American Masters

History Series / 13 Seasons

American Masters, committed to producing comprehensive film biographies about the broad cast of characters who comprise our cultural history.

1h 23m / TV-14

In Memoriam: Actress Zoe Caldwell

1m 53s

Four-time Tony Award-winner Zoe Caldwell (“Slapstick Tragedy,” “Medea,” “Master Class”) died this week at 86. In her memory, we present this video clip of her discussing the rigid class system in England, and how she playfully disrupted expectations at a party with a lighthearted song and dance. This exclusive interview outtake is taken from American Masters – Paul Robeson: Here I Stand (1999).

N. Scott Momaday: Words From a Bear

29s

Delve into the enigmatic life and mind of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and poet N. Scott Momaday, best known for “House Made of Dawn” and a formative voice of the Native American Renaissance in art and literature.

How N. Scott Momaday Connected with his Kiowa Ancestry

1m 16s

In this clip from American Masters — N. Scott Momaday: Words From a Bear, the writer discusses how riding his horse on the same plains as his ancestors opened up his imagination.

The First Native American to Win the Pulitzer

2m 43s

When N. Scott Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize for his book "House Made of Dawn," it was a victory for the entire Native American community. Hear Jeff Bridges, Joy Harjo, Robert Redford and James Earl Jones explain the importance of Momaday's writing.

Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb on Creating Abstract Art

1m 22s

When a New York Times art critic reviewed Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb's work, the artists responded with a letter that became a manifesto on abstract art. In it, they stressed being in favor of the "simple expression of the complex thought,” and for "the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal," among other points.

How Abstract Expressionism Changed American Art

1m 57s

In post World War II New York City, a new group of artists including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, & Clyfford Still started a movement known as Abstract Expressionism and took the art world by storm.

Why Mark Rothko Came to America

2m 42s

Born Marcus Rothkowitz in Dvinsk, Russia, on September 25, 1903, Rothko emigrated to Portland, Oregon, with his family at age 10. Learn more in this clip from American Masters —Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous.

Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous Preview

30s

Explore the life of the celebrated artist whose luminous color field paintings helped define the abstract expressionist movement, which shifted the art world epicenter from Paris to New York. Featuring original scenes with Alfred Molina.

Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage Preview

1m 1s

Explore a warm and revealing portrait of the charismatic, groundbreaking actor’s journey from his native Puerto Rico to the creative hotbed of 1960s New York City, to prominence on Broadway and in Hollywood. Filled with passion, determination and joy, Juliá’s brilliant and daring career was tragically cut short by his untimely death 25 years ago, at age 54.

Raúl Juliá and Meryl Streep Go Head-to-Head

3m

Two of the greatest actors of their generation unleash their powers in this clip from Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage that features rare, archival footage of Joseph Papp's 1978 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Taming of the Shrew. Raúl Juliá plays Petruchio, an equal match for Meryl Streep's Kate.

Rita Moreno & Edward James Olmos on the discrimination

2m 6s

Rubén Blades, Andy Garcia, and others discuss how Raúl Juliá overcame discrimination to make a name for himself as an actor — without losing his Puerto Rican accent or changing his name — helping to pave the way for Latinx actors today.

Inside Look | Raúl Juliá

2m 5s

Get an inside look at Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage from American Masters and VOCES. Explore a warm and revealing portrait of the charismatic, groundbreaking actor’s journey from his native Puerto Rico to the creative hotbed of 1960s New York City, to prominence on Broadway and in Hollywood.

Toni Morrison In Memoriam

26m 44s

American Masters mourns the loss of the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. Inspired to write because no one took a “little black girl” seriously, she published 11 acclaimed novels that illuminated the experiences of black America and inspired generations of writers.

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