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.

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Tanaquil Le Clercq: Afternoon of a Faun - Trailer

2m 21s

Tanaquil Le Clercq (1929–2000) was a mesmerizing ballerina with the New York City Ballet who greatly influenced choreographers George Balanchine (her husband) and Jerome Robbins (her friend). Filmmaker Nancy Buirski spotlights Le Clercq’s ballet career, influence on dance, and her struggle with polio, which paralyzed her at the height of her fame. The film premieres June 20 at 10 pm on PBS.

George Plimpton: Making a Success out of Failure

3m 11s / TV-PG

Writer and journalist George Plimpton (1927–2003) did not show much early promise when he flunked out of the college preparatory school Exeter (Phillips Exeter Academy), where his family held an esteemed reputation. In a film excerpt, Plimpton's son reads his father's essay: "How Failing at Exeter Made a Success of George Plimpton.” Tune in to PBS on Friday, May 16 at 9 pm for the full film.

Plimpton Gives Writer Jay McInerney His Debut

2m 17s / TV-PG

Author Jay McInerney says that George Plimpton "liked to tell people that he had saved me from becoming a pharmacist." It was Plimpton who published McInerney's first story ever in "The Paris Review" in 1982, which formed the basis for the iconic novel, "Bright Lights, Big City." This is a web exclusive outtake from "Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself," airing May 16 at 9 pm on PBS.

Ric Burns on George Plimpton's Death

2m 10s / TV-PG

"It was like a light on top of the Empire State Building went out when he died," says filmmaker Ric Burns about Plimpton's death in 2003. "You felt like he couldn't die. His indescribably handsome, boyish quality kept on giving the older he got. His eternally adolescent, prep school energy promised to keep on going." A web exclusive outtake from "Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself."

George Plimpton at the Helm of The Paris Review

2m 38s / TV-14

George Plimpton was famous for shaping one of the country's most prestigious literary magazines, all while keeping it fun. He encouraged his young staff and created an informal community with plenty of apartment parties and sports activities. Robert Silvers of The New York Review of Books calls Plimpton "a ringmaster of a little circus."

Robert F. Kennedy: Friend and Admirer of George Plimpton

1m 55s

In this film excerpt, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recalls his father's admiration for Plimpton. "My father admired George for his courage, he had a curiosity about life and I think that’s the thing that probably attracted my father the most to him," says Kennedy, Jr. "Like my father, he saw life as a great adventure." Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself airs May 16, 2014 at 9 pm on PBS.

Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself - Trailer

2m 8s

Co-founder of The Paris Review, George Plimpton (1927–2003) was a fascinated and fascinating journalist who lived fully, strangely and incredibly. With George Plimpton’s own narration, the film includes extensive archival footage of his sport stunts and participatory journalism gigs, and interviews with friends, family and contemporaries. Premieres nationally Friday, May 16, 9-10:30 p.m. on PBS.

Peter Matthiessen Interview About The Paris Review

1m 28s / TV-PG

Writer Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) co-founded the prestigious literary magazine The Paris Review in 1953, along with George Plimpton (whom Matthiessen grew up with and recruited) and Harold L. Humes. In an interview he gave for "Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself," Matthiessen fondly recollects the new writing and established authors featured in The Paris Review.

George Plimpton's Famous April Fool's Day Joke

3m 11s

For the April 1, 1985, issue of Sports Illustrated, George Plimpton profiled Sidd Finch, an incredible rookie baseball pitcher for The New York Mets. The story was too good to be true, and Plimpton asked his then personal assistant at The Paris Review, the now famous author Jonathan Dee, to keep the joke alive while Plimpton was traveling. Dee recalls the hoax in this web exclusive from Plimpton!

The Workers Who Saved the Amazon Rainforest

2m / TV-14

In the 1980s the fate of the Amazon rainforest turned on an unlikely environmental hero: Chico Mendes (1944 - 1988), a poor rubber tapper and union organizer in Brazil. As cattle ranching and logging threatened the rainforest with deforestation, Mendes formed a workers union that aligned itself with environmentalism. This excerpt is from American Masters: A Fierce Green Fire, premiering 4/22/14.

When the Sierra Club Saved the Grand Canyon

3m 17s

In the late 1960s, the Sierra Club's fight to save the Grand Canyon from dams was met by retaliation by the IRS. Between the Sierra Club's advertising campaign and the involvement of the IRS, public opinion was galvanized to protect the Grand Canyon. This video is an excerpt from American Masters: A Fierce Green Fire, premiering on PBS on Earth Day, April 22, 2014.

A Dangerous Whale Rescue Mission by Greenpeace

2m 48s / TV-14

Rex Wyler and Paul Watson, both among the co-founders of Greenpeace, describe the danger and tragedy of the first whale rescue mission they conducted in 1975, when Russian whale hunters were tracking a pod off the coast of California. This video with archival footage of the rescue mission is an excerpt from American Masters: A Fierce Green Fire, premiering on PBS on Earth Day, April 22, 2014.

Love Canal: Children and Toxic Waste

1m 3s / TV-PG

The neighborhood called Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York, was neither the first nor the worst toxic waste dump, but it became a national story in the late 1970s thanks to the organizing efforts of Lois Gibbs, who fought to protect Love Canal's children, including her own, from the 20,000 tons of toxic waste in the ground. An excerpt from "American Masters: Fierce Green Fire," airing April 22.

Women in the Environmental Movement

2m 13s

In this web exclusive video, learn why the Indian women of the Chipko Movement became known as tree huggers and what their defensive tactics were. The Kenyan environmental and political activist Wangari Maathai (1940 - 2011) founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 and was the first African women to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Watch "A Fierce Green Fire" on April 22, 2014, at 9 pm on PBS.

When Environmental Justice Meets Human Rights

1m 56s / TV-14

The environmental justice movement came from communities that historically bore the brunt of hosting waste sites in their backyards. When a predominantly black county in North Carolina protested a toxic waste landfill, it galvanized the nation to talk about environmental racism. This video with archival footage is an excerpt from American Masters: A Fierce Green Fire, airing April 22, 2014.

Are You an Environmentalist?

2m 12s / TV-14

"This is bigger than the Catholic Church," says Paul Hawken about people's concern about the earth and use of its resources. "There are literally two million organizations in the world that are working on these issues of social justice and the environment because they’re inseparable." Activist Robert Bullard thinks anyone who wants to consume clean resources is an environmentalist.

A Fierce Green Fire - Trailer

2m 30s / TV-14

American Masters: A Fierce Green Fire is the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement, spanning 50 years of activism. Chronicling the largest movement of the 20th century, the film tells vivid stories about people fighting – and succeeding – against the odds, from the Grand Canyon to Love Canal, from the oceans to the Amazon. A film by Academy Award-nominee Mark Kitchell.

Danny Glover on Alice Walker's Activism

55s / TV-14

In this film outtake, actor and activist Danny Glover speaks about Alice Walker's literary work in the context of her continuous activism, beginning with the Civil Rights Movement in the South, where she was born and raised.

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