American Masters

History Series / 14 Seasons

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

1h 23m / TV-14

Jacques Pépin Makes Fresh Corn Purée

4m 9s

Pépin shows us how to make one of his favorite dishes for the summer, a fresh corn purée. He demonstrates two ways of removing kernels from the cob, and simply sautes the purée with salt and pepper for a light and delicate dish.

Lights, Camera, Acción

24m 25s

Discover the candid perspectives of Latine actors, writers, producers, directors, and showrunners across generations as they dissect the ever-evolving issue of Latine representation in Hollywood. Featuring Edward James Olmos, John Leguizamo, Xolo Maridueña ("Cobra Kai"), and Julissa Calderon ("Gentefied"), Peter Murrieta ("Mr. Iglesias"), Marvin Lemus ("Gentefied") and more.

Crystal Labeija: The Queen Who Reinvented Ball Culture

5m 38s

A proud Black trans woman, a drag mother and, a pageant girl, Crystal LaBeija was the cause of an iconic moment in drag history that paved the way for house culture, voguing, Paris is Burning, and the TV series Pose.

Jean Malin: Queen of the Pansies

5m 57s

Jean Malin was one of the first openly gay performers in the Prohibition era during the "pansy craze" of the early 1930s. Malin stood six feet tall, weighed 200 pounds, and had a wavy crop of blonde hair to die for. Although he was effeminate and a female impersonator, he was known to put hecklers and homophobes in their place with his wit — and his fists!

Flawless Sabrina: Queer Icon and Star of 'The Queen'

6m 30s

She was an artist, activist, gay mother and mentor to hundreds of queer and gender non-conforming youth over the years and starred in the fabulous 1968 drag documentary "The Queen," about a drag competition that she organized. She was full of life advice for her many mentees, including her reminder that “normal is just a setting on a dryer.”

Joan Jett Blakk: The drag queen who ran for president

6m 13s

On her 35th birthday, Joan Jett Blakk, the drag persona of actor Terence Smith, ran for president in lipstick, heels and eyeshadow, continuing a long tradition of drag as political activism. Blakk had also run for mayors of Chicago and San Francisco. During these “campaigns,” Blakk advocated for policies that many politicians are still talking about today, including universal healthcare.

Jose Sarria: Legendary Drag Queen and Queer Activist

5m 52s

A legend of the San Francisco drag scene. Out and Latino, Sarria dedicated his life to fight for queer rights and even ran as the country's first known openly gay candidate for public office. An international drag charity that he helped found continues his legacy with legendary drag galas to this day.

Kitty O'Neil: The Fastest Woman in the World [Audio Description + ASL]

8m 55s

This version contains on-screen ASL interpretation and audio description. Kitty O’Neil (1946-2018) was a racecar driver, stunt legend, and daredevil. Known as “the fastest woman in the world,” O’Neil broke the land speed record in 1976, clocking an average of over 512 mph in a three-wheeled rocket car across Oregon’s Alvord Desert.

Kitty O'Neil: The Fastest Woman in the World

8m 55s

Kitty O’Neil (1946-2018) was a racecar driver, stunt legend, and daredevil. Known as “the fastest woman in the world,” O’Neil broke the land speed record in 1976, clocking an average of over 512 mph in a three-wheeled rocket car across Oregon’s Alvord Desert.

Gladys Bentley: Drag King of the Harlem Renaissance

5m 57s

A gender-bending, famed blues musician and drag king who was a part of the Harlem Renaissance. She performed with drag queens and openly loved women, until later in life when she was pressured to conform to 1950s social standards.

Julian Eltinge: Female Impersonator of the Vaudeville Era

4m 45s

In this new digital series, New York's sweetest drag diva Peppermint tells the story of pioneering American drag artists. In the process, she demonstrates how drag is a performance art form that has thrived in this country for generations, entertaining LGBTQ+ and general audiences alike, and providing the former with an important outlet of self-expression.

Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio: This Is the Way We Rise

12m 16s

Filmmaker Ciara Lacy documents Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, a Kanaka Maoli wahine poet, activist and academic, and her continued work towards justice for Hawaii’s native population.

Amyra León: Strange Grace

15m 18s

Filmmaker Malika Zouhali-Worrall provides a portrait of Amyra León, the musician, poet, author and activist who channels deeply personal experiences of pain and healing into raw, majestic, and often cathartic performances that celebrate love, Blackness and womanhood.

Maia Cruz Palileo: Becoming the Moon

11m 54s

Filmmaker Ligaiya Romero amplifies the life and work of Maia Cruz Palileo, the multi-disciplinary, Brooklyn-based artist who explores themes of migration and the permeable concept of home in their works, inspired by the oral history of their family’s arrival in the United States from the Philippines.

Vincent Valdez: The Beginning is Near

11m 1s

Filmmaker Ray Santisteban highlights the art of Vincent Valdez, the San Antonio, TX-born artist who emphasizes themes of social justice, memory, and ignored or under-examined historical narratives in his work.

Anik Khan: Street Level

13m 9s

Filmmaker Sofian Khan explores the music of Anik Khan, the Bangladesh-born, Queens, NY-raised hip-hop artist whose music sketches the immigrant experience with rare poetic flare and incisive depth, with a whole masala of influences at his fingertips.

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: The New Chief

11m 20s

Filmmakers Amitabh Joshi and Erik Spink spotlight Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, the Grammy-nominated, modern jazz musician from New Orleans who defies the expectations of jazz music while challenging how music is taught in universities nationwide.

Bunky Echo-Hawk: The Resistance

8m

Filmmaker Ben-Alex Dupris explores how the reality and resistance of Native Americans inspire the work of Pawnee artist Bunky Echo-Hawk, igniting discussions about environmentalism, Native rights, and numerous other current topics.

Damon Davis: Apologue for the Darkest Gods

11m 52s

Filmmaker Elissa Blount Moorhead provides a look into the art of award-winning, post-disciplinary artist Damon Davis, the St. Louis native whose work spans across illustration, painting, printmaking, music, film, and public art that explores the African American experience.

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