American Masters

History Series / 11 Seasons

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

1h 51m / TV-14

Joseph Pulitzer's and the Brooklyn Bridge

2m 31s

When the Brooklyn Bridge opened, Pulitzer challenged the one-penny pedestrian toll in his paper with a four-column woodcut of the bridge on the front page of the World, and declared: “Let the Bridge Be Free / A Penny Is a Workman’s Lunch.”

The Spanish-American War and Yellow Journalism

1m 3s

Joseph Pulitzer fought for readership with his nemesis, William Randolph Hearst, in the mid-1890s. Both crossed the line into “yellow journalism” during the Spanish-American War.

Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People Preview

2m 14s

Discover the man behind the prizes. A journalist who became a media mogul with an outspoken, cantankerous editorial voice and best-selling newspapers, Joseph Pulitzer championed what he regarded as the sacred role of the free press in a democracy.

Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem on Holly Near

3m 12s

Directed by four-time Emmy Award-winner Jim Brown (American Masters — The Highwaymen: Friends Til The End, American Masters – Pete Seeger: The Power of Song), the documentary premieres nationwide Friday, March 1 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) in honor of Women’s History Month and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/americanmasters and PBS apps.

Holly Near on the story behind "Singing For Our Lives"

2m 49s

Holly Near shares the touching story behind her famous song "Singing For Our Lives" and explains how it turned into an anthem for the LGBTQ movement. The song was written after she heard news of the assassination of city supervisor Harvey Milk, a champion of homosexual rights.

Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives Trailer

1m 49s

An outspoken political activist and singer-songwriter, Holly Near’s music and life story illustrate how song can have the power to send a clarion call and influence the course of social justice – from the lesbian and women’s movements to anti-war efforts and the fight to give South American women a voice.

Charley Pride: I’m Just Me Trailer

1m 43s

Explore the complicated history of the American South and its music through the life of country star Charley Pride. Raised in segregated Mississippi, his journey shows the ways that artistic expression can triumph over prejudice and injustice.

Charley Pride: I’m Just Me Preview

33s

Explore the complicated history of the American South and its music through the life of country star Charley Pride. Raised in segregated Mississippi, his journey shows the ways that artistic expression can triumph over prejudice and injustice.

Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me Trailer

2m 36s

The first major film documentary to examine Sammy Davis, Jr.'s vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th century America.

Remembering Jonas Mekas

2m 47s

Jonas Mekas, the influential filmmaker and co-founder of Anthology Film Archives and the New York Film-Makers' Cooperative, talks to director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders for Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart (1998) about his 1960s loft space in New York where Andy Warhol learned about experimental filmmaking. Mekas recalls tying Warhol to his seat during a six-hour screening of Sleep, and describes the

James Watson on X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin

2m 36s

X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin’s work contributed to James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of DNA’s structure. Yet, Watson insulted Franklin and depicted her in a negative light in his bestselling book “The Double Helix.”

American Masters: Decoding Watson Trailer

2m 54s

Meet James Watson, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist behind the double helix as he confronts his complex legacy. With unprecedented access to Watson and his family, "American Masters: Decoding Watson" explores his life, achievements, controversies and contradictions.

DNA Discoveries Before Watson and Crick

3m

James Watson and Francis Crick discovered DNA’s structure in 1953, but other scientists paved the way for them. Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher isolated DNA in 1869, testing cell nuclei in pus. In 1944, Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty’s study of pneumonia bacteria provided definitive evidence that DNA was the molecule of heredity.

Demystifying DNA Structure

2m 18s

DNA is known as “the molecule of life.” But what exactly is DNA, and how does it work? Molecular biologist Andrea Morris and other experts explain the science behind the double helix and how it makes each of us genetically distinct.

Remembering Stan Lee

7m 17s

In interviews with American Masters Executive Producer Michael Kantor for Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, comic book legend Stan Lee and others discuss Lee’s influential work at Marvel Comics, co-creating “The Fantastic Four,” “The Incredible Hulk,” Spider-Man and more.

Remembering Paula Wayne

3m 9s

Paula Wayne starred alongside Sammy Davis, Jr., in the groundbreaking Broadway musical “Golden Boy” about a black boxer who falls for his manager's white girlfriend – they shared the first interracial kiss on a Broadway stage.

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