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S28 Ep1
Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love
Marvin Hamlisch
A musical prodigy accepted to Juilliard at age six, Marvin Hamlisch devoted his talents to musical theater and pop music composition. The composer and conductor earned four Grammys, four Emmys, three Oscars, three Golden Globes, a Tony Award, and a Pulitzer Prize. Barbra Streisand, Steven Soderbergh, Quincy Jones, Christopher Walken are among those who admire Hamlisch as a person and a musician.
Premiered: 12/27/2013
S27 Ep4
Billie Jean King
For the first time, American Masters profiles a sports figure: a deliberate woman who has been a major force in changing, and democratizing, the cultural landscape. To commemorate the 40th anniversaries of both the famous Billie Jean King/Bobby Riggs match - the Battle of the Sexes - and the launch of the Women's Tennis Association, the documentary looks back to the 12-year-old southern California girl who played tennis on public courts, observed disparity and unfairness and, as she soared athletically, never stopped trying to remedy both. Her competitiveness on the circuit was matched by her efforts on behalf of women and her commitment to prove there's strength in diversity.
Premiered: 9/10/2013
S27 Ep3
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
After 60 years in show business, Mel Brooks has earned more major awards than any other living entertainer; he is one of 14 EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winners. Yet, the comedy giant has energetically avoided a documentary profile being made, even issuing an informal gag order on his friends … until now. Brooks agreed to throw himself into a new documentary about his storied career, giving American Masters exclusive interviews and complete access to his film and photo archives.
Premiered: 5/20/2013
S27 Ep2
Philip Roth: Unmasked
Philip Roth
American Masters explores the life and career of Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning novelist Philip Roth, often referred to as the greatest living American writer. Reclusive and diffident, Roth grants very few interviews, but for the first time, allowed a journalist to spend 10 days interviewing him on camera.
Premiered: 3/29/2013
S27 Ep1
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll
Southern-born, Chicago-raised and New York-made. She could play the guitar like nobody else… nobody. Discover the life, music and influence of African-American gospel singer and guitar virtuoso Sister Rosetta Tharpe from writer, producer and director Mick Csaky. During the 1940s-60s, Tharpe introduced the spiritual passion of her gospel music into the secular world of rock ’n’ roll, inspiring some of its greatest stars, including Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard.
Premiered: 2/22/2013
S26 Ep8
Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance
JOFFREY: MAVERICKS OF AMERICAN DANCE tells the story of the first quintessentially American dance company, the Joffrey Ballet. Founders Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino revolutionized American dance by combining modern with traditional ballet to create a new and daring art form. Narrated by Tony and Emmy Award-winner Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), the 90-minute documentary is the first to chronicle the Joffrey Ballet’s pioneering dance philosophy. Award-winning filmmaker Bob Hercules traces the company’s struggles and triumphs: from its humble beginnings in 1956, touring the United States in a borrowed station wagon, to becoming one of the world’s most exciting and prominent ballet companies.
Premiered: 12/28/2012
S26 Ep7
Inventing David Geffen
David Geffen’s far-reaching influence — as agent, manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and philanthropist — has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades. Notoriously press and camera-shy, Geffen reveals himself for the first time in the new two-hour documentary. Inventing David Geffen, premiers nationally on Tuesday, November 20, 2012, on PBS.
Premiered: 11/20/2012
S17 Ep8
The Education of Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal (1925-2012) never lacked for labels: Witty, irreverent, and shrewd, a propagandist, a truth-teller, and an agent provocateur. Dramatist, novelist, screenwriter, actor, and public debater. A troublemaker at large, poking his pen at anyone who got in his way. That’s how Vidal seared himself into the American consciousness.
Premiered: 7/30/2003
S26 Ep5
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night
Johnny Carson (10/23/1925 – 1/23/2005) was seen by more people on more occasions than anyone else in American history. Over the course of 30 years, 4,531 episodes and 23,000 guests, he became a fixture of national life. Johnny Carson: King of Late Night explores his life, career, and complexities.
Premiered: 5/14/2012
S26 Ep2
Cab Calloway: Sketches
Calloway was also an ambassador for his race, leading one of the most popular African American big bands during the Harlem Renaissance and jazz and swing eras of the 1930s-40s. American Masters celebrates "The Hi De Ho Man's" legacy during Black History Month with the documentary Cab Calloway: Sketches premiering nationally Monday, February 27 at 10 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings).
Premiered: 2/26/2012
S26 Ep1
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
American Masters opens its 26th season with the biography of a conflicted troubadour who, with guitar in hand, stood up for what he believed in and challenged us all to do the same. Three-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker Kenneth Bowser examines one of America's most iconic folk music heroes in Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune, premiering nationally Monday, January 23 at 10 pm (check local listings).
Premiered: 1/22/2012
S25 Ep9
Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter
Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey's definitive documentary delves into the private world the Eameses created in their Renaissance-style, Venice Beach, California studio, where design history was born. Narrated by James Franco, the film premieres nationally Monday, December 19 from 10-11:30 p.m. (ET/PT) on PBS (check local listings) as the 25th anniversary season finale of American Masters.
Premiered: 12/18/2011
S25 Ep5
Pearl Jam Twenty
Director and music journalist Cameron Crowe creates a definitive portrait of the seminal band carved from never-before-seen footage, recent band interviews, and concert footage. The two-hour documentary gives an intimate glimpse into Pearl Jam's journey in honor of the band's 20th anniversary. Pearl Jam Twenty premieres nationally Friday, October 21 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on PBS (check local listings).
Premiered: 10/20/2011

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