --> 00:14:21,813 BARRETT: You take certain emblems 285 00:14:21,896 --> 00:14:23,521 off of different things. 286 00:14:23,604 --> 00:14:25,479 You can laminate it if you want. 287 00:14:25,562 --> 00:14:28,312 Back then, we didn't have fancy equipment. 288 00:14:28,396 --> 00:14:30,145 But you know what? It worked. 289 00:14:30,229 --> 00:14:34,229 You are now a graduate of Yale University. 290 00:14:34,312 --> 00:14:38,646 You have a pilot's license. You're a full-time pilot. 291 00:14:42,479 --> 00:14:45,396 He'd gotten that new check writer. 292 00:14:45,479 --> 00:14:48,062 You can put in any amount and just hit it, 293 00:14:48,145 --> 00:14:51,270 and it embosses it, makes it look real. 294 00:14:51,354 --> 00:14:53,896 And then just a signature, and then you've got the ID 295 00:14:53,979 --> 00:14:56,479 that you're an employee at that company. 296 00:14:57,979 --> 00:15:00,896 He'd always got money, and it was easy money, 297 00:15:00,979 --> 00:15:03,604 and, um, like... 298 00:15:06,979 --> 00:15:08,896 And I thought, "Man. 299 00:15:08,979 --> 00:15:10,562 Doesn't get any better than this. 300 00:15:10,646 --> 00:15:13,396 -Sixteen years old..." -(ENGINE REVS) 301 00:15:13,479 --> 00:15:16,312 ...got me a Lincoln, and living good. 302 00:15:16,813 --> 00:15:18,479 (LAUGHS) 303 00:15:19,521 --> 00:15:20,521 (BOTTLES CLINK) 304 00:15:20,604 --> 00:15:23,896 He would always tell me, "It's so much easier 305 00:15:23,979 --> 00:15:27,187 to get 75,000 out of somebody 306 00:15:27,270 --> 00:15:29,270 than it is to get a twenty-dollar bill. 307 00:15:29,354 --> 00:15:33,979 The people that think about twenty-dollar bills earned it. 308 00:15:34,062 --> 00:15:36,229 And some of these other people didn't." 309 00:15:37,688 --> 00:15:39,771 And he said, "They wanna give it away 310 00:15:39,854 --> 00:15:41,896 and I'm here to take it away." 311 00:15:43,896 --> 00:15:45,354 (KNOCKING ON DOOR) 312 00:15:46,479 --> 00:15:47,771 We got in trouble for it. 313 00:15:47,854 --> 00:15:49,270 (SMASHING) 314 00:15:49,354 --> 00:15:52,938 We had gotten arrested, and we were in the courtroom. 315 00:15:53,020 --> 00:15:54,979 And he leans over to me and he says, 316 00:15:55,062 --> 00:15:56,562 "Did this make the papers?" 317 00:15:56,646 --> 00:15:58,729 And I said, "Yeah. It did." 318 00:15:58,813 --> 00:16:00,312 He says, uh, "Front page?" 319 00:16:00,396 --> 00:16:01,646 And I said, "No, no. 320 00:16:01,729 --> 00:16:04,312 A little blurb down here on the back page or whatever." 321 00:16:04,396 --> 00:16:06,020 He says, "Get me a copy of that." 322 00:16:06,104 --> 00:16:07,270 I said, "Okay." 323 00:16:08,104 --> 00:16:10,020 It seemed to please him. 324 00:16:10,104 --> 00:16:12,979 I said, "Are you worried about going to jail for a long time?" 325 00:16:13,062 --> 00:16:15,145 And he says, "Don't worry about it. 326 00:16:15,229 --> 00:16:16,437 Everything's fine." 327 00:16:16,521 --> 00:16:20,145 And I was afraid that I was gonna go in jail with him. 328 00:16:20,229 --> 00:16:23,938 They tried to identify who all the other people were. 329 00:16:24,020 --> 00:16:26,604 ATTORNEY: Did anyone else help you commit these crimes? 330 00:16:26,688 --> 00:16:29,229 BARRETT: And he would not open his mouth. 331 00:16:31,813 --> 00:16:33,354 He always protected me. 332 00:16:34,771 --> 00:16:37,062 He will protect you to the bitter end. 333 00:16:37,145 --> 00:16:39,145 And he'll take the heat because he says, 334 00:16:39,229 --> 00:16:40,896 "I can handle the heat." 335 00:16:42,604 --> 00:16:45,396 It was that little cat smile, 336 00:16:46,229 --> 00:16:48,354 and I knew that he was in charge. 337 00:16:48,437 --> 00:16:50,813 That judge was not in charge. 338 00:16:50,896 --> 00:16:54,521 That prosecutor over there was not in charge. 339 00:16:54,604 --> 00:16:57,896 Jerry was. That was his courtroom. 340 00:16:57,979 --> 00:17:01,437 This was not a challenge to him because these people 341 00:17:01,521 --> 00:17:03,938 were not on his intellect level. 342 00:17:04,604 --> 00:17:05,854 He was having fun. 343 00:17:05,938 --> 00:17:07,604 And when he'd wink at me, I knew it. 344 00:17:07,688 --> 00:17:09,896 I said, "Son of a gun, he's got it. 345 00:17:09,979 --> 00:17:11,104 He's confident." 346 00:17:12,270 --> 00:17:14,854 Matter of fact, I think he got out of it. 347 00:17:14,938 --> 00:17:17,688 So he-- He's just Jerry, you know. 348 00:17:17,771 --> 00:17:19,312 What can I say? He was cool. 349 00:17:22,562 --> 00:17:24,646 (HAMMERING) 350 00:17:25,854 --> 00:17:27,562 Before I was born, 351 00:17:27,646 --> 00:17:30,062 Jerry actually owned a newspaper, 352 00:17:30,145 --> 00:17:31,813 a very small newspaper. 353 00:17:33,396 --> 00:17:37,562 My father told me that it was his partner's idea 354 00:17:37,646 --> 00:17:40,479 to start making fake money. 355 00:17:43,437 --> 00:17:47,187 Jerry said that the money never looked right, 356 00:17:47,270 --> 00:17:49,604 and it was Vivian's idea 357 00:17:49,688 --> 00:17:53,729 to stain the paper using coffee and tea, 358 00:17:53,813 --> 00:17:56,437 and it made it look very realistic. 359 00:17:56,521 --> 00:17:57,938 (TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING) 360 00:17:58,020 --> 00:18:01,562 FBI NARRATOR: From February 9th, 1961, to May 15th, 1961, 361 00:18:01,646 --> 00:18:03,604 Jerry Dean Michael photographed and printed 362 00:18:03,688 --> 00:18:05,521 a series of bogus Federal Reserve Notes 363 00:18:05,604 --> 00:18:08,813 in five, ten, and twenty-dollar denominations. 364 00:18:08,896 --> 00:18:10,688 The subject used the fictitious business 365 00:18:10,771 --> 00:18:12,354 of Los Angeles Distributing Company 366 00:18:12,437 --> 00:18:14,187 as a front for his counterfeiting activities 367 00:18:14,270 --> 00:18:17,646 located above David Eisner's Monarch Frozen Food Company. 368 00:18:17,729 --> 00:18:18,813 (BUZZER) 369 00:18:18,896 --> 00:18:20,396 Once Jerry Dean Michael printed the bogus notes, 370 00:18:20,479 --> 00:18:22,688 he turned them over to Eisner, who, in turn, 371 00:18:22,771 --> 00:18:24,562 passed them in the West Los Angeles area 372 00:18:24,646 --> 00:18:26,270 with the assistance of Ralph Wheeler, 373 00:18:26,354 --> 00:18:27,729 an employee of Eisner's. 374 00:18:27,813 --> 00:18:30,020 Wheeler's girlfriend, Elizabeth Harper Colton, 375 00:18:30,104 --> 00:18:33,062 also assisted Wheeler in passing some of the notes. 376 00:18:33,145 --> 00:18:34,771 (LAUGHTER) 377 00:18:34,854 --> 00:18:40,479 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 378 00:18:41,354 --> 00:18:42,854 The first break in the case came 379 00:18:42,938 --> 00:18:44,354 when certain Federal Reserve Notes 380 00:18:44,437 --> 00:18:46,354 were traced to defendant David Eisner. 381 00:18:47,354 --> 00:18:49,145 Jerry Dean Michael was taken into custody 382 00:18:49,229 --> 00:18:52,104 by Secret Service agents on August 4th, 1961, 383 00:18:52,187 --> 00:18:53,604 at his Granada Hills home. 384 00:18:54,896 --> 00:18:56,437 Jerry Dean Michael, described as 385 00:18:56,521 --> 00:18:58,229 a highly intelligent and cunning criminal, 386 00:18:58,312 --> 00:19:00,854 refused to cooperate with Secret Service agents. 387 00:19:02,062 --> 00:19:04,396 The federal grand jury on August 30th, 1961, 388 00:19:04,479 --> 00:19:06,646 returned an indictment charging Jerry Dean Michael 389 00:19:06,729 --> 00:19:10,020 with conspiracy and possession of counterfeit currency. 390 00:19:10,104 --> 00:19:13,229 On September 18th, 1961, the subject failed to appear 391 00:19:13,312 --> 00:19:14,896 in US District Court in Los Angeles 392 00:19:14,979 --> 00:19:17,104 for arraignment and plea to the indictment. 393 00:19:18,479 --> 00:19:20,479 A bench warrant for the subject's arrest 394 00:19:20,562 --> 00:19:22,354 was issued the same day. 395 00:19:23,437 --> 00:19:25,020 A search of Jerry Dean Michael's home 396 00:19:25,104 --> 00:19:26,813 disclosed a large number of library books 397 00:19:26,896 --> 00:19:28,771 dealing with various phases of criminal law. 398 00:19:28,854 --> 00:19:31,562 The subject was intent upon following a criminal career 399 00:19:31,646 --> 00:19:35,521 and would probably not be easy to locate. 400 00:19:35,604 --> 00:19:41,646 CANDI: My parents, they were released on bail, and ran. 401 00:19:41,729 --> 00:19:46,521 I believe Vivian was pregnant at the time with me. 402 00:19:46,604 --> 00:19:50,688 That's what started the run for his life or for his freedom. 403 00:19:50,771 --> 00:19:53,312 ♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 404 00:19:55,229 --> 00:20:01,270 The FBI was actively pursuing Jerry and Vivian 405 00:20:01,354 --> 00:20:03,104 for the counterfeiting. 406 00:20:05,354 --> 00:20:07,437 And it was just part of life. 407 00:20:08,020 --> 00:20:09,229 As a child, 408 00:20:09,312 --> 00:20:11,854 we rarely lived in one place for more than two months. 409 00:20:11,938 --> 00:20:14,979 There was always the fear that they were found. 410 00:20:19,187 --> 00:20:21,521 I grew up all over the United States, 411 00:20:21,604 --> 00:20:23,771 from California to Florida, 412 00:20:23,854 --> 00:20:28,729 as high up as Chicago, Illinois, and, well, 413 00:20:28,813 --> 00:20:33,145 down at the tip of Florida was the farthest we went south. 414 00:20:33,229 --> 00:20:35,938 But usually, we stuck around the Sun Belt, 415 00:20:36,020 --> 00:20:37,979 is what my father called it. 416 00:20:40,938 --> 00:20:45,020 We all had last names which were made up. 417 00:20:46,938 --> 00:20:50,521 You look at old newspaper clippings about deaths, 418 00:20:50,604 --> 00:20:52,938 preferably deaths of children. 419 00:20:53,020 --> 00:20:57,354 Then you write to the Bureau of Vital Statistics. 420 00:20:58,896 --> 00:21:01,938 You get that dead child's birth certificate. 421 00:21:02,020 --> 00:21:04,646 That is now your identification. 422 00:21:06,354 --> 00:21:10,521 We didn't attend school so there'd be no paper trail. 423 00:21:10,604 --> 00:21:12,479 Vivian taught our letters, 424 00:21:12,562 --> 00:21:16,020 and our father, Jerry, taught us how to write. 425 00:21:19,062 --> 00:21:21,104 We might have had a strange family, 426 00:21:21,187 --> 00:21:23,979 but we were a tight-knit family. 427 00:21:24,062 --> 00:21:28,020 My brother Brian was very precocious. 428 00:21:28,104 --> 00:21:30,938 Is that the nice way to say "a horrible little brat"? 429 00:21:31,020 --> 00:21:32,104 (LAUGHS) 430 00:21:32,187 --> 00:21:37,354 Always, like my father, running off for adventures. 431 00:21:37,437 --> 00:21:41,312 My sister Wendy was the quiet one, 432 00:21:41,396 --> 00:21:43,270 never caused any trouble, 433 00:21:43,354 --> 00:21:45,896 just pretty much tried to stay invisible. 434 00:21:47,187 --> 00:21:52,229 And then my sister Shawn was the princess of the family. 435 00:21:52,312 --> 00:21:54,354 I think it's 'cause she came along 436 00:21:54,437 --> 00:21:56,187 at a better time in life. 437 00:21:57,396 --> 00:22:00,729 And then there's my youngest brother, Michael. 438 00:22:00,813 --> 00:22:03,604 Oh, he was a handful as a child. 439 00:22:03,688 --> 00:22:06,688 MICHAEL MICHAEL: I enjoyed being on the road. 440 00:22:06,771 --> 00:22:09,312 We-- I got to see things that I know, you know, 441 00:22:09,396 --> 00:22:12,062 a lot of people never get to see in their lifetime. 442 00:22:12,145 --> 00:22:14,062 We stopped at all kinds of places, 443 00:22:14,145 --> 00:22:17,187 like, uh, trading posts and truck stops, 444 00:22:17,270 --> 00:22:20,813 and I've got those memories, you know? 445 00:22:20,896 --> 00:22:24,187 CANDI: There was this newspaper called the Free Press. 446 00:22:24,270 --> 00:22:26,646 They would put in coded ads. 447 00:22:28,062 --> 00:22:29,854 And there'd be words. 448 00:22:29,938 --> 00:22:32,354 "The red horse is still available." 449 00:22:32,437 --> 00:22:37,771 Or, "If you're still interested in the Impala, call Ted." 450 00:22:37,854 --> 00:22:40,646 This was how they would find people. 451 00:22:40,729 --> 00:22:43,479 For the longest time, I never understood 452 00:22:43,562 --> 00:22:45,938 how extended family members would find us. 453 00:22:46,020 --> 00:22:48,104 We were moving every couple weeks, 454 00:22:48,187 --> 00:22:49,938 or we didn't have an address. 455 00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:51,521 Next thing you know, 456 00:22:51,604 --> 00:22:54,896 there's a relative meeting you in a state park. 457 00:22:54,979 --> 00:22:57,771 It's because somebody had placed an ad, 458 00:22:57,854 --> 00:22:59,938 and that was the response. 459 00:23:01,813 --> 00:23:03,521 BARRETT: They floated in and out. 460 00:23:03,604 --> 00:23:05,854 They'd be here, and then they wouldn't. 461 00:23:05,938 --> 00:23:08,979 The FBI or somebody was always coming back 462 00:23:09,062 --> 00:23:11,854 and wanting information on 'em. 463 00:23:11,938 --> 00:23:14,688 -CANDI: One of the signs... -(INDISTINCT CHATTER) 464 00:23:14,771 --> 00:23:18,187 ...if somebody had tapped your phone, 465 00:23:18,270 --> 00:23:22,604 which means listening in on private conversations, 466 00:23:22,688 --> 00:23:26,521 was you heard this unusual clicking on the other end. 467 00:23:26,604 --> 00:23:28,521 (STATIC AND CLICKING) 468 00:23:28,604 --> 00:23:31,479 In my house, when you heard that clicking, 469 00:23:31,562 --> 00:23:34,604 it means they found you. 470 00:23:34,688 --> 00:23:38,062 And come nightfall, we were sneaking into the car 471 00:23:38,145 --> 00:23:40,229 and gone off to another town. 472 00:23:41,771 --> 00:23:45,104 To you, waking up and having your mother make breakfast 473 00:23:45,187 --> 00:23:46,896 and your father going off to work 474 00:23:46,979 --> 00:23:49,562 might be a normal thing. 475 00:23:49,646 --> 00:23:54,312 To me, a normal thing was just getting used to a house 476 00:23:54,396 --> 00:23:55,938 and finally getting friends, 477 00:23:56,020 --> 00:23:59,270 and then sneaking off in the middle of the night, 478 00:23:59,354 --> 00:24:01,896 the kids piling in the car and winding up 479 00:24:01,979 --> 00:24:05,270 sleeping in the car on the side of the road, 480 00:24:05,354 --> 00:24:07,729 10 hours later, in another state. 481 00:24:07,813 --> 00:24:09,187 That was normal life. 482 00:24:11,521 --> 00:24:14,270 BARRETT: He had those kids trained so well 483 00:24:14,354 --> 00:24:17,562 that if there was a conflict, something happened, 484 00:24:17,646 --> 00:24:20,646 they were to immediately drop what they had. 485 00:24:20,729 --> 00:24:22,187 If they were riding their bicycle, 486 00:24:22,270 --> 00:24:23,562 just leave it in the street. 487 00:24:25,145 --> 00:24:26,270 Leave everything. 488 00:24:28,354 --> 00:24:31,979 The police could be knocking on the next-door house... 489 00:24:32,062 --> 00:24:36,145 -♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ -(INDISTINCT CHATTER) 490 00:24:36,229 --> 00:24:39,396 ...and we would be gone before they ever got to ours. 491 00:24:40,020 --> 00:24:41,062 Just gone. 492 00:24:46,062 --> 00:24:48,771 One of the times we were being chased, 493 00:24:48,854 --> 00:24:50,104 we were in Indiana. 494 00:24:51,396 --> 00:24:52,729 This is the middle of the night. 495 00:24:52,813 --> 00:24:56,771 We're on a dirt track that's no longer used as a road. 496 00:24:56,854 --> 00:24:58,854 Jerry was driving. 497 00:24:58,938 --> 00:25:02,688 All of a sudden, he said, "Someone's following us." 498 00:25:02,771 --> 00:25:04,521 My sister and I are turning, 499 00:25:04,604 --> 00:25:06,145 we're looking out the back window. 500 00:25:06,229 --> 00:25:08,396 There was a car following us. 501 00:25:08,479 --> 00:25:10,979 Jerry started driving like a maniac... 502 00:25:14,104 --> 00:25:16,813 turning corners on two wheels, 503 00:25:16,896 --> 00:25:21,062 going probably 80 miles an hour on city streets. 504 00:25:22,896 --> 00:25:27,562 We did get away, but that was a terrifying experience. 505 00:25:30,604 --> 00:25:34,896 Growing up, we were either devastatingly trash poor 506 00:25:34,979 --> 00:25:38,521 or we lived quite comfortably in very nice houses. 507 00:25:38,604 --> 00:25:40,020 I don't know how to describe it. 508 00:25:40,104 --> 00:25:43,396 He would make a business out of basically nothing. 509 00:25:43,479 --> 00:25:44,521 He could. 510 00:25:45,270 --> 00:25:47,729 (MONKEYS CHITTERING) 511 00:25:47,813 --> 00:25:52,896 CANDI: When I was very young, my father had a pet store. 512 00:25:52,979 --> 00:25:56,854 My father specialized in exotic pets. 513 00:25:58,604 --> 00:26:02,145 My father would bring some of the pets home 514 00:26:02,229 --> 00:26:05,104 so they weren't left in the store overnight. 515 00:26:07,145 --> 00:26:11,145 Not only do you have a houseful of rambunctious children, 516 00:26:11,229 --> 00:26:13,854 you've got monkeys climbing up the drapes. 517 00:26:14,938 --> 00:26:17,688 It's no wonder my mother was so stressed. 518 00:26:19,437 --> 00:26:21,979 Jerry couldn't do anything on a small basis. 519 00:26:23,979 --> 00:26:27,938 Buying fish from South America was too expensive, 520 00:26:28,020 --> 00:26:30,896 so they decided to breed their own fish. 521 00:26:30,979 --> 00:26:34,979 He said if you had a little fish that didn't cost anything, 522 00:26:35,062 --> 00:26:36,771 and they reproduce so fast, 523 00:26:36,854 --> 00:26:39,771 then you just needed a thousand aquariums. 524 00:26:39,854 --> 00:26:42,813 CANDI: My father would go and pitch people 525 00:26:42,896 --> 00:26:44,854 to flood their basements 526 00:26:44,938 --> 00:26:49,187 and turn their basements into hatcheries for tropical fish. 527 00:26:50,854 --> 00:26:55,312 So he had a constant supply of healthy tropical fish, 528 00:26:55,396 --> 00:26:58,229 grown right here in the United States of America. 529 00:26:58,312 --> 00:27:00,604 And son of a gun, it made money. 530 00:27:00,688 --> 00:27:01,979 (CHUCKLES) 531 00:27:03,854 --> 00:27:08,062 CANDI: I remember this home Jacuzzi thing, 532 00:27:08,145 --> 00:27:10,312 where they designed this machine 533 00:27:10,396 --> 00:27:12,521 that kind of looked like a sewing machine. 534 00:27:12,604 --> 00:27:14,646 It sat on the edge of your bathtub 535 00:27:14,729 --> 00:27:19,396 and would make the water in your bathtub swirl around. 536 00:27:19,479 --> 00:27:22,437 And I remember being excited, thinking, 537 00:27:22,521 --> 00:27:24,479 "Oh, we're going to be normal. 538 00:27:24,562 --> 00:27:28,354 We're gonna stay in house, everything's gonna be fine, 539 00:27:28,437 --> 00:27:30,646 because they just came up with this great idea, 540 00:27:30,729 --> 00:27:32,938 and everything is gonna be wonderful." 541 00:27:33,020 --> 00:27:36,104 And two months later, we're sneaking out the back door 542 00:27:36,187 --> 00:27:37,771 and on the run again. 543 00:27:37,854 --> 00:27:40,020 And then I remember a year later, 544 00:27:40,104 --> 00:27:43,270 seeing these machines that my father designed 545 00:27:43,354 --> 00:27:45,145 being advertised on television. 546 00:27:45,229 --> 00:27:46,729 AD NARRATOR #1: A perfect way to relax 547 00:27:46,813 --> 00:27:48,354 -is with a Jacuzzi whirlpool bath. -(APPLAUSE) 548 00:27:48,437 --> 00:27:50,479 It really upset me at the time, and I was thinking, 549 00:27:50,562 --> 00:27:54,104 "That could've been us if my father wasn't a criminal." 550 00:27:55,646 --> 00:27:59,688 ♪ (SLOW PIANO MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 551 00:27:59,771 --> 00:28:04,229 Jerry had a connection through some of the old Detroit friends. 552 00:28:05,688 --> 00:28:10,229 Jerry came to the house. He brought a friend with him. 553 00:28:13,437 --> 00:28:16,062 And he was a concert pianist. 554 00:28:16,145 --> 00:28:18,312 And we had a piano there, 555 00:28:18,396 --> 00:28:20,854 and he played that piano like, my gosh, 556 00:28:20,938 --> 00:28:24,020 I didn't know that old piano could sound that good. 557 00:28:24,104 --> 00:28:27,020 But he had a problem with his hands. 558 00:28:27,104 --> 00:28:30,938 After he played for 30 minutes or so, his hands would freeze. 559 00:28:31,020 --> 00:28:34,396 They would seize up and, and, and all that. 560 00:28:34,479 --> 00:28:38,354 And he made a comment, something about that, uh... 561 00:28:41,229 --> 00:28:43,437 "They're not good for pianos, 562 00:28:43,521 --> 00:28:45,604 but I could break somebody in half. 563 00:28:46,354 --> 00:28:47,688 They still work." 564 00:28:49,813 --> 00:28:51,979 (KNUCKLES CRACK) 565 00:28:52,688 --> 00:28:53,813 INTERVIEWER: 566 00:28:53,896 --> 00:28:54,896 -Yeah. -INTERVIEWER: Yeah? 567 00:28:54,979 --> 00:28:55,979 Yeah. 568 00:28:56,062 --> 00:28:57,896 I'm gonna tell you something. 569 00:28:57,979 --> 00:28:59,562 To this day, I'm still cautious 570 00:28:59,646 --> 00:29:01,979 about what I say about these people. 571 00:29:02,688 --> 00:29:05,229 They don't play games, okay? 572 00:29:05,312 --> 00:29:07,312 I don't know how to say this. 573 00:29:08,688 --> 00:29:10,771 (SIGHS) 574 00:29:10,854 --> 00:29:15,979 Don't go there, 'cause these guys will hurt you. 575 00:29:16,521 --> 00:29:18,104 (PHONE RINGING) 576 00:29:18,187 --> 00:29:20,604 BARRETT: Jerry called me. 577 00:29:20,688 --> 00:29:23,938 He said, "You're gonna hear some things. 578 00:29:24,020 --> 00:29:27,104 Don't worry about it. We're okay." 579 00:29:27,187 --> 00:29:29,396 And that was the end of conversation. 580 00:29:29,479 --> 00:29:31,354 I didn't know what it was. 581 00:29:31,437 --> 00:29:33,854 ♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 582 00:29:41,354 --> 00:29:43,104 -(CRASH) -(TIRES SQUEAL) 583 00:29:43,187 --> 00:29:44,646 (ELECTRICITY CRACKLES) 584 00:29:48,562 --> 00:29:51,229 ♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 585 00:29:51,312 --> 00:29:53,688 (GUNSHOTS) 586 00:29:55,396 --> 00:29:57,771 ♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪ 587 00:30:09,562 --> 00:30:10,813 But he's still alive. 588 00:30:10,896 --> 00:30:12,062 (CHUCKLES) 589 00:30:13,396 --> 00:30:14,896 (TAPE REWINDING) 590 00:30:19,396 --> 00:30:20,521 (CRASH) 591 00:30:20,604 --> 00:30:22,729 And the only way he could do it to get rid of them, 592 00:30:22,813 --> 00:30:24,479 and hopefully get rid of the FBI 593 00:30:24,562 --> 00:30:27,104 and everybody else that was starting to come in... 594 00:30:28,354 --> 00:30:31,646 well, he shot up his car, I guess. 595 00:30:31,729 --> 00:30:33,646 (GUNSHOTS) 596 00:30:33,729 --> 00:30:35,104 And away he went. 597 00:30:38,521 --> 00:30:41,604 After that, he went underground for a little while. 598 00:30:44,270 --> 00:30:45,646 (PHONE RINGING) 599 00:30:45,729 --> 00:30:47,771 He would call me later. 600 00:30:50,729 --> 00:30:54,813 "I don't have any money. I need some cash." 601 00:30:54,896 --> 00:30:58,521 I said, "Jerry, someday you gotta give me some money 602 00:30:58,604 --> 00:30:59,854 to put in the bank for you 603 00:30:59,938 --> 00:31:01,729 so that I don't have to take it out of my savings account 604 00:31:01,813 --> 00:31:04,354 'cause I take it away from my family." 605 00:31:04,437 --> 00:31:06,104 "I'd really appreciate it, Richard, 606 00:31:06,187 --> 00:31:08,979 if you would just forget that and give me some money. 607 00:31:09,062 --> 00:31:10,646 Vivian will be by." 608 00:31:13,062 --> 00:31:15,187 What do you do? I owe him. 609 00:31:15,270 --> 00:31:18,104 He kept me from going to jail. He did me a-- 610 00:31:18,187 --> 00:31:21,312 He protected me. I owe him. 611 00:31:22,646 --> 00:31:25,354 My wife did not like that. (LAUGHS) 612 00:31:26,854 --> 00:31:28,604 When Vivian... (SIGHS) 613 00:31:28,688 --> 00:31:31,187 Each time that she came and left, 614 00:31:32,437 --> 00:31:33,979 it didn't change anything. 615 00:31:34,062 --> 00:31:38,145 She was my sister, and I would do anything for her. 616 00:31:40,646 --> 00:31:42,771 In all that time, you would think 617 00:31:42,854 --> 00:31:45,145 that they would get tired of all this. 618 00:31:46,312 --> 00:31:48,312 'Cause I would sit there, and I'd be driving her 619 00:31:48,396 --> 00:31:50,688 to Cincinnati that one time in the middle of the night, 620 00:31:50,771 --> 00:31:53,646 three o'clock in the morning, and I gotta be at work in, 621 00:31:53,729 --> 00:31:55,729 you know, like at five or six in the morning, 622 00:31:55,813 --> 00:31:57,312 so I gotta get back home. 623 00:31:57,396 --> 00:32:00,020 And I go down there, and I says, "You know," 624 00:32:00,104 --> 00:32:01,688 I said, "This is really bad." 625 00:32:01,771 --> 00:32:05,229 I said, "What are you guys gonna do one of these days? 626 00:32:05,312 --> 00:32:07,896 Are you ever coming back to a normal life and all that?" 627 00:32:07,979 --> 00:32:10,354 And she said, "No." She said, "This is normal. 628 00:32:11,104 --> 00:32:12,854 This is a normal life." 629 00:32:17,646 --> 00:32:21,187 (CRICKETS CHIRPING) 630 00:32:22,020 --> 00:32:27,229 (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 631 00:32:27,312 --> 00:32:29,771 CANDI: On this one particular day, 632 00:32:29,854 --> 00:32:32,979 my father, Jerry, took me for a car ride 633 00:32:33,062 --> 00:32:34,854 and we got stuck in traffic. 634 00:32:34,938 --> 00:32:36,062 The traffic was backed up 635 00:32:36,145 --> 00:32:39,020 because there was a Christmas parade going on. 636 00:32:39,104 --> 00:32:43,104 And I wanted to go meet Santa Claus. 637 00:32:43,187 --> 00:32:46,771 My father told me that there was no such thing as Santa, 638 00:32:46,854 --> 00:32:48,562 and I was devastated. 639 00:32:50,062 --> 00:32:52,688 And I think to cheer me up, he said, 640 00:32:52,771 --> 00:32:54,771 "Would you like me to be your mommy?" 641 00:32:54,854 --> 00:32:57,437 And I was thrilled about it. 642 00:33:00,521 --> 00:33:03,771 Vivian was not a happy mother. 643 00:33:03,854 --> 00:33:06,270 I think there was just too many bad things 644 00:33:06,354 --> 00:33:10,479 that happened in her life right at the time I was born 645 00:33:10,562 --> 00:33:13,813 that somewhere in her mind she might've blamed me for it. 646 00:33:13,896 --> 00:33:19,396 So having my daddy as my mommy was a wonderful thing to me. 647 00:33:20,396 --> 00:33:23,229 I thought my daddy was doing it for me. 648 00:33:23,312 --> 00:33:27,729 I didn't realize that my daddy was unhappy being a man. 649 00:33:30,104 --> 00:33:34,688 When my father, Jerry, told my mother, Vivian, 650 00:33:34,771 --> 00:33:37,562 that he wanted to be a woman, 651 00:33:37,646 --> 00:33:39,938 that led to the first separation. 652 00:33:43,896 --> 00:33:47,604 ♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 653 00:33:58,646 --> 00:34:00,896 CARMICHAEL: Dear Vivian, 654 00:34:00,979 --> 00:34:04,270 I don't know when or how my problem started. 655 00:34:05,145 --> 00:34:06,521 Some authorities believe 656 00:34:06,604 --> 00:34:09,020 there's a chromosomal imbalance in people, 657 00:34:09,104 --> 00:34:11,562 and others say environmental conditioning, 658 00:34:11,646 --> 00:34:16,771 while others... (SIGHS) ...feel it's a glandular misinformation. 659 00:34:17,938 --> 00:34:18,896 Whatever the cause, 660 00:34:18,979 --> 00:34:21,312 there have been signposts along the way 661 00:34:21,396 --> 00:34:22,562 ever since I can remember 662 00:34:22,646 --> 00:34:25,437 that indicated I was not what I could have been 663 00:34:25,521 --> 00:34:27,396 in the sex department. 664 00:34:27,479 --> 00:34:30,521 And that wasn't because I didn't try. 665 00:34:30,604 --> 00:34:34,062 I guess I'm not sure that I had some sort of... 666 00:34:34,145 --> 00:34:36,145 (CHUCKLING) ...youth screw loose. 667 00:34:37,813 --> 00:34:40,229 I'm not a man anymore, 668 00:34:40,312 --> 00:34:42,145 at least not in the sexual sense, 669 00:34:42,229 --> 00:34:43,688 if I ever was. 670 00:34:45,479 --> 00:34:47,312 As I got to know you, 671 00:34:47,396 --> 00:34:50,854 I found you to be truly worthy of deep love 672 00:34:50,938 --> 00:34:53,437 and a lasting respect and admiration. 673 00:34:53,521 --> 00:34:55,729 Even with the irritants, the arguments, 674 00:34:55,813 --> 00:34:57,729 the recriminations, and the hard words, 675 00:34:57,813 --> 00:35:02,187 the love has continued on stronger than ever. 676 00:35:03,187 --> 00:35:06,187 As I grow older, and hopefully wiser, 677 00:35:06,270 --> 00:35:11,020 I have come to realize that love is pretty important. 678 00:35:12,145 --> 00:35:13,562 The passion is gone. 679 00:35:13,646 --> 00:35:17,479 Like the ocean, the wind and waves have died down 680 00:35:17,562 --> 00:35:19,771 and left a placid surface, 681 00:35:19,854 --> 00:35:21,104 but the underlying current 682 00:35:21,187 --> 00:35:23,854 goes on strong and stable and everlasting. 683 00:35:25,688 --> 00:35:26,979 As funny as it sounds, 684 00:35:27,062 --> 00:35:31,521 I'd walk through the fire for you and the kids. 685 00:35:31,604 --> 00:35:34,979 I'd give up my food and clothing and my bed, 686 00:35:35,062 --> 00:35:37,604 and yes, even my life. 687 00:35:39,437 --> 00:35:40,729 (KNOCKING ON DOOR) 688 00:36:00,270 --> 00:36:04,646 BARRETT: My sister, Vivian, called me and said that, 689 00:36:04,729 --> 00:36:05,813 "We're coming by. 690 00:36:05,896 --> 00:36:09,354 And I don't want you to be surprised or shocked, 691 00:36:09,437 --> 00:36:12,604 but there's a lot changing. A lot." 692 00:36:13,479 --> 00:36:14,896 She said, um... 693 00:36:17,562 --> 00:36:19,229 "Jerry's changing." 694 00:36:22,771 --> 00:36:26,145 ♪ ( SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 695 00:36:26,229 --> 00:36:29,813 When they pulled up and Jerry got out, 696 00:36:29,896 --> 00:36:31,437 he looked like a man in drag, 697 00:36:31,521 --> 00:36:35,020 and I thought, "Okay, well, wow." 698 00:36:35,104 --> 00:36:39,104 (LAUGHING) "Quite a change. She was right." 699 00:36:39,187 --> 00:36:40,938 So I went out in the garage out there, 700 00:36:41,020 --> 00:36:42,604 and I said, "Jerry, I think I know 701 00:36:42,688 --> 00:36:45,062 why you want to become Elizabeth. 702 00:36:45,145 --> 00:36:47,270 Because you can hide." (CHUCKLES) 703 00:36:47,354 --> 00:36:49,688 And he said, "No." He said, "That's not it." 704 00:36:49,771 --> 00:36:55,187 He said, "I've always had this feeling that, um, 705 00:36:55,270 --> 00:36:57,938 I didn't belong in this body, and... 706 00:36:58,020 --> 00:37:02,604 I just thought that, uh, I should be a woman." 707 00:37:02,688 --> 00:37:03,854 (TAPE RECORDER CLICKS) 708 00:37:03,938 --> 00:37:06,979 CARMICHAEL: (ON TAPE) I know it's right for me. 709 00:37:07,062 --> 00:37:10,729 I used to go behind the bushes with my two female cousins 710 00:37:10,813 --> 00:37:12,604 and put their dresses on with them. 711 00:37:13,562 --> 00:37:15,688 (LAUGHTER) 712 00:37:15,771 --> 00:37:19,562 When I was 18 in Germany, I used to go to out-of-town taverns 713 00:37:19,646 --> 00:37:22,771 and walk back with my trousers off. 714 00:37:22,854 --> 00:37:27,813 It felt good. The wind made me feel like I was wearing a dress. 715 00:37:29,521 --> 00:37:30,562 (TAPE RECORDER CLICKS) 716 00:37:30,646 --> 00:37:33,145 BARRETT: And he says, "Liz is a good name." 717 00:37:33,229 --> 00:37:36,229 'Cause he-- he liked Elizabeth Taylor. 718 00:37:36,312 --> 00:37:41,270 He thought Elizabeth Taylor was the epitome of woman. 719 00:37:41,354 --> 00:37:43,437 She had jewelry, she had friends, 720 00:37:43,521 --> 00:37:45,270 and she had power. 721 00:37:45,354 --> 00:37:47,354 And he liked all those things. 722 00:37:49,020 --> 00:37:52,145 And that's where that came from, as far as I know. 723 00:37:53,229 --> 00:37:55,270 STRYKER: In previous decades, uh, 724 00:37:55,354 --> 00:37:59,437 it was often harder to transition as a young person. 725 00:37:59,521 --> 00:38:02,104 So it was not uncommon at all 726 00:38:02,187 --> 00:38:03,938 for people who had transgender feelings 727 00:38:04,020 --> 00:38:08,229 to not be able to figure out how to do what they wanted to do 728 00:38:08,312 --> 00:38:10,104 until they were older. 729 00:38:10,187 --> 00:38:11,813 How did you actually find somebody 730 00:38:11,896 --> 00:38:13,604 who would, like, give you hormones 731 00:38:13,688 --> 00:38:15,562 or perform surgery? 732 00:38:16,646 --> 00:38:19,062 That wasn't a well-known process. 733 00:38:19,145 --> 00:38:21,020 Like, how do you, like, actually do this? 734 00:38:21,104 --> 00:38:23,479 So it doesn't surprise me at all that Liz Carmichael 735 00:38:23,562 --> 00:38:25,104 didn't figure out how to transition 736 00:38:25,187 --> 00:38:26,896 until she was in her 40s. 737 00:38:28,479 --> 00:38:31,354 There was no... "Daddy disappeared, 738 00:38:31,437 --> 00:38:34,354 and all of a sudden, Liz was there." It wasn't that. 739 00:38:34,437 --> 00:38:38,604 It was a true transition that all of us were familiar with, 740 00:38:38,688 --> 00:38:41,270 and we were all part of. 741 00:38:41,354 --> 00:38:45,896 My father would lock himself in the bedroom, 742 00:38:45,979 --> 00:38:49,104 -and you could hear him talking. -I play tennis with my right... 743 00:38:49,187 --> 00:38:51,104 CANDI: He was talking into his tape recorder, 744 00:38:51,187 --> 00:38:52,479 practicing being a woman. 745 00:38:52,562 --> 00:38:55,437 Possibly, had I, uh, tried when I was younger... 746 00:38:55,521 --> 00:38:57,604 Because there wasn't all this money 747 00:38:57,688 --> 00:39:00,521 to go to specialty surgeons and so forth 748 00:39:00,604 --> 00:39:02,020 to start the transition, 749 00:39:02,104 --> 00:39:04,145 my father was self-transitioning, 750 00:39:04,229 --> 00:39:07,521 giving himself his own hormone injections. 751 00:39:07,604 --> 00:39:10,854 (WATER BUBBLING) 752 00:39:10,938 --> 00:39:13,562 In breeding fish, you learn 753 00:39:13,646 --> 00:39:16,020 that if you put certain hormones in the water, 754 00:39:16,104 --> 00:39:18,854 it would cause the fish to spawn. 755 00:39:18,938 --> 00:39:25,521 So Jerry would get hormones through veterinarians. 756 00:39:25,604 --> 00:39:28,854 STRYKER: There were a lot of barriers to accessing, uh, 757 00:39:28,938 --> 00:39:33,521 transition-related medical services before the 1990s. 758 00:39:33,604 --> 00:39:36,020 If you had children, you know, they might say, 759 00:39:36,104 --> 00:39:38,062 "Oh, you know, you're already a parent, 760 00:39:38,145 --> 00:39:39,771 and we can't do that to the children." 761 00:39:39,854 --> 00:39:42,104 If you were married, they might require you 762 00:39:42,187 --> 00:39:45,270 to be divorced before you could transition. 763 00:39:45,354 --> 00:39:49,479 Vivian was a pretty strong supporter. 764 00:39:49,562 --> 00:39:53,896 Vivian taught Jerry how to wear makeup, 765 00:39:53,979 --> 00:39:56,479 taught Jerry how to wear clothing. 766 00:39:57,688 --> 00:40:00,604 When Jerry was first trying to dress as a woman 767 00:40:00,688 --> 00:40:05,229 and going out into public, they'd go to a nightclub 768 00:40:05,312 --> 00:40:09,521 as just friends or sister-in-laws. 769 00:40:09,604 --> 00:40:12,688 And you've got to admire Vivian for doing that. 770 00:40:13,813 --> 00:40:16,771 STRYKER: It can be difficult for a trans person 771 00:40:16,854 --> 00:40:19,104 to visually reproduce 772 00:40:19,187 --> 00:40:23,646 what cisgender versions of manhood and womanhood look like 773 00:40:23,729 --> 00:40:25,562 after you're well into adulthood. 774 00:40:25,646 --> 00:40:30,688 You might be more visually perceivable as trans, 775 00:40:30,771 --> 00:40:32,646 which could then have consequences 776 00:40:32,729 --> 00:40:34,604 for how you're able to support yourself 777 00:40:34,688 --> 00:40:36,312 and how safe you are in public. 778 00:40:36,396 --> 00:40:38,187 ♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 779 00:40:38,270 --> 00:40:43,729 I remember going shopping and being a little nervous, 780 00:40:43,813 --> 00:40:45,938 and this was-- these were test runs-- 781 00:40:46,020 --> 00:40:49,270 and deliberately walking up and saying "Mommy, Mommy," 782 00:40:49,354 --> 00:40:51,938 so that people around wouldn't think it was-- 783 00:40:52,020 --> 00:40:53,521 something was fishy. 784 00:40:54,813 --> 00:40:56,229 "Mommy, Brian's hitting me! 785 00:40:56,312 --> 00:40:58,145 Make Brian stop! Mommy, Mommy!" 786 00:40:58,229 --> 00:41:00,396 You know, and doing it on purpose 787 00:41:00,479 --> 00:41:03,813 and it-- it helped, and it helped us, too, 788 00:41:03,896 --> 00:41:05,396 calling her "Mommy." 789 00:41:11,729 --> 00:41:14,729 BARRETT: I said, "Well, um, how do the kids feel about it?" 790 00:41:14,813 --> 00:41:17,187 And they said, "We've got two moms now. 791 00:41:17,270 --> 00:41:19,020 We have two mothers." 792 00:41:19,104 --> 00:41:21,646 He says, "And moms are the best." 793 00:41:21,729 --> 00:41:25,562 And that's what he said. Isn't that nice? 794 00:41:27,813 --> 00:41:30,145 CANDI: And we were all fine with it 795 00:41:30,229 --> 00:41:32,521 because she was a great mom. 796 00:41:34,354 --> 00:41:37,312 BARRETT: She was ahead of her time 797 00:41:37,396 --> 00:41:41,354 because she knew the pain if somebody was at a restaurant 798 00:41:41,437 --> 00:41:46,521 and they said something to her, making a snide remark or a joke, 799 00:41:46,604 --> 00:41:48,854 she would get up and go over, and she'd say, 800 00:41:48,938 --> 00:41:50,604 "You're very rude." 801 00:41:50,688 --> 00:41:53,688 Wasn't mean. "You're a very rude person." 802 00:41:53,771 --> 00:41:57,604 And she was big enough, probably, to intimidate 'em. 803 00:41:57,688 --> 00:41:58,979 (LAUGHS) 804 00:41:59,062 --> 00:42:01,104 But that's the way Liz was. 805 00:42:02,604 --> 00:42:08,896 Liz came to my house to stay with Vivian and the children. 806 00:42:08,979 --> 00:42:11,813 There was a gentleman there in the house 807 00:42:11,896 --> 00:42:14,437 that was watching Liz. 808 00:42:16,104 --> 00:42:20,229 And they carried on a little flirty conversation, 809 00:42:21,354 --> 00:42:24,854 and she immediately responded to that 810 00:42:24,938 --> 00:42:26,938 because it warmed her up. 811 00:42:28,312 --> 00:42:31,688 I said, "Do you know what? You're amazing." 812 00:42:31,771 --> 00:42:35,729 And that's what I told her. Truly amazing. 813 00:42:35,813 --> 00:42:37,646 ♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 814 00:42:37,729 --> 00:42:42,646 Once I accepted the fact that she was a woman... 815 00:42:46,354 --> 00:42:48,813 it started to make sense. 816 00:42:48,896 --> 00:42:53,646 Having a transgender person in our family, 817 00:42:53,729 --> 00:42:57,979 uh, it definitely did change my viewpoint and so forth 818 00:42:58,062 --> 00:43:01,521 because it became acceptable to me, 819 00:43:02,312 --> 00:43:04,270 because I understood them now. 820 00:43:04,354 --> 00:43:06,437 I understood from personal experience now 821 00:43:06,521 --> 00:43:07,604 what happened here. 822 00:43:07,688 --> 00:43:11,521 And here was my six-foot macho man, 823 00:43:11,604 --> 00:43:17,938 and now my six-foot... (LAUGHS) ...feminine woman. 824 00:43:18,020 --> 00:43:20,979 Yeah. I understand it. I get it. 825 00:43:21,062 --> 00:43:22,312 She's family. 826 00:43:26,479 --> 00:43:28,104 STRYKER: If you're not being the person 827 00:43:28,187 --> 00:43:30,020 that you understand yourself to be, 828 00:43:30,104 --> 00:43:34,354 you don't often follow that sort of normative life path. 829 00:43:35,896 --> 00:43:39,938 If you feel resentful that society is organized 830 00:43:40,020 --> 00:43:45,187 in a way that is, like, really not good for you as a person, 831 00:43:45,270 --> 00:43:49,646 if you feel that interacting with people and institutions 832 00:43:49,729 --> 00:43:52,145 and the public and the government, 833 00:43:52,229 --> 00:43:54,354 um, is something that, 834 00:43:54,437 --> 00:43:58,354 at every step, it invalidates who you are as a person, 835 00:43:58,437 --> 00:44:00,020 maybe you're resentful about that, 836 00:44:00,104 --> 00:44:02,479 and maybe you, you know, engage in more so-called, 837 00:44:02,562 --> 00:44:04,437 you know, "antisocial" behavior 838 00:44:04,521 --> 00:44:06,270 out of those unresolved feelings 839 00:44:06,354 --> 00:44:08,979 that are based on your, your transness. 840 00:44:09,062 --> 00:44:11,270 I have approached many numerous firms, 841 00:44:11,354 --> 00:44:14,771 asking them for any kind of work that they had to offer 842 00:44:14,854 --> 00:44:16,979 over a period of eight months. 843 00:44:17,062 --> 00:44:18,479 The same response, 844 00:44:18,562 --> 00:44:20,896 "We can't hire anybody of your caliber. 845 00:44:20,979 --> 00:44:23,479 We don't want any of your people working for us." 846 00:44:23,562 --> 00:44:26,896 So what else was I supposed to do when you get damn hungry? 847 00:44:26,979 --> 00:44:32,270 If you're living in any kind of non-normative gender role, 848 00:44:32,354 --> 00:44:33,688 you know, publicly, 849 00:44:33,771 --> 00:44:36,354 the employment discrimination, the housing discrimination, 850 00:44:36,437 --> 00:44:39,187 the kinds of police violence that gets directed at you, 851 00:44:39,270 --> 00:44:41,270 the criminalization of your life, 852 00:44:41,354 --> 00:44:43,437 the psychiatrization of your life, 853 00:44:43,521 --> 00:44:46,187 uh, it puts you in a very vulnerable 854 00:44:46,270 --> 00:44:47,396 and marginal position, 855 00:44:47,479 --> 00:44:50,479 where sometimes, like, your only options then, uh, 856 00:44:50,562 --> 00:44:52,938 are criminal ones because, you know, you wanna eat, 857 00:44:53,020 --> 00:44:54,354 you know, need a place to sleep, 858 00:44:54,437 --> 00:44:56,187 and how are you gonna get that money? 859 00:44:56,270 --> 00:44:57,646 If that's what's in front of you, 860 00:44:57,729 --> 00:44:59,396 like, that's what you do. 861 00:44:59,479 --> 00:45:02,145 ♪ (MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 862 00:45:03,270 --> 00:45:05,479 CANDI: Liz could not get a job 863 00:45:05,562 --> 00:45:07,813 for anyone, and this was-- she was freshly a woman, 864 00:45:07,896 --> 00:45:09,646 and not an attractive woman, 865 00:45:09,729 --> 00:45:11,979 and she just could not get a job. 866 00:45:13,604 --> 00:45:17,145 Sam Schlisman, my favorite person of all time. 867 00:45:17,229 --> 00:45:20,312 Old man Sam. Liz loved Sam. 868 00:45:22,312 --> 00:45:25,854 Sam gave her a job in real estate. 869 00:45:27,270 --> 00:45:30,396 Sam fixed her car so she could take customers 870 00:45:30,479 --> 00:45:33,020 out to see land and put a phone and-- 871 00:45:33,104 --> 00:45:35,437 a phone in her car! 872 00:45:35,521 --> 00:45:39,562 These things were outrageously expensive back then. 873 00:45:39,646 --> 00:45:40,854 That was Sam. 874 00:45:40,938 --> 00:45:44,604 And then she got a job at a marketing company. 875 00:45:44,688 --> 00:45:47,145 LOU LINDSTROM: Sam Schlisman and Liz Carmichael 876 00:45:47,229 --> 00:45:49,229 worked at USMI. 877 00:45:49,312 --> 00:45:50,979 (PHONES RINGING) 878 00:45:51,062 --> 00:45:55,729 It was a cutting-edge company involved in sales and marketing, 879 00:45:55,813 --> 00:45:57,104 uh, goods and services. 880 00:45:57,187 --> 00:45:59,437 Home inventors would come in with ideas, 881 00:45:59,521 --> 00:46:01,938 and this company was supposed to tell them all the things 882 00:46:02,020 --> 00:46:04,437 they needed to do, how to get your patents 883 00:46:04,521 --> 00:46:08,521 and how to go about marketing and getting investors. 884 00:46:08,604 --> 00:46:11,604 LINDSTROM: There were rumors about Liz at that time 885 00:46:11,688 --> 00:46:15,437 because her appearance, she was six feet two, 886 00:46:15,521 --> 00:46:20,604 two hundred and twenty pounds or whatever, a muscular person, 887 00:46:20,688 --> 00:46:22,187 well-groomed. 888 00:46:22,270 --> 00:46:25,854 She wore a lot of pancake makeup. 889 00:46:25,938 --> 00:46:28,187 That was the number one thing that I noticed. 890 00:46:28,270 --> 00:46:30,854 This thick pancake makeup all the time. 891 00:46:31,688 --> 00:46:33,813 CARMICHAEL: (ON TAPE) 892 00:46:40,145 --> 00:46:41,813 LINDSTROM: People were pretty professional, 893 00:46:41,896 --> 00:46:44,604 she was pretty professional, and she was, like, 894 00:46:44,688 --> 00:46:46,979 treated like one of the guys. 895 00:46:47,062 --> 00:46:50,562 She was, uh, a powerful salesperson. 896 00:46:50,646 --> 00:46:52,771 A company like this might hire a hundred people, 897 00:46:52,854 --> 00:46:54,604 and maybe one person would sell something 898 00:46:54,688 --> 00:46:56,562 and the other ninety-nine wouldn't. 899 00:46:56,646 --> 00:46:59,354 She was always one of those one out of a hundred people 900 00:46:59,437 --> 00:47:01,979 that could sell anything. 901 00:47:02,062 --> 00:47:05,729 Elizabeth Carmichael would never have gotten to see the Dale 902 00:47:05,813 --> 00:47:11,104 if she hadn't been working at her position at USMI. 903 00:47:11,187 --> 00:47:14,437 CANDI: One day, she came home, talking about this car, 904 00:47:14,521 --> 00:47:16,396 this three-wheeled car. 905 00:47:16,479 --> 00:47:18,312 And she showed us pictures of it. 906 00:47:20,062 --> 00:47:22,312 I'm looking at it, just thinking, 907 00:47:22,396 --> 00:47:23,562 "It's a dune buggy. 908 00:47:23,646 --> 00:47:25,521 No one's gonna drive this thing." 909 00:47:25,604 --> 00:47:27,437 But this was just going to be the answer 910 00:47:27,521 --> 00:47:29,270 to America's gas problem. 911 00:47:29,354 --> 00:47:31,854 -(MACHINE GUN FIRE) -(EXPLOSION) 912 00:47:31,938 --> 00:47:33,020 NEWS ANCHOR #3: Good evening. 913 00:47:33,104 --> 00:47:35,145 The Middle East War produced developments 914 00:47:35,229 --> 00:47:36,688 all over the world today. 915 00:47:36,771 --> 00:47:39,479 The oil-producing countries of the Arab world 916 00:47:39,562 --> 00:47:42,354 decided to use their oil as a political weapon. 917 00:47:42,437 --> 00:47:45,896 They will reduce oil production by five percent a month 918 00:47:45,979 --> 00:47:49,312 until the Israelis withdraw from occupied territories. 919 00:47:49,396 --> 00:47:51,521 REPORTER #2: Prices for Arab oils are going up, 920 00:47:51,604 --> 00:47:54,229 a huge increase voted in an overnight meeting 921 00:47:54,312 --> 00:47:56,521 without even consulting Western buyers. 922 00:47:56,604 --> 00:47:58,062 NEWS ANCHOR #4: By next summer, 923 00:47:58,145 --> 00:48:00,062 the shortage will be far more serious 924 00:48:00,145 --> 00:48:02,062 than it was this past summer. 925 00:48:02,145 --> 00:48:04,312 Why didn't they come out and tell us there was no gas? 926 00:48:04,396 --> 00:48:07,062 Gasoline shortages are spreading across the country. 927 00:48:07,145 --> 00:48:09,229 DRIVER: I've been here since 4:30 this morning. 928 00:48:09,312 --> 00:48:12,104 It's ridiculous, waiting on line here. 929 00:48:12,187 --> 00:48:13,979 REPORTER #3: What sort of things do people say to you 930 00:48:14,062 --> 00:48:16,145 when they come in to buy a car nowadays? 931 00:48:16,229 --> 00:48:18,396 Gas mileage, that's the number one topic. 932 00:48:18,479 --> 00:48:20,938 How many miles to a gallon would this get? 933 00:48:21,020 --> 00:48:23,396 CANDI: Well, in an era where cars were getting 934 00:48:23,479 --> 00:48:26,020 eight to twelve miles to the gallon, 935 00:48:26,104 --> 00:48:30,437 this car supposedly got 70 miles to the gallon. 936 00:48:32,938 --> 00:48:34,562 Hello again. Here we are 937 00:48:34,646 --> 00:48:37,521 with the most unique show in the United States. 938 00:48:37,604 --> 00:48:39,145 The name of it's What's the Big Idea? 939 00:48:39,229 --> 00:48:42,270 But our big ideas are really inventions. 940 00:48:42,354 --> 00:48:44,938 We have a very unusual inventor with us, 941 00:48:45,020 --> 00:48:46,312 a successful inventor. 942 00:48:46,396 --> 00:48:49,270 Dale Clifft, I welcome you to the Big Idea show. 943 00:48:49,354 --> 00:48:51,938 RICHARD SMITH: Dale liked to work on just about anything 944 00:48:52,020 --> 00:48:54,604 that would stir his imagination. 945 00:48:54,688 --> 00:48:57,938 His first love, I believe, was the two-stroke motor, 946 00:48:58,020 --> 00:49:01,145 and of course, that brought him to the motorcycles. 947 00:49:01,229 --> 00:49:05,312 He had a way of almost doubling their horsepower. 948 00:49:05,396 --> 00:49:08,604 He would ride his back and forth to work 949 00:49:08,688 --> 00:49:10,938 on quite a number of occasions, 950 00:49:11,020 --> 00:49:13,479 and it dawned on him that he couldn't ride it 951 00:49:13,562 --> 00:49:15,854 during the wintertime when it was raining. 952 00:49:15,938 --> 00:49:18,729 He started thinking about a way around that, 953 00:49:18,813 --> 00:49:20,813 and that wound up being the start 954 00:49:20,896 --> 00:49:23,104 of the Dale automobile. 955 00:49:23,187 --> 00:49:25,813 It was a vehicle that was welded together 956 00:49:25,896 --> 00:49:29,145 out of half-inch electrical conduit. 957 00:49:29,229 --> 00:49:31,479 He'd take the front wheel off his motorcycle 958 00:49:31,562 --> 00:49:34,521 and attach it to the back end of this vehicle, 959 00:49:34,604 --> 00:49:36,479 with two wheels on front, 960 00:49:36,562 --> 00:49:39,979 and that way, very quickly, he could use his motorcycle 961 00:49:40,062 --> 00:49:42,854 to power this vehicle. 962 00:49:42,938 --> 00:49:44,938 That really worked out quite well. 963 00:49:45,020 --> 00:49:48,229 My field is-- is energy and energy-related inventions. 964 00:49:48,312 --> 00:49:49,813 HOST: That's your background? 965 00:49:49,896 --> 00:49:52,104 That's the reason I gotta have one of your future Dale automobiles, 966 00:49:52,187 --> 00:49:53,270 is that 100 miles per gallon. 967 00:49:53,354 --> 00:49:55,104 I don't think we can quite do that on the Dale. 968 00:49:55,187 --> 00:49:57,646 -(CHUCKLING) -Seventy-five, maybe. 969 00:49:57,729 --> 00:50:00,187 SMITH: The Dale automobile became quite a hit 970 00:50:00,270 --> 00:50:01,979 locally around town, 971 00:50:02,062 --> 00:50:05,020 you know, because Dale drove it every chance that he got. 972 00:50:05,104 --> 00:50:09,979 So one evening, he and his wife went to a restaurant, 973 00:50:10,062 --> 00:50:12,270 and they were enjoying themselves dinner 974 00:50:12,354 --> 00:50:14,688 when a man approached them. 975 00:50:14,771 --> 00:50:19,354 He knew somebody who could actually produce the automobile. 976 00:50:19,437 --> 00:50:22,771 This particular person set up the meeting with Liz. 977 00:50:25,187 --> 00:50:26,896 LINDSTROM: If she had an appointment, 978 00:50:26,979 --> 00:50:28,813 you could depend on her being there. 979 00:50:29,938 --> 00:50:32,396 If Liz is there, the client walks in, 980 00:50:32,479 --> 00:50:34,979 the client might not walk out for five hours 981 00:50:35,062 --> 00:50:38,187 because Liz had a way of getting engaged with the clients 982 00:50:38,270 --> 00:50:40,813 and getting excited about their product. 983 00:50:40,896 --> 00:50:44,437 SMITH: After that meeting, Dale signed some contracts 984 00:50:44,521 --> 00:50:46,396 and that's where it all got started. 985 00:50:46,479 --> 00:50:48,688 CARMICHAEL: (ON TAPE) So I bought that car from Dale Clifft 986 00:50:48,771 --> 00:50:51,896 and kind of in honor of him, uh, I named it after him. 987 00:50:51,979 --> 00:50:54,938 But there's no connection. He doesn't work for the company. 988 00:50:55,020 --> 00:50:56,646 He walked in the door one day. 989 00:50:56,729 --> 00:50:59,062 And I said, "Hey, Dale, what do we name this damn car?" 990 00:50:59,145 --> 00:51:01,521 And then I said, "Hell, we'll name it the Dale." 991 00:51:04,145 --> 00:51:07,312 LINDSTROM: I think that's where Liz's genius was. 992 00:51:07,396 --> 00:51:09,729 She saw the importance of the moment, 993 00:51:09,813 --> 00:51:14,521 she jumped on it, and, uh, started running with this idea. 994 00:51:14,604 --> 00:51:16,396 That was the big deal, you know. 995 00:51:16,479 --> 00:51:18,396 Seventy miles to the gallon, really? 996 00:51:18,479 --> 00:51:20,312 This could end the gas crisis. 997 00:51:20,396 --> 00:51:23,813 CARMICHAEL: General Motors? I'll kick the shit out of them. 998 00:51:29,187 --> 00:51:30,312 (TAPE RECORDER CLICKS) 999 00:51:31,104 --> 00:51:33,270 CANDI: She started a company. 1000 00:51:33,354 --> 00:51:35,813 LINDSTROM: Twentieth Century Motor Car Company. 1001 00:51:35,896 --> 00:51:39,062 They rented offices on the first floor of our building. 1002 00:51:40,270 --> 00:51:42,062 CANDI: She brought Sam along, 1003 00:51:42,145 --> 00:51:44,938 and she would always bounce ideas off of Sam. 1004 00:51:45,020 --> 00:51:46,187 (TAPE RECORDER CLICKS) 1005 00:51:47,646 --> 00:51:49,854 CARMICHAEL: (ON TAPE) And the tests we wanted to make then 1006 00:51:49,938 --> 00:51:52,437 that we had never documented were stability tests, 1007 00:51:52,521 --> 00:51:53,562 what the car would do 1008 00:51:53,646 --> 00:51:56,979 when making all the turns at high speeds. 1009 00:51:57,062 --> 00:52:01,270 AD NARRATOR #2: The Dale is taking these turns at 55 miles per hour, 1010 00:52:01,354 --> 00:52:03,104 no sway, no tipping, 1011 00:52:03,187 --> 00:52:05,521 and no feeling of loss of control. 1012 00:52:10,229 --> 00:52:12,354 CANDI: To this day, I don't know how she did it. 1013 00:52:12,437 --> 00:52:15,771 I don't know how she came from this vinyl-coated, 1014 00:52:15,854 --> 00:52:21,312 tubed metal dune buggy into the gorgeous Dale. 1015 00:52:21,396 --> 00:52:24,354 It just seemed like last week, this was just a thought, 1016 00:52:24,437 --> 00:52:27,646 and now all of a sudden, it is a full-blown company 1017 00:52:27,729 --> 00:52:29,938 with an office on Ventura Boulevard. 1018 00:52:30,020 --> 00:52:32,813 For those not familiar with Ventura Boulevard, 1019 00:52:32,896 --> 00:52:35,229 this is the high-rent district. 1020 00:52:36,646 --> 00:52:40,479 I thought that this would change our lives. 1021 00:52:40,562 --> 00:52:44,646 There'd be no more sleeping in cars on the side of the road. 1022 00:52:44,729 --> 00:52:47,646 No more getting up in the middle of the night 1023 00:52:47,729 --> 00:52:48,854 to move to another town, 1024 00:52:48,938 --> 00:52:53,688 no more high-speed car chases on public roads. 1025 00:52:53,771 --> 00:52:56,020 I thought this was the beginning of a real life 1026 00:52:56,104 --> 00:52:58,562 where we could be a normal family, 1027 00:52:58,646 --> 00:53:00,270 because this was real. 1028 00:53:02,312 --> 00:53:05,396 But my secret self was wondering 1029 00:53:05,479 --> 00:53:07,312 when it was going to end, 1030 00:53:07,396 --> 00:53:09,562 when they were going to find out 1031 00:53:09,646 --> 00:53:12,354 that my mother was really my father 1032 00:53:12,437 --> 00:53:14,896 who was in trouble with the law. 1033 00:53:14,979 --> 00:53:19,187 ♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 1034 00:53:19,270 --> 00:53:20,771 COLIN DANGAARD: This was an underdog. 1035 00:53:20,854 --> 00:53:22,688 LESLIE KENDALL: The Americans were ready for her. 1036 00:53:22,771 --> 00:53:25,187 GERRY MCGUINNESS: People were all putting in 50, 60 hours. 1037 00:53:25,270 --> 00:53:26,938 CARMICHAEL: My full intention and expectation 1038 00:53:27,020 --> 00:53:29,270 is to become the biggest automobile manufacturer 1039 00:53:29,354 --> 00:53:30,562 in the world. 1040 00:53:30,646 --> 00:53:32,479 DANGAARD: This was a woman who had everything against her. 1041 00:53:32,562 --> 00:53:34,104 GREG LEAS: I don't know if it's real or not. 1042 00:53:34,187 --> 00:53:36,396 One person ever looked under the hood? We did. 1043 00:53:36,479 --> 00:53:38,020 DENNIS SMITH: There were some bribes involved. 1044 00:53:38,104 --> 00:53:39,646 DICK CARLSON: State of California issued an order. 1045 00:53:39,729 --> 00:53:42,270 DENNIS: There was something off from the moment he met her. 1046 00:53:42,354 --> 00:53:45,229 NEWS ANCHOR #5: This woman was going to revolutionize the auto industry. 1047 00:53:45,312 --> 00:53:47,354 CARMICHAEL: We are at war with the big three. 1048 00:53:47,437 --> 00:53:49,521 CARLSON: Nobody had ever known this person. 1049 00:53:49,604 --> 00:53:50,646 So who the hell was she? 1050 00:53:50,729 --> 00:53:52,270 CARMICHAEL: Protecting our industrial secret. 1051 00:53:52,354 --> 00:53:55,145 LEAS: They were afraid of spies from the big three. It was scary. 1052 00:53:55,229 --> 00:53:56,646 MCGUINNESS: These were mobsters. 1053 00:53:56,729 --> 00:53:59,646 CARMICHAEL: It's a situation of David fighting Goliath. 1054 00:54:00,062 --> 00:54:01,312 (GUN SHOT) 1055 00:54:03,312 --> 00:54:05,396 ♪ ("TIP TOE TO THE GAS PUMPS" BY TINY TIM PLAYING) ♪ 1056 00:54:05,479 --> 00:54:09,396 ♪ Mr. Gasoline Man Please give me some gas ♪ 1057 00:54:09,479 --> 00:54:14,020 ♪ My tank is almost empty So fill it fast ♪ 1058 00:54:15,312 --> 00:54:19,938 ♪ If you will just fill her up I promise you this ♪ 1059 00:54:20,020 --> 00:54:25,396 ♪ I'll put a tulip in your hair And blow you a kiss ♪ 1060 00:54:25,479 --> 00:54:31,062 ♪ Let's tiptoe to the gas pump Fill her up ♪ 1061 00:54:31,145 --> 00:54:36,187 ♪ Give me all you've got 'Till I scream I've had enough ♪ 1062 00:54:36,270 --> 00:54:41,270 ♪ Everybody clap your hands And sing in harmony ♪ 1063 00:54:41,354 --> 00:54:45,354 ♪ Come tiptoe to the gas pump With me ♪ 1064 00:54:46,813 --> 00:54:51,729 ♪ Put a tiger in my tank Please don't delay ♪ 1065 00:54:51,813 --> 00:54:56,854 ♪ I've been waiting in this line Since early yesterday ♪ 1066 00:54:56,938 --> 00:55:02,604 ♪ So Mr. Gasoline Man Fill her to the brim ♪ 1067 00:55:02,688 --> 00:55:07,312 ♪ So I'll have enough gas To go through this line again ♪ 1068 00:55:07,396 --> 00:55:12,521 ♪ Let's tiptoe to the gas pumps With me ♪ 1069 00:55:19,729 --> 00:55:20,729 ELIZABETH CARMICHAEL: I'm going to fill one hell 1070 00:55:20,813 --> 00:55:22,854 of an important gap in the car market. 1071 00:55:24,354 --> 00:55:25,771 SPEAKER: It looked like a spaceship. 1072 00:55:26,437 --> 00:55:27,270 It sounded good. 1073 00:55:27,604 --> 00:55:29,062 SPEAKER: I couldn't believe that it was real. 1074 00:55:29,562 --> 00:55:30,854 CARMICHAEL: There are thousands of people 1075 00:55:30,938 --> 00:55:32,104 writing to cheer me on. 1076 00:55:32,187 --> 00:55:34,312 SPEAKER 2: People were flocking to make deposits. 1077 00:55:34,688 --> 00:55:37,104 SPEAKER 3: She had stacks of cash, 1078 00:55:37,187 --> 00:55:39,562 and next to it, a revolver. 1079 00:55:39,646 --> 00:55:40,312 (DINGS) 1080 00:55:40,854 --> 00:55:43,562 When you're in a pool of sharks, you're gonna get bit. 1081 00:55:44,104 --> 00:55:45,979 SPEAKER 4: Three guys walk in... 1082 00:55:46,562 --> 00:55:47,896 They're afraid of spies. 1083 00:55:48,562 --> 00:55:49,938 SPEAKER 4: Something is wrong. 1084 00:55:50,145 --> 00:55:51,479 SPEAKER 5: Who the hell was she?