American Masters

History Series / 16 Seasons

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

1h 23m / TV-14

Alice Walker Shines Light on Zora Neale Hurston

2m 29s / TV-14

Zora Neale Hurston's embrace of black culture and language was an inspiration to Alice Walker. "I realized that unless I came out with everything I had supporting her, there was every chance that she would slip back into obscurity," Walker says of the Harlem Renaissance writer and anthropologist.

Alice Walker: What's in a Name

55s / TV-14

Alice Walker's great-great-great-great-grandmother was a slave who journeyed on foot with two babies on her hips, from Virginia to Eatonton, Georgia, which is considered Walker's ancestral home. In memory of that walk, Walker chose to keep and embrace her maiden name, Walker.

Salinger - Trailer

2m 28s / TV-14

Shane Salerno’s 10-year investigation gets beyond the author's wall of seclusion. American Masters’ 200th episode is the never-before-seen director’s cut of "Salinger," featuring 15 minutes of new material. The intricately structured mystery reveals how World War II influenced his life, his writing methods, his relationships with young women, and literary secrets he left behind after his death.

Salinger - Preview

34s

Salinger — the American Masters series’ 200th episode — is the first work to get beyond "The Catcher in the Rye" author’s meticulously built wall: his childhood, painstaking work methods, marriages, private world and the secrets J.D. Salinger left behind after his death in 2010. The film interviewed 150 subjects, including Salinger’s friends, colleagues and members of his inner circle.

The Making of American Masters with Creator Susan Lacy

10m

Susan Lacy, the creator and executive producer of American Masters, talks about the concept behind the series and the making of several films, including those on Martin Scorsese, Paul Simon and Charlie Chaplain. See clips from these films as well as from films on Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Frank Gehry, Diego Rivera and more. This video is from the Pioneers of Thirteen series.

American Masters: 2000-2013 Highlights

3m 13s

A diverse array of talents have been presented by American Masters in the first two decades of the 21st century, among them Lucille Ball, I.M. Pei, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, photographer Edward S. Curtis, and Jimi Hendrix. On January 21, 2014, American Masters premieres its 200th episode: "Salinger," the director's cut, by Shane Salerno.

American Masters: 1990s Highlights

1m 12s

In the 1990s, American Masters turned the lens on those making images themselves: photographer Richard Avedon and filmmakers David Selznick and Alfred Hitchcock, whose collaborations include "Rebecca" and "Spellbound." The series also profiled the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. On January 21, 2014, American Masters premieres its 200th episode: "Salinger," by Shane Salerno.

American Masters: 1980s Highlights

2m 33s

Created and launched in 1986 by Executive Producer Susan Lacy, the American Masters series set the standard for documentary film profiles. Among its first films in the 1980s were "George Gershwin Remembered," "Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul," and "James Baldwin: The Price of a Ticket." On January 21, 2014, American Masters premieres its 200th episode: "Salinger," by Shane Salerno.

American Masters 2014 Season Trailer

33s

Premieres in 2014 include the director's cut of "Salinger," American Masters' 200th episode, the first film biography of writer and activist Alice Walker in "Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth," and "A Fierce Green Fire," the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement. Favorites returning this year are "LENNONYC" and "Johnny Carson: King of Late Night."

Concert Pianist vs. Pop Composer

2m 9s

Marvin Hamlisch was a child prodigy at the piano and was expected to become the next Vladimir Horowitz. But as Hamlisch explains, "at a very early age it became very clear that that would drive me crazy because every time I would go to the concert to play something I would get so nervous."

Writing "The Way We Were"

1m 20s

Hamlisch reveals what inspired the opening notes to "The Way We Were" and his collaborators, the lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman, describe the uncanny ability Hamlisch had in putting his thoughts to music.

"I Want to Be Cole Porter"

50s

Though classically trained, Marvin Hamlisch knew he was destined for something different from an early age. "I wanted to be like Cole Porter," Hamlisch explains. Though he did not want to become the next Vladimir Horowitz, he continued his classical studies at Juilliard so he could later apply the skills he learned to what he really wanted to do.

Pianist Kevin Cole Performs Marvin Medley

6m 48s

Pianist Kevin Cole arranged this melody of Marvin Hamlisch songs and performed them before a live audience in tribute to the great composer. The piano medley is made from three Hamlisch songs: "The Way We Were," "At the Ballet" and "What I Did for Love." Kevin Cole was a friend of Hamlisch's and is known as an interpreter of Gershwin.

Marvin Hamlisch, a Mensch

10m 4s

The great composer Marvin Hamlisch is a mensch, a Yiddish term for a person of integrity and honor. He offered his genuine concern, time, and problem-solving skills to everyone in his life from taxi drivers to Broadway cast members to those planning events for the president of the United States and heads of state.

Marvin Hamlisch: Genius at Work

7m 20s

Luminaries of music and entertainment speak to the genius of Marvin Hamlisch, who was a musical prodigy who entered Juilliard, the country's most prestigious conservatory, at the age of six. Attesting to Hamlisch's brilliance and versatility are childhood companions Leslie Uggams and Christopher Walker, and celebrated composers, conductors and musicians.

Marvin Hamlisch and The Yankees

1m 43s

Marvin Hamlisch received the gift of going to Yankee Fantasy Camp from his wife, Terre Blair Hamlisch. Former Yankees manager Joe Torre, a Broadway fan, talks about getting to meet the composer.

Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love - Preview

30s

Remember composer, conductor & PEGOT winner Marvin Hamlisch. With new interviews with family, Barbra Streisand, Steven Soderbergh, Quincy Jones, Christopher Walken, Sir Tim Rice, Joe Torre, Woody Allen, John Lithgow, Lucie Arnaz, Ann-Margret, and others.

Trailer: Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love

2m 35s

A musical prodigy accepted to Juilliard at age six, Marvin Hamlisch devoted his talents to musical theater and pop music composition. The composer and conductor earned four Grammys, four Emmys, three Oscars, three Golden Globes, a Tony Award, and a Pulitzer Prize. Barbra Streisand, Steven Soderbergh, Quincy Jones, Christopher Walken are among those who admire Hamlisch as a person and a musician.

Marvin's Parents

1m 34s

A look at composer Marvin Hamlisch's parents, professional accordionist Max Hamlisch and "helicopter mother" Lilly Hamlisch, told through family home movies and humorous accounts from his cousin, Paul Kushner.

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