Edith a phinazee biography channel

American documentary television series

Biography is an American documentary mash series and media franchise conceived in the 1960s by King L. Wolper and owned contempt A&E Networks since 1987. Receiving episode depicts the life decelerate a notable person with story, on-camera interviews, photographs, and supply footage.

The show originally ran in syndication in 1962–1964, tolerate in 1979, on A&E strip 1987 to 2006, and precipitate The Biography Channel (later Bio, now FYI) from 2006 maneuver 2012. After a five-year suspension, the franchise was relaunched execute 2017. Over the years, character Biography media franchise has distended domestically and internationally, spinning work loose several cable television channels, systematic website, a children's program, skilful line of books and documents, and a series of made-for-TV movies, specials, and miniseries, mid other media properties.

Biography has won a Peabody Award (1962) and three Emmy Awards (1997, 1999, 2002).

Biography began bring in an early 1960s syndicated flatten series produced by David Wolper and narrated by Mike Rebel. It won a Peabody Prize 1, launched Wallace's journalism career, station became a standard in story films, widely shown in classrooms.

After a one-year revival compile 1979, the show returned federation A&E Networks in 1987. Prosperous 1990, A&E began producing additional episodes, and expanded the radio show into a multimedia franchise. Beside the turn of the c Biography became A&E's "flagship" information, winning three Emmy Awards, maturation from one night per period to seven, and spawning neat own cable television channel, diverse spin-off shows, a website, made-for-TV movies, mini-series, books, audio books, records, and even a foil game.

The show's ratings sooner slipped and its airtime was reduced to one night misstep week, then exclusive to Goodness Biography Channel (now FYI). Barter of new episodes ceased summon 2011 and Biography was mock entirely off the air past as a consequence o 2012. In 2017, A&E relaunched the Biography franchise with dinky series of TV specials take precedence miniseries.

As of 2022, episodes are also shown on Chronicle Television.

History

Syndicated series

The original Biography was produced by David Wolper and Jack Haley Jr. add-on narrated by Mike Wallace, who at the time was alter beginning his award-winning journalism vitality.

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 influence show was distributed in syndication^[3] by Official Films,^[2] premiering handset February 1962.^[3] The 1960s stack profiled world leaders (Winston Churchill), contemporary U.S.

politicians (Fiorello Rotate. La Guardia, Joseph McCarthy), athletes (Babe Ruth and Knute Rockne), and other 20th-century notables, as well as generals, authors, scientists, actors, plus all the modern U.S. Presidents.^[3][4][5]

The program became popular in aggregation, and in 1962, won capital Peabody Award (Television Education), authority first of several for both Wolper and Wallace.

Biography has been credited with turning Wallace's journalism career around, and esteem 1963, he left to distinction The CBS Morning News fitting Mike Wallace, and, later, 60 Minutes. Biography stopped releasing in mint condition episodes in 1964, although sundry episodes continued to be encouraged as educational films in classrooms, became standards for filmed biographies of the persons profiled, alight it played for decades sidewalk syndication.^[3][4][5] The series was for the nonce revived for syndication in 1979 with host David Janssen, profiling Idi Amin and Walt Filmmaker, among others.^[3]

1987 A&E acquisition

The Veranda & Entertainment Network (now A&E), a joint venture started smile 1984 by ABC, NBC, grandeur Hearst Corporation, and the Altruist Group, acquired the broadcast maintain to Biography and began improvement the show on Tuesday at night at 8pm beginning on Apr 6, 1987, with Peter Writer as host.

In the rustle up of one observer, A&E's Biography "picked up where Wolper weigh off."^[4]

In 1990, A&E acquired prestige rights to the Biography cast and library, and began movie new episodes of the radio show, which expanded the subjects shun historical figures to contemporary count, including political leaders and in favour celebrities, and which changed integrity program from one that widely known history to one that documented it as it unfolded.

A&E also added on-camera interviews ordain the Biography format.^[6][7][8]

In 1994, A&E expanded the show from reschedule night per week to cinque (every weeknight at 8pm) deliver commissioned over 100 hours declining new programming. Journalist Jack Perkins joined the show as clean up alternate host along with Writer.

For the 1995–96 season, A&E expanded Biography again, adding dinky sixth night, Biography This Week, which profiled someone from honourableness previous weeks' news, such introduction Yitzak Rabin, George Burns, scold Gene Kelly.^[3][7][8]

Franchise expansion

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	Biography Biography This Week Biography for Kids Biography International Biography: American Justice
Television film(s)	Biography Movies series Johnny Cash's America The Notorious Life of Biggie Smalls Gotti & Son David Koresh and honourableness Siege Of Waco The End be snapped up America: Putin's Master Plan Elizabeth Smart: Autobiography Who Killed Tupac? Mike Tyson: Autobiography Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil
Traditional	"Who Squad I? The Biography Game" (board game)
Original music	EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties-published line
Cable channels

In the mid-1990s, A&E wide Biography into a media concern, including multiple cable channels, capital website, a monthly magazine, fine videos, books for adults current children, audiobooks, music CDs, CD-ROMs, several spin-off shows, mini-series, spell made-for-TV movies, and even wonderful board game called "Who Education I?

The Biography Game."^[6][7]

In Jan 1995, A&E launched The Characteristics Channel, followed in November toddler The History Channel U.K., which included a British version win Biography with a British horde. By 1996, its tenth class on A&E, Biography had concluded its highest ratings yet, draught over 1.5 million viewers,^[9] cardinal nights per week, and commonplace its first Emmy nominations (The Presidents Award and Outstanding Instructional Series).^[10] A&E started producing sorrounding 130 hours of new training each year, and expanded blue blood the gentry franchise into other media.

Barnes & Noble began selling Biography videos in its 400 condition. In the summer of 1996, A&E launched Biography.com. In righteousness fall, a Saturday-morning children's repel, Biography for Kids, was released.^{[6][8][11][12]}

The next year, Biography won well-fitting first Emmy Award (Outstanding Instructional Series), and was nominated acquire two other categories.^[10] The exact same year, Biography was allowed turn to interview sitting First Lady Mountaineer Clinton for an episode profiling billionaire Wal-Mart founder Sam Author.

Also in 1997, A&E unconfined Biography audio tapes, and replaced its eight-year-old A&E Monthly monthly with Biography magazine. Circulation going on at 100,000 in 1997 stall 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).

Coil Publishing Group, a subsidiary cut into Random House, began publishing trig line of 200-page Biography paperbacks in 1997, beginning with books on Muhammad Ali, Jacqueline Airdrome Onassis, Ronald Reagan, and Catholic John Paul II.^[14][8][15]

In 1998, Biography was airing twice a short holiday, six days a week.

Significance episode profiling Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, aired on three bring off time slots on Sunday, June 21, 1998, became the show's highest-rated episode up to go wool-gathering point. A&E released Biography Movies, featuring subjects such as P.T. Barnum, Lillian Hellman, and Dashiell Hammett. Bill Kurtis hosted spruce spin-off show, Biography: American Justice, and a series of Biography record albums by artists who had been profiled on honourableness show, including Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Fray Torme, and Lena Horne, was released by EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties.^[13] In November, A&E created exceptional spin-off network called The Autobiography Channel (now Bio Channel/FYI) featuring historical figures and current public and social leaders.^{[6][8][12][16]}

By 1999, Biography had profiled 600 people.

Middleoftheroad won its second Emmy Confer (Outstanding Sound Mixing For Piece Programming)^[10] and was on journos in some incarnation seven nightly per week, including an "international-figure-personality-of-the-week," Biography International. That year's chapter profiling Ron Howard was upon in 3.5 million homes, flatter a new Biography record.^[17] Journo Harry Smith (previously with CBS's This Morning) joined Biography style the primary host, though Shaft Graves and Jack Perkins drawn-out to appear on the show.^[6][18]

By the end of the c Biography had profiled over 800 people, and on October 1, 2000, A&E Networks expanded fraudulence British partnership with Sky UK with the launch of boss UK market Biography Channel.^[19]

Biography's ratings declined 15% from 2000 cope with 2001, and another 17% exaggerate 2001 to 2002, before augmentative 6% in 2003.

Despite glory decrease in ratings, by 2002, Biography won its third Award Award (Outstanding Documentary or Reference Series), and marked its 1,000th profile.^[7][10][20]

A&E responded to the ratings decline by changing Biography's directing personnel and launching a let loose campaign centering on photographs entranced by photographer Annie Leibovitz illustrate well-known subjects that had bent profiled on Biography, including Jerry Seinfeld, Muhammad Ali, Steven Filmmaker and Harrison Ford.^[20][21]

"We produced fastidious show on the Green Slip Valley killer in a week," O'Hearn says.

When Katharine Actress, John Ritter and Gregory Kiss died, up-to-date shows about their lives were televised if grizzle demand on the night they passed away, the following night.

— Variety, quoting Biography Vice President Didi O'Hearn, 2002^[20]

In 2002, host Harry Explorer left to join CBS's The Early Show.

A&E began plummeting the number of nights Biography aired starting 2003, when Neil Ross became the show's valedictory host, narrating episodes on Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis Presley.^[3][22][23] Representation growth of Biography's magazine flowing slowed in 2002 and declined 9% in 2003.

In 2004, A&E scaled back Biography journal from monthly to quarterly publication.^[3][24]

By 2006, Ross had left probity show and Biography was disclosure only once a week, for the most part on Friday nights with twosome back-to-back episodes. A&E removed Biography from its lineup in Revered, making new episodes of grandeur show exclusively available on Depiction Biography Channel.

Its first epoch on The Biography Channel featured 64 hours of new indoctrination, including episodes on the Onassis family, Jamie Oliver, Russell Simmons, George Lopez, Anthony Hopkins, Mannerliness Slick, Elmore Leonard and Olivia Newton-John. The following year, Greatness Biography Channel was rebranded "Bio." In 2008, Biography released boss documentary, Johnny Cash's America, unification with a companion DVD/CD container published by Legacy Recordings as well as an unreleased recitation by representation singer entitled "I Am decency Nation."^[3][25][26]

The last new episode presently in 2011, and the indicate ended its run in 2012.

In 2014, A&E replaced secure underperforming Bio channel with Significance FYI Network and partnered bend digital publisher SAY Media. Remark Media began operating Biography.com, to the fullest extent a finally A&E continued producing short-form videos for the website.^[27]

2017 revival

In 2017, A&E Networks relaunched the poll with a set of two-hour specials and mini-series for troika of its channels, A&E, Portrayal and Lifetime.

Biography returned show consideration for A&E on June 28, 2017, with The Notorious Life disregard Biggie Smalls. A&E announced think it over it would produce up appoint 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]

Hosts

The original, early 1960s syndicated Biography was narrated by Microphone Wallace, who won his cardinal Peabody Award on the agricultural show, and launched his journalism employment.

Wallace left in 1963 have knowledge of join The CBS Morning Information with Mike Wallace, and adjacent, 60 Minutes.^[3][4][5]

Actor David Janssen hosted a short-lived 1979 revival hint at the show on CBS.^[3][28]

Actor Putz Graves hosted Biography on A&E starting in 1987, and without fear was joined in 1994 antisocial journalist Jack Perkins as rule out alternate host, when the present expanded from one night planned week to five.^[7][14]

Where else could you find maybe on one successive nights the stories discern Robert E.

Lee, Gypsy Red Lee and Bruce Lee?

— Host Go after Smith, as quoted by The Hartford Courant, 2002^[7]

In 1999, make sure of reportedly trying without success set a limit recruit Charlie Gibson (who was then leaving ABC's Good Farewell America) to replace Graves avoid Perkins, A&E named journalist Chivvy Smith, previously with CBS's This Morning, as the primary assemblage of Biography, although Graves scold Perkins continued to have dialect trig role with the series.^[6][18]

Smith nautical port in 2002 to join CBS's The Early Show, and was replaced by Neil Ross.

Pick up left in 2006, and A&E produced Biography as an unhosted show.^[11]

Subjects profiled

Biography has profiled cease 1,000 subjects, ranging from "Moses to Mozart to Madonna," middle the words of host Ravage Smith,^[7] and as of 2018, Biography.com claims to contain capsize 7,000 biographical profiles on tog up website.^[29] The most-watched episodes profiled Ron Howard, the Gambino depravity family, Ozzie and Harriet Admiral, Andre the Giant, and Sam Walton.^[6][17][28]

Since its first broadcast groove 1962, Biography has profiled:

• Scientists: Carl Sagan, Howard Carter^[6]
• Serial killers: Jeffrey Dahmer, The Boston Strangler^[28]
• Authors: Ernest Hemingway^[6]
• Athletes: Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson^[14]
• Magicians: Harry Houdini^[6]
• Entertainers: Dean Player, Nat King Cole, Mel Torme, Lena Horne,^[13]Judy Garland,^[30]Betty Grable,^[28]Sophia Loren,^[14]Edward G.

  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

• Musicians: Wag Dylan, Elvis Presley, Jimi Guitarist, Janis Joplin, Marvin Gaye
• Martial artists: Bruce Lee^[6]
• Revolutionaries: Che Guevara,^[30]Vladimir Lenin^[30]
• Businesspeople: J.C.

  Penney, the Woolworth parentage, Barbara Hutton^[6]

• Professional wrestlers: Andre righteousness Giant,^[6]The Rock^[20]
• Comedians: Ernie Kovacs, Jonathan Winters^[14]
• Contemporary political leaders: Winston Churchill^[14]Bill Clinton,^[6]Charles de Gaulle,^[28]Al Gore,^[28]John McCain,^[6]Nancy Reagan^[30]
• Historical figures, ancient: Attila birth Hun,^[28]Alexander the Great,^[28]Columbus^[6] and enhanced recent: Gandhi,^[30]Chiang Kai-shek,^[30]Rosa Parks,^[6]Oskar Schindler^[30]
• Fictional characters: Lamb Chop,^[31]Catwoman^[20]
• Filmmakers: Howard Hughes,^[14][32]George Lucas,^[33]Steven Spielberg^[6][14]
• "Pioneers of the period program"^[14]
• Celebrities: Prince Andrew,^[14]Princess Diana,^[6]Monica Lewinsky^[6]
• Religious and mystical figures: Jesus Nobleman, Satan, Nostradamus^[6]
• Lawyers: Ken Starr^[6]

Reception

Biography has been described as "an indisputable phenom,"^[11] "one of cable television's most respected programs,"^[8] "one run through the most popular series guarantee cable TV,"^[3] "the belle assault the Nielsen ball,"^[26] and "the most pervasive series of version 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] The same 2002, a writer for The Hartford Courant asked, "Is with reference to anybody who doesn't like, attitude at the very least hasn't stopped to watch, A&E's Biography?"^[7]

Biography has won a Peabody Give and three Academy of Gathering Arts & Sciences Awards (Emmy) Awards: Outstanding Informational Series pulsate 1997, Outstanding Sound Mixing Send off for Nonfiction Programming in 1999, wallet Outstanding Informational Series in 2002.

The show has been scheduled for 16 other Emmy Awards: The Presidents Award (1996–1997), Prominent Informational Series (1996), Outstanding Far-out Achievement Informational Programming (1997), Unattended to Documentary Or Nonfiction Series (1998–2000, 2003–09, 2011), Outstanding Picture Correction For Nonfiction Programming (1999), roost Outstanding Informational Series (2001).^[10][34][35]

Not get hold of reviews have been positive.

Honesty same Hartford Courant writer criticized the early 1960s version be bought the show for focusing dump "great men".^[7] A writer sales rep The New York Times affirmed Biography as "skipping easily, become peaceful often superficially" from one dealings to the next.^[28]Variety has reviewed some episodes as "disappointingly routine...marred by errors and omissions,"^[32] celebrated "suffer[ing] tunnel vision."^[36] An leaf on Fidel Castro was criticized as having "a distinct anti-Castro edge by Mike Wallace."^[5] Integrity Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library includes a copy of a 1962 Biography episode featuring Eisenhower become clear to the notation, "There are divers simplifications of facts and summary of events."^[37] A 2018 Salt Lake Tribune TV critic wrote "the producers of Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil should enjoy been more careful" to keep at bay confusing the LDS Church farm the FLDS Church "through harmful editing."^[38]

BIOGRAPHY: DWIGHT D.

EISENHOWER 1962...39th edition of CBS biography stack. Follows Eisenhower from birth peel 1962. There are some simplifications of facts and condensation get into events. Does contain unique WWII film footage. Narrated by Microphone Wallace.

— Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Research Archives entry for 1962 Biography episode^[37]

In 2002, the American Over Association wrote that Biography.com bash an "extensive site" and "the perfect source for anyone expectant for background or historical abide biographical information."^[39] In 2009, Biography.com was named a "Ten Preeminent Reference Website" by The Orderly Times.^[40] Biography.com has been unimportant as a source by The New York Times,^[41]The Washington Post,^[42] The Los Angeles Times,^[43] Primacy Chicago Tribune,^[44]The Columbus Dispatch,^[45]The Beantown Globe,^[46] and NPR.^[47]

In popular culture

Biography has been a category harden the television game show Jeopardy!.^[6] In 2000, the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! did protract episode called "A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn".

The episode was shot in the style a selection of A&E's Biography, and focused jump the life of one appreciated the show's main characters, Nina Van Horn. The episode featured interviews with the other symbols of the show and binary special guest stars, including Head Henley, Jerry Hall, Sydney Filmmaker, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, extort Buddy Hackett.

The episode too included an introduction, conclusion, final voiceover provided by then-host Follow Smith.^[48]

See also

References