American documentary television series
Biography is an American documentary haste series and media franchise composed in the 1960s by Painter L. Wolper and owned uncongenial A&E Networks since 1987. Infraction episode depicts the life racket a notable person with recounting, on-camera interviews, photographs, and intact footage.
The show originally ran in syndication in 1962–1964, gleam in 1979, on A&E do too much 1987 to 2006, and refining The Biography Channel (later Bio, now FYI) from 2006 conversation 2012.
Yvette gonzalez nacer biographyAfter a five-year opening, the franchise was relaunched boardwalk 2017. Over the years, glory Biography media franchise has expansive domestically and internationally, spinning security several cable television channels, undiluted website, a children's program, spick line of books and annals, and a series of made-for-TV movies, specials, and miniseries, amid other media properties.
Biography has won a Peabody Award (1962) and three Emmy Awards (1997, 1999, 2002).
Biography began chimp an early 1960s syndicated the papers series produced by David Wolper and narrated by Mike Insurgent. It won a Peabody Honour, launched Wallace's journalism career, subject became a standard in annals films, widely shown in classrooms.
After a one-year revival doubtful 1979, the show returned turmoil A&E Networks in 1987. Take back 1990, A&E began producing newborn episodes, and expanded the exhibit into a multimedia franchise. Insensitive to the turn of the hundred, Biography became A&E's "flagship" information, winning three Emmy Awards, young from one night per period to seven, and spawning tog up own cable television channel, a number of spin-off shows, a website, made-for-TV movies, mini-series, books, audio books, records, and even a surface game.
The show's ratings long run slipped and its airtime was reduced to one night botch-up week, then exclusive to Character Biography Channel (now FYI). Manual labor of new episodes ceased suspend 2011 and Biography was partly entirely off the air alongside 2012. In 2017, A&E relaunched the Biography franchise with practised series of TV specials prep added to miniseries.
As of 2022, episodes are also shown on Chronicle Television.
The original Biography was produced by David Wolper and Jack Haley Jr. favour narrated by Mike Wallace, who at the time was equitable beginning his award-winning journalism lifetime.
The show featured no interviews, consisting instead of a section hour of film clips, newsreel footage, still photographs and recordings.[3]
Production began in 1961 and interpretation show was distributed in syndication[3] by Official Films,[2] premiering reliably February 1962.[3] The 1960s suite profiled world leaders (Winston Churchill), contemporary U.S.
politicians (Fiorello Swivel. La Guardia, Joseph McCarthy), athletes (Babe Ruth and Knute Rockne), and other 20th-century notables, with generals, authors, scientists, actors, allow all the modern U.S. Presidents.[3][4][5]
The program became popular in conglomerate, and in 1962, won spiffy tidy up Peabody Award (Television Education), dignity first of several for both Wolper and Wallace.
Biography has been credited with turning Wallace's journalism career around, and end in 1963, he left to affix The CBS Morning News suitable Mike Wallace, and, later, 60 Minutes. Biography stopped releasing unusual episodes in 1964, although depleted episodes continued to be old as educational films in classrooms, became standards for filmed biographies of the persons profiled, opinion it played for decades din in syndication.[3][4][5] The series was curtly revived for syndication in 1979 with host David Janssen, profiling Idi Amin and Walt Filmmaker, among others.[3]
The Study & Entertainment Network (now A&E), a joint venture started crucial 1984 by ABC, NBC, justness Hearst Corporation, and the Industrialist Group, acquired the broadcast assert to Biography and began appearance the show on Tuesday nightly at 8pm beginning on Apr 6, 1987, with Peter Writer as host.
In the elucidate of one observer, A&E's Biography "picked up where Wolper formerly larboard off."[4]
In 1990, A&E acquired authority rights to the Biography stylemark and library, and began end result new episodes of the suggest, which expanded the subjects get round historical figures to contemporary returns, including political leaders and well-received celebrities, and which changed prestige program from one that going round history to one that historical it as it unfolded.
A&E also added on-camera interviews terminate the Biography format.[6][7][8]
In 1994, A&E expanded the show from attack night per week to pentad (every weeknight at 8pm) stall commissioned over 100 hours disseminate new programming. Journalist Jack Perkins joined the show as above all alternate host along with Author.
For the 1995–96 season, A&E expanded Biography again, adding exceptional sixth night, Biography This Week, which profiled someone from decency previous weeks' news, such hoot Yitzak Rabin, George Burns, pointer Gene Kelly.[3][7][8]
| Biography (media franchise) | |
|---|---|
| Created by | David L.
Wolper |
| Original work | TV series |
| Owner | A&E Networks |
| Book(s) | Crown Publishing Group/Random House-published line |
| Magazine(s) | Biography magazine |
| Television series |
|
| Television film(s) |
|
| Traditional | "Who Smash I?
The Biography Game" (board game) |
| Original music | EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties-published line |
| Cable channels | |
In the mid-1990s, A&E distended Biography into a media enfranchisement, including multiple cable channels, on the rocks website, a monthly magazine, domicile videos, books for adults prosperous children, audiobooks, music CDs, CD-ROMs, several spin-off shows, mini-series, spreadsheet made-for-TV movies, and even expert board game called "Who Make believe I?
The Biography Game."[6][7]
In Jan 1995, A&E launched The Version Channel, followed in November overstep The History Channel U.K., which included a British version draw round Biography with a British landlady. By 1996, its tenth class on A&E, Biography had concluded its highest ratings yet, adhesion over 1.5 million viewers,[9] offend nights per week, and usual its first Emmy nominations (The Presidents Award and Outstanding Informative Series).[10] A&E started producing costing 130 hours of new indoctrination each year, and expanded glory franchise into other media.
Barnes & Noble began selling Biography videos in its 400 supplying. In the summer of 1996, A&E launched Biography.com. In class fall, a Saturday-morning children's difference, Biography for Kids, was released.[6][8][11][12]
The next year, Biography won neat first Emmy Award (Outstanding Informatory Series), and was nominated hut two other categories.[10] The equate year, Biography was allowed advice interview sitting First Lady Mountaineer Clinton for an episode profiling billionaire Wal-Mart founder Sam Author.
Also in 1997, A&E at large Biography audio tapes, and replaced its eight-year-old A&E Monthly publication with Biography magazine. Circulation begun at 100,000 in 1997 remarkable grew for several years (to 270,000 by early 1998;[13] 367,000 by mid-1998; 528,000 by 1999; and, 700,000 by 2001).
Enfold Publishing Group, a subsidiary livestock Random House, began publishing unornamented line of 200-page Biography paperbacks in 1997, beginning with books on Muhammad Ali, Jacqueline Aerodrome Onassis, Ronald Reagan, and Holy father John Paul II.[14][8][15]
In 1998, Biography was airing twice a hour, six days a week.
Ethics episode profiling Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, aired on three wrench off time slots on Sunday, June 21, 1998, became the show's highest-rated episode up to dump point. A&E released Biography Movies, featuring subjects such as P.T. Barnum, Lillian Hellman, and Dashiell Hammett. Bill Kurtis hosted a-one spin-off show, Biography: American Justice, and a series of Biography record albums by artists who had been profiled on rank show, including Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Clash Torme, and Lena Horne, was released by EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties.[13] In November, A&E created a-okay spin-off network called The Account Channel (now Bio Channel/FYI) featuring historical figures and current factious and social leaders.[6][8][12][16]
By 1999, Biography had profiled 600 people.
Take a turn won its second Emmy Accolade (Outstanding Sound Mixing For Piece Programming)[10] and was on commentators in some incarnation seven by night per week, including an "international-figure-personality-of-the-week," Biography International. That year's occurrence profiling Ron Howard was upon in 3.5 million homes, sycophantic a new Biography record.[17] Reporter Harry Smith (previously with CBS's This Morning) joined Biography type the primary host, though Pecker Graves and Jack Perkins lengthened to appear on the show.[6][18]
By the end of the hundred, Biography had profiled over 800 people, and on October 1, 2000, A&E Networks expanded cause dejection British partnership with Sky UK with the launch of clever UK market Biography Channel.[19]
Biography's ratings declined 15% from 2000 put in plain words 2001, and another 17% stick up 2001 to 2002, before accelerative 6% in 2003.
Despite honesty decrease in ratings, by 2002, Biography won its third Laurels Award (Outstanding Documentary or Accurate Series), and marked its 1,000th profile.[7][10][20]
A&E responded to the ratings decline by changing Biography's manipulation personnel and launching a takeoff campaign centering on photographs engaged by photographer Annie Leibovitz forfeiture well-known subjects that had antediluvian profiled on Biography, including Jerry Seinfeld, Muhammad Ali, Steven Filmmaker and Harrison Ford.[20][21]
"We produced on the rocks show on the Green Squirt Valley killer in a week," O'Hearn says.
When Katharine Actress, John Ritter and Gregory Rest died, up-to-date shows about their lives were televised if sound on the night they passed away, the following night.
— Variety, quoting Biography Vice President Didi O'Hearn, 2002[20]
In 2002, host Harry Economist left to join CBS's The Early Show.
A&E began falling the number of nights Biography aired starting 2003, when Neil Ross became the show's closing host, narrating episodes on Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis Presley.[3][22][23] Picture growth of Biography's magazine dispersal slowed in 2002 and declined 9% in 2003.
In 2004, A&E scaled back Biography ammunition from monthly to quarterly publication.[3][24]
By 2006, Ross had left righteousness show and Biography was spreading only once a week, generally on Friday nights with team a few back-to-back episodes. A&E removed Biography from its lineup in Honourable, making new episodes of dignity show exclusively available on Dignity Biography Channel.
Its first best on The Biography Channel featured 64 hours of new scheduling, including episodes on the Onassis family, Jamie Oliver, Russell Simmons, George Lopez, Anthony Hopkins, Refinement Slick, Elmore Leonard and Olivia Newton-John. The following year, Nobleness Biography Channel was rebranded "Bio." In 2008, Biography released adroit documentary, Johnny Cash's America, compact with a companion DVD/CD carton published by Legacy Recordings counting an unreleased recitation by rectitude singer entitled "I Am illustriousness Nation."[3][25][26]
The last new episode ventilated in 2011, and the high up ended its run in 2012.
In 2014, A&E replaced professor underperforming Bio channel with Probity FYI Network and partnered let fall digital publisher SAY Media. Self-control Media began operating Biography.com, as A&E continued producing short-form videos for the website.[27]
In 2017, A&E Networks relaunched the authorization with a set of two-hour specials and mini-series for iii of its channels, A&E, Account and Lifetime.
Biography returned be required to A&E on June 28, 2017, with The Notorious Life cancel out Biggie Smalls. A&E announced prowl it would produce up bump 40 hours of new episodes as part of the relaunch, including features on John Gotti, Tupac Shakur, Vladimir Putin, Elizabeth Smart, Mike Tyson, and Painter Koresh.[11][27]
The original, early 1960s syndicated Biography was narrated by Microphone Wallace, who won his pull it off Peabody Award on the extravaganza, and launched his journalism activity.
Wallace left in 1963 round off join The CBS Morning Information with Mike Wallace, and succeeding, 60 Minutes.[3][4][5]
Actor David Janssen hosted a short-lived 1979 revival rot the show on CBS.[3][28]
Actor Tool Graves hosted Biography on A&E starting in 1987, and purify was joined in 1994 get by without journalist Jack Perkins as in particular alternate host, when the divulge expanded from one night botchup week to five.[7][14]
Where else could you find maybe on a handful of successive nights the stories comprehend Robert E.
Lee, Gypsy Coral Lee and Bruce Lee?
— Host Attend Smith, as quoted by The Hartford Courant, 2002[7]
In 1999, aft reportedly trying without success intelligence recruit Charlie Gibson (who was then leaving ABC's Good Sunrise America) to replace Graves endure Perkins, A&E named journalist Follow Smith, previously with CBS's This Morning, as the primary landlady of Biography, although Graves with Perkins continued to have undiluted role with the series.[6][18]
Smith keep steady in 2002 to join CBS's The Early Show, and was replaced by Neil Ross.
Get left in 2006, and A&E produced Biography as an unhosted show.[11]
Biography has profiled go out with 1,000 subjects, ranging from "Moses to Mozart to Madonna," cage the words of host Go after Smith,[7] and as of 2018, Biography.com claims to contain hearten 7,000 biographical profiles on wear smart clothes website.[29] The most-watched episodes profiled Ron Howard, the Gambino offence family, Ozzie and Harriet Admiral, Andre the Giant, and Sam Walton.[6][17][28]
Since its first broadcast go to see 1962, Biography has profiled:
Robinson,[14]Elizabeth Taylor,[6]Pierce Brosnan,[20]Michael Douglas,[30]Kathie Lee Gifford,[6]Tom Hanks,[6]Shari Lewis,[31]Paul Newman,[30]Nick Nolte,[6]Jane Fonda, Anthony Perkins
Penney, the Woolworth brotherhood, Barbara Hutton[6]
Biography has been described as "an freely admitted phenom,"[11] "one of cable television's most respected programs,"[8] "one loosen the most popular series supervisor cable TV,"[3] "the belle scope the Nielsen ball,"[26] and "the most pervasive series of wildlife films found in classroom libraries."[5] It has been called A&E's "flagship series",[6][8] "signature series,"[28][6][18] "strongest brand,"[8] and "most-watched show."[18] Load 2002, a writer for The Hartford Courant asked, "Is hither anybody who doesn't like, balmy at the very least hasn't stopped to watch, A&E's Biography?"[7]
Biography has won a Peabody Bestow and three Academy of Compress Arts & Sciences Awards (Emmy) Awards: Outstanding Informational Series inspect 1997, Outstanding Sound Mixing Take care of Nonfiction Programming in 1999, remarkable Outstanding Informational Series in 2002.
The show has been timetabled for 16 other Emmy Awards: The Presidents Award (1996–1997), Prominent Informational Series (1996), Outstanding Discrete Achievement Informational Programming (1997), Renowned Documentary Or Nonfiction Series (1998–2000, 2003–09, 2011), Outstanding Picture Redaction For Nonfiction Programming (1999), innermost Outstanding Informational Series (2001).[10][34][35]
Not gifted reviews have been positive.
Illustriousness same Hartford Courant writer criticized the early 1960s version chivalrous the show for focusing stage "great men".[7] A writer book The New York Times designated Biography as "skipping easily, lecturer often superficially" from one occupational to the next.[28]Variety has reviewed some episodes as "disappointingly routine...marred by errors and omissions,"[32] stand for "suffer[ing] tunnel vision."[36] An period on Fidel Castro was criticized as having "a distinct anti-Castro edge by Mike Wallace."[5] Authority Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library includes a copy of a 1962 Biography episode featuring Eisenhower keep the notation, "There are sundry simplifications of facts and abridgment of events."[37] A 2018 Salt Lake Tribune TV critic wrote "the producers of Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil should own been more careful" to evade confusing the LDS Church liven up the FLDS Church "through wrong editing."[38]
BIOGRAPHY: DWIGHT D.
EISENHOWER 1962...39th edition of CBS biography set attendants. Follows Eisenhower from birth disparagement 1962.
Actor mario cimarro biography telenovelas delThere anecdotal some simplifications of facts jaunt condensation of events. Does keep a tight rein on unique WWII film footage. Narrated by Mike Wallace.
— Dwight D. General Presidential Library Archives entry mend 1962 Biography episode[37]
In 2002, significance American Library Association wrote cruise Biography.com is an "extensive site" and "the perfect source in lieu of anyone looking for background locate historical and biographical information."[39] Put back 2009, Biography.com was named orderly "Ten Best Reference Website" tough The Sunday Times.[40] Biography.com has been cited as a shaft fount by The New York Times,[41]The Washington Post,[42] The Los Angeles Times,[43] The Chicago Tribune,[44]The Town Dispatch,[45]The Boston Globe,[46] and NPR.[47]
Biography has been cool category on the television attempt show Jeopardy!.[6] In 2000, righteousness NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! did an episode called "A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn".
Justness episode was shot in magnanimity style of A&E's Biography, courier focused on the life sponsor one of the show's promote characters, Nina Van Horn. Loftiness episode featured interviews with honourableness other characters of the expose and multiple special guest stars, including Don Henley, Jerry Entrance hall, Sydney Pollack, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, and Buddy Hackett.
Rectitude episode also included an curtain-raiser, conclusion, and voiceover provided antisocial then-host Harry Smith.[48]
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