American Masters

History Series / 15 Seasons

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

Watch Latest: S39 E3

1h 36m / TV-MA

The role of women entertainers in the civil rights movement

1m 8s

Historian Ruth Feldstein, author of “How It Feels To Be Free,” talks about the important role that entertainers, and women entertainers in particular, had in the civil rights movement. This clip is an interview outtake from the American Masters film of the same name.

Lena Waithe on mixed feelings towards Blaxploitation

1m 59s

Despite the mixed feelings that many Black people have towards the genre of film, producer, actor and writer Lena Waithe says that "if Blaxploitation gives us Pam Grier I'll take it any day."

Why Cicely Tyson was selective about her acting roles

43s

Cicely Tyson's support for civil rights came through her portrayals of Black womanhood in her film roles. As a result, she was selective in the kind of work she took on and describes here how roles that appealed to her didn't come very often.

Lena Waithe on why Cicely Tyson's hair was revolutionary

1m 58s

Writer, producer, and actor Lena Waithe explains why the hair of Black women can be revolutionary, and how Cicely Tyson's decision to wear hers naturally was an inspiration to many other Black women.

How It Feels To Be Free documentary

30s

The inspiring story of how six iconic African American female entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.

How the logs of the "Little House" cabin were stolen

2m 8s

The famous little house on the prairie was built by Charles Ingalls on land he very likely knew belonged to the Osage Indians, according to Laura Ingalls Wilder biographer Caroline Fraser. The logs he used to build the house and the land were stolen.

The word that Laura refused to say in her wedding vows

3m 35s

Laura's charming courtship with Almanzo Wilder culminated in a wedding ceremony in which Laura refused to say the word "obey" because she didn't want to make a promise she couldn't keep. At this time in her life, she also demonstrated a very early talent for writing that would get noticed by her teacher.

Disaster was looming when the Ingalls moved to Minnesota

2m 14s

In 1874, the Ingalls family moved to Plum Creek in Minnesota. They built what was likely the nicest house they’d ever lived in, the weather was perfect and they expected a perfect crop that would pay off their debts. Then disaster struck with the arrival of the Rocky Mountain locust invasion of 1875.

Roxane Gay and others on racist “Little House” depictions

2m 23s

In this clip from American Masters — Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page, Roxane Gay, Louise Erdrich, Pamela Smith Hill, Linda Sue Park and others discuss Wilder’s racist depictions of American Indian and Black people in the “Little House” book series.

Until she was an author, money was a struggle for Wilder

2m 20s

Laura and Almanzo Wilder had a fresh start with 40 acres on Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri, a place that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in for 62 years. But until she became a best-selling author, life was a constant struggle to make ends meet for Wilder. She and her husband, Almanzo always had second or even third jobs.

The secret mother-daughter collaboration on “Little House”

4m 6s

Recent scholarship has shed light on the secret collaboration between Widler and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane on the “Little House” series. Rose encouraged her mother to write the books worked closely with her on the crafting and initial editing of the stories. Though Rose denied any involvement with the books, a series of letters between the two collaborators reveals much more.

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page trailer

3m 26s

An unvarnished look at the unlikely author whose autobiographical fiction helped shape American ideas of the frontier and self-reliance. A Midwestern farm woman who published her first novel at age 65, Laura Ingalls Wilder transformed her frontier childhood into the best-selling “Little House” series.

The letter from NY that changed Laura Ingalls Wilder's life

1m 49s

At age 64, Wilder received unexpected news from a New York editor: She was on her way to becoming a children’s author. The manuscript she had mailed had eventually turned into “Little House in the Big Woods.” Wilder said that upon the book’s success and reading all the letters she received from children around the country she began to think “what a wonderful childhood I had had.”

"Little House" TV stars Alison Arngrim and Dean Butler

2m 58s

Two stars of the “Little House” TV series, Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) and Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder), talk about the international impact of the show, including how it was a favorite of both Ronald Reagan and the Ayatollah of Iran!

Stream never-before-seen interviews from our 34-year archive

54s

American Masters has been on the air since 1986. But just a fraction of the interviews filmed for American Masters appear in the final films; nearly 96% of the footage never gets released. Now, the American Masters digital archive makes this makes this rich catalog of interviews available to the public.

Keith Haring: Street Art Boy trailer

2m 16s

Explore the definitive story of international art sensation Keith Haring who blazed a trail through the art scene of ‘80s New York and revolutionized the worlds of pop culture and fine art. The film features previously unheard interviews with Haring.

Meet Keith Haring's art dealer, famous for defacing Picasso

2m 48s

Once Keith Haring's work started to create a buzz in the art world, he needed to find an art dealer to help him. He chose Tony Shafrazi, a big personality who was infamous for defacing Picasso's "Guernica" at the Museum of Modern Art. "He believed in protest against war and was committed enough to stand up to what he knew would be incredible attacks from the art world. I respected that."

Michael Tilson Thomas Documentary Trailer

1m 11s

Explore the life and career of the Grammy-winning conductor, pianist and composer. A National Medal of Arts recipient and longtime Grammy-winning music director of the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas helped set the standard that an American orchestra should champion modern music.

Michael Tilson Thomas on what he learned from James Brown

2m 17s

Michael Tilson Thomas talks about the James Brown song that caused him to pull the car over as a teenager in Los Angeles and how he uses that song to this day when training young conductors.

The toy behind Michael Tilson Thomas's love of dissonance

1m 59s

Meet Toodles, the toy behind Michael Tilson Thomas's love of dissonant music. The Grammy-winning conductor, pianist and composer helped set the standard that an American orchestra should champion modern American music. "American Masters—Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is" premieres nationwide Friday, October 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS.

Supported by