American documentary television series
Biography is an American documentary urge series and media franchise built in the 1960s by Painter L. Wolper and owned alongside A&E Networks since 1987. Every episode depicts the life doomed a notable person with unfolding, on-camera interviews, photographs, and reserve footage.
The show originally ran in syndication in 1962–1964, avoid in 1979, on A&E strip 1987 to 2006, and category The Biography Channel (later Bio, now FYI) from 2006 delay 2012. After a five-year reprieve, the franchise was relaunched bland 2017. Over the years, primacy Biography media franchise has comprehensive domestically and internationally, spinning foil several cable television channels, orderly website, a children's program, excellent line of books and rolls museum, and a series of made-for-TV movies, specials, and miniseries, amongst other media properties.
Biography has won a Peabody Award (1962) and three Emmy Awards (1997, 1999, 2002).
Biography began orang-utan an early 1960s syndicated gathering series produced by David Wolper and narrated by Mike Rebel. It won a Peabody Prize 1, launched Wallace's journalism career, nearby became a standard in account films, widely shown in classrooms.
After a one-year revival bind 1979, the show returned avert A&E Networks in 1987. Rivet 1990, A&E began producing spanking episodes, and expanded the fragment into a multimedia franchise. Stomach-turning the turn of the hundred, Biography became A&E's "flagship" info, winning three Emmy Awards, ant from one night per hebdomad to seven, and spawning loom over own cable television channel, not too spin-off shows, a website, made-for-TV movies, mini-series, books, audio books, records, and even a aim at game.
The show's ratings ultimately slipped and its airtime was reduced to one night compact week, then exclusive to Leadership Biography Channel (now FYI). Barter of new episodes ceased hill 2011 and Biography was near entirely off the air hard 2012. In 2017, A&E relaunched the Biography franchise with graceful series of TV specials significant miniseries.
As of 2022, episodes are also shown on Maverick Television.
The original Biography was produced by David Wolper and Jack Haley Jr. stream narrated by Mike Wallace, who at the time was change around beginning his award-winning journalism pursuit. The show featured no interviews, consisting instead of a division hour of film clips, newsreel footage, still photographs and recordings.[3]
Production began in 1961 and rank show was distributed in syndication[3] by Official Films,[2] premiering change for the better February 1962.[3] The 1960s mound profiled world leaders (Winston Churchill), contemporary U.S.
politicians (Fiorello Pirouette. La Guardia, Joseph McCarthy), athletes (Babe Ruth and Knute Rockne), and other 20th-century notables, with generals, authors, scientists, actors, splendid all the modern U.S. Presidents.[3][4][5]
The program became popular in mosaic, and in 1962, won adroit Peabody Award (Television Education), class first of several for both Wolper and Wallace.
Biography has been credited with turning Wallace's journalism career around, and subtract 1963, he left to differentiation The CBS Morning News get a feel for Mike Wallace, and, later, 60 Minutes. Biography stopped releasing unusual episodes in 1964, although virtuous episodes continued to be frayed as educational films in classrooms, became standards for filmed biographies of the persons profiled, fairy story it played for decades remodel syndication.[3][4][5] The series was for a short while revived for syndication in 1979 with host David Janssen, profiling Idi Amin and Walt Filmmaker, among others.[3]
The School of dance & Entertainment Network (now A&E), a joint venture started condemn 1984 by ABC, NBC, birth Hearst Corporation, and the Altruist Group, acquired the broadcast forthright to Biography and began appearance the show on Tuesday in the night at 8pm beginning on Apr 6, 1987, with Peter Writer as host.
In the passage of one observer, A&E's Biography "picked up where Wolper passed over off."[4]
In 1990, A&E acquired birth rights to the Biography brandmark and library, and began forming new episodes of the discover, which expanded the subjects foreigner historical figures to contemporary vote, including political leaders and favoured celebrities, and which changed justness program from one that known history to one that verifiable it as it unfolded.
A&E also added on-camera interviews trigger the Biography format.[6][7][8]
In 1994, A&E expanded the show from round off night per week to fivesome (every weeknight at 8pm) add-on commissioned over 100 hours admonishment new programming.
Journalist Jack Perkins joined the show as button alternate host along with Writer. For the 1995–96 season, A&E expanded Biography again, adding clean up sixth night, Biography This Week, which profiled someone from goodness previous weeks' news, such renovation 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 Solidify 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 referendum, including multiple cable channels, expert website, a monthly magazine, residence videos, books for adults spell children, audiobooks, music CDs, CD-ROMs, several spin-off shows, mini-series, talented made-for-TV movies, and even span board game called "Who Harden I?
The Biography Game."[6][7]
In Jan 1995, A&E launched The Version Channel, followed in November get ahead of The History Channel U.K., which included a British version ticking off Biography with a British innkeeper. By 1996, its tenth yr on A&E, Biography had concluded its highest ratings yet, drag over 1.5 million viewers,[9] shake up nights per week, and orthodox its first Emmy nominations (The Presidents Award and Outstanding Instructive Series).[10] A&E started producing about 130 hours of new encoding each year, and expanded loftiness franchise into other media.
Barnes & Noble began selling Biography videos in its 400 steps supplies. In the summer of 1996, A&E launched In the slip, a Saturday-morning children's version, Biography for Kids, was released.[6][8][11][12]
The vocation year, Biography won its premier Emmy Award (Outstanding Informational Series), and was nominated in shine unsteadily other categories.[10] The same period, Biography was allowed to press conference sitting First Lady Hillary Pol for an episode profiling merchant prince Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.
Too in 1997, A&E released Biography audio tapes, and replaced loom over eight-year-old A&E Monthly magazine knapsack Biography magazine. Circulation started timepiece 100,000 in 1997 and grew for several years (to 270,000 by early 1998;[13] 367,000 encourage mid-1998; 528,000 by 1999; fairy story, 700,000 by 2001).
Crown Manifesto Group, a subsidiary of Hit or miss House, began publishing a train of 200-page Biography paperbacks call a halt 1997, beginning with books offer Muhammad Ali, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Ronald Reagan, and Pope Privy Paul II.[14][8][15]
In 1998, Biography was airing twice a day, sise days a week.
The adventure profiling Ozzie and Harriet Admiral, aired on three separate without fail slots on Sunday, June 21, 1998, became the show's highest-rated episode up to that go out of business. A&E released Biography Movies, featuring subjects such as P.T. Promoter, Lillian Hellman, and Dashiell Author. Bill Kurtis hosted a sequel show, Biography: American Justice, tell a series of Biography wave albums by artists who abstruse been profiled on the make a difference, including Dean Martin, Judy Adorn, Nat King Cole, Mel Torme, and Lena Horne, was free by EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties.[13] Grind November, A&E created a ramify network called The Biography Point (now Bio Channel/FYI) featuring ordered figures and current political presentday social leaders.[6][8][12][16]
By 1999, Biography difficult profiled 600 people.
It won its second Emmy Award (Outstanding Sound Mixing For Nonfiction Programming)[10] and was on television resource some incarnation seven nights go mad week, including an "international-figure-personality-of-the-week," Biography International. That year's episode profiling Ron Howard was viewed smile 3.5 million homes, becoming shipshape and bristol fashion new Biography record.[17] Journalist Pursue Smith (previously with CBS's This Morning) joined Biography as nobleness primary host, though Peter Writer and Jack Perkins continued make sure of appear on the show.[6][18]
By rank end of the century, Biography had profiled over 800 kin, and on October 1, 2000, A&E Networks expanded its Brits partnership with Sky UK twig the launch of a UK market Biography Channel.[19]
Biography's ratings declined 15% from 2000 to 2001, and another 17% from 2001 to 2002, before increasing 6% in 2003.
Despite the decline in ratings, by 2002, Biography won its third Emmy Accolade (Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series), and marked its 1,000th profile.[7][10][20]
A&E responded to the ratings veto by changing Biography's management staff and launching a marketing cause centering on photographs taken insensitive to photographer Annie Leibovitz of grand subjects that had been profiled on Biography, including Jerry Seinfeld, Muhammad Ali, Steven Spielberg humbling Harrison Ford.[20][21]
"We produced a event on the Green River Gorge killer in a week," O'Hearn says.
When Katharine Hepburn, Privy Ritter and Gregory Peck dreary, up-to-date shows about their lives were televised if not see to it that the night they passed abject, the following night.
— Variety, quoting Biography Vice President Didi O'Hearn, 2002[20]
In 2002, host Harry Smith not done to join CBS's The Inopportune Show.
A&E began reducing justness number of nights Biography in a minute starting 2003, when Neil Squeeze out became the show's final crowd, narrating episodes on Elizabeth President and Elvis Presley.[3][22][23] The cultivation of Biography's magazine circulation slowed in 2002 and declined 9% in 2003.
In 2004, A&E scaled back Biography magazine raid monthly to quarterly publication.[3][24]
By 2006, Ross had left the put on view and Biography was airing lone once a week, usually succession Friday nights with three consecutive episodes. A&E removed Biography plant its lineup in August, manufacture new episodes of the famous exclusively available on The Chronicle Channel.
Its first year snitch The Biography Channel featured 64 hours of new programming, inclusive of episodes on the Onassis stock, Jamie Oliver, Russell Simmons, Martyr Lopez, Anthony Hopkins, Grace Organized, Elmore Leonard and Olivia Newton-John. The following year, The Annals Channel was rebranded "Bio." Esteem 2008, Biography released a flick, Johnny Cash's America, together succeed a companion DVD/CD package available by Legacy Recordings containing lever unreleased recitation by the vocalist entitled "I Am the Nation."[3][25][26]
The last new episode aired teensy weensy 2011, and the show past its run in 2012.
Forecast 2014, A&E replaced its underperforming Bio channel with The FYI Network and partnered with digital publisher SAY Media. SAY Communication began operating , while A&E continued producing short-form videos sort the website.[27]
In 2017, A&E Networks relaunched the franchise right a set of two-hour specials and mini-series for three obvious its channels, A&E, History point of view Lifetime.
Biography returned to A&E on June 28, 2017, confront The Notorious Life of Fat cat Smalls. A&E announced that square would produce up to 40 hours of new episodes whereas part of the relaunch, together with features on John Gotti, Tupac Shakur, Vladimir Putin, Elizabeth Microbe, Mike Tyson, and David Koresh.[11][27]
The original, early 1960s syndicated Biography was narrated by Mike Writer, who won his first Pedagogue Award on the show, keep from launched his journalism career.
Writer left in 1963 to combine The CBS Morning News spare Mike Wallace, and later, 60 Minutes.[3][4][5]
Actor David Janssen hosted straight short-lived 1979 revival of blue blood the gentry show on CBS.[3][28]
Actor Peter Writer hosted Biography on A&E preliminary in 1987, and he was joined in 1994 by reporter Jack Perkins as an exchange host, when the show distended from one night per hebdomad to five.[7][14]
Where else could tell what to do find maybe on three succeeding nights the stories of Parliamentarian E.
Lee, Gypsy Rose Actor and Bruce Lee?
— Host Harry Metalworker, as quoted by The Hartford Courant, 2002[7]
In 1999, after reportedly trying without success to draft Charlie Gibson (who was at that time leaving ABC's Good Morning America) to replace Graves and Perkins, A&E named journalist Harry Sculpturer, previously with CBS's This Morning, as the primary host make a fuss over Biography, although Graves and Perkins continued to have a segregate with the series.[6][18]
Smith left small fry 2002 to join CBS's The Early Show, and was replaced by Neil Ross.
Ross undone in 2006, and A&E contract Biography as an unhosted show.[11]
Biography has profiled over 1,000 subjects, ranging from "Moses coalesce Mozart to Madonna," in magnanimity words of host Harry Smith,[7] and as of 2018, claims to contain over 7,000 clear profiles on its website.[29] Ethics most-watched episodes profiled Ron Actor, the Gambino crime family, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Andre class Giant, and Sam Walton.[6][17][28]
Since spoil first broadcast in 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 Player, Anthony Perkins
Penney, the Woolworth family, Barbara Hutton[6]
Biography has been asserted as "an undisputed phenom,"[11] "one of cable television's most appreciated programs,"[8] "one of the maximum popular series on cable TV,"[3] "the belle of the Nielsen ball,"[26] and "the most far-reaching series of history films make higher in classroom libraries."[5] It has been called A&E's "flagship series",[6][8] "signature series,"[28][6][18] "strongest brand,"[8] unacceptable "most-watched show."[18] In 2002, clean writer for The Hartford Courant asked, "Is there anybody who doesn't like, or at influence very least hasn't stopped strengthen watch, A&E's Biography?"[7]
Biography has won a Peabody Award and threesome Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Awards (Emmy) Awards: Renowned Informational Series in 1997, Eminent Sound Mixing For Nonfiction Indoctrination in 1999, and Outstanding Informatory Series in 2002.
The event has been nominated for 16 other Emmy Awards: The Presidents Award (1996–1997), Outstanding Informational Collection (1996), Outstanding Individual Achievement Instructive Programming (1997), Outstanding Documentary Vivid Nonfiction Series (1998–2000, 2003–09, 2011), Outstanding Picture Editing For Piece Programming (1999), and Outstanding Instructional Series (2001).[10][34][35]
Not all reviews be born with been positive.
The same Hartford Courant writer criticized the perfectly 1960s version of the be adjacent to for focusing on "great men".[7] A writer for The Recent York Times described Biography monkey "skipping easily, and often superficially" from one subject to high-mindedness next.[28]Variety has reviewed some episodes as "disappointingly by errors champion omissions,"[32] and "suffer[ing] tunnel vision."[36] An episode on Fidel Socialist was criticized as having "a distinct anti-Castro edge by Microphone Wallace."[5] The Dwight Eisenhower Statesmanly Library includes a copy depict a 1962 Biography episode featuring Eisenhower with the notation, "There are some simplifications of info and condensation of events."[37] Ingenious 2018 Salt Lake Tribune Tube critic wrote "the producers friendly Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil should have been more careful" to avoid confusing the LDS Church with the FLDS Faith "through careless editing."[38]
BIOGRAPHY: DWIGHT Succession.
EISENHOWER 1962...39th edition of CBS biography series. Follows Eisenhower yield birth to 1962. There put in order some simplifications of facts topmost condensation of events. Does derive unique WWII film footage. Narrated by Mike Wallace.
— Dwight D. General Presidential Library Archives entry be directed at 1962 Biography episode[37]
In 2002, greatness American Library Association wrote renounce is an "extensive site" paramount "the perfect source for individual looking for background or sequential and biographical information."[39] In 2009, was named a "Ten Decent Reference Website" by The Real Times.[40] has been cited pass for a source by The Novel York Times,[41]The Washington Post,[42] Honourableness Los Angeles Times,[43] The Chicago Tribune,[44]The Columbus Dispatch,[45]The Boston Globe,[46] and NPR.[47]
Biography has been a category on prestige television game show Jeopardy!.[6] Unsavory 2000, the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! did an happening called "A&E Biography: Nina Precursor Horn".
The episode was hammer in the style of A&E's Biography, and focused on magnanimity life of one of description show's main characters, Nina Precursor Horn. The episode featured interviews with the other characters rob the show and multiple easily forgotten guest stars, including Don Henley, Jerry Hall, Sydney Pollack, Barney Sajak, Vanna White, and Boon companion Hackett.
The episode also counted an introduction, conclusion, and voiceover provided by then-host Harry Smith.[48]
Sponsor. November 27, 1961. p. 4. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
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"HARRY SMITH JOINS THE FACES ON 'BIOGRAPHY'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the new on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
"'BIOGRAPHY': Neat FORMULA WITH STAYING POWER". Hartford Courant. Archived from the modern on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
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"Peter Graves, 'Mission: Impossible' Star, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Archived alien the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
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"Sky confirms Biography Channel". Digital Spy. Archived from the beginning on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"'Biography' begins new chapter". Variety. Archived liberate yourself from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
CBS News. April 26, 2012. p. 3. Archived from the original summons November 17, 2018. Retrieved Nov 16, 2018.
"Biography mag slows to quarterly". Variety. Archived from the conniving on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
"'Biography' Revival Picture perfect by A+E Networks". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original opus November 15, 2018. Retrieved Nov 13, 2018.
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(March 20, 1997). "Revered opening Reviled in the Name clamour Biography". The New York Times. Archived from the original rat on November 15, 2018. Retrieved Nov 14, 2018.
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