A child recounts living in town he's never lived in, at a time long past, but is it proof of life after death in the form of reincarnation, or is it a then-preschooler's over-active imagination?
When he was younger, around 4 and 5 years old, Ryan had nightmares at first, the "Today" show reported. Then he'd beg his mother to take him home. But the home he wanted wasn't his mid-west home, instead, it was Hollywood.
Today described how the now 10-year-old would describe, in detail, about meeting stars of the silver screen like Rita Hayworth, going on vacation and dancing on Broadway.
Eventually Ryan's mother did some research and found a photo in a book about classic Hollywood, and he pointed out a background actor, an extra in two scenes of Mae West's film debut in 1932 who didn't speak one word in the movie.
The film was "Night After Night" and the actor was Marty Martyn who died in 1964, "Today" reported.
After finding Martyn's daughter, the family, along with a doctor who is studying cases like Ryan's, confirmed 55 details the child said about the actor's life.
Ryan said he was a dancer. Martyn danced on Broadway.
Ryan said he traveled. Martyn traveled to Paris.
Ryan said he worked at a place where people changed their names. Martyn worked as a Hollywood agent where stage names were made for clients.
Other facts that Ryan came up with that were confirmed by Martyn's daughter: how many times he was married, how many sisters he had, and finally Martyn's real age. The actor/agent's death certificate had his age as 59, but he was actually 61. The certificate had the birth year wrong by two years. Ryan said he was 61 when he (Martyn) died.
So where is Ryan now, still having the window to a past life open? Sadly, no. Dr. Jim Tucker, a professor at the University of Virginia, who has transcribed hand-written research of 2,500 cases from his predecessor, Ian Stevenson. Cases that are similar to Ryan date back to 1961. Tucker said now that Ryan is 10, the Martyn memories are fading, just like other children with similar experiences. Ryan told "Today" that he's happy to have had the experience, but also happy to move on and be a kid.
Watch Today's complete story below.
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