>>> THIS IS EASILY ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING STORIES I HAVE EVER HAD THE CHANCE TO COVER. LET'S JUST CALL IT A REUNION LIKE NO OTHER. IT BEGAN ALMOST 40 YEARS AGO AND LED TO REVELATIONS THAT WILL ASTOUND YOU. IN A MOMENT WE WILL MEET THE MEN AT THE CENTER OF THE TALE. FIRST, WATCH THIS. >> I WOULDN'T BELIEVE THIS STORY IF SOMEONE ELSE WERE TELLING IT BUT IT'S TRUE. EVERY WORD OF IT. >> IN 1980, 19-YEAR-OLD ROBERT ARRIVED FOR HIS FIRST DAY AT SULLIVAN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE IN UPDATE NEW YORK. >> ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE COMING UP TO ME SAYING EDDIE, HOW ARE YOU? EDDIE, HI. I'M LIKE MY NAME IS NOT EDDIE. >> ROBERT'S FRIEND MICHAEL BROKE BIG NEWS. >> THE FIRST THING OUT OF MY MOUTH WAS WERE YOU ADOPTED. >> I WAS LIKE YES. >> I SAID IS YOUR BIRTHDAY JULY 12TH. HE SAID YES. >> I WAS LIKE JULY 12TH, 1961. >> OH MY GOD, I SAID YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS. I SAID YOU HAVE A TWIN BROTHER. >> THE TEENAGERS DROVE TO MEET EDDIE IN LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. HE HAD DROPPED OUT OF THE SAME COLLEGE THE PREVIOUS YEAR. >> THERE WAS A KNOCK ON THE DOOR. IT OPENS, AND THERE I AM. HIS EYES ARE MY EYES. MY EYES ARE HIS EYES. IT WAS LIKE THE WORLD FADED AWAY. AND IT WAS JUST ME AND EDDIE. >> AND THEN AN AMAZING REUNION BECAME EVEN MORE BIZARRE. ANOTHER STRANGER IN THE SAME STATE SAW A NEWS STORY. >> IT WAS AN ARTICLE, TWINS REUNITED AFTER MORE THAN 19 YEARS. AND IT HAD A PICTURE OF TWO OF WHAT LOOKED LIKE ME. IT ALL STARTED TO SINK IN. THIS IS NOT BELIEVABLE. THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE. WOW. THIS IS BIG. >> DAVID WAS RIGHT. THE TWINS WERE ACTUALLY TRIPLETS. >> I LOOK MORE LIKE EDDIE THAN I DID DAVID, AND MORE LIKE DAVID THAN I DID EDDIE, AND MORE LIKE EITHER OF THEM THAN THEY DID LIKE EACH OTHER. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? >> THE TRIO BECAME A MEDIA SENSATION. >> DAVID, LET'S BEGIN WITH YOU. WHICH ONE IS DAVID? >> YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN ON THE FRONT PAGE OF EVERY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD. >> TRUE. >> THE BROTHERS LEARNED THEY HAD BEEN SEPARATED AS INFANTS AND EVEN THEIR ADOPTIVE PARENTS DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE ONE OF THREE. >> WHY? HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL US? >> THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE STORY BEING TOLD IN THE NEW DOCUMENTARY WHICH YOU HAVE TO SEE. THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS. PLEASE WELCOME TWO OF THE TRIPLETS HERE TODAY DAVID AND BOBBY. WELCOME, GUYS. DAVID AND BOBBY. >> RIGHT. >> ALL RIGHT. BOBBY, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SHOWED UP AT THE COLLEGE AND EVERYBODY IS CALLING YOU EDDIE. AND YOU'RE LIKE WHO IS THIS EDDIE CHARACTER? >> RIGHT. THE FIRST 100 TIMES. WHEN MICHAEL FOUND ME AND THEY ACTUALLY GOT THE ROOM RIGHT. HE SAID IS THIS 11 C. I TURNED AROUND AND SAID I'M NOT, AND HIS JAW JUST DROPPED. >> YOU WERE THE FIRST TO MEET ONE OF THE TRIPLETS. SO YOU SHOW UP AT EDDIE'S HOUSE, AND WHAT WAS THAT LIKE WHEN YOU SAW HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME? >> IT WAS REALLY -- IT WAS ERIE. IT WAS LIKE 2:00 IN THE MORNING BY THE TIME WE GOT THERE. WE GOT STOPPED BY A COP ON THE WAY. WE DID. IT WAS LIKE THIS BIG COP. YOU KNOW, AT NIGHT WEARING SUNGLASSES, AND SAYING WHY ARE YOU GOING 88 MILES PER HOUR. I WAS LIKE I'M GOING TO MEET MY IDENTICAL TWIN BROTHER THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN ALL MY LIFE. HE'S LIKE OKAY. HAVE A NICE EVENING. BUT WHEN I SHOWED UP, IT WAS REALLY QUIET, AND IT WAS DARK, AND THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS QUIET, AND I WALKED UP TO THE DOOR, AND IT OPENED, AND THERE I WAS. THERE WAS EDDIE AND THERE WAS ME. >> LIKE LOOKING IN THE MIRROR. >> YEAH. WE -- WE HAD THE SAME PHYSICAL REACTION, AND I'M A LEFTY AND HE'S A RIGHTY. WE COULDN'T BREAK OUT OF THIS KIND OF MIME THING GOING ON. WHEN WE FINALLY DID, WE HUGGED AND KISSED. >> WHEN WE SEE YOU TOGETHER, THE MANNERISMS ARE SO SIMILAR. YOUR REUNION MADE NEWS. THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN. YOU'RE SITTING AT HOME IN LONG ISLAND. >> I WAS IN QUEENS COLLEGE. >> OKAY. AND SOMEBODY BRINGS YOU THE NEWSPAPER. >> ACTUALLY, I SAW IT TWICE. SOMEBODY SHOWED IT TO ME AND I SAID NAH, AND THEN ANOTHER FRIEND SAW IT AND SAID WAIT A SECOND, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS. AND I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. IT HAD THE PICTURE. IT DIDN'T HAVE THE BIRTHDAY OR THE HOSPITAL OR THE ADOPTION AGENCY, ANY OF THAT STUFF. I WENT HOME AND MY MOTHER HAD A NEWSPAPER WITHOUT A PICTURE, BUT SHE SAW THE BIRTHDAY. I NEVER KNEW THE HOSPITAL I WAS BORN IN. I NEVER CARED. BUT SHE HAD THE NEWSPAPER WITHOUT THE PICTURE, AND WE TRADED PAPERS. IT GOT REAL VERY QUICKLY. >> BECAUSE YOU SEE THESE TWO BOYS WHO LOOK EXACTLY LIKE YOU WERE BORN WHEN? >> JULY 12TH, TODAY. >> HAPPY BIRTHDAY. IT'S THEIR BIRTHDAY TODAY. >> THANK YOU. >> AND THEN THERE'S NO DENYING IT. AT THAT MOMENT THERE'S GOT TO BE NO DENYING IT. SO WHEN DID YOU MEET YOUR TWO BROTHERS? >> WELL, I CALLED EDDIE'S HOUSE. BOBBY HAD AN UNLISTED NUMBER. I SPOKE WITH EDDIE'S MOTHER, AND SHE -- UPSET WAS -- I DON'T KNOW THE RIGHT WORD. SHE WAS PRETTY SHOCKED. AND THAT NIGHT MY FAMILY DROVE OUT. BOBBY WAS UP AT SCHOOL. MY FAMILY DROVE OUT. MY FATHER WAS STILL BANGING INTO THE CARS AROUND HIM. HE WAS SO NERVOUS. EDDIE'S HOUSE WAS ON A HILL. I WAS STILL WORKING UP THE STAIRS. HE HAS THE LIGHT BEHIND HIM IN A SILHOUETTE. AND HE'S SLAMMING THE DOOR SAYING OH MY GOD, OPENING THE DOOR AGAIN AND LOOKING, SLAMMING THE DOOR. BY THE THIRD TIME HE OPENS THE DOOR, I WAS INSIDE THE SCREEN DOOR NOSE TO NOSE WITH HIM. I SAID THAT'S RIGHT. SLAM THE DOOR IN MY FACE. I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN 19 YEARS. >> IS IT TRUE YOU GREW UP WITHIN 100 MILES OF EACH OTHER? >> WITHIN 45 MINUTES OF EACH OTHER. I MEAN, REALLY IT WAS 45 MINUTES. >> THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A CHANCE ENCOUNTER AT ANY POINT IN THEIR LIVES BUT THERE WASN'T. >> THERE WERE A COUPLE NEAR MISSES. >> WHAT? >> THEY'RE NOT THAT BRIGHT, PEOPLE. YOU LOOK JUST LIKE SOMEBODY I KNOW. >> YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. THERE WERE A LOT OF NEAR MISSES OVER THE YEARS. >> WE HAVEN'T EVEN SCRATCHED THE SURFACE. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE AND SHOCKING REVEALS, >>> YOU'RE ALL WRESTLERS AT ONE TIME? YOU ALL FEEL LIKE YOU'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR 19 YEARS? >> DEFINITELY. >> HOW? >> FEELING. WE FEEL IT. >> WE'RE ALL THE SAME. AS SOON AS WE STARTED DISCUSSING OUR PERSONALITIES. WE TALK AT THE SAME TIME. WE CAN'T -- >> WE START, I'LL START A SENTENCE AND HE'LL FINISH IT. >> WOW. WE'RE BACK NOW WITH AN INCREDIBLE STORY. A SET OF IDENTICAL TRIPLETS SEPARATED AT BIT AND REUNITED BY FATE 19 YEARS OLD. THEIR JOURNEY IS BEING TOLD IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY. TWO OF THE BROTHERS ARE WITH US TODAY. YOU BECAME A MEDIA SENSATION. RIGHT? YOU WENT EVERYWHERE. >> WE HAD FUN. >> AND YOU'VE BEEN HERE AT 30-ROCK. YOU -- >> THIS IS THE THIRD TIME WE'VE SPENT OUR BIRTHDAY HERE. IT WAS GREAT. >> EVERYBODY WANTED TO SEE YOU GUYS BECAUSE YOUR MANNERISMS WERE VERY SIMILAR. AND YOU HAD A LOT OF SIMILAR INTERESTS. NO? >> YEAH. >> WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU DID TOGETHER? THAT YOU DID THE SAME? >> AT 19? >> YEAH. >> GIRLS, GIRLS, FOOD, FOOD, DANCING, GIRLS. >> THAT ABOUT SUMS IT UP. YOU WENT VIRAL BEFORE THERE WAS A THING OF GOING VIRAL. >> THERE WAS PAGE SIX, I BELIEVE. >> INCLUDING TO THE POINT WHERE MADONNA ASKED YOU TO BE -- >> WE DIDN'T KNOW WHO SHE WAS. SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHO WE WERE. HER RISE WAS MAKING DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN AND LIKE A VIRGIN, BUT SOMEONE KNEW WHO WE WERE. >> WHO IS SUSAN? >> THE PERSON WHO MADE THE FILM. >> GOT IT. >> THANK YOU. >> YOU'RE WELCOME. >> SHE'S LIKE YOU'RE THE GUYS. WILL YOU BE IN MY MOVIE. WE SAW ALL THESE PEOPLE WITH PIERCINGS AND COLORED HAIR AND THE TREND MADONNA STARTED. WE DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS COOL TO DO. SO WE DID IT, AND WHO KNEW? >> WHEN YOU WOULD GO OUT TO THE BARS TOGETHER, 19-YEAR-OLD GUYS WHO LOOK ALIKE AND ATTRACT SO MUCH ATTENTION. WHEN YOU GO OUT, WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU? >> IT WAS MORE FUN WHEN WE WERE BAR TENDING. EVERYBODY THOUGHT THEY HAD THE FASTEST BARTENDER IN THE WORLD. AND 3:00 IN THE MORNING THE LIGHTS WOULD COME ON AND WE'D SING, GET OUT. >> DID YOU EVER USE IT? DID YOU EVER PRETEND ONE WAS THE OTHER? >> WE'RE IN THE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT. >> OH. OKAY. NEVER MIND. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE TRIPLETS STAYS IN THE TRIPLETS. >> EXACTLY. >> DID YOU MOVE IN TOGETHER FOR A WHILE? >> YES. >> WHAT WAS THAT LIKE GETTING TO KNOW YOUR TRIPLETS? >> HOW ABOUT ME SLEEPWALKING INTO EDDIE'S ROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. WE'D SWITCH ROOMS. ONE OF THE ROOMS WAS THE BIG ROOM. WE WERE FAIR ABOUT IT. IT WAS A LOT -- THERE WERE A LOT OF INTERESTING THINGS THAT HAPPENED. >> DID YOU GET ALONG? WERE YOU FALLING IN LOVE IN THE BEGINNING? >> WE FELL IN LOVE RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING. WE DECIDED EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BE TOGETHER AND IT WAS. >> HOW DID YOUR PARENTS REACT? >> DIFFERENTLY. THE DYNAMICS WERE DIFFERENT. >> THE DOCUMENTARY FEATURES YOUR DAD. >> YEAH. >> AND JUST LIKE A BIG TEDDY BEAR WHO EMBRACED ALL THE BOYS. >> HE SAID I HAVE TWO MORE SONS, AND HE MEANT IT. I MEAN, HE REALLY DID. AND, YOU KNOW, LATER ON THINGS SETTLED DOWN TO SOME KIND OF NORMALCY, BUT FROM THE -- IT WASN'T THAT MY PARENTS OR EDDIE'S PARENTS DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THE FAMILY THING. BUT IT WAS MORE LIKE MY SON HAS FOUND HIS BROTHERS, AND WE WERE GOING FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE TO HOUSE. >> THEY ALL HAD REFRIGERATORS. LOTS OF STUFF WAS MISSING. >> SUDDENLY YOU THREE 19-YEAR-OLD BOYS. AND YOU WOULD START TO PUT TOGETHER SIMILARITIES IN YOUR LIVES. WHAT WAS YOUR BACKGROUND, MY BACKGROUND. EACH ONE OF YOU HAD AN OLDER ADOPTED SISTER IN YOUR FAMILIES, AND YOU KNEW YOU WERE ADOPTED. YOU GREW UP KNOWING YOU WERE ADOPTED. >> YES. >> BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE TRIPLETS, AND THERE'S A VERY GOOD REASON FOR SOME OF THE SIMILARITIES THAT THEY WERE IDENTIFYING IN ONE ANOTHER'S LIVES A >>> THEY WALKED ALIKE. THEY TALKED ALIKE, AND EVEN HAD THE SAME TASTE IN WOMEN. TRIPLETS SEPARATED AT BIRTH WHO FOUND EACH OTHER 19 YEARS LATER BY CHANCE. THE THINGS THEY SHARED WERE NOT ALL POSITIVE. ALL THREE HAD STRANGE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES THAT CONTINUE TO HAUNT THEM TO THIS DAY. PLEASE WELCOME BACK DAVID AND BOBBY. THE THIRD TRIPLET IS EDDIE. WE'LL GET TO WHY HE'S NOT HERE IN A MINUTE. YOU ALL REMEMBERED BEING STUDIED AS CHILDREN. SOMEONE WOULD COME TO THE HOUSE. >> YES. >> HOW MANY TIMES A YEAR? >> AT LEAST ONCE, SOMETIMES TWICE. >> AND WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THOSE VISITS? >> SQUARE PEGS, ROUND HOLES. I.Q. TESTS, REPEATING STRINGS OF NUMBERS, LETTERS, WORDS. PERFORMING FOR THE CAMERA. >> YEAH. >> YOU WERE VIDEOTAPED? >> IN THOSE DAYS IT WAS SUPER8 FILM. LAST WEEK WE -- I MIGHT BE GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF, BUT I DID GET SOME VIDEOS. WE GOT SOME VIDEOS, AND I SORT OF LET IT RUN, AND I SAW DAVID JUMPING ON A POGO STICK AT THE SAME AGE TEN SECONDS LATER ME JUMPING ON A POGO STICK, DAVID RIDING A BIKE, ME RIDING A BICYCLE, AND DIFFERENT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF EACH OTHER. AND WHAT HAPPENS HAPPENING? >> EACH OF OUR PARENTS WERE TOLD WE WERE A PART OF AN ONGOING STUDY ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT. >> FINE, OF COURSE YOU CAN COME AND WITHOUT QUESTION WE WANT A BABY. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT. AND SO YOU REMEMBER THE SAME, PEOPLE COMING TO THE HOUSE, BEING FILMED, THE WHOLE BIT? >> ABSOLUTELY. >> AND SO THESE GUYS START TO TALK ABOUT IT. RIGHT? AND THEIR PARENTS, YOUR PARENTS WERE TICKED OFF THAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEIR BABIES HAD TRIPLET BROTHERS. >> THAT'S MILD. >> THEY GO TO THE ADOPTION AGENCY. >> YES. >> ALL SIX PARENTS GO TO THOSE SERVICES, AND WHAT HAPPENED? >> THEY CONFRONTED -- THEY PUT TOGETHER WHOMEVER WAS IN CHARGE, AND IT WAS LIKE A BOARDROOM, AND THERE WERE MY MOTHER WASN'T THERE. SHE WAS ILL. BUT MY FATHER WENT. AND BOTH OF DAVID'S PARENTS AND EDDIE'S PARENTS AND A GUY WHO WAS AN ATTORNEY WHO WAS A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, AND THEY DEMANDED ANSWERS, AND THEY ASKED IF THERE WAS A STUDY, AND THEY SAID THERE WAS. AND THEY SAID WELL, WHY? AND WHERE WAS IT PUBLISHED? WHERE ARE THE RECORDS? THEY BASICALLY STONE WALLED THEM, AND THEY LEFT WITH NOTHING. >> NO ANSWERS? >> NO ANSWERS. >> BUT MY FATHER FORGOT HIS UMBRELLA, AND HE REALIZED IT, AND WENT BACK FOR IT. AND WENT BACK INTO THE SAME ROOM, AND AS HE OPENED THE DOOR, HE SAW THEM ALL TOASTING. >> CHAMPAGNE? >> LIKE THEY HAD DODGED A BULLET. >> SO UNBEKNOWNST TO THESE GUYS THERE'S A JOURNALIST, A WRITER FOR THE NEW YORKER WHO DISCOVERED THE TRIPLETS' CONNECTION TO THIS MYSTERIOUS STUDY. HE HAD BEEN LOOKING INTO TWINS AND TRIPLETS AND RESEARCHING THEM. HE STUMBLED UPON SOMETHING IMPORTANT. HERE'S A CLIP FROM THE DOCUMENTARY. WATCH. >> I CAME ACROSS THIS SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE. IT REFERENCED THIS SECRET STUDY IN WHICH IDENTICAL SIBLINGS HAD BEEN SEPARATED. I WAS SHOCKED AND INTRIGUED. THEY WERE SEPARATING IDENTICAL BABIES AT BIRTH FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT. >> THESE PEOPLE SPLIT US UP AND STUDIED US LIKE LAB RATS. >> LAWRENCE IS HERE WITH US. AND SO YOU'RE THE ONE WHO PUT IT TOGETHER. THIS WAS NOT BY ACCIDENT. THIS WAS NOT AN ADOPTION AGENCY JUST TRYING TO FIND GOOD HOMES FOR TRIPLETS AND TWINS. THIS WAS BY DESIGN TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE TRIPLETS WOULD DO WHEN RAISED BY DIFFERENT FAMILIES IN DIFFERENT SOCIAL OWE ECONOMIC STATUSES AND SO ON. >> THAT'S CORRECT. THERE WAS A FASCINATING PAPER I HAD RUN ACROSS ABOUT TWO IDENTICAL GIRLS WHO WERE SEPARATED AND STUDIED. AND THEY WERE ANONYMOUS, BUT THERE WAS NO REFERENCE TO THIS STUDY ITSELF. WHERE WAS IT PUBLISHED? IT WAS NOT PUBLISHED. AND SO I WROTE ABOUT THE STUDY IN THE NEW YORKER, AND THEN I WAS WORKING ON A BOOK ABOUT TWINS, AND I DECIDED I WOULD TRY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHAT I STUDIED. I DISCOVERED THERE WAS AN EMINENT PSYCHIATRIST IN NEW YORK, DR. PETER NEWBOWER. HE WAS THE GUY WHO WAS OVERSEEING THIS STUDY, AND THERE WERE A NUMBER OF TWINS, WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY, BUT IT WAS WHEN I WAS TALKING TO HIM. HE LET IT SLIP THAT THERE WAS ALSO A TRIPLET GROUP IN THE STUDY, AND THERE AREN'T THAT MANY TRIPLETS BORN ANYWAY, OR IDENTICAL AND HAPPEN TO BE IN A JEWISH ADOPTION AGENCY. TRACKING THE BOYS DOWN WAS NOT TRACKING THE BOYS DOWN WAS NOT THAT DIFFICULT AFTER THAT.
