Biography
1987, Series, 60 min, Biography, Documentary, English, United States, MoviePedia score 67
Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or long-dead entertainment figures such as Will Rogers or John Barrymore. The A&E series has placed the emphasis on such people as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. The program ended up profiling enough figures that in 1999, A&E spun it off into an entire network, The Biography Channel.
Directed by John Griffin, J.C. Begley, Selina Lin, Kevin Burns, Lawrence Williams, Peter Jones, Morgan Neville, Don Horan, Angie Corcetti, Barbara Hall, Jason Goodman, Adam Friedman, Jeff Scheftel, Amy Enns-Ford, Gene Feldman, Stephen Crisman, Steven C. Smith, Scott Lenz, Kerry Jensen, Del Jack, Molly Thompson, Bill Harris, Michael Emerson, Barbara Kanowitz, Toy Newkirk, Sam Dunn, Marc Ricciardelli, Vincent Kralyevich, Elizabeth Browde, Michael Husain, Michele Farinola, Suzette Winter, Monte Markham, Peter Doyle, Elizabeth Bronstein, Lee Schneider, Andy Stevenson, Patty Ivins Specht, Marie NeJame, John Scheinfeld, Ted Nelson, Vincent Scarza, Mark A. Catalena, Henry Nevison, Bill Evashwick, Jeffrey Woods, Meg M. Kruizenga, Phil Grabsky, Peter Rosen, Andrea Black, Alison Guss, David Ash, Sue Hayes, N. Brice Shipley, Peter Swain, Andrew Thomas, Kevin Knoblock, Yann Debonne, Clare Beavan, Terrence Sacchi, Laura Verklan, Lynne Margulies, Bob Zmuda, Hillary Atkin, Bruce Alfred, David Leaf, Arthur Drooker, Rick Hull, Jack Walworth, Jule Gilfillan, Mary Wharton, Kenny Golde, Maurice Paleau, David Silver, Robert E. Frye, Paul E. Gierucki, Scott Paddor, Jude Gerard Prest, Harry Rasky, Milton Lage, Randy Martin, Nat Segaloff, Alan Goldberg, Craig Haffner, David Hart, Rebecca Jones, Carole Langer, Donna E. Lusitana, Nick Read, Lynn Stevenson, Bob Waldman, Philip Dampier, Torrie Rosenzweig, Michelle S. Anton, Paul Budline, Robert Cassella Jr., Nick Davidson, Alan Lewens, Edward Mallory, Sally Blake, Paul Jay, Richard Hall, Sunny Parich, Frederick Rendina, Philip Armstrong-Dampier, Ray Blanco, Amy Huggins, Kevin Bachar, Kathleen Earle Killeen, Marc Kinderman, Brian Tessier, Joshua Alper, Mark Lambert Bristol, Christopher Bruce, Joe Danisi, Tanya Gottlieb, Lee Grant, Claire Lasko, Maureen Muldaur, Darryl Rehr, Grant Slawson, Laura Sobel, Michael Epstein, Michael Joseloff, John Orfanopoulos, George P. Pozderec, Kathy Williamson, Joey Allen, Larry Day, Anna Geddes, Bonita Makuch, Randy Martin, Tarek McCarthy, Anne Carkeet, Jerald Harkness, Eliza Kurtz, Ken Rowe, Paul E. Wilson Jr., John T. Wright, Al Greenfield, Gregory Hall, Lee Christofferson, Lilibet Foster
Cast
- Jack Perkins as Narrator
- Peter Graves as Self
- Harry Smith as Narrator
- Robert J. Thompson as Self - Professor
- Bill Mumy as Self - Host
- Gary T. Carlin as Self - Narrator
- Dave Hoffman as Narrator
- Roddy McDowall as Friend
- David Wild as Self - Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone
- Matt Roush as Self - Television Critic
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