The Worst Hoard in American History (The Collyer Brothers Mansion)

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This House

This House

Күн бұрын

Join Ken on a chilling exploration inside the infamous Collyer Mansion on 5th Avenue - a house with a hoard like no other. Discover the tragic story of the Collyer brothers, scions of a prestigious family, whose eccentric lifestyle led their palatial home to become a labyrinth of relics, traps, and secrets. From their high society roots to their bizarre end, this episode of This House dives deep into one of America's most haunting hoard cases.
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Public Domain Photos from: Library of Congress, jim.henderson
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Music from Epidemic Sound

Пікірлер: 320
@thomasbassett5028
@thomasbassett5028 Жыл бұрын
In the fire service, when encountering a structure with difficult access due to excessive hoarding, it typically goes out over the radio as "caution, Collyer Conditions".
@SoberOKMoments
@SoberOKMoments Жыл бұрын
Tragic beyond words. Hoarding is such a terrible mental illness. I hope these poor souls have found peace in the beyond.
@sarahalbers5555
@sarahalbers5555 Жыл бұрын
That's a kind thought. I live in a condominium, you would be surprised at the number of hoarders and people who can well afford to pay their electric bill, but choose to live without electricity. It truly is a mental illness.
@vickiephilpitt7697
@vickiephilpitt7697 Жыл бұрын
It is a shame that 56 claims were filed against the estate, yet not one person thought enough of the brothers to check up on them at any time during the years they were isolating themselves. If there were doctors saying the one brother should be seen by "specialists," why didn't any of these claimants try to intervene and help these men? What a tragedy from the very extreme beginning!
@tarareads23
@tarareads23 Жыл бұрын
I posted the same thing about the relatives whether any of them attempted to help at one point and Langley turned them down. Or if they even bothered to begin with. Sad either way.
@Onelightoftheworld
@Onelightoftheworld Жыл бұрын
Exactly! When people die it’s really sad! Interesting how people come out of the woodwork. Like I know, my parents have money and land but I want fond memories of them. I don’t care about material things. Yes, I want my bills paid but I want my parents not what they own.
@FumariVI
@FumariVI Жыл бұрын
@Onelightoftheworld ​Sure you do, sweetie. ***eye roll***
@Onelightoftheworld
@Onelightoftheworld Жыл бұрын
@@FumariVI I have plenty. What are you even talking about? I don’t need anything from them. All I want is good memories. You’re condescending and go ahead enjoy your life and your eye rolls. It’s got to be pretty tiring trying to discredit people.
@atomicwedgie8176
@atomicwedgie8176 Жыл бұрын
While they were alive, maybe the siblings wanted nothing to do with their relatives? After death, I would rather the property go to the relatives, rather than to the state!
@BellaCroyda
@BellaCroyda Жыл бұрын
My mom would occasionally mention the Collyer brothers when criticizing the messiness of our room. This was back in the late 50s. I still remember.
@BarneyR-u2d
@BarneyR-u2d Жыл бұрын
There are no words Ken. This is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard of. Mental illness knows no boundaries. 😢
@toonman361
@toonman361 Жыл бұрын
I am wondering if their first cousin parents contributed to the mental illness through genteics?
@JeffKopis
@JeffKopis Жыл бұрын
The hidden price of inbreeding!
@heather4675
@heather4675 Жыл бұрын
Of course it did They were inbred 😮🤢
@jgrosch94709
@jgrosch94709 Жыл бұрын
I am a 5th generation New Yorker. I grew up hearing stories about the Collyer Brothers. My grandmother was one of those people outside of their house when the police and the city was digging looking for the Collyer brothers. She had a glass paper weight that she claimed she got from the piles of trash that was piled up on the street.
@odinquincannon4237
@odinquincannon4237 Жыл бұрын
My grandmother used to tell my mother and aunts that they’d have the house looking “like the Collyer Brothers house” if she didn’t yell at them to clean up. I ran across this story 30 years ago and was telling my aunt about it and she said, “THAT’s what my mother was talking about! Yuck!” 🤣🤣🤣
@CuriousEarthMan
@CuriousEarthMan Жыл бұрын
My Father used to tell us kids "who's doing your interior decorating, the Collyer Brothers? Clean up this room!"
@BellaCroyda
@BellaCroyda Жыл бұрын
My mother always scolded us kids about messiness warning that our apartment will look like the COLLYERS. This was back in the late 50s.
@Broadway789
@Broadway789 Жыл бұрын
I’ve heard that as well in my family.
@marih3286
@marih3286 Жыл бұрын
If A&E had been around back then, this would have made a fantastic episode if "HOARDERS"
@kevinrichards1539
@kevinrichards1539 Жыл бұрын
I was in a fire department in Poughkeepsie NY. If we had a fire in a house that was a hoarders it was called a Collyer fire.
@andrewbrendan1579
@andrewbrendan1579 Жыл бұрын
The weight of the hoard was so great and it was piled so high that the hoard was holding up the house. Civil engineers said the house had to be cleared out from the top down. --- The two brothers' bodies were interred in a family mausoleum and then the doors were sealed shut. As in life, the brothers were closed off from the world.
@TimeWarp2000
@TimeWarp2000 Жыл бұрын
It’s also a testament to whoever built that brownstone if each floor could hold that much weight for so long
@andrewbrendan1579
@andrewbrendan1579 Жыл бұрын
@@TimeWarp2000 Excellent point. That house was well built. I doubt many houses built in recent decades could support that enormous weight even for a short time if at all.
@mercoid
@mercoid Жыл бұрын
There were some gorgeous and very valuable items amongst all that trash.
@andrewbrendan1579
@andrewbrendan1579 Жыл бұрын
I wouldn't be surprised if some treasures were in that house --- and ruined because of the contamination from the cats and rodents. I woudn't be surprised if there was mold in the Collyer house also. Such waste...of people and of useful and valuable things.
@curiousworld7912
@curiousworld7912 Жыл бұрын
It's such a pity, no one stepped in to help these poor men. Yet, there appeared to be quite a few people interested in their wealth, once both had passed. Strange, how that worked out... :(
@smujer1
@smujer1 Жыл бұрын
Very sad
@magneticstorm1
@magneticstorm1 2 ай бұрын
Unfortunately that is how it works, no matter who dies the first thing that comes out of a persons mouth is did they leave$$ something.
@curiousworld7912
@curiousworld7912 2 ай бұрын
@@magneticstorm1 Pity, isn't it? I've witnessed one or two of these awful display's of 'who gets what', and it's disgraceful.
@williamsmith5549
@williamsmith5549 Жыл бұрын
Wow, this would so make a great Guillermo del Toro film, huh? I never thought I'd learn of a story more grisly than the Bouviers of Grey Gardens, but this truly makes the saga of Big and Little Edie a romp in Central Park by comparison. Fabulous, thanks for teaching us about these brothers, Ken!
@CuriousEarthMan
@CuriousEarthMan Жыл бұрын
My Father used to tell us kids "who's doing your interior decorating, the Collyer Brothers? Clean up this room!"
@Twisted426
@Twisted426 Жыл бұрын
LOL !
@marquiesriley6479
@marquiesriley6479 Жыл бұрын
I do inspections for residential and believe me, to see how hoarders live is an eye opening experience…
@jedwalker4543
@jedwalker4543 Жыл бұрын
This reminds me of that mansion that was on an episode of Hoarders. It was a beautiful 8,000sf home full to the brim of just stuff. So sad how people let themselves go like that.
@BlaineShire
@BlaineShire Жыл бұрын
Are you talking about the one, Julian Price House, here in Greensboro, NC? It was bought by a nice gay couple and they turned it into a bed & breakfast/wedding venue. I have been in it for parties and it is lovely.
@jedwalker4543
@jedwalker4543 Жыл бұрын
@@BlaineShire That's the one! I couldn't remember where it was.
@BlaineShire
@BlaineShire Жыл бұрын
@@jedwalker4543 it is beautiful and my favorite house here. I have to go downtown next week so I will drive by it.
@cherylschantz9893
@cherylschantz9893 Жыл бұрын
The previous owner was very rude. I remember how kind the new owners were to her & she didn’t appreciate it at all.
@BlaineShire
@BlaineShire Жыл бұрын
@@cherylschantz9893yes she was they were very kind to her but she did not appreciate anything they did for her.
@mitchellbarnow1709
@mitchellbarnow1709 Жыл бұрын
The most bizarre story ever told on this channel! I could barely breathe while watching their story.
@lawrencelewkow152
@lawrencelewkow152 Жыл бұрын
My mother born in 1922 kept a scrapbook as a teenager and showed it to my sister and me years later. The Collyer brothers story were prominent entries and a fascinating story to everyone at that time.
@alanosterman7130
@alanosterman7130 Жыл бұрын
Glad to finally get the low down on this story. Ive heard about them years ago. In fact on the old mid 50's tv comedy " The Honeymooners", Norton brings up their name as a punchline for a joke. Everyone in America that needs help, should be able to get it quick. That's why everyone wants to come here.
@gandfgandf5826
@gandfgandf5826 Жыл бұрын
It was oddly touching that the site remains a 'pocket park'.
@jefflawrentz1624
@jefflawrentz1624 Жыл бұрын
I have read articles on them and stumbled across their story first on Google. You did a wonderful job presenting this- thank you Ken!
@genekelly8467
@genekelly8467 Жыл бұрын
Surprisingly common-hoarders will fill their houses with junk. A few years ago in Sandwich, MA, the fire deprtment was called to a house fire-the chief took one look inside and ordered his man out-they allowed the house to burn down (it was filled with junk). As for people losing conct with relatives; that is also common as well.
@juliegale3863
@juliegale3863 Жыл бұрын
Hording is such a strange thing to most of us. I have known one for many years and they are always just about to do something about it. If some of it is removed it only makes a space to bring in something else new to them. The things are very rarely worth much but thought going to be useful some time.
@ShayBK
@ShayBK Жыл бұрын
Ken, your storytelling is exceptional. The perspective you provided along with archival photos depicting the entire block piled up with garbage on both sides from the Collyer brothers mansion was truly shocking.
@randyboglisch137
@randyboglisch137 Жыл бұрын
What a sad story ..so sad that no one could have stepped in and saved them from themselves ..you can see remnants of what the house looked like before.. thanks again for sharing..happy holidays and the best for the new year
@IntriguedLioness
@IntriguedLioness Жыл бұрын
It never dawned on me this was a story you might cover on this channel so thank you! I lived in Manhattan for many years and as a New Yorker, they’re are just certain stories that take on lore, almost fairytales, lessons to learn. In dealing with mental health and hoarding the story was always passed on much like Kitty Genivese, Lisa Steinberg, the preppy murder case, Bernie Getz, etc. etc., etc.… Dealing with severe trauma later in life it is interesting to study mental health issues and see how someone with assets could still hide away from the world, a world they perceive as only danger and not good. Mansions often reveal stories of extreme chaos, control, sadness, along with the glitz and glamour. Wonderful video on this house with hidden secrets.
@roberthaworth8991
@roberthaworth8991 Жыл бұрын
A journalism-student friend of mine interviewed Goetz - the “Subway Vigilante” - just a few months after the killings. She said the conversation started out normal, but after no more than minutes had veered into violent imagery redolent of wish-fulfillment in his part, Goetz truly was an unstable, deeply racist nutcase.
@wdjones4735
@wdjones4735 Жыл бұрын
It’s always interesting to see the dark side of affluent people. Very sad. Thanks for sharing🙂👍🏻
@randykreifels6171
@randykreifels6171 Жыл бұрын
Wow! What can you say about this! One of the best stories you have told, and what knarly mess to pick up!
@vacafuega
@vacafuega Жыл бұрын
I'm thinking What Remains of Edith Finch took inspiration from this, the tunnels have a similar feel to these ones. It's so sad, and yet his devotion to his brother is so striking.
@scotttaggart71
@scotttaggart71 Жыл бұрын
A women in my town, died, they said the upstairs living area was nice and clean, but in the basement, there were neat little stacks of every kind of container, food, candy, beverage, peanut butter, cleaning liquid, all washed and clean, with lids, in stacks and stacks. this was the first time that I was made aware that it was mental illness.
@joewinch7548
@joewinch7548 Жыл бұрын
But all of it was neat and organized, so I would not be so quick to label this behavior as mental illness.
@justdoingitjim7095
@justdoingitjim7095 Жыл бұрын
When my dad passed my brother and I started sorting through all of the things he had "collected" over several decades. Dad grew up during the depression, so he never threw anything away that he might have a use for later. We spent over 3 years clearing out his house and then went to the storage building in back. It was piled almost to the ceiling with everything you can imagine. It appeared as though anything he didn't have room for in his house, that he wasn't using at the moment, got "stored" in the back building. You'd be surprised at how much "stuff" can be stored in a 25X30 building!
@melanievando2040
@melanievando2040 Жыл бұрын
My Dad grew up in the depression as well and his father was a hoarder too.. Definitely develops from some type of trauma.
@denniscarroll7696
@denniscarroll7696 Жыл бұрын
This would make a Great and Epic movie, today.
@janebaker4912
@janebaker4912 Жыл бұрын
I cant imagine how the trapped blind man felt stuck in that house. Starving.
@sandybiltz2476
@sandybiltz2476 Жыл бұрын
What a story! Incredible!😢
@sarahalbers5555
@sarahalbers5555 Жыл бұрын
Grey Gardens, where Jackie Kennedy's relatives lived, is another truly strange story. The two women rarely had visitors, and the house had virtually no heat. Very sad.
@justtim9767
@justtim9767 Жыл бұрын
I remember this, I was 11 at the time. We lived just across the river in NJ. It was in the papers and I think "Life" or "Look" magazine had pictures of the hoard of stuff.
@dutchsinse
@dutchsinse Жыл бұрын
Crazy story on this one for sure! I wonder how they got the final stuff inside to pack to the ceiling when the doors were already blocked.
@andrewbrendan1579
@andrewbrendan1579 Жыл бұрын
If my memory is right the brother who went out had some secret way in and out of the house that no one figured out.
@michelez715
@michelez715 Жыл бұрын
What a tragic story. Many years ago, as a teenager, I read a book by Marcia Davenport ( well known American writer of the 1940s or thereabouts) called "My brother's keeper", which was enthralling. Then later on, I discovered her novel was based on the Collyer brothers. I couldn't believe it was a true story, it was so strange and sad. Davenport wove an excellent plot around the Collyers, but not having read it for decades, I don't know if I'd still find it as good as I remember. What's that saying about truth being stranger than fiction? Thank you for this video, and filling in the details of this bizarre story.
@jackie_twirlsmarashlian6947
@jackie_twirlsmarashlian6947 11 ай бұрын
that's interesting. it was a book at the middle school I taught at in LA. a 7th grade novel I think
@lindabaker667
@lindabaker667 Жыл бұрын
I remember my father telling me about the Collyer Brothers YEARS AGO. He said there was money found in between the pages of magazines and newspapers. I don't know if this is true, but I don't know that I would have even ventured trying to find it.
@Laura-i2r9r
@Laura-i2r9r Жыл бұрын
This was very interesting but bizarre and rather dis gusting chapter of a once wealthy family . A horrible way to die for both the brothers . Suffocated by garbage from a hoard. But it was a unique story also . A Merry Christmas to you Ken and all at THIS HOUSE. All success in 2024🎉🎉🎄🎄☃️☃️🎅🏻🎅🏻❄️❄️🌟🌟😊😊🇨🇦🇨🇦
@mariekatherine5238
@mariekatherine5238 Жыл бұрын
My mother remembered watching the trucks loaded with the Collyer hoard go by!
@roberthaworth8991
@roberthaworth8991 Жыл бұрын
The ‘90s TV show “Clean House” was discontinued in part because so many of the “messes” flagged to them were actually hoarding situations - and the producer/hist, Niecy Nash, although well-meaning and kind, was not a psychiatrist. This is when the hoarding phenomenon first came to public attention in a big way, and began to be seriously studied.
@adelem432
@adelem432 Жыл бұрын
A fictionalized novel about them was written by E.L. Doctorow a few years back called Homer & Langley. Enjoyed the book, but such a sad story.
@juliarisi8385
@juliarisi8385 Жыл бұрын
That’s where I knew the story from ,interesting book and sad that the truth is even stranger than fiction.
@plicketyplunk
@plicketyplunk Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the recommendation. I will look for it.
@mariannejohnson6529
@mariannejohnson6529 Жыл бұрын
Excellent and fascinating book. I have read all of E.L. Doctorow books. Ragtime being one that I also saw on Broadway. The Book of Daniel loosely based on the lives trials and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Daniel was their son.The movie starred Mandy Patinkin Lindsey Crouse Timothy Hutton Ellen Barkin and Amanda Plummer.
@krishohman750
@krishohman750 Жыл бұрын
Another book written about them was called “My Brother’s Keeper”.
@jennyjatkola7094
@jennyjatkola7094 Жыл бұрын
What a fascinating story! Sad too. Odd. Thanks Ken!
@garryferrington811
@garryferrington811 Жыл бұрын
I read about these fellows half a century ago, but the liberal sprinkling of non-"colorized" (thank you) photos really brought it to life. The one really went off the deep end.
@yooperlooper
@yooperlooper Жыл бұрын
I had seen this story a long time ago and am thrilled now to see you report on it. It is definitely in the top few stories in the "yuck, weird and gag me" category topped by only a few - like the story of Count Von Cosel (Carl Tanzler) - but that is just a "yuck and gag me". Thanks for bringing this story back. I felt bad for these two souls - and the "Count" - but that doesn't make the stories any less yuck.
@andrewbrendan1579
@andrewbrendan1579 Жыл бұрын
What a horrible, tragic story. --- Ken, you and your viewers might be interested in the 1954 novel "My Brother's Keeper" by Marcia Davenport. It's a very well-written story based heavily upon the Collyer brothers. Not only is it an excellent work of fiction, but I think it accurately shows how and why people gradually become hoarders and this was long before there was much research on or knowledge about the subject. There's also a non-fiction book about the Collyer brothers called "Shadow Men". -- I think videos such as this one are not only informative and interesting, but provide a public service because they can motivate people to look at their own lives and to take action to prevent themselves from going in the same direction as the two brothers.
@carolewalker2039
@carolewalker2039 Жыл бұрын
I adore the book and have had a copy for 40 years.
@roberthaworth8991
@roberthaworth8991 Жыл бұрын
Most hoarders become so after having suffered some emotionally-important loss. The hoarded objects represent a “wall”/protection against the pain of the loss. What was the loss in the case of these two?
@andrewbrendan1579
@andrewbrendan1579 Жыл бұрын
@@roberthaworth8991 We don't know a lot about the day-to-day lives of the Collyers, what may have started the hoarding. Could have been various things, maybe a combination. Some years back I read Matt Paxton's book "The Secret Lives of Hoarders" and he mentioned three things that often occur with hoarders: a high level of anxiety; a painful or traumatic event such as a divorce, the death of a loved one or being estranged from a loved one; a family history of hoarding. When it comes to the Collyers specifically, I wonder if the inbreeding may have been a factor. From watching "Hoarders" I've seen a number of episodes in which the hoarding was triggered by the death of the hoarder's mother.
@sharonhoyt2133
@sharonhoyt2133 Жыл бұрын
I was born in 1948 and read My Brother's Keeper when I was 12. It made a life long impression on me and I vowed to watch out for such things in my own life. Turned out one of my own brothers became a hoarder. This had been going on for years but was a well hidden secret. I found out when he lost his apt because of the hoard several years ago. He moved all of his "treasures" to various storage facilities with the help of his "friends". The friends stole from him over they years and after his death the only item of his that was recovered was a small sum of money left in one of his several bank accounts and that was because he had named another family member as beneficiary. Everything else was stolen by his "friends" who have severed all connections since his death. Lawyers are not interested in the case because they doubt there is enough in monetary value worth pursuing. I think it is too easy to fall into this and am thankful I feared hoarding because I've seen so many cases of it over the years. It's very hard to help people who think you are trying to separate them from what they think makes them secure...until it kills them.
@alanosterman7130
@alanosterman7130 Жыл бұрын
​@@roberthaworth8991Misguided significance. What one person treasures and cherishes the next person (or many) might not. Who's to tell another person what to cherish or see value in ?
@eily_b
@eily_b Жыл бұрын
As a kid I read a book from my grandma's Reader's Digest collection 😜 about these two brothers and it was called "My Brother's Keeper" from Marcia Davenport. I was stunned by the story in the 80s but assume the book nowadays would be quite cheesy. It still fascinated me and I only learned a few years ago that it was based on the Collyer brothers. I am in Europe so it was not a common story over here. Especially in the pre internet era.
@calendarpage
@calendarpage Жыл бұрын
Have you seen the frame houses on the hoarder shows? Sometimes the hoard is so big, it causes the walls to come away from the framing. You can see right into the house. Obviously, they are structurally unsound, but until the city knows about the house and gets the hoarder out, they're still living there. Maybe you can do Grey Gardens?
@dee61100
@dee61100 Жыл бұрын
what a crazy story!!!! part of new yorks history!!!!
@BIGGEOFF40
@BIGGEOFF40 Жыл бұрын
All I can say is, Wow! 😯
@jenpink4298
@jenpink4298 Жыл бұрын
Absolutely fascinating but so very sad. Thank you for Sharing this
@jacqueline6926
@jacqueline6926 Жыл бұрын
I love your channel, always fascinating stories. You must spend a lot of time doing research. Keep going!
@umbrellacorp.
@umbrellacorp. Жыл бұрын
Which is why keeping your mental health is important. But other family members didn't care to keep in touch with them also.
@vernicethompson4825
@vernicethompson4825 Жыл бұрын
Fascinating! Hoarding is not hard to do. What is interesting about this story is how much the parents wanted to preserve the bloodline (father to son, patrilineal) but did not do the right things to ensure its continuance, such as matchmaking and arranging marriages for their sons, and so it was discontinued despite their wishes.
@texaswunderkind
@texaswunderkind Жыл бұрын
Worst hoard ever? My wife: "Challenge accepted!"
@megfuchs9425
@megfuchs9425 Жыл бұрын
This story was so sad! I was so interested when you mentioned the tunnels.... Until I heard what was found in them!!
@frankchary9717
@frankchary9717 Жыл бұрын
Wow! Extreme sad bad not that unusual!😮
@ColKorn1965
@ColKorn1965 Жыл бұрын
There were 2 large 2-story houses in my town that was owned by a family named Bizuk. When the patriarch died the matriarch moved to a large city and the 2 houses became their dumping ground. We got permission via their granddaughter to explore the houses and the mega-hoard. It was scary. To top things off the old woman across the road(who knew us!) came running over screaming," Get out of there you dope smoking hippies!"🤣
@sweet_iris
@sweet_iris Жыл бұрын
I almost threw up hearing about how Langley died, and can you imagine Homer hearing that crush happen and then hearing the rats, um, scavenge. Truely a terrifying reality to live in.
@seltexmx
@seltexmx Жыл бұрын
As always, great job with an unusual story well told.
@jamesburtonbud
@jamesburtonbud Жыл бұрын
i couldn't agree more!
@greyeyed123
@greyeyed123 Жыл бұрын
What a glamorous way to go!
@SidewalkCitizenLA
@SidewalkCitizenLA Жыл бұрын
This makes me feel SO much better about dealing with my aunt's hoarder house! Thank you 😂
@millcity9711
@millcity9711 Жыл бұрын
And I thought I had a problem....lol
@oltedders
@oltedders Жыл бұрын
You do. You're just not famous for it yet.
@mitchellbarnow1709
@mitchellbarnow1709 Жыл бұрын
@@olteddersI was going to say that, you brat!
@kathleenadams3770
@kathleenadams3770 Жыл бұрын
It is soooo sad that their family never came around to check on them.. but.. had a nerve to ask for items… so sad
@rabidsminions2079
@rabidsminions2079 Жыл бұрын
The worst thing about hoarders homes is someone has to clean it up after they are gone...
@gregorsamsa4580
@gregorsamsa4580 Жыл бұрын
E. L. Doctorow wrote a novel about them called Homer and Langley. I remember it as a first-person story narrated by the blind brother.
@jackie_twirlsmarashlian6947
@jackie_twirlsmarashlian6947 11 ай бұрын
I'm reading it now.
@pazf4384
@pazf4384 Жыл бұрын
What a sad and heartbreaking story😢
@thinktonka
@thinktonka Жыл бұрын
Wow! What treasures must have been buried in all of that!
@fordkoleski7913
@fordkoleski7913 Жыл бұрын
Just seeing those pictures makes my inner neat freak twitch in horror!!
@TiaCatR
@TiaCatR Жыл бұрын
What a story! Thanks for covering this, it's definitely gross, yet interesting. It's a shame the house wasn't salvageable. To me that's the saddest part of the story.
@A2D4
@A2D4 Жыл бұрын
Ed Norton once referenced them in “The Honeymooners”. I can’t remember the circumstances of the comment or episode but after he said that, I looked up their story. Yikes!!
@gilbertbates8522
@gilbertbates8522 Жыл бұрын
My mom is a Collyer from upstate NY and my grandfather farmed a chunk of land in Smithville Flats near Greene, outside of Binghamton. Collyer is the more unusual spelling unlike Collier and my grandfather was one of 11 kids, I know there's splinter of the family in the Buffalo area. However, I've never heard of any connection to the Collyer brothers. One of his brothers, Norm, was part of a family glass company in NYC and they were the ones that installed the glass in the World Trade center. Most of this part of my family is buried in Greene and Norm has an interesting depiction of the WTC carved on his headstone.
@jamesburtonbud
@jamesburtonbud Жыл бұрын
Terrific video!
@mixedhairless
@mixedhairless Жыл бұрын
Love this 💯
@annrae1597
@annrae1597 Жыл бұрын
I heard this story when I was a little kid in the 1950's and I live in Canada.
@chucklambooy8457
@chucklambooy8457 Жыл бұрын
What a sad end that really didn’t have to be.
@ML-xi2rt
@ML-xi2rt Жыл бұрын
I’ve always been fascinated by the story of these brothers and their home…very sad story. You provided photos and information I wasn’t aware of. Another awesome presentation!
@SimonReay-u8x
@SimonReay-u8x Жыл бұрын
They suffered from a medical condition called Diogenes Syndrome. Senile hoarding with no shame and refusal of any help. I actually saw a case of this while working as a family doctor. An elderly woman was found dead so the neighbor called the surgery, the police surgeon and I visited the house. A small semi detached house full of so much stuff that there were only narrow gaps to walk through. 6 large skips of various items were removed from the house.
@davidroosa4561
@davidroosa4561 Жыл бұрын
i the US we dont use that term. we just call it "hoarding disorder" its thought to be a form of obsessive compulsive disorder
@te7270
@te7270 Жыл бұрын
While often related to deep emotional disruption and anger, all of hoarding is still LAZINESS. Before, I never wanted to label it as such, but normal people when they see the result of hoarding, the first remark out of their mouth is in regards to laziness. I have to say it applies.
@lmk1966
@lmk1966 Жыл бұрын
Such a sad story
@jilltagmorris
@jilltagmorris Жыл бұрын
Thanks again
@cokesquirrel
@cokesquirrel Жыл бұрын
I lived in Manhattan for 2 years, I make a point to learn The histories of the different neighborhoods Because it's something fun to do , I'm amazed None of the books I read Covered this sad pc of history
@billyponsonby
@billyponsonby Жыл бұрын
I first heard of the Collyer brothers in an episode of Frasier
@jessebrueshaber6915
@jessebrueshaber6915 Жыл бұрын
Hoarding is a real thing. I knew a woman who had it REALLY BAD. She would carry multiple heavy bags of "stuff" around with her everywhere she went. She was not homeless.
@mikenixon2401
@mikenixon2401 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for revealing something a little of line, Ken. That's generally what eventually happends to old money with grandkids that never had to work.
@owenwilson8822
@owenwilson8822 Жыл бұрын
Very cool take on This House (but sneaked the 'THIS HOUSE' intro in again) :)
@TheMarilyn1969monroe
@TheMarilyn1969monroe Жыл бұрын
Sort of the story with little and big Eddie Bouvier ,from the Hamptons NY
@GoAskAlice23
@GoAskAlice23 2 ай бұрын
Hats off to the builders of this brownstone and the load bearing beams. 🎩
@catherineveleker6822
@catherineveleker6822 Жыл бұрын
My mother used to tell us about the "Collya" brothers but never mentioned their distinguished ancestry. Guess that wouldn't have mattered as much to her as the legend of what happens when you're a poor housekeeper.
@globalheart
@globalheart Жыл бұрын
How very sad...
@heosomeheosome6752
@heosomeheosome6752 Жыл бұрын
Sad situation. I have a bad feeling that I'll be found in the same situation
@jean1959
@jean1959 Жыл бұрын
WOW!
@tarareads23
@tarareads23 Жыл бұрын
I feel bad for Homer who couldn’t even do anything because he was blind. And starved for death. Langley’s hoarding was part of an illness that he needed help for. JMO. I’m sure he helped Homer as he could but didn’t teach him or help him to help himself. How could he in a place like that. Sad that Langley’s death was his own doing with one of his traps. I wonder if any of those 56 claimants offered to help the brothers but Langley refused. Or if they even attempted to help.
@jasonrodgers9063
@jasonrodgers9063 Жыл бұрын
Hmmm... Maybe it's time to clean out my basement & garage!
@readergreg60
@readergreg60 Жыл бұрын
Both interesting and sad.
@BunnyWatson-k1w
@BunnyWatson-k1w Жыл бұрын
You can hide mental health problems like hoarding better if you have money. The Hoarders series from the UK has even worse cases than the American version. There was one episode where a rich guy covered up his hoarding by buying three other houses in the neighborhood and filling them with junk. He developed the problem after his beloved wife of 40 years died. It took another 20 years for anyone to notice this guy had a problem.
@johnkeviljr9625
@johnkeviljr9625 Жыл бұрын
Inbreeding to protect your money. Sounds like Egypt in Pharoah times.
@williamtyre523
@williamtyre523 Жыл бұрын
What a sad story. Makes me think of the story of Grey Gardens in East Hampton, New York.
@mr.x8259
@mr.x8259 Жыл бұрын
Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.
@larrymondello8475
@larrymondello8475 Жыл бұрын
Very very sad thank you
@danhoysted8854
@danhoysted8854 Жыл бұрын
They got nothing on Rideau Antiques in Lombardy Ontario Canada!!
@juliarisi8385
@juliarisi8385 Жыл бұрын
They also found a Studebaker car in the living room ,which Langley had brought inside in pieces and rebuilt it completely
@nicm6949
@nicm6949 Жыл бұрын
Wow
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