Reclusive fan wills estate worth up to $1 million to two '80s-era actors he never met
A reclusive man who lived in a central Illinois farmhouse without running water and drove a Ford truck from the 1960s nonetheless had an estate worth up to $1 million when he died last year.
And 71-year-old Ray Fulk, who never married and had no children or close family members, did not die intestate. He willed the bulk of his estate to two actors he never met who were TV and movie stars in the 1980s and 1990s, the State Journal-Register reports. The Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago got $5,000.
Kevin Brophy is probably best-known for his title role in the 1977’s Lucan television show, in which his character was raised by wolves. Peter Barton played Dr. Scott Grainger on The Young and the Restless from 1987 to 1993. Both also had roles in the 1981 Linda Blair movie Hell Night.
Attorney Donald Behle, as the executor of Fulk’s estate, wrote both men to alert them to their good fortune. Not surprisingly, they were dubious.
“What’s the first thing you would think if you got a letter like that?” Behle says. “You’d think it was some kind of scam.”
Eventually, Barton flew out to Illinois, met with Behle and saw Fulk’s farm.
In his will, which was drawn up by Behle, Ray calls Brophy and Barton his friends. The lawyer says he found some letters written by his clients to the two actors. “They sent back responses that basically said thanks for writing and please watch me in whatever their next movie or show was.”
