1 00:00:04,900 --> 00:00:06,866 GATES: I'm Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2 00:00:06,866 --> 00:00:09,933 Welcome to "Finding Your Roots". 3 00:00:10,500 --> 00:00:11,733 In this episode, 4 00:00:11,733 --> 00:00:15,966 we'll meet Bob Odenkirk and Iliza Shlesinger, 5 00:00:15,966 --> 00:00:18,766 two people who grew up trying to make 6 00:00:18,766 --> 00:00:20,666 their families laugh. 7 00:00:20,966 --> 00:00:22,900 ODENKIRK: Uh, there's a photograph of me, 8 00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:26,266 looking calmly at the camera and my mom said, 9 00:00:26,266 --> 00:00:28,866 "That's the only picture where you're not being 10 00:00:28,866 --> 00:00:31,566 silly that exists of you." 11 00:00:32,333 --> 00:00:34,033 SHLESINGER: My mother has told me this story, of, 12 00:00:34,033 --> 00:00:36,533 they had Groucho Marx glasses with the nose and the mustache. 13 00:00:36,533 --> 00:00:37,833 GATES: Right. 14 00:00:37,833 --> 00:00:39,266 SHLESINGER: My mom would put it on and she would point and 15 00:00:39,266 --> 00:00:40,766 she would say, "Funny." 16 00:00:40,766 --> 00:00:42,600 And then, I guess, a family friend came over, 17 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:44,233 who did look like that... 18 00:00:44,233 --> 00:00:46,600 big nose, mustache, glasses, and I pointed to him, 19 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,466 and I said, "Funny." 20 00:00:48,866 --> 00:00:50,433 GATES: To uncover their roots, 21 00:00:50,433 --> 00:00:52,800 we've used every tool available... 22 00:00:53,166 --> 00:00:55,966 Genealogists combed through paper trails stretching back 23 00:00:55,966 --> 00:00:57,866 hundreds of years. 24 00:00:58,066 --> 00:01:01,933 While DNA experts utilized the latest advances in genetic 25 00:01:01,933 --> 00:01:04,966 analysis to reveal secrets that have lain 26 00:01:04,966 --> 00:01:07,266 hidden for generations. 27 00:01:07,666 --> 00:01:11,166 And we've compiled everything into a "Book of Life". 28 00:01:11,500 --> 00:01:13,966 A record of all of our discoveries. 29 00:01:13,966 --> 00:01:16,033 SHLESINGER: I can't believe you found this! 30 00:01:16,033 --> 00:01:18,566 GATES: And a window into the hidden past. 31 00:01:18,566 --> 00:01:20,800 These are your immigrant ancestors. 32 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,200 ODENKIRK: Uh, I wanna shake their hand... 33 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,133 And give them a hug and a kiss. 34 00:01:25,133 --> 00:01:28,866 SHLESINGER: I feel a part of something and, like, complete. 35 00:01:28,866 --> 00:01:30,166 GATES: Mm-hmm. 36 00:01:30,166 --> 00:01:31,800 SHLESINGER: In, in a way that I didn't think 37 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:33,800 I ever would 'cause I thought I had, like, 38 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:35,533 six people in my family. 39 00:01:35,533 --> 00:01:37,233 GATES: So what is it like to learn this? 40 00:01:37,233 --> 00:01:41,733 ODENKIRK: The best. Why am I so happy and proud? 41 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,366 GATES: My two guests have devoted their lives to comedy. 42 00:01:46,366 --> 00:01:48,866 But their roots are filled with people who had 43 00:01:48,866 --> 00:01:51,866 a much simpler goal: survival. 44 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:53,633 In this episode, 45 00:01:53,633 --> 00:01:56,600 Iliza and Bob will meet ancestors who 46 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,066 faced enormous challenges, 47 00:01:59,066 --> 00:02:01,766 and who made immense sacrifices to lay the 48 00:02:01,766 --> 00:02:03,900 groundwork for their success. 49 00:02:10,100 --> 00:02:21,933 (theme music plays) 50 00:02:21,933 --> 00:02:26,600 ♪ ♪ 51 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:27,633 (book closes) 52 00:02:33,066 --> 00:02:48,166 ♪ ♪ 53 00:02:48,166 --> 00:02:51,200 GATES: Bob Odenkirk became a star by accident. 54 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,866 In 2009, when he was in his late 40s, 55 00:02:55,866 --> 00:02:58,666 and best known as a sketch comic, 56 00:02:58,666 --> 00:03:03,000 Bob was cast as a sleazy lawyer named Saul Goodman on 57 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,733 "Breaking Bad", the iconic AMC series about a 58 00:03:07,733 --> 00:03:10,700 high school teacher- turned-drug-dealer. 59 00:03:11,733 --> 00:03:14,733 Saul was conceived as a supporting role, 60 00:03:14,733 --> 00:03:17,833 but he became one of the most memorable characters 61 00:03:17,833 --> 00:03:19,900 in television history, 62 00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:22,300 leading to a spinoff series of his own and 63 00:03:22,900 --> 00:03:25,066 making Bob a household name. 64 00:03:26,633 --> 00:03:30,433 It's a heartwarming and extremely improbable, story. 65 00:03:31,366 --> 00:03:36,033 But knowing Bob's own story helps make sense of it. 66 00:03:37,733 --> 00:03:39,300 Much like Saul, 67 00:03:39,300 --> 00:03:42,900 Bob has seen his share of hard times. 68 00:03:42,900 --> 00:03:46,533 Raised in an Irish-Catholic suburb of Chicago, 69 00:03:46,533 --> 00:03:49,533 He's the second of seven children, 70 00:03:49,533 --> 00:03:52,900 and he grew up telling jokes to his brothers and sisters 71 00:03:52,900 --> 00:03:58,433 in no small part to alleviate a deep pain in their lives. 72 00:03:59,133 --> 00:04:01,833 ODENKIRK: There was a certain strain of, uh, 73 00:04:01,833 --> 00:04:03,200 tension in my home... 74 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:04,266 GATES: Mm-hmm. 75 00:04:04,266 --> 00:04:05,633 ODENKIRK: Because my dad was an alcoholic... 76 00:04:05,633 --> 00:04:06,833 GATES: Oh, I'm sorry. 77 00:04:06,833 --> 00:04:08,700 ODENKIRK: And he wasn't home very often. 78 00:04:08,700 --> 00:04:11,266 Uh, and as the years went by very rarely. 79 00:04:11,266 --> 00:04:13,233 I don't know how they had seven kids. 80 00:04:13,233 --> 00:04:14,600 GATES: Right. ODENKIRK: Figure that out. 81 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,066 But, uh, but he wasn't around much, 82 00:04:17,066 --> 00:04:19,733 and there was always a mystery of where is this guy 83 00:04:19,733 --> 00:04:20,866 and what's wrong? 84 00:04:20,866 --> 00:04:21,866 Something's wrong. 85 00:04:21,866 --> 00:04:24,466 We lived in a very nice town, Naperville. 86 00:04:24,466 --> 00:04:26,000 Uh, but we didn't have a lot of money. 87 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:27,333 We drank powdered milk. 88 00:04:27,333 --> 00:04:28,533 GATES: Mm-hmm. 89 00:04:28,533 --> 00:04:29,933 ODENKIRK: So, it didn't make sense. 90 00:04:29,933 --> 00:04:32,266 Like, "Why are we here if we don't have anything?" 91 00:04:32,266 --> 00:04:33,466 You know, we don't, 92 00:04:33,466 --> 00:04:35,733 it was just strange and there was a tension there 93 00:04:35,733 --> 00:04:36,733 all the time. 94 00:04:36,733 --> 00:04:38,000 GATES: Ah. 95 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:39,900 ODENKIRK: So, the humor was, for my brothers and sisters, 96 00:04:39,900 --> 00:04:42,766 for all of us, a way to lighten, 97 00:04:42,766 --> 00:04:47,133 lighten the load of, of the weird tension of this 98 00:04:47,133 --> 00:04:49,933 existential strangeness. 99 00:04:51,966 --> 00:04:55,533 GATES: Bob would soon discover that his humor had an appeal 100 00:04:55,533 --> 00:04:58,100 that reached well beyond his siblings. 101 00:04:58,933 --> 00:05:01,366 He was hired by "Saturday Night Live" as a 102 00:05:01,366 --> 00:05:04,366 writer when he was just 24 years old, 103 00:05:04,666 --> 00:05:06,733 and quickly won an Emmy. 104 00:05:07,333 --> 00:05:08,800 Six years later, 105 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,066 he co-created "Mr. Show", 106 00:05:11,066 --> 00:05:14,900 a wildly inventive sketch comedy series for HBO. 107 00:05:16,300 --> 00:05:17,800 ODENKIRK: You're high. 108 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:19,433 (audience laughter) 109 00:05:19,433 --> 00:05:21,133 CROSS: No, no. 110 00:05:21,133 --> 00:05:23,266 ODENKIRK: I smell marijuana on you! 111 00:05:23,266 --> 00:05:24,966 CROSS: Well, check that... 112 00:05:24,966 --> 00:05:26,900 How about medical marijuana? 113 00:05:26,900 --> 00:05:28,366 (audience laughter) 114 00:05:28,366 --> 00:05:29,500 ODENKIRK: You're not sick! 115 00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:31,466 CROSS: It's for work-related stress. 116 00:05:31,466 --> 00:05:35,100 ODENKIRK: "For stress related to working with Bob Odenkirk." 117 00:05:37,133 --> 00:05:39,733 GATES: "Mr. Show" is still beloved today, 118 00:05:39,733 --> 00:05:42,966 but it never got the ratings it deserved. 119 00:05:42,966 --> 00:05:46,400 And when it ended, Bob found himself adrift, 120 00:05:46,733 --> 00:05:50,566 searching for a new project to suit his skills. 121 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,166 Unfortunately, that search would last for more 122 00:05:54,166 --> 00:05:55,600 than a decade... 123 00:05:57,166 --> 00:05:58,700 ODENKIRK: I basically went into, 124 00:05:58,700 --> 00:06:00,666 I'm calling it, “Development Heck.” 125 00:06:00,666 --> 00:06:01,966 GATES: Mm-hmm. 126 00:06:01,966 --> 00:06:05,066 ODENKIRK: Because, um, it was just numerous years of projects 127 00:06:05,066 --> 00:06:07,733 that sometimes made it to pilot stage where you'd 128 00:06:07,733 --> 00:06:09,000 shoot the pilot. 129 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,733 Many of them made it to, uh... 130 00:06:10,733 --> 00:06:13,766 uh, script stage where you'd get paid to write the script. 131 00:06:13,766 --> 00:06:17,166 Um, and I call it, "Development Heck" because 132 00:06:17,166 --> 00:06:18,700 it wasn't really Hell. 133 00:06:18,700 --> 00:06:20,100 I had kids. 134 00:06:20,100 --> 00:06:23,400 I had some money coming in, a little. 135 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:25,766 Uh, it wasn't the worst thing in the world. 136 00:06:25,766 --> 00:06:27,433 And I got to act here and there, 137 00:06:27,433 --> 00:06:29,633 little character roles that I would be offered. 138 00:06:29,633 --> 00:06:30,966 GATES: Mm-hmm. 139 00:06:30,966 --> 00:06:32,366 ODENKIRK: But it was hard, though. 140 00:06:32,366 --> 00:06:33,766 Uh, that much failure is hard. 141 00:06:33,766 --> 00:06:35,966 GATES: Did you ever think about quitting? 142 00:06:35,966 --> 00:06:37,633 ODENKIRK: Well, see there's the thing. 143 00:06:37,633 --> 00:06:39,866 At that point, what are you gonna do? 144 00:06:39,866 --> 00:06:41,466 GATES: Right. 145 00:06:41,466 --> 00:06:44,366 Bob's salvation came out of nowhere, 146 00:06:44,366 --> 00:06:47,300 when he was offered the role of Saul Goodman, 147 00:06:47,300 --> 00:06:50,600 he accepted it on whim, without auditioning, 148 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,633 after barely reading the script. 149 00:06:53,633 --> 00:06:57,333 He was slated to appear in just a few episodes, 150 00:06:57,333 --> 00:07:00,733 but his performance took everyone by surprise, 151 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,366 transforming his life, and his career... 152 00:07:04,666 --> 00:07:08,433 As he discovered untapped talents as a dramatic actor. 153 00:07:10,266 --> 00:07:12,300 ODENKIRK: I'm unbelievably grateful. 154 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:14,500 I'm unbelievably grateful. 155 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:16,100 I won the lottery. 156 00:07:16,100 --> 00:07:17,333 GATES: You did, you did. 157 00:07:17,333 --> 00:07:18,533 ODENKIRK: It's better than the lottery! 158 00:07:18,533 --> 00:07:19,566 GATES: Right. 159 00:07:19,566 --> 00:07:20,666 ODENKIRK: When you win the lottery, 160 00:07:20,666 --> 00:07:22,100 they give you a bunch of money and you go screw up 161 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:23,133 your life with it. 162 00:07:23,133 --> 00:07:24,433 GATES: Yeah, that's right. 163 00:07:24,433 --> 00:07:28,400 ODENKIRK: I won this relationship to the industry 164 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,000 that I loved and was attracted to. 165 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,533 GATES: You did. Big time. 166 00:07:32,533 --> 00:07:34,100 ODENKIRK: And I can't explain it. 167 00:07:34,100 --> 00:07:35,200 GATES: Mm-hmm. 168 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:36,866 ODENKIRK: I don't deserve. I didn't deserve it. 169 00:07:36,866 --> 00:07:38,766 And sure there's some Catholic guilt in there, 170 00:07:38,766 --> 00:07:40,133 but also it's true. 171 00:07:40,133 --> 00:07:41,233 GATES: Right. 172 00:07:41,233 --> 00:07:42,600 ODENKIRK: If the audience decides, 173 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:44,866 “We like you in drama. 174 00:07:44,866 --> 00:07:48,366 I know you like sketch comedy, I'm glad you did it, thank you”" 175 00:07:48,866 --> 00:07:50,966 “But we like you in drama.” 176 00:07:50,966 --> 00:07:52,366 GATES: And you can say, "I'm cool with that." 177 00:07:52,366 --> 00:07:55,100 ODENKIRK: Okay. You got it. 178 00:07:55,566 --> 00:07:58,900 GATES: My second guest is comedian, actor, and author 179 00:07:58,900 --> 00:08:01,733 Iliza Shlesinger... 180 00:08:01,733 --> 00:08:06,333 Iliza is renowned for her brilliant stand-up routines, 181 00:08:06,333 --> 00:08:09,300 which mix sly observational humor and 182 00:08:09,300 --> 00:08:11,433 biting social commentary. 183 00:08:12,733 --> 00:08:15,733 SHLESINGER: You're like, "I don't wanna bring a jacket!" 184 00:08:16,700 --> 00:08:18,100 "Why not?" 185 00:08:18,100 --> 00:08:20,200 "Because then I have to carry it." 186 00:08:21,133 --> 00:08:22,966 Girls hate the idea of having to carrying a jacket. 187 00:08:22,966 --> 00:08:24,233 "It's too heavy." 188 00:08:24,233 --> 00:08:29,033 The female body is capable of carrying a human being 189 00:08:29,033 --> 00:08:31,466 for nine months but apparently a light-weight jacket 190 00:08:31,466 --> 00:08:34,800 stuffed with feathers is where we draw the line. 191 00:08:35,733 --> 00:08:37,433 GATES: Much like Bob Odenkirk, 192 00:08:37,433 --> 00:08:40,800 Iliza told me that her comedic talents were forged 193 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:42,766 in her childhood home, 194 00:08:43,166 --> 00:08:46,500 but Iliza comes from a very different kind of home. 195 00:08:47,033 --> 00:08:49,166 Her parents were Jewish New Yorkers who 196 00:08:49,166 --> 00:08:52,866 moved to Dallas, Texas when Iliza was a child, 197 00:08:53,100 --> 00:08:55,766 compelling their daughter to grow up in a world where 198 00:08:55,766 --> 00:08:58,733 she was always something of an outsider. 199 00:09:00,066 --> 00:09:01,533 SHLESINGER: We lived in a normal... 200 00:09:01,533 --> 00:09:02,900 Like, I took a school bus, not a horse. 201 00:09:02,900 --> 00:09:04,333 Like, we lived in a normal suburb. 202 00:09:04,333 --> 00:09:05,466 GATES: Right. 203 00:09:05,466 --> 00:09:06,933 SHLESINGER: We belonged to a synagogue. 204 00:09:06,933 --> 00:09:08,300 Like, there are a, I know, especially now, 205 00:09:08,300 --> 00:09:09,333 a lot more Jews in Dallas... 206 00:09:09,333 --> 00:09:10,666 GATES: Mm-hmm. 207 00:09:10,666 --> 00:09:12,033 SHLESINGER: But you still were, like, a little "other than" 208 00:09:12,033 --> 00:09:13,100 growing up. 209 00:09:13,100 --> 00:09:14,233 GATES: Mm-hmm. 210 00:09:14,233 --> 00:09:15,466 SHLESINGER: Like, they had, like, 211 00:09:15,466 --> 00:09:16,866 Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and... 212 00:09:16,866 --> 00:09:18,800 there never was nor has been a Fellowship of Jewish Athletes 213 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:19,866 at a public school. 214 00:09:19,866 --> 00:09:21,600 So, yeah. 215 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,033 GATES: In Black culture, there's always a day, you know, 216 00:09:25,833 --> 00:09:28,300 when you realize that you're Black, 217 00:09:28,300 --> 00:09:31,466 and that it's not a good thing for a lot of people. 218 00:09:31,466 --> 00:09:33,766 Did that happen to you, in terms of antisemitism? 219 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:35,366 SHLESINGER: Yes. 220 00:09:35,366 --> 00:09:37,366 I remember, uh, one of my best friends when I was little, 221 00:09:37,366 --> 00:09:40,000 who, we're not gonna name names, um, 222 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:41,466 she said something bad to me. 223 00:09:41,466 --> 00:09:43,866 So, my mom, as moms do, called her mom. 224 00:09:43,866 --> 00:09:47,100 And she said, "You know, your daughter told my daughter, 225 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:49,700 Iliza, that because she's Jewish, 226 00:09:49,700 --> 00:09:50,800 she's gonna go to hell." 227 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:51,966 GATES: Uh-huh. 228 00:09:51,966 --> 00:09:53,366 SHLESINGER: 'Cause this is what you're taught... 229 00:09:53,366 --> 00:09:54,533 GATES: Mm-hmm. 230 00:09:54,533 --> 00:09:55,933 SHLESINGER: In some branches of Christianity... 231 00:09:55,933 --> 00:09:57,366 GATES: Mm-hmm. SHLESINGER: You know? 232 00:09:57,366 --> 00:09:58,766 And the mother, rather than saying, 233 00:09:58,766 --> 00:10:00,100 "Oh, I'ma have to talk to her. That's not right," 234 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:01,533 she said, "Oh, I'ma have talk to her. 235 00:10:01,533 --> 00:10:03,666 She's not supposed to start witnessing 'til she's older." 236 00:10:03,666 --> 00:10:05,000 GATES: Oh my God! 237 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,033 SHLESINGER: So, there's that, and then it's not so much, 238 00:10:07,033 --> 00:10:10,066 like, it's not violent antisemitism, but, um, 239 00:10:10,066 --> 00:10:14,000 you know, ask, like, hearing things, like, 240 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,133 "Do you drink babies' blood or eat babies?" 241 00:10:16,133 --> 00:10:17,400 Or "Do they have horns?" 242 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:18,633 And things like that. 243 00:10:18,633 --> 00:10:20,100 And it's just things that you're aware of, 244 00:10:20,100 --> 00:10:23,133 and you're aware of how the world, 245 00:10:23,133 --> 00:10:25,733 especially as you get older, views Jewish people. 246 00:10:25,733 --> 00:10:27,733 And of course, these things are also hurtful, 247 00:10:27,733 --> 00:10:30,766 but I do think it teaches a modicum of compassion in terms 248 00:10:30,766 --> 00:10:34,300 of dealing with other people's struggles in life. 249 00:10:36,300 --> 00:10:39,166 GATES: Though Iliza may have felt out of place, 250 00:10:39,166 --> 00:10:42,266 she immersed herself in her new environment with an 251 00:10:42,266 --> 00:10:44,433 impressive amount of confidence, 252 00:10:44,433 --> 00:10:47,266 guided by a single-minded ambition to 253 00:10:47,266 --> 00:10:50,533 somehow become a comedian. 254 00:10:50,733 --> 00:10:53,166 There were no performers or artists of any kind 255 00:10:53,166 --> 00:10:54,466 in her family, 256 00:10:54,466 --> 00:10:57,366 but her parents encouraged her just the same. 257 00:10:57,666 --> 00:10:59,233 And when she got to high school, 258 00:10:59,233 --> 00:11:01,433 she joined an improv troupe, 259 00:11:01,433 --> 00:11:03,300 despite the fact that there were no other 260 00:11:03,300 --> 00:11:05,566 women in the group. 261 00:11:06,566 --> 00:11:09,133 You were the only girl in the improv troupe, right? 262 00:11:09,133 --> 00:11:12,000 SHLESINGER: Yeah, for a while. GATES: What was that like? 263 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,466 SHLESINGER: It's so funny. I never... 264 00:11:14,666 --> 00:11:17,700 there's a big conversation nowadays around, like, woman, 265 00:11:17,700 --> 00:11:18,933 women in comedy. 266 00:11:18,933 --> 00:11:21,766 And younger people act as if there haven't always been 267 00:11:21,766 --> 00:11:23,400 women in comedy. 268 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,066 We've been here for a minute. 269 00:11:25,066 --> 00:11:26,866 Like, we've been here since the beginning. 270 00:11:26,866 --> 00:11:28,800 Perhaps not as celebrated, 271 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:31,466 not as visible, but women have been doing this. 272 00:11:31,466 --> 00:11:36,533 And, uh, because, growing up, feminism wasn't as huge, 273 00:11:36,533 --> 00:11:38,400 wasn't as big of a conversation as it is now, 274 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:39,766 certainly wasn't as ubiquitous, 275 00:11:39,766 --> 00:11:41,466 we definitely didn't have the internet, 276 00:11:41,466 --> 00:11:44,466 and women in comedy wasn't such a sticky topic... 277 00:11:44,466 --> 00:11:45,566 GATES: Mm-hmm. 278 00:11:45,566 --> 00:11:47,366 SHLESINGER: I was never told women aren't funny. 279 00:11:47,366 --> 00:11:48,533 GATES: Yeah. 280 00:11:48,533 --> 00:11:49,866 SHLESINGER: And boys liked to be around me because 281 00:11:49,866 --> 00:11:52,733 I was funny, and my friends, like, that was my currency. 282 00:11:52,733 --> 00:11:53,833 GATES: Mm-hmm. 283 00:11:53,833 --> 00:11:55,000 SHLESINGER: For some people, it's their looks. 284 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:56,533 Some people it's that you're the person you want 285 00:11:56,533 --> 00:11:57,733 in science lab to sit next to. 286 00:11:57,733 --> 00:11:59,366 That was my thing. 287 00:11:59,366 --> 00:12:00,666 And so, I never, 288 00:12:00,666 --> 00:12:03,300 it never occurred to me that I wasn't just as funny, 289 00:12:03,300 --> 00:12:04,766 if not better. 290 00:12:04,766 --> 00:12:05,933 GATES: Mm-hmm. 291 00:12:05,933 --> 00:12:07,600 SHLESINGER: So, this idea that I would be a 292 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,733 shrinking violet or that boys should go and girls shouldn't, 293 00:12:09,733 --> 00:12:12,066 I just went and I remember thinking, 294 00:12:12,066 --> 00:12:13,766 we were, like, at improv practice, 295 00:12:13,766 --> 00:12:15,866 I remember thinking, like, they were all messing around, 296 00:12:15,866 --> 00:12:16,933 and I was like, 297 00:12:16,933 --> 00:12:18,800 "You guys are gonna go and have normal jobs. 298 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,733 I'm gonna do this for a living, so, pay attention because 299 00:12:21,733 --> 00:12:23,533 we only have 30 minutes before lunch." 300 00:12:23,533 --> 00:12:25,166 (laughter) 301 00:12:25,633 --> 00:12:28,133 GATES: Iliza knew what she was talking about, 302 00:12:28,133 --> 00:12:31,533 and her determination paid off big time. 303 00:12:31,966 --> 00:12:35,700 Today, she's more than "making a living" at comedy, 304 00:12:35,700 --> 00:12:39,266 she's a headlining act with a global fanbase, 305 00:12:39,466 --> 00:12:42,700 and six Netflix specials to her name... 306 00:12:43,266 --> 00:12:47,666 But even so, Iliza readily acknowledges that her abilities 307 00:12:47,666 --> 00:12:50,300 only took her so far. 308 00:12:50,633 --> 00:12:52,933 She also needed a bit of luck. 309 00:12:52,933 --> 00:12:55,633 Especially when she first moved to Los Angeles 310 00:12:55,633 --> 00:12:58,200 and tried to launch her career. 311 00:12:58,833 --> 00:13:00,966 SHLESINGER: I didn't know anything about the industry. 312 00:13:00,966 --> 00:13:02,766 And I remember thinking, like, 313 00:13:02,766 --> 00:13:05,166 like every wide-eyed girl coming to LA, like, 314 00:13:05,166 --> 00:13:08,166 "If I can just get on a stage, they'll see how great I am." 315 00:13:08,166 --> 00:13:09,233 GATES: Right. 316 00:13:09,233 --> 00:13:10,633 SHLESINGER: How do you get stage time if you 317 00:13:10,633 --> 00:13:11,800 don't know anyone? 318 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,166 I saw an ad, must've been in a paper or online, 319 00:13:14,166 --> 00:13:16,166 for a school. 320 00:13:16,166 --> 00:13:18,666 It was called The Judy Carter Comedy School. 321 00:13:18,666 --> 00:13:19,933 GATES: Huh. 322 00:13:19,933 --> 00:13:22,600 SHLESINGER: I saw in the ad that at the end of the classes, 323 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:23,700 you get a showcase. 324 00:13:23,700 --> 00:13:24,866 GATES: Hmm. 325 00:13:24,866 --> 00:13:26,466 SHLESINGER: Everybody who took the class gets up and 326 00:13:26,466 --> 00:13:27,500 they do their five or so minutes. 327 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:28,533 And I thought, 328 00:13:28,533 --> 00:13:30,000 "Well, that's how I'll get my stage time. 329 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,433 I'll, I'll take these classes, I'll earn the showcase, 330 00:13:32,433 --> 00:13:33,433 I'll do it. 331 00:13:33,433 --> 00:13:35,366 The President of Comedy will see me, 332 00:13:35,366 --> 00:13:37,000 and that will be that." 333 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,100 So I started taking the class, and I met another comic. 334 00:13:40,100 --> 00:13:42,600 This, another man, his name was Tim Powers, 335 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:45,566 super nice guy who's, like, a father and taking this class. 336 00:13:45,566 --> 00:13:46,733 GATES: Hmm. 337 00:13:46,733 --> 00:13:48,000 SHLESINGER: And I became friends with him, 338 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:49,700 and he was a real live standup comic. 339 00:13:49,700 --> 00:13:52,000 And while we became friends in the class, 340 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,900 he was like, "You know, my friends and I, 341 00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:56,666 we do comedy at a bar in Hollywood. 342 00:13:57,033 --> 00:13:58,266 Why don't you come on by?" 343 00:13:58,266 --> 00:14:00,466 GATES: Ah, that's great. SHLESINGER: And so I went. 344 00:14:00,466 --> 00:14:01,466 GATES: Huh. 345 00:14:01,466 --> 00:14:03,300 SHLESINGER: I went at 22 to this bar, 346 00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:05,933 and there's like a bunch of grown men that put on 347 00:14:05,933 --> 00:14:08,133 a standup show and they gave me time. 348 00:14:08,133 --> 00:14:11,800 So I cobbled together my few jokes that I had written, uh, 349 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:13,966 and my one-man show from college and a couple 350 00:14:13,966 --> 00:14:15,333 of other things. 351 00:14:15,333 --> 00:14:17,600 And I invited my friends, as you do, 352 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:19,533 and, and, and it was great. 353 00:14:19,533 --> 00:14:20,600 GATES: Huh. 354 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:22,100 SHLESINGER: Not great, it was, it was whatever. 355 00:14:22,100 --> 00:14:23,366 I think there was a joke about herpes, 356 00:14:23,366 --> 00:14:24,633 a joke about LA traffic, 357 00:14:24,633 --> 00:14:26,566 whatever, and they invited me back. 358 00:14:26,566 --> 00:14:27,900 GATES: Huh! 359 00:14:27,900 --> 00:14:30,600 SHLESINGER: And it's a real sink-or-swim moment, 360 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:32,566 and I just decided to swim. 361 00:14:33,533 --> 00:14:36,466 GATES: Iliza and Bob have been fortunate. 362 00:14:36,466 --> 00:14:38,900 Their comedic gifts have brought them a level 363 00:14:38,900 --> 00:14:41,266 of success that they could never have imagined 364 00:14:41,266 --> 00:14:43,233 when they were young. 365 00:14:43,233 --> 00:14:46,966 Now it was time to introduce them to ancestors whose gifts 366 00:14:46,966 --> 00:14:49,433 were decidedly more practical, 367 00:14:49,433 --> 00:14:51,966 and whose lives were more inclined towards 368 00:14:51,966 --> 00:14:54,100 drama than comedy. 369 00:14:55,733 --> 00:14:59,333 I started with Bob Odenkirk, and with his mother, 370 00:14:59,333 --> 00:15:01,533 Barbara Baier. 371 00:15:01,533 --> 00:15:04,366 Barbara anchored Bob's childhood home, 372 00:15:04,366 --> 00:15:06,733 driven by an inner warmth that, 373 00:15:06,733 --> 00:15:10,500 for whatever reason, seemed to elude Bob's father. 374 00:15:11,900 --> 00:15:13,233 ODENKIRK: He was a mystery to me, 375 00:15:13,233 --> 00:15:15,300 and my dad is a mystery to me. 376 00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:18,266 Well, he left the house when I was 15, 377 00:15:18,266 --> 00:15:20,933 and I met him again when I was 22 when he was dying. 378 00:15:21,266 --> 00:15:22,533 GATES: Oh. 379 00:15:22,533 --> 00:15:25,166 ODENKIRK: And, uh, we got to meet probably five or six times 380 00:15:25,166 --> 00:15:27,333 and I could never sort it out. 381 00:15:27,333 --> 00:15:29,133 I just could not figure that guy out. 382 00:15:29,133 --> 00:15:30,433 GATES: Hmm. 383 00:15:30,433 --> 00:15:31,966 ODENKIRK: I don't know what his deal was. 384 00:15:31,966 --> 00:15:33,866 My mom was the core of our lives. 385 00:15:33,866 --> 00:15:35,000 GATES: Mm-hmm. 386 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,300 ODENKIRK: She, uh, loved having kids. 387 00:15:36,300 --> 00:15:39,700 She loved raising kids. She was supremely busy. 388 00:15:39,700 --> 00:15:40,733 She told me, 389 00:15:40,733 --> 00:15:42,933 "One day I did 15 loads of laundry." 390 00:15:42,933 --> 00:15:44,266 GATES: Wow. 391 00:15:44,266 --> 00:15:46,433 ODENKIRK: Uh, she was happy doing that. 392 00:15:46,433 --> 00:15:47,766 GATES: Hmm. 393 00:15:47,766 --> 00:15:49,566 ODENKIRK: Um, kids entertained the heck out of her. 394 00:15:49,566 --> 00:15:52,233 She laughed at our antics all the time. 395 00:15:52,233 --> 00:15:53,966 She never laughed harder than we, 396 00:15:53,966 --> 00:15:56,200 when me and my brother Steve would start to fight, 397 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,800 physically fight, which we didn't do often. 398 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:00,566 But four times, maybe, in our lives, 399 00:16:00,566 --> 00:16:02,966 we went at each other and she, 400 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:07,466 nothing killed the fight more than my mom cracking up 401 00:16:07,466 --> 00:16:09,133 as hard as she did. 402 00:16:10,733 --> 00:16:13,600 GATES: Bob came to me knowing that his mother has 403 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,066 extensive roots in Ireland, 404 00:16:16,733 --> 00:16:19,166 and he told me that he grew up feeling deeply attached 405 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:21,933 to that side of his ancestry. 406 00:16:22,633 --> 00:16:26,000 But we discovered that his mother also descends from 407 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,100 a man who wasn't Irish... 408 00:16:29,466 --> 00:16:33,433 The story begins with the 1870 census for Chicago, 409 00:16:34,133 --> 00:16:37,733 where we found Barbara's great-great-grandfather, 410 00:16:37,733 --> 00:16:41,866 a French carpenter named François Fricker. 411 00:16:43,100 --> 00:16:44,766 ODENKIRK: So I'm part French. 412 00:16:44,766 --> 00:16:46,533 GATES: You're part French, without a doubt. 413 00:16:46,533 --> 00:16:47,733 Did you have... 414 00:16:47,733 --> 00:16:49,200 ODENKIRK: Never heard anything... 415 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,833 GATES: Any idea you had French? ODENKIRK: No! No! Nothing! 416 00:16:51,833 --> 00:16:54,166 Oh, I wish my mom could hear this. 417 00:16:54,166 --> 00:16:56,633 She would've loved this. 418 00:16:57,533 --> 00:17:00,966 GATES: We don't know what drove François to immigrate, 419 00:17:01,233 --> 00:17:05,733 but records show that he left France sometime around 1853, 420 00:17:05,966 --> 00:17:07,700 and that his wife and their five children 421 00:17:07,700 --> 00:17:10,000 came over the following year, 422 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,933 after auctioning off their home and virtually all 423 00:17:12,933 --> 00:17:15,033 of their possessions, 424 00:17:15,033 --> 00:17:17,566 likely to pay for their passage... 425 00:17:17,933 --> 00:17:19,866 GATES: These are your immigrant ancestors. 426 00:17:19,866 --> 00:17:21,066 ODENKIRK: Yeah. 427 00:17:21,066 --> 00:17:23,233 GATES: These are the people who brought this part of 428 00:17:23,233 --> 00:17:26,000 your family to America. 429 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,733 What's it like to meet them? 430 00:17:27,733 --> 00:17:31,233 ODENKIRK: Uh, I wanna shake their hand and give them 431 00:17:31,233 --> 00:17:33,366 a hug and a kiss. 432 00:17:33,633 --> 00:17:37,000 Uh, it's moving because I... 433 00:17:37,366 --> 00:17:40,233 I'm so thankful for the sacrifice that 434 00:17:40,233 --> 00:17:42,000 these people made. 435 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,533 And if they could see what I've been given, 436 00:17:44,533 --> 00:17:47,600 this gift of this career and, and the people in my life, 437 00:17:48,233 --> 00:17:51,400 I think they'd be so proud, and I have them to thank for it. 438 00:17:51,633 --> 00:17:53,066 GATES: They would be very proud, buddy. 439 00:17:53,066 --> 00:17:54,500 ODENKIRK: Yeah. They'd also be like, 440 00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:56,433 "What's a movie?" 441 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,333 GATES: Francois and his family undoubtedly endured 442 00:18:01,333 --> 00:18:04,300 great hardships on their journey to America. 443 00:18:05,266 --> 00:18:07,766 But moving back one generation, 444 00:18:07,766 --> 00:18:10,933 we came to a man who endured even more. 445 00:18:12,333 --> 00:18:14,200 Francois' father, 446 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,833 Jean Jacques Fricker, was born in 1790... 447 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,900 He's Bob's fourth great-grandfather, 448 00:18:21,900 --> 00:18:24,033 and we found military records, 449 00:18:24,033 --> 00:18:26,033 showing that he was mustered into the 450 00:18:26,033 --> 00:18:31,000 French army in March of 1809, when he was still a teenager. 451 00:18:32,733 --> 00:18:36,466 ODENKIRK: It's so wild. It's so wild. 452 00:18:37,366 --> 00:18:39,133 GATES: And why is he going into the army? 453 00:18:39,133 --> 00:18:41,233 You want to take a guess? 454 00:18:41,233 --> 00:18:43,233 ODENKIRK: He stole something. 455 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:45,533 GATES: No, no. Close. 456 00:18:45,533 --> 00:18:49,000 Napoleon stole something and was about to try to steal more. 457 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,400 It was the Napoleonic Wars. 458 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:51,866 ODENKIRK: Right. 459 00:18:51,866 --> 00:18:54,533 GATES: By 1809, Napoleon had been Emperor of the 460 00:18:54,533 --> 00:18:56,233 French for five years, 461 00:18:56,233 --> 00:18:59,100 and had already fought several wars across Europe. 462 00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:00,433 ODENKIRK: Yeah. 463 00:19:00,433 --> 00:19:02,600 GATES: Conscription was a requirement for all young men 464 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:04,200 in the French Empire. 465 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,600 Otherwise, they would be considered deserters and bad 466 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:08,866 things would have happened to them. 467 00:19:08,866 --> 00:19:10,400 ODENKIRK: Wow, so... 468 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:11,733 GATES: So your fourth great-grandfather didn't have 469 00:19:11,733 --> 00:19:12,900 much of a choice. 470 00:19:12,900 --> 00:19:14,333 ODENKIRK: Yeah, Napoleon said, "Let's go. Show up." 471 00:19:14,333 --> 00:19:16,533 GATES: He said, “Let's go.” He was 18 years of age. 472 00:19:16,533 --> 00:19:19,100 Can you imagine going off to war at the age of 18? 473 00:19:19,100 --> 00:19:23,200 ODENKIRK: Yeah, back then with, I mean, anytime, 474 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,566 but that was blood and guts, man. 475 00:19:27,666 --> 00:19:29,400 GATES: Bob is correct... 476 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:33,900 his ancestor would see "blood and guts" very quickly... 477 00:19:34,466 --> 00:19:38,700 At the time, Napoleon had grand ambitions, 478 00:19:38,700 --> 00:19:42,233 and was determined to dominate all of Europe. 479 00:19:42,900 --> 00:19:45,133 In early May of 1809, 480 00:19:45,133 --> 00:19:48,800 he captured Vienna, the capital of Austria, 481 00:19:49,066 --> 00:19:52,233 and then set out to crush Austrian armies that lay 482 00:19:52,233 --> 00:19:55,366 just across the Danube River on the opposite shore. 483 00:19:57,100 --> 00:20:01,800 But that's where Napoleon's luck took a turn for the worse. 484 00:20:02,733 --> 00:20:04,000 ODENKIRK: "The French army, 485 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,533 commanded by the Emperor Napoleon in person, 486 00:20:06,533 --> 00:20:12,133 has been totally beaten at Aspern and Essling by 487 00:20:12,133 --> 00:20:14,500 the Austrian army. 488 00:20:14,500 --> 00:20:16,800 On the 22nd at 4:00 a.m., 489 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,800 the Emperor thought the decisive moment was come and 490 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,833 ordered his cavalry to charge and support the infantry, 491 00:20:22,833 --> 00:20:24,933 but the repeated charges of the cavalry could 492 00:20:24,933 --> 00:20:26,700 not pierce the center. 493 00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:28,333 The Emperor Napoleon, 494 00:20:28,333 --> 00:20:31,066 perceiving that his communication was threatened, 495 00:20:31,066 --> 00:20:32,533 hastened his retreat, 496 00:20:32,533 --> 00:20:35,100 leaving on the field of battle a great number 497 00:20:35,100 --> 00:20:37,166 of dead and wounded." 498 00:20:37,166 --> 00:20:40,866 Don't follow crazy people into war. 499 00:20:41,733 --> 00:20:45,133 GATES: Your ancestor was there. 500 00:20:45,633 --> 00:20:47,033 ODENKIRK: Wild. 501 00:20:47,033 --> 00:20:51,633 GATES: What's it like to insert yourself in world history? 502 00:20:51,933 --> 00:20:53,700 ODENKIRK: Well, you see paintings like this 503 00:20:53,700 --> 00:20:55,066 all the time. 504 00:20:55,066 --> 00:20:56,333 GATES: Yeah, that's right. 505 00:20:56,333 --> 00:20:58,600 ODENKIRK: You don't think, “Oh, that's my 506 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:00,566 great-great-great-great- grandfather right there.” 507 00:21:00,566 --> 00:21:02,233 GATES: No. ODENKIRK: But it is. 508 00:21:02,233 --> 00:21:04,800 It's somebody's great-great -great-great-grand father. 509 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:06,433 GATES: Mm-hmm. 510 00:21:07,333 --> 00:21:11,633 The battle was Napoleon's first major defeat in over a decade 511 00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:15,200 and it was a bloodbath for the French army, 512 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:19,733 which suffered more than 20,000 casualties in two days of 513 00:21:19,733 --> 00:21:22,266 near-constant fighting. 514 00:21:23,566 --> 00:21:27,233 ODENKIRK: Wow, I'm surprised anybody survived at all. 515 00:21:27,233 --> 00:21:29,000 GATES: Please turn the page. 516 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,433 ODENKIRK: This is an amazing saga that I had no sense of. 517 00:21:36,100 --> 00:21:37,733 GATES: This is another page from your fourth 518 00:21:37,733 --> 00:21:39,200 great-grandfather's pension file. 519 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:41,400 Would you please read that translated section? 520 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,866 ODENKIRK: "Jean Jacque Fricker is unable to continue his 521 00:21:43,866 --> 00:21:47,833 services because of a gunshot received on May 22, 1809, 522 00:21:48,100 --> 00:21:50,166 which caused him to lose the little finger of 523 00:21:50,166 --> 00:21:51,266 his right hand, 524 00:21:51,266 --> 00:21:53,833 as well as the free use of the ring finger. 525 00:21:53,833 --> 00:21:56,333 The adherence of the scars deprives the hand of 526 00:21:56,333 --> 00:21:58,000 its free movements." 527 00:21:59,033 --> 00:22:02,966 Uh, get out of jail free. 528 00:22:02,966 --> 00:22:05,566 Uh, get out of here, not free. 529 00:22:05,566 --> 00:22:06,700 GATES: No. 530 00:22:06,700 --> 00:22:09,033 ODENKIRK: You lose your hand, you know. 531 00:22:09,033 --> 00:22:10,600 GATES: He was only 18 years old. 532 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,300 Can you imagine being physically scared for the rest 533 00:22:13,300 --> 00:22:14,700 of your life at the age of 18? 534 00:22:14,700 --> 00:22:16,666 ODENKIRK: Yeah. Yeah. 535 00:22:16,666 --> 00:22:19,666 In a time when manual labor was, was work. 536 00:22:19,666 --> 00:22:20,766 GATES: Mm-hmm. 537 00:22:20,766 --> 00:22:22,000 ODENKIRK: Was what you could do, 538 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:23,700 all you could do, in a lot of places, 539 00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:25,266 and you can't use your right hand. 540 00:22:25,266 --> 00:22:28,766 Devastating. Devastating. 541 00:22:29,900 --> 00:22:33,833 GATES: Jean was discharged from the army with a small pension. 542 00:22:33,833 --> 00:22:37,000 He managed to find work as a police officer, 543 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,766 and settled down to start a family. 544 00:22:39,766 --> 00:22:43,133 But a great many challenges lay ahead. 545 00:22:43,433 --> 00:22:47,033 In 1813, when he was just 23 years old, 546 00:22:47,033 --> 00:22:50,133 Jean's wife died in childbirth. 547 00:22:50,900 --> 00:22:52,366 He would remarry, 548 00:22:52,366 --> 00:22:57,000 only to see his second wife, Bob's fourth great-grandmother, 549 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,000 succumb to a protracted illness and soon after, 550 00:23:01,466 --> 00:23:04,633 Jean himself would reach a tragic end. 551 00:23:05,766 --> 00:23:07,433 ODENKIRK: “Jean Jacques Fricker, 552 00:23:07,433 --> 00:23:10,366 aged 53 years, died in this town on the 553 00:23:10,366 --> 00:23:13,966 5th of November, 1843 at 2:00 in the afternoon 554 00:23:13,966 --> 00:23:16,666 near Wayer's Tile Factory. 555 00:23:16,666 --> 00:23:18,600 Cause of death: drowned.” 556 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:19,833 GATES: Drowned. 557 00:23:19,833 --> 00:23:22,433 Your fourth great-grandfather drowned, sadly, 558 00:23:22,433 --> 00:23:24,233 at the age of 53. 559 00:23:24,233 --> 00:23:26,600 He had survived the Napoleonic Wars, 560 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:28,966 lost a wife and child in childbirth, 561 00:23:28,966 --> 00:23:31,800 then lost another wife, and then he drowned. 562 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,266 ODENKIRK: I want to say... 563 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,800 I'm sorry your life was so hard and it ended so, 564 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:40,800 with so much pain. 565 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:45,366 But so much good came from you being tough, and... 566 00:23:45,766 --> 00:23:49,066 And having kids, and sticking around. 567 00:23:49,633 --> 00:23:53,400 GATES: What does having this information restore to you? 568 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,633 What is it doing to you? 569 00:23:55,633 --> 00:23:59,766 Does it change the way you're seeing yourself, Mr. Frenchman? 570 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,400 ODENKIRK: Yeah, never thought I connected at all 571 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:05,166 to that country. 572 00:24:05,166 --> 00:24:10,633 But, uh, all those people in those paintings, 573 00:24:13,133 --> 00:24:15,166 all those people you read about, 574 00:24:15,166 --> 00:24:18,333 those are our great-great- great-great-grandpas 575 00:24:18,333 --> 00:24:19,600 and grandmas. 576 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:20,900 GATES: Mm-hmm. 577 00:24:20,900 --> 00:24:22,700 ODENKIRK: And they paid the price, 578 00:24:22,700 --> 00:24:28,500 and straggled forward, and, uh, lost a lot, 579 00:24:29,266 --> 00:24:32,700 and I'm part of that and it's... 580 00:24:33,433 --> 00:24:35,800 It makes me feel connected to people. 581 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,133 GATES: Yeah. ODENKIRK: To the world. 582 00:24:38,566 --> 00:24:42,066 GATES: Just like Bob, Iliza Shlesinger was about 583 00:24:42,066 --> 00:24:46,200 to discover a hidden connection to an ancestor whose 584 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,333 story had been forgotten. 585 00:24:48,833 --> 00:24:51,366 Her father, Fred Shlesinger, 586 00:24:51,366 --> 00:24:56,033 was born in Amityville, New York in 1955. 587 00:24:56,366 --> 00:24:59,500 Iliza knew that his roots lay in Eastern Europe, 588 00:24:59,500 --> 00:25:02,166 but that was all she knew. 589 00:25:02,166 --> 00:25:05,100 We began to reconstruct those roots by focusing 590 00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:09,666 on Fred's grandparents, Iliza's great-grandparents, 591 00:25:09,666 --> 00:25:12,733 Morris Schlessinger and Esther Shonek. 592 00:25:13,466 --> 00:25:16,400 SHLESINGER: Oh, man. Oh, man. 593 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:17,966 These people don't look like me. 594 00:25:17,966 --> 00:25:19,266 But it's also black and white. 595 00:25:19,266 --> 00:25:20,566 But I think they have very dark hair, 596 00:25:20,566 --> 00:25:21,600 which I secretly do. 597 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:23,233 Don't look at my roots. 598 00:25:23,233 --> 00:25:25,666 GATES: Growing up, did you hear any stories about them? 599 00:25:25,666 --> 00:25:27,700 SHLESINGER: Yes, I heard that they were, like, 600 00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:29,733 a lovely couple, incredible couple. 601 00:25:29,733 --> 00:25:32,000 It was, like, a loving household. 602 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,133 Everybody loved them. 603 00:25:34,133 --> 00:25:36,600 And I think they spoke, one of 'em spoke Russian. 604 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,100 GATES: Mm-hmm. SHLESINGER: Or is it German? 605 00:25:38,100 --> 00:25:39,566 GATES: Or Yiddish. SHLESINGER: Or Yiddish. 606 00:25:39,566 --> 00:25:41,800 That's a given but I feel like one of them, 607 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:43,166 were they both born, oh, you don't know... 608 00:25:43,166 --> 00:25:44,966 Were they both born in New York? 609 00:25:44,966 --> 00:25:46,300 GATES: We're gonna get there. 610 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:48,533 SHLESINGER: Okay, so then, I guess I don't know a lot. 611 00:25:48,533 --> 00:25:51,733 I just know that my dad loved his grandparents. 612 00:25:51,733 --> 00:25:53,466 GATES: Well, let's see what we were able to find. 613 00:25:53,466 --> 00:25:54,700 Would you please turn the page? 614 00:25:54,700 --> 00:25:56,900 SHLESINGER: Okay! This is so cool. 615 00:25:57,133 --> 00:25:58,800 GATES: We're back to 1940. 616 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:00,466 This is a page of the United States Federal Census 617 00:26:00,466 --> 00:26:01,733 for Brooklyn, New York. 618 00:26:01,733 --> 00:26:02,933 SHLESINGER: Okay. 619 00:26:02,933 --> 00:26:04,333 GATES: Would you please read the transcribed section? 620 00:26:04,333 --> 00:26:06,533 SHLESINGER: Oh, here's the real spelling of Shlesinger. 621 00:26:06,533 --> 00:26:07,766 "Morris Schlessinger..." 622 00:26:07,766 --> 00:26:08,933 GATES: Yeah. 623 00:26:08,933 --> 00:26:10,300 SHLESINGER: With a C and a double S. 624 00:26:10,300 --> 00:26:12,300 GATES: Mm-hmm. SHLESINGER: “Head age, 42. 625 00:26:12,300 --> 00:26:13,933 Occupation, clerk at a fish store.” 626 00:26:13,933 --> 00:26:15,166 GATES: Mm-hmm. 627 00:26:15,166 --> 00:26:16,800 SHLESINGER: “Esther, wife. Age, 38. 628 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,400 "Benjamin," my grandfather, "son, age, 16. 629 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,466 Sarah, daughter. Age, 10.” 630 00:26:21,733 --> 00:26:23,633 GATES: There's your grandfather and his younger sister, 631 00:26:23,633 --> 00:26:26,200 Sarah in the household of their parents, 632 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,166 your great-grandparents, Morris and Esther. 633 00:26:28,166 --> 00:26:29,300 SHLESINGER: Okay. 634 00:26:29,300 --> 00:26:31,433 GATES: At the time, take a look there, 635 00:26:31,433 --> 00:26:33,066 the family lived in Brownsville, 636 00:26:33,066 --> 00:26:35,033 which is a neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn. 637 00:26:35,033 --> 00:26:37,000 And that's a photo of their house, right there. 638 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,900 SHLESINGER: Oh my God. Wow! That's cool. 639 00:26:41,133 --> 00:26:43,133 I can't wait to show my dad. 640 00:26:43,700 --> 00:26:47,066 GATES: This census indicates that Morris and Esther were 641 00:26:47,066 --> 00:26:48,866 born in Poland. 642 00:26:48,866 --> 00:26:52,066 But as we dug deeper into the couple's shared past, 643 00:26:52,066 --> 00:26:56,266 we were able to learn much more about their origins. 644 00:26:58,633 --> 00:27:00,300 SHLESINGER: "Certificate and record of marriage. 645 00:27:00,300 --> 00:27:01,800 Groom, Morris Schlessinger. 646 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:04,100 Age, 27. Occupation, metalworker." 647 00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:05,500 GATES: Mm-hmm. 648 00:27:05,500 --> 00:27:08,200 SHLESINGER: Eh. "Birthplace, Plock, Russia." 649 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:09,500 GATES: Yeah, you go it. 650 00:27:09,500 --> 00:27:10,966 SHLESINGER: "Father's name, Abraham." 651 00:27:10,966 --> 00:27:13,166 "Mother's maiden name, Ida Beckerman." 652 00:27:13,166 --> 00:27:14,266 GATES: Mm-hmm. 653 00:27:14,266 --> 00:27:15,633 SHLESINGER: "Bride, Esther Shonek." 654 00:27:15,633 --> 00:27:17,033 GATES: Mm-hmm. SHLESINGER: "Age 21." 655 00:27:17,033 --> 00:27:18,233 GATES: Mm-hmm. 656 00:27:18,233 --> 00:27:19,533 SHLESINGER: "Birthplace, Plock, Russia." 657 00:27:19,533 --> 00:27:21,000 Wow! 658 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:22,733 GATES: And I'm sure you've heard of Plock. 659 00:27:22,733 --> 00:27:24,266 SHLESINGER: Well, I summer there. 660 00:27:24,266 --> 00:27:26,566 So, it's weird that I don't know this already. 661 00:27:27,833 --> 00:27:31,333 GATES: Plock is a city in modern-day Poland. 662 00:27:31,333 --> 00:27:33,600 When Iliza's ancestors were born, 663 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,300 it was part of the Russian Empire... 664 00:27:37,133 --> 00:27:40,600 War and the holocaust devastated this region during 665 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:42,533 the 20th century, 666 00:27:42,533 --> 00:27:47,166 and many records were lost or willfully destroyed. 667 00:27:47,666 --> 00:27:50,966 Indeed, it's often impossible for us to learn anything at all 668 00:27:50,966 --> 00:27:53,866 about the Jewish people who lived here, 669 00:27:53,866 --> 00:27:57,433 but with Iliza, we got lucky. 670 00:27:58,466 --> 00:28:00,400 SHLESINGER: "In the town of Raciaz, 671 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:04,300 on the 25th of April 1900 came Jankof Josek Szonek, 672 00:28:04,766 --> 00:28:06,633 32 years old, a merchant, 673 00:28:06,633 --> 00:28:09,100 and presented to us a female child, 674 00:28:09,100 --> 00:28:11,133 stating that she was born in Raciaz 675 00:28:11,133 --> 00:28:13,733 on the 15th of January, 1899. 676 00:28:13,733 --> 00:28:16,533 The child was given the name Estera Blima. 677 00:28:16,533 --> 00:28:18,533 The lateness of this declaration is the fault 678 00:28:18,533 --> 00:28:19,733 of the father." 679 00:28:19,733 --> 00:28:21,300 Okay, what did I just read? 680 00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:23,900 GATES: This is the birth record for your great-grandmother 681 00:28:23,900 --> 00:28:26,766 Esther Sjomek from the year 1900. 682 00:28:28,433 --> 00:28:31,966 SHLESINGER: Wow! So, my dad's dad's mother. 683 00:28:32,233 --> 00:28:35,866 GATES: Yup. What's it like to see that? 684 00:28:35,866 --> 00:28:38,333 SHLESINGER: I guess I thought nothing like this existed. 685 00:28:38,333 --> 00:28:39,533 GATES: Mm. 686 00:28:39,533 --> 00:28:41,966 SHLESINGER: Because my dad and my uncle didn't know, 687 00:28:41,966 --> 00:28:43,033 so I was like, 688 00:28:43,033 --> 00:28:45,233 "I guess I'll just never know." 689 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,100 GATES: This record indicates that Esther was actually born 690 00:28:49,100 --> 00:28:54,566 in Raciaz, a small town about 30 miles northeast of Plock. 691 00:28:55,233 --> 00:28:58,866 And learning this fact proved a gold mine to our researchers, 692 00:28:59,666 --> 00:29:02,933 allowing us to uncover a "residents book" for Esther's 693 00:29:02,933 --> 00:29:06,200 hometown that describes her childhood household 694 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,266 in great detail. 695 00:29:08,633 --> 00:29:12,900 SHLESINGER: "Chaim. Son. Born December 8th, 1896. 696 00:29:13,666 --> 00:29:15,066 Estera Blima", 697 00:29:15,066 --> 00:29:16,866 ah, she has a brother! 698 00:29:16,866 --> 00:29:20,033 "Daughter. Born January 15th, 1899. 699 00:29:20,033 --> 00:29:22,366 Joel Lipa, Son." 700 00:29:22,366 --> 00:29:23,800 Ah, another one! 701 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:25,200 "Born August 13th," 702 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:26,800 Oh my God, there's so many! 703 00:29:27,966 --> 00:29:29,700 "August 13th, 1901." 704 00:29:29,700 --> 00:29:30,933 GATES: Mm-hmm. 705 00:29:30,933 --> 00:29:32,900 SHLESINGER: “Abram. Son. Born September 14th, 1904. 706 00:29:33,566 --> 00:29:36,566 Itzek. Born December 16th, 1907." 707 00:29:37,166 --> 00:29:39,066 God, you couldn't give her a break? 708 00:29:39,066 --> 00:29:42,166 "And Rivka. Daughter. Born December 16th, 1907." 709 00:29:42,433 --> 00:29:43,766 GATES: So, twins. SHLESINGER: They're twins. 710 00:29:43,766 --> 00:29:44,833 GATES: Mm-hmm. 711 00:29:44,833 --> 00:29:46,000 (gasps). 712 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:47,900 Had, had you ever heard any of those names before? 713 00:29:47,900 --> 00:29:49,766 SHLESINGER: No. No idea. 714 00:29:49,766 --> 00:29:51,800 GATES: Any idea that she came from such a large family? 715 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:54,433 SHLESINGER: None, none, and twins, too! 716 00:29:54,433 --> 00:29:56,133 GATES: And twins too, which is pretty cool. 717 00:29:56,133 --> 00:29:57,133 SHLESINGER: Yeah. 718 00:29:57,133 --> 00:29:59,066 GATES: What do you think their life was like? 719 00:29:59,066 --> 00:30:01,100 SHLESINGER: Well, he was a merchant. 720 00:30:01,100 --> 00:30:03,933 Probably super simple. 721 00:30:05,233 --> 00:30:09,366 Or probably just your garden-variety Polish peasant. 722 00:30:10,033 --> 00:30:12,366 Probably had just a small house. 723 00:30:12,366 --> 00:30:14,800 Maybe like, a horse. I don't know. 724 00:30:16,300 --> 00:30:19,633 GATES: Iliza's guesses are most likely accurate. 725 00:30:19,633 --> 00:30:23,266 When her ancestors lived in Raciaz it was part of what was 726 00:30:23,266 --> 00:30:25,966 known as "Congress Poland" 727 00:30:25,966 --> 00:30:29,200 which bordered and shared practices with the 728 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:32,166 notorious "Pale of Settlement", 729 00:30:32,366 --> 00:30:35,300 where Jewish people were confined and oppressed by 730 00:30:35,300 --> 00:30:37,466 the Russian Empire. 731 00:30:37,933 --> 00:30:40,900 Jews in the region were subjected to an array 732 00:30:40,900 --> 00:30:45,933 of humiliating restrictions, forced to pay additional taxes, 733 00:30:45,933 --> 00:30:50,133 and generally denied access to higher education. 734 00:30:50,766 --> 00:30:55,700 Most ended up as tradespeople, struggling to get by, 735 00:30:55,900 --> 00:30:59,100 and Esther's family was no exception. 736 00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:02,400 Which led her to make a radical decision. 737 00:31:03,700 --> 00:31:07,300 SHLESINGER: "Esther B. Sjomek. Age, 22. Occupation, dressmaker. 738 00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:09,466 Last permanent residence, Poland.” 739 00:31:09,466 --> 00:31:10,533 GATES: Mm-hmm. 740 00:31:10,533 --> 00:31:11,933 SHLESINGER: "By whom was passage paid? 741 00:31:11,933 --> 00:31:13,033 Self." 742 00:31:13,033 --> 00:31:14,466 Yes! 743 00:31:14,466 --> 00:31:18,166 "Where they're going to join a relative, Uncle Frank. 744 00:31:18,166 --> 00:31:19,600 59 Pitt Street, New York." 745 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:21,033 GATES: So, you know what you're looking at? 746 00:31:21,033 --> 00:31:23,866 You just read the moment your great-grandmother Esther 747 00:31:23,866 --> 00:31:26,633 stepped foot in the United States. 748 00:31:27,333 --> 00:31:30,133 SHLESINGER: Wow. Wow! 749 00:31:30,566 --> 00:31:34,900 GATES: That is her moment of arrival. 750 00:31:34,900 --> 00:31:37,500 SHLESINGER: Ah. GATES: What it like to see that? 751 00:31:37,500 --> 00:31:39,500 SHLESINGER: That's like... I'm like emotional. 752 00:31:39,500 --> 00:31:41,133 GATES: Mm-hmm. 753 00:31:41,133 --> 00:31:42,600 SHLESINGER: Because she did that all by herself. 754 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:43,800 GATES: All by herself. 755 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:45,100 SHLESINGER: She left her whole family. 756 00:31:45,100 --> 00:31:46,933 GATES: She was 22 years old when she made the journey. 757 00:31:46,933 --> 00:31:48,033 SHLESINGER: Oh my God. 758 00:31:48,033 --> 00:31:49,333 GATES: And she made it all by herself. 759 00:31:49,333 --> 00:31:50,533 SHLESINGER: Yeah. 760 00:31:50,533 --> 00:31:52,233 GATES: And guess what? She paid for her own ticket. 761 00:31:52,233 --> 00:31:54,033 SHLESINGER: She paid for her own ticket. 762 00:31:54,033 --> 00:31:56,200 She saved up money and she did it all by herself. 763 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:57,533 GATES: Yup. SHLESINGER: Wow 764 00:31:57,533 --> 00:32:01,066 GATES: So, what does this tell you about your ancestor? 765 00:32:01,066 --> 00:32:04,566 SHLESINGER: That she had dreams for herself that extended 766 00:32:04,566 --> 00:32:07,000 beyond her small village. 767 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:08,433 GATES: Mm-hmm. SHLESINGER: Uh... 768 00:32:08,433 --> 00:32:10,466 GATES: Yeah, "I'm outta here." SHLESINGER: Yeah! 769 00:32:10,466 --> 00:32:12,500 And to leave your family behind, 770 00:32:12,500 --> 00:32:15,100 obviously very difficult but she wanted more. 771 00:32:15,100 --> 00:32:18,300 And I don't know what that conversation was but she 772 00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:19,466 definitely was like, 773 00:32:19,466 --> 00:32:20,766 "If you're not gonna help me I'll do it myself." 774 00:32:20,766 --> 00:32:22,600 Or they couldn't so she did it herself. 775 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:23,833 GATES: Mm-hmm. 776 00:32:23,833 --> 00:32:26,833 SHLESINGER: Wow. That's very cool. 777 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,266 GATES: We'd already traced Bob Odenkirk's maternal roots 778 00:32:32,266 --> 00:32:35,333 back to Napoleonic France... 779 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:39,600 Now, turning to his father's ancestry, 780 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:42,566 we were able to go even further into the past, 781 00:32:43,733 --> 00:32:47,933 moving from his grandfather Walter Odenkirk back five 782 00:32:47,933 --> 00:32:52,600 generations to a man named Friedrich Carl Steinholz... 783 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,000 GATES: You just met your fifth great-grandfather. 784 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,400 Your great-great- great-great-great grandfather. 785 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:01,933 ODENKIRK: 1755! 786 00:33:01,933 --> 00:33:03,066 GATES: Isn't that amazing? 787 00:33:03,066 --> 00:33:05,700 ODENKIRK: That's unbelievable. Wow. Wow. 788 00:33:05,700 --> 00:33:08,066 GATES: Friedrich Carl Steinholz was born around November 30th, 789 00:33:08,066 --> 00:33:09,966 1755, near Plön, 790 00:33:09,966 --> 00:33:12,500 a town that is in what is now Germany. 791 00:33:12,500 --> 00:33:13,600 There you go. 792 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:15,066 ODENKIRK: I see. GATES: You can see it. 793 00:33:15,066 --> 00:33:16,500 ODENKIRK: Plön. GATES: Yeah. 794 00:33:16,500 --> 00:33:18,133 And Plön is about 60 miles north of Hamburg. 795 00:33:18,133 --> 00:33:20,466 ODENKIRK: Right. GATES: Ever been to Hamburg? 796 00:33:20,466 --> 00:33:22,433 ODENKIRK: Uh, no. I've never been there. 797 00:33:22,433 --> 00:33:24,400 GATES: Let's see what we found out about your ancestors' 798 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,733 lives back in good old Plön in the 18th century. 799 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:29,700 ODENKIRK: Wow! 800 00:33:29,700 --> 00:33:32,400 GATES: We found this record in church archives in Germany. 801 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:34,666 It's dated 1778, Bob. 802 00:33:34,666 --> 00:33:36,400 Would you please read the translated section? 803 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:37,533 ODENKIRK: Yes. 804 00:33:37,533 --> 00:33:39,933 “Marriage, 12 June, 1778. 805 00:33:39,933 --> 00:33:43,133 Friedrich Carl Steinholz, bachelor of Plön, 806 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:48,666 now living in Heuerstubben and Lucia Amalia Hammer, 807 00:33:49,066 --> 00:33:53,033 daughter of the city council member in Heiligenhafen, 808 00:33:53,033 --> 00:33:56,266 Johann Heinrich Hammer and his wife 809 00:33:56,266 --> 00:33:59,800 Engel Catharina Wittrock.” 810 00:34:00,466 --> 00:34:02,200 GATES: That is your fifth great-grandparents 811 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,500 marriage record. 812 00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:05,800 Isn't that wild? 813 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:07,400 ODENKIRK: Yeah, that's wild. 814 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,000 It's so long ago. 815 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:13,033 GATES: Curiously, Bob's 5th great-grandfather 816 00:34:13,033 --> 00:34:16,533 Friedrich Carl did not list his mother, 817 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:19,666 a woman named Marie Catharina Bein, 818 00:34:19,666 --> 00:34:21,600 on his marriage record... 819 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,266 Nor did he list his father. 820 00:34:24,266 --> 00:34:28,133 This sent our researchers into the archives of Plön, 821 00:34:28,133 --> 00:34:31,466 where they found Maria's death certificate, 822 00:34:31,466 --> 00:34:34,333 and discovered a family secret. 823 00:34:35,366 --> 00:34:37,400 ODENKIRK: “Maria Catharina Bein, 824 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:39,033 although she died unmarried, 825 00:34:39,033 --> 00:34:42,100 still she leaves behind from her former relationship 826 00:34:42,100 --> 00:34:45,700 with the last deceased Duke of Plön”, 827 00:34:45,700 --> 00:34:49,133 Get out of town, “The following children.” 828 00:34:49,466 --> 00:34:52,566 Wait. She wasn't married? 829 00:34:52,866 --> 00:34:54,366 GATES: Keep reading. 830 00:34:54,366 --> 00:34:55,566 ODENKIRK: "But she leaves..." 831 00:34:55,566 --> 00:34:59,233 She did have a relationship with the Duke of Plön? 832 00:34:59,233 --> 00:35:00,566 GATES: With the Duke of Plön. 833 00:35:00,566 --> 00:35:02,566 ODENKIRK: “The following children. 834 00:35:02,566 --> 00:35:04,433 Her deceased daughter, Maria Carolina Steinholz, 835 00:35:04,433 --> 00:35:07,000 Friedrich Carl Steinholz, Christian Carl Steinholz, 836 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,133 August Wilhelm Steinholz.” 837 00:35:09,133 --> 00:35:10,200 GATES: Yes. 838 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:13,200 ODENKIRK: I am descended from the Duke of Plön? 839 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:17,133 GATES: Your sixth great-grandfather was a duke. 840 00:35:17,633 --> 00:35:19,100 ODENKIRK: What? 841 00:35:19,100 --> 00:35:21,600 Oh, man. That's so great. 842 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:26,500 GATES: The Duke of Plön was a member of Europe's aristocracy. 843 00:35:26,500 --> 00:35:29,033 He owned several magnificent homes, 844 00:35:29,033 --> 00:35:31,333 as well as a castle. 845 00:35:31,566 --> 00:35:33,733 But though he had four children with Bob's 846 00:35:33,733 --> 00:35:35,666 6th great-grandmother, 847 00:35:35,666 --> 00:35:39,566 he did so while married to another woman. 848 00:35:41,633 --> 00:35:43,200 GATES: So you know what this means? 849 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:44,633 ODENKIRK: Well, she was the mistress. 850 00:35:44,633 --> 00:35:46,300 GATES: She was the duke's mistress. 851 00:35:46,300 --> 00:35:47,866 ODENKIRK: And you just did that? 852 00:35:47,866 --> 00:35:49,833 GATES: He was the duke, man. 853 00:35:49,833 --> 00:35:53,600 He was 20 years older than she. 854 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,200 ODENKIRK: Right, he's a, you know... 855 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:58,100 GATES: Sources vary on how they met. 856 00:35:58,100 --> 00:35:59,533 You know, the story of the relationship has 857 00:35:59,533 --> 00:36:00,633 been written about. 858 00:36:00,633 --> 00:36:01,833 ODENKIRK: Really? 859 00:36:01,833 --> 00:36:03,433 GATES: But it seems as though she either worked for 860 00:36:03,433 --> 00:36:05,566 or knew someone at the duke's court. 861 00:36:05,566 --> 00:36:07,833 So isn't this wild to think that you descended from 862 00:36:07,833 --> 00:36:09,433 a duke and his mistress? 863 00:36:09,433 --> 00:36:10,533 ODENKIRK: Yeah. 864 00:36:10,533 --> 00:36:12,300 It is just... 865 00:36:12,300 --> 00:36:13,533 That... 866 00:36:13,533 --> 00:36:17,133 that time in history, royals and things, 867 00:36:17,133 --> 00:36:20,100 it's just so distant to an American. 868 00:36:21,733 --> 00:36:24,366 GATES: Bob worried about the nature of the relationship 869 00:36:24,366 --> 00:36:28,200 between his ancestors, especially given the enormous 870 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:31,400 power disparity that separated them... 871 00:36:32,133 --> 00:36:35,466 Though we can't be certain how Bob's 6th great-grandmother 872 00:36:35,466 --> 00:36:39,666 Maria perceived matters, we found what is known as a 873 00:36:39,666 --> 00:36:43,233 "Marriage Promise", actually written by the duke... 874 00:36:44,033 --> 00:36:47,066 and it articulates his feelings, 875 00:36:47,066 --> 00:36:50,033 in very plain language. 876 00:36:50,500 --> 00:36:56,866 ODENKIRK: “We, Friedrich Carl, after having united ourselves 877 00:36:56,866 --> 00:37:01,733 with the virgin, Maria Catharina Bein, 878 00:37:01,733 --> 00:37:04,433 in such a way that we both want to live together 879 00:37:04,433 --> 00:37:07,500 for the time being, to remain faithful, 880 00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:08,933 to be inseparable, 881 00:37:08,933 --> 00:37:13,566 to part with nothing but death, and to prove all sincere love. 882 00:37:13,566 --> 00:37:17,266 And in order to fully convince her of our sincere intentions." 883 00:37:17,266 --> 00:37:18,566 Really? 884 00:37:18,566 --> 00:37:22,966 Do that, wow, “To promise fully on oath that should the 885 00:37:22,966 --> 00:37:25,766 Lord demand our spouse from this world, 886 00:37:25,766 --> 00:37:30,566 we shall take the maiden, M.C. Bein, to us immediately, 887 00:37:30,566 --> 00:37:34,133 to recognize, accept, and adopt her as our spouse, 888 00:37:34,133 --> 00:37:37,566 and to take care of her after our possible death, 889 00:37:37,566 --> 00:37:39,633 as it will then come to her. 890 00:37:39,633 --> 00:37:43,800 Signed with our own hands and sealed with our princely seal, 891 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:45,800 Friedrich Carl.” 892 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:47,900 GATES: Your sixth great-grandfather, the duke... 893 00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:49,000 ODENKIRK: Loved her. 894 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:50,200 GATES: He probably, he loved her. 895 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:51,500 ODENKIRK: Absolutely. 896 00:37:51,500 --> 00:37:53,400 GATES: And he promised to marry your sixth great-grandmother, 897 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:54,400 his mistress... 898 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:55,633 ODENKIRK: And he wrote it down. 899 00:37:55,633 --> 00:37:57,000 GATES: If his current wife died. 900 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,033 ODENKIRK: Yeah, you would write something like this. 901 00:37:59,033 --> 00:38:00,366 What about his current wife being like, 902 00:38:00,366 --> 00:38:02,800 "What did you sign? What?" 903 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:04,933 "I saw something came in the mail. 904 00:38:04,933 --> 00:38:06,633 You're talking about my death? 905 00:38:06,633 --> 00:38:08,733 I'm here. I'm right here." 906 00:38:09,700 --> 00:38:11,700 GATES: We have no idea how the duke's wife felt 907 00:38:11,700 --> 00:38:13,200 about his promise, 908 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:16,033 but in the end, it didn't matter. 909 00:38:16,033 --> 00:38:19,366 Seven years after setting down his intentions, 910 00:38:19,366 --> 00:38:23,000 the duke passed away, and his wife survived him. 911 00:38:23,766 --> 00:38:26,233 So Bob's sixth great-grandparents 912 00:38:26,233 --> 00:38:28,466 never married. 913 00:38:29,166 --> 00:38:30,366 ODENKIRK: Amazing. 914 00:38:30,366 --> 00:38:31,566 GATES: Does seeing that change the way you think of 915 00:38:31,566 --> 00:38:32,700 your ancestor, the duke? 916 00:38:32,700 --> 00:38:33,833 ODENKIRK: Sure does. GATES: He promised to marry. 917 00:38:33,833 --> 00:38:35,166 ODENKIRK: It, it, it sure does. 918 00:38:35,166 --> 00:38:36,366 GATES: Yeah. 919 00:38:36,366 --> 00:38:38,366 ODENKIRK: He didn't just bonk this woman and have fun... 920 00:38:38,366 --> 00:38:39,966 GATES: Right. ODENKIRK: And run away. 921 00:38:39,966 --> 00:38:41,000 GATES: Right. 922 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:42,166 ODENKIRK: Yeah, no, he loved her. 923 00:38:42,166 --> 00:38:43,733 GATES: He loved her. ODENKIRK: Yeah, and so, yeah. 924 00:38:43,733 --> 00:38:44,900 GATES: Please, please turn the page. 925 00:38:44,900 --> 00:38:45,933 I want to... 926 00:38:45,933 --> 00:38:47,133 ODENKIRK: There's another page? 927 00:38:47,133 --> 00:38:48,200 GATES: I want to show you something else. 928 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:49,266 ODENKIRK: This is crazy. 929 00:38:49,266 --> 00:38:50,400 What? 930 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:51,833 GATES: That is he. 931 00:38:51,833 --> 00:38:54,533 Your sixth great-grandfather, the Duke of Plön. 932 00:38:54,533 --> 00:38:56,766 ODENKIRK: Wow. GATES: Any family resemblance? 933 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:00,500 ODENKIRK: I have very wide-set eyes and a tiny 934 00:39:00,500 --> 00:39:02,500 puckered mouth and a chubby chin. 935 00:39:03,133 --> 00:39:04,400 No. 936 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:06,700 Uh, the hair, uh, losing his hair. 937 00:39:07,300 --> 00:39:10,800 Um, yeah. There is. Yeah. Yeah. 938 00:39:11,266 --> 00:39:12,866 To my grandpa Odenkirk. 939 00:39:12,866 --> 00:39:13,966 GATES: Yeah? 940 00:39:13,966 --> 00:39:15,500 ODENKIRK: Yeah. In the face and the eyes. 941 00:39:15,500 --> 00:39:18,166 GATES: There you go. ODENKIRK: Dude, right... 942 00:39:18,166 --> 00:39:20,066 GATES: Yeah. ODENKIRK: This guy. 943 00:39:20,066 --> 00:39:21,466 GATES: There you go. ODENKIRK: Those eyes. 944 00:39:21,466 --> 00:39:25,266 GATES: Mm-hmm. ODENKIRK: Yeah. That's wild. 945 00:39:27,266 --> 00:39:29,800 Dude, that is wild. 946 00:39:30,766 --> 00:39:33,966 He looks like an Odenkirk, in the eyes. 947 00:39:33,966 --> 00:39:36,666 And the chin, and the chin. 948 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:39,733 GATES: Though Bob's inheritance from the duke 949 00:39:39,733 --> 00:39:42,100 may be limited to facial features, 950 00:39:42,100 --> 00:39:45,066 there's another dimension to their relationship. 951 00:39:45,300 --> 00:39:49,333 The duke's title links Bob to the royal families of Europe, 952 00:39:50,966 --> 00:39:55,066 including Charles III, the King of England, 953 00:39:55,066 --> 00:39:58,033 as well as the former monarchs of Denmark and 954 00:39:58,033 --> 00:40:00,633 many other nations. 955 00:40:01,333 --> 00:40:02,700 ODENKIRK: That is wild. 956 00:40:02,700 --> 00:40:04,900 GATES: Bob, how does this make you feel? 957 00:40:04,900 --> 00:40:06,733 ODENKIRK: Uh, like I'm part of history... 958 00:40:06,733 --> 00:40:08,033 GATES: Mm-hmm. 959 00:40:08,033 --> 00:40:09,933 ODENKIRK: That I didn't think I was any part of. 960 00:40:09,933 --> 00:40:11,133 GATES: Mm-hmm. Right. 961 00:40:11,133 --> 00:40:14,700 ODENKIRK: But I'm an American. I'm not a monarchist. 962 00:40:14,700 --> 00:40:17,233 I don't believe in, uh, that. 963 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,066 You know, I feel like it's a little twisted. 964 00:40:20,066 --> 00:40:22,133 I understand why society built itself 965 00:40:22,133 --> 00:40:24,500 around monarchs and leaders, 966 00:40:24,500 --> 00:40:26,166 and they passed them down through generation... 967 00:40:26,166 --> 00:40:28,733 I understand that goes through every society, 968 00:40:28,733 --> 00:40:33,766 every civilization, but um, I think that we've gone to a 969 00:40:33,766 --> 00:40:35,800 better place with democracy, 970 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:38,400 and we should keep going down that road. 971 00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:40,066 GATES: Really? ODENKIRK: I do, yeah. 972 00:40:40,066 --> 00:40:41,466 GATES: Well, guess what? 973 00:40:41,466 --> 00:40:43,000 ODENKIRK: Uh-oh. What's wrong? What happened? 974 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,866 GATES: You and, you and King Charles III 975 00:40:45,866 --> 00:40:48,266 are 11th cousins. 976 00:40:48,933 --> 00:40:52,700 (laughter) 977 00:40:52,900 --> 00:40:56,000 ODENKIRK: Well, maybe I'll change my mind on that. 978 00:40:56,533 --> 00:40:57,833 GATES: Through the duke, 979 00:40:57,833 --> 00:41:01,266 you and King Charles III are 11th cousins. 980 00:41:03,766 --> 00:41:07,033 Now, there you be trashing your family. 981 00:41:07,233 --> 00:41:08,433 How they make a living. 982 00:41:08,433 --> 00:41:10,333 You oughta be ashamed of yourself. 983 00:41:10,333 --> 00:41:12,233 You ain't been royal born in five minutes 984 00:41:12,233 --> 00:41:15,033 and you complaining. 985 00:41:16,266 --> 00:41:18,666 ODENKIRK: It's so funny, man. 986 00:41:19,900 --> 00:41:23,433 Oh, that is crazy. I never even thought about that. 987 00:41:24,633 --> 00:41:26,133 Of course, that's true, right? 988 00:41:26,133 --> 00:41:27,266 GATES: Yeah, 'cause all they did was... 989 00:41:27,266 --> 00:41:28,600 ODENKIRK: 'Cause all these families are related. 990 00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:29,700 GATES: All they did was, 991 00:41:29,700 --> 00:41:30,933 all they did was marry each other. 992 00:41:30,933 --> 00:41:34,300 ODENKIRK: 11th cousins. GATES: 11th cousins. 993 00:41:36,066 --> 00:41:38,666 We'd already traced Iliza Shlesinger's 994 00:41:38,666 --> 00:41:41,933 paternal roots from Poland to New York, 995 00:41:41,933 --> 00:41:44,366 showing how her great-grandmother Esther 996 00:41:44,366 --> 00:41:49,066 came to America in 1921 all on her own. 997 00:41:51,833 --> 00:41:55,200 Now we turn to a tragic side of this story... 998 00:41:55,633 --> 00:41:59,633 When Esther immigrated, she left five siblings behind. 999 00:41:59,633 --> 00:42:03,533 And they would soon face an unimaginable ordeal. 1000 00:42:05,833 --> 00:42:10,766 On September 3rd, 1939 the German army entered the Polish 1001 00:42:10,766 --> 00:42:14,266 town of Mlawa where Esther's brother, Lipa 1002 00:42:14,266 --> 00:42:16,933 was a textile dealer. 1003 00:42:17,500 --> 00:42:21,800 Within a year the towns Jewish population was confined 1004 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,600 to a walled-in ghetto, 1005 00:42:25,366 --> 00:42:27,433 This is never talked about in your family? 1006 00:42:27,433 --> 00:42:28,566 SHLESINGER: No. GATES: Okay. 1007 00:42:28,566 --> 00:42:30,233 Now you have a younger brother, Ben. 1008 00:42:30,233 --> 00:42:31,800 SHLESINGER: I do. 1009 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:34,033 GATES: What do you imagine it must have been like for Esther, 1010 00:42:34,033 --> 00:42:36,933 knowing that her sibling was in so much danger? 1011 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:39,800 SHLESINGER: Horrific. I can't... 1012 00:42:40,033 --> 00:42:41,933 I know that feeling when your sibling's in danger and 1013 00:42:41,933 --> 00:42:43,200 you feel helpless, 1014 00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:46,100 especially from like an ocean away. 1015 00:42:46,100 --> 00:42:49,133 So I can't begin to imagine this. 1016 00:42:49,433 --> 00:42:50,800 GATES: Mm-hmm. 1017 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:53,000 SHLESINGER: Hmm, I don't think I want to. 1018 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:54,400 GATES: Could you please turn the page? 1019 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:56,200 SHLESINGER: Sure. 1020 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:58,766 GATES: That is the Mlawa ghetto. 1021 00:42:58,766 --> 00:43:01,166 SHLESINGER: Hmm. Yeah. 1022 00:43:01,166 --> 00:43:02,633 GATES: What's it like to see that, 1023 00:43:02,633 --> 00:43:05,866 to think that you had a relative who, who was there? 1024 00:43:07,766 --> 00:43:13,433 SHLESINGER: Uh, you almost, when you look at pictures from 1025 00:43:14,166 --> 00:43:18,000 history of atrocities committed against 1026 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,566 your people, in particular, there's always that pull. 1027 00:43:21,566 --> 00:43:22,900 But I never... 1028 00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:26,033 I never thought I had any actual connection because 1029 00:43:26,033 --> 00:43:27,733 I didn't know any of the history. 1030 00:43:27,733 --> 00:43:28,933 GATES: It was abstract. 1031 00:43:28,933 --> 00:43:31,066 SHLESINGER: Yes, so I have to, like, sit with that. 1032 00:43:31,066 --> 00:43:32,233 GATES: I understand that. 1033 00:43:32,233 --> 00:43:34,333 SHLESINGER: Yeah, of course. 1034 00:43:35,566 --> 00:43:39,000 GATES: The Mlawa ghetto was essentially a death trap. 1035 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:42,166 Residents had to live in pigsties and barns, 1036 00:43:42,166 --> 00:43:45,033 and in November of 1942, 1037 00:43:45,033 --> 00:43:48,733 transports began leaving for Auschwitz, 1038 00:43:48,966 --> 00:43:53,066 where Esther's brother would meet a terrible fate. 1039 00:43:54,333 --> 00:43:56,200 SHLESINGER: "Lipa Szonek, Jewish religion, 1040 00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:58,800 resident of Mlawa passed away on the" 1041 00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:00,600 'passed away', 1042 00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:04,100 "On the 11th of January, 1943 at 12:45 in Auschwitz. 1043 00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:08,700 The deceased was born on the 15th of July in 1901 in Raciaz 1044 00:44:08,700 --> 00:44:11,400 Cause of Death: myocardial degeneration." 1045 00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:14,900 GATES: What's it like to learn that you do, in fact, 1046 00:44:14,900 --> 00:44:17,966 have a tangible blood connection to the Holocaust? 1047 00:44:30,433 --> 00:44:31,766 SHLESINGER: Ooh. 1048 00:44:38,900 --> 00:44:42,433 It was already so real. 1049 00:44:43,566 --> 00:44:48,433 And so now it's, uh, palpable. 1050 00:44:51,100 --> 00:44:55,000 You already feel that, uh, in a... 1051 00:44:57,500 --> 00:45:00,733 You already feel it so much. 1052 00:45:01,500 --> 00:45:04,100 And, like, it's like a, a horrific missing piece. 1053 00:45:04,100 --> 00:45:05,333 GATES: Mm-hmm. 1054 00:45:05,333 --> 00:45:06,866 SHLESINGER: Then of course you read something like this and 1055 00:45:06,866 --> 00:45:08,200 you're like, why is there even, 1056 00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:09,766 like the fact that there was even a doctor? 1057 00:45:09,766 --> 00:45:11,266 'Cause they, you're murdered. 1058 00:45:11,266 --> 00:45:12,566 GATES: Right. 1059 00:45:12,566 --> 00:45:13,900 SHLESINGER: Your heart didn't degenerate. 1060 00:45:13,900 --> 00:45:15,766 Of course, it degenerated 'cause you were starved and... 1061 00:45:15,766 --> 00:45:17,000 GATES: Sure, of course. 1062 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:18,300 SHLESINGER: You were murdered. 1063 00:45:18,300 --> 00:45:20,066 I can't believe these monsters even wrote it down. 1064 00:45:20,066 --> 00:45:21,133 GATES: Yeah. 1065 00:45:21,133 --> 00:45:22,566 SHLESINGER: But because they're psychotic, 1066 00:45:22,566 --> 00:45:23,733 they wrote everything down. 1067 00:45:23,733 --> 00:45:25,300 GATES: And remember your great-grandmother, Esther, 1068 00:45:25,300 --> 00:45:27,633 is alive in America at that time. 1069 00:45:27,633 --> 00:45:29,500 SHLESINGER: I mean, I guess we're all alive because 1070 00:45:29,500 --> 00:45:30,766 someone was lucky. 1071 00:45:30,766 --> 00:45:32,033 GATES: Right. SHLESINGER: You know? 1072 00:45:32,033 --> 00:45:33,566 GATES: Yeah. 1073 00:45:33,566 --> 00:45:36,700 SHLESINGER: Wow. That's just so hard to look at. 1074 00:45:36,900 --> 00:45:38,766 Even if it wasn't my family, like these things are always 1075 00:45:38,766 --> 00:45:40,733 very painful and hard to read. 1076 00:45:40,733 --> 00:45:42,733 GATES: Yeah. 1077 00:45:42,733 --> 00:45:44,600 SHLESINGER: Okay. 1078 00:45:45,100 --> 00:45:46,833 GATES: We now set out to see what happened to 1079 00:45:46,833 --> 00:45:48,900 Esther's other siblings. 1080 00:45:49,333 --> 00:45:52,233 We discovered that her brother Abraham left Poland in 1081 00:45:52,233 --> 00:45:55,766 1931 and settled in France, 1082 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:59,233 where he married and started a family. 1083 00:45:59,466 --> 00:46:02,100 But that didn't guarantee his safety. 1084 00:46:02,100 --> 00:46:06,000 Nazi Germany invaded France in 1940, 1085 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:10,366 and the country soon faced the same horror as Poland. 1086 00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:16,300 Roughly 20% of France's Jewish population was exterminated. 1087 00:46:16,300 --> 00:46:18,833 So we wanted to see what happened to Abraham 1088 00:46:18,833 --> 00:46:20,366 and his family. 1089 00:46:20,366 --> 00:46:22,833 Please turn the page. 1090 00:46:22,833 --> 00:46:25,100 SHLESINGER: I don't think I want to. 1091 00:46:27,833 --> 00:46:31,200 GATES: Iliza, this is a passenger record for a list of 1092 00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:34,133 passengers who arrived in New York from France in 1093 00:46:34,133 --> 00:46:37,533 November of 1955. 1094 00:46:38,333 --> 00:46:39,833 Abraham survived the Holocaust. 1095 00:46:40,333 --> 00:46:41,666 SHLESINGER: Okay. 1096 00:46:41,666 --> 00:46:42,866 GATES: What's it like to learn that? 1097 00:46:42,866 --> 00:46:44,433 That's the good side of the story. 1098 00:46:44,433 --> 00:46:45,466 SHLESINGER: Yeah. 1099 00:46:45,466 --> 00:46:46,466 GATES: I know you thought, 1100 00:46:46,466 --> 00:46:47,600 “Oh my God, 1101 00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:48,766 he's gonna take me through Auschwitz again.” 1102 00:46:48,766 --> 00:46:50,266 SHLESINGER: I was like, “I don't wanna hear.” 1103 00:46:50,266 --> 00:46:52,000 GATES: Yeah. SHLESINGER: Okay, wow. 1104 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:54,266 GATES: Can you imagine Abram and Esther's reunion? 1105 00:46:54,266 --> 00:46:55,866 SHLESINGER: Oh wow. GATES: Oh my God. 1106 00:46:55,866 --> 00:46:57,333 SHLESINGER: Haven't seen each other in what, 1107 00:46:57,333 --> 00:46:58,666 since she was 22, so... 1108 00:46:58,666 --> 00:47:00,200 GATES: Yeah. 1109 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:03,433 SHLESINGER: And to know that they lost at least one sibling 1110 00:47:03,433 --> 00:47:04,766 that I know of as of now. 1111 00:47:04,766 --> 00:47:06,933 Wow. Wow. 1112 00:47:08,233 --> 00:47:10,933 GATES: According to one of Abraham's daughters, 1113 00:47:10,933 --> 00:47:15,733 his family survived the war by hiding with a French farmer... 1114 00:47:15,933 --> 00:47:19,933 Ironically, Iliza's grandfather Benjamin joined the 1115 00:47:19,933 --> 00:47:23,666 United States Army during World War II and 1116 00:47:23,666 --> 00:47:25,966 was stationed in France. 1117 00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:30,066 Meaning that he was unwittingly close to the site of an 1118 00:47:30,066 --> 00:47:32,700 enormous family tragedy. 1119 00:47:34,100 --> 00:47:36,000 Do you think he knew he had immediate family 1120 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:37,066 in occupied Poland? 1121 00:47:37,066 --> 00:47:38,933 SHLESINGER: I don't know. 1122 00:47:38,933 --> 00:47:41,266 GATES: Relatives who are being locked in ghettos and 1123 00:47:41,266 --> 00:47:43,466 dying in concentration camps? 1124 00:47:43,466 --> 00:47:45,400 SHLESINGER: I don't think he did because no one 1125 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:46,900 ever said anything. 1126 00:47:46,900 --> 00:47:50,833 Like why wouldn't you say that to your family? 1127 00:47:50,833 --> 00:47:53,100 My Nanna never, I mean that's her husband, 1128 00:47:53,100 --> 00:47:54,666 but no one ever said anything. 1129 00:47:54,666 --> 00:47:56,066 GATES: Hmm. 1130 00:47:56,066 --> 00:47:58,100 SHLESINGER: Maybe he didn't know. 1131 00:47:58,100 --> 00:47:59,400 GATES: Maybe. 1132 00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:03,333 SHLESINGER: Oh, he didn't know. And he was in France. 1133 00:48:04,166 --> 00:48:05,966 GATES: And he was in France too. 1134 00:48:05,966 --> 00:48:10,566 SHLESINGER: Wow. What a complex thing. 1135 00:48:10,800 --> 00:48:14,000 GATES: Yeah. Contingency, accident. 1136 00:48:14,833 --> 00:48:16,166 SHLESINGER: Yeah. 1137 00:48:16,166 --> 00:48:18,233 GATES: Just you make a choice, have no idea. 1138 00:48:18,233 --> 00:48:19,466 Unintended consequences. 1139 00:48:19,466 --> 00:48:20,566 SHLESINGER: Sure. 1140 00:48:20,566 --> 00:48:22,266 GATES: Unintended consequences of leaving, 1141 00:48:22,266 --> 00:48:24,466 unintended consequences of staying. 1142 00:48:24,466 --> 00:48:26,066 SHLESINGER: Because some stated they were okay and 1143 00:48:26,066 --> 00:48:28,866 then to have a relative be there, 1144 00:48:28,866 --> 00:48:31,433 fighting for what's right while. 1145 00:48:31,433 --> 00:48:34,033 I mean, it's happening in just two different worlds 1146 00:48:34,033 --> 00:48:35,166 right next to each other. 1147 00:48:35,166 --> 00:48:36,400 GATES: Right. 1148 00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:38,633 The complexities of war playing themselves out in the 1149 00:48:38,633 --> 00:48:40,166 drama of one family. 1150 00:48:40,166 --> 00:48:41,733 SHLESINGER: Yeah. 1151 00:48:41,733 --> 00:48:43,233 GATES: What's it been like for you to learn about 1152 00:48:43,233 --> 00:48:46,600 your father's family in this kind of detail? 1153 00:48:47,433 --> 00:48:50,433 SHLESINGER: Mind-blowing, because I didn't know 1154 00:48:50,433 --> 00:48:54,033 any of this and I don't think my dad knew any of this, 1155 00:48:54,033 --> 00:48:57,766 and he's kind of like the last of his family. 1156 00:48:57,766 --> 00:49:00,066 At least I thought. 1157 00:49:00,066 --> 00:49:02,066 I don't know what the kids that these people 1158 00:49:02,066 --> 00:49:03,466 went on to have, 1159 00:49:03,466 --> 00:49:06,100 but I always thought I had a very small family that like 1160 00:49:06,100 --> 00:49:07,433 almost came out of nowhere. 1161 00:49:07,433 --> 00:49:09,100 GATES: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 1162 00:49:09,100 --> 00:49:12,233 SHLESINGER: And it's such a gift to be given 1163 00:49:12,233 --> 00:49:14,066 any family history, 1164 00:49:14,066 --> 00:49:17,266 just so you can kind of figure out your place in time 1165 00:49:17,266 --> 00:49:21,333 in the context of all these people who were brave 1166 00:49:21,333 --> 00:49:23,766 and who died. 1167 00:49:23,766 --> 00:49:26,333 It's incredible. 1168 00:49:28,133 --> 00:49:31,566 GATES: The paper trail had run out for Iliza and Bob. 1169 00:49:32,166 --> 00:49:35,233 It was time to show them their full family trees... 1170 00:49:35,233 --> 00:49:36,400 ODENKIRK: Oh... 1171 00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:37,866 My... 1172 00:49:37,866 --> 00:49:39,100 God! 1173 00:49:39,100 --> 00:49:41,033 GATES: Now filled with names they'd never heard before. 1174 00:49:41,033 --> 00:49:42,366 (gasps). 1175 00:49:42,366 --> 00:49:44,666 SHLESINGER: Oh my God! 1176 00:49:44,666 --> 00:49:46,933 GATES: For each, it was a moment of awe. 1177 00:49:47,533 --> 00:49:49,300 ODENKIRK: Wow. 1178 00:49:49,300 --> 00:49:52,266 GATES: He is your 43rd great-grandfather. 1179 00:49:52,266 --> 00:49:54,533 ODENKIRK: That is insane! 1180 00:49:54,533 --> 00:49:57,766 GATES: Offering the chance to see how their own lives 1181 00:49:57,766 --> 00:50:00,533 are part of a larger family story. 1182 00:50:00,533 --> 00:50:03,533 SHLESINGER: This is crazy! 1183 00:50:03,533 --> 00:50:06,300 ODENKIRK: Thank you so much for this. 1184 00:50:06,300 --> 00:50:09,766 I can't wait to share this with my brothers and sisters. 1185 00:50:10,266 --> 00:50:13,566 SHLESINGER: I get to show this to my daughter. 1186 00:50:13,566 --> 00:50:15,833 Oh my God. 1187 00:50:17,366 --> 00:50:20,266 GATES: My time with my guests was running out, 1188 00:50:20,466 --> 00:50:23,533 but we had one more surprise for each of them... 1189 00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:27,300 When we compared their DNA to the DNA of other people 1190 00:50:27,300 --> 00:50:29,266 who've been in this series, 1191 00:50:29,266 --> 00:50:31,833 we found matches for both, 1192 00:50:31,833 --> 00:50:35,766 evidence of genetic cousins they never knew they had. 1193 00:50:36,466 --> 00:50:40,966 For Iliza, this meant a new connection to an old friend. 1194 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:44,433 SHLESINGER: Oh, my God, really? 1195 00:50:44,433 --> 00:50:45,600 GATES: Sarah Silverman. 1196 00:50:45,600 --> 00:50:47,000 SHLESINGER: I saw her the other night. 1197 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:50,866 GATES: You and Sarah share long identical segments of DNA 1198 00:50:50,866 --> 00:50:52,100 on your 2nd, your 10th, 1199 00:50:52,100 --> 00:50:54,433 your 17th and your 19th chromosomes. 1200 00:50:54,433 --> 00:50:55,566 SHLESINGER: Okay. 1201 00:50:55,566 --> 00:50:57,100 GATES: So you have, this is a lot. 1202 00:50:57,100 --> 00:51:00,166 Usually, we establish a DNA cousin connection with 1203 00:51:00,166 --> 00:51:02,866 identical shared DNA on one chromosome. 1204 00:51:02,866 --> 00:51:04,366 SHLESINGER: Right, wow. 1205 00:51:04,366 --> 00:51:05,933 GATES: And you shared on four chromosomes. 1206 00:51:05,933 --> 00:51:07,466 That is a lot of sharing. 1207 00:51:07,466 --> 00:51:08,700 SHLESINGER: My first thought was, like, 1208 00:51:08,700 --> 00:51:10,266 "But she's from New Hampshire." 1209 00:51:10,266 --> 00:51:11,266 GATES: She's from... 1210 00:51:11,266 --> 00:51:12,533 SHLESINGER: Oh my God. 1211 00:51:12,533 --> 00:51:13,833 GATES: She's from the Pale of Settlement. 1212 00:51:13,833 --> 00:51:15,233 That's where all this is from. 1213 00:51:15,233 --> 00:51:16,966 SHLESINGER: Yeah, yeah. That's really cool. 1214 00:51:16,966 --> 00:51:18,733 GATES: Bob Odenkirk's new cousin shares 1215 00:51:18,733 --> 00:51:20,000 his Irish heritage, 1216 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:22,033 as well as his comedic talents. 1217 00:51:24,900 --> 00:51:26,700 ODENKIRK: Oh my God! 1218 00:51:26,700 --> 00:51:28,966 Nathan Lane! Are you kidding me? 1219 00:51:29,300 --> 00:51:31,266 GATES: No. ODENKIRK: That's insane! 1220 00:51:31,266 --> 00:51:33,566 GATES: Nathan shares a long identical segment of DNA with 1221 00:51:33,566 --> 00:51:36,166 you on chromosome 19. 1222 00:51:36,166 --> 00:51:37,466 ODENKIRK: You know, I'm gonna say, 1223 00:51:37,466 --> 00:51:38,733 he looks a little like me. 1224 00:51:38,733 --> 00:51:42,366 He's got the eye thing that drifts down. 1225 00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:45,566 He's got some good warmth in his cheeks, 1226 00:51:46,233 --> 00:51:47,566 a nice, big smile. 1227 00:51:47,566 --> 00:51:49,166 GATES: And he can act. ODENKIRK: And he can act. 1228 00:51:49,166 --> 00:51:51,400 Yeah, he sure can. 1229 00:51:51,666 --> 00:51:54,166 Unbelievable. That is the greatest. 1230 00:51:54,933 --> 00:51:57,733 GATES: That's the end of our journey with Bob Odenkirk 1231 00:51:57,733 --> 00:51:59,966 and Iliza Shlesinger. 1232 00:52:00,766 --> 00:52:03,700 Join me next time when we unlock the secrets of 1233 00:52:03,700 --> 00:52:07,633 the past for new guests on another episode of, 1234 00:52:07,633 --> 00:52:09,800 "Finding Your Roots".