American Masters

On February 21, 2006, Gloria Steinem spoke about Marilyn Monroe's lasting legacy, what she represented to women and men, and how the advent of the women's movement could have provided her the support she desperately needed. Interview conducted by Gail Levin, director of "American Masters—Marilyn Monroe: Still Life."

On March 7, 2000, Laura Linney discussed her time at the prestigious and notorious Juilliard and how it helped shape her as an actor. "I was just lucky that Juilliard accepted me because it was the right program for me. It's not right for everyone, but I was really, really lucky to get in." Interview conducted for "American Masters: Juilliard" (2003), directed by Maro Chermayeff.

On July 31, 1997, Patti Smith shared her thoughts on the 70s rock and roll scene and how Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground inspired her as a young girl in South Jersey. Interview conducted by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, director of "American Masters—Lou Reed: Rock And Roll Heart" (1998).

On February 8, 1996, Dionne Warwick discussed her musical influences and the impact that Lena Horne and others had on her career, in this clip from our digital archives. Interview conducted for "American Masters—Lena Horne: In Her Own Words" (1996), directed by Susan Lacy.

On May 29, 2007, comedian Betty White discussed the groundbreaking work of Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball. She delves into the history of women in comedy in this extended outtake originally conducted for "American Masters - Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character" (2007).

On June 28th, 2000, novelist Gloria Naylor spoke about the illusion of the American dream and the role it plays in Nella Larsen's "Passing." She discussed the motivations behind the characters of the critically acclaimed novel in this extended outtake from the American Masters Digital Archive. Interview originally conducted by Michael Epstein, director of Novel Reflections on The American Dream.

On August 6th, 2001, musician Herbie Hancock sat down with Michael Kantor, director of "American Masters — Quincy Jones: In The Pocket" (2001) and current executive producer for American Masters, to discuss the legendary producer's career and influence in the music industry.

This recipe for tomato toasts with olives is inspired by Pépin's time in Spain. "Many years ago, I was in Spain, in Barcelona, and I had those tomato toast ... which I love, so I have done my own variation of it."

Pépin teaches us his recipe for a hearty kale soup with garbanzo beans, tomatoes, and more. "I love soup and usually when I do soup, I do a bunch of it because I can freeze it and you know, re-heat it when I need it."

Pépin loves a cold soup in the summer, and this recipe for tomato-cucumber gazpacho puts good use to the less attractive cucumbers from his garden. He adds Tabasco sauce for some heat, and Greek yogurt for creaminess.

Pépin demonstrates two ways of making mussels. His recipe for moules marinière includes garlic, white wine, onions, seasonings and herbs. It becomes a moules poulette when it is finished with a bit of cream and starch for a slightly thickened sauce.

Pépin's clam fritters bring back fond memories of going clamming in the sea. His recipe includes garlic, jalapeño, and clam juice. "For a nice apéritif, clam fritters in my style."

Pépin's recipe for quiche Lorraine, which is from the northeast part of France, is inspired by his mother. He also has a method for making dough that doesn't need to rest. "It's just the way my mother used to do, the quiche Lorraine in the style of Lyon."

Pépin teaches us his recipe for beef carpaccio, which includes a thinly pounded filet of beef, garnished with scallions, olives and capers.

In this episode of "American Masters: At Home," Pépin teaches us how to make onion soup gratinée: "You can do an onion soup, just the onion sauteed with the chicken stock or beef stock, and serve it like this by itself, and that would be an onion soup. But when you add the words gratinée, it is done with a crust of bread and of course cheese."

Jacques Pépin shows us a simple but tasty Brussels sprouts recipe. He likes his Brussels sprouts sauteed and a little browned and crispy on the edges. "Crusty, very simple recipe and very delicious."

Pépin came up with his recipe for shrimp-stuffed portobello mushrooms when he was working in Paris in the 1950s. "I remember doing escargot, or the snail in French, and instead of putting them in the shell, we used to put them into individual mushrooms. We also put them in artichoke bottoms, so you could eat the whole thing." His recipe has breadcrumbs, garlic, butter and herbs.

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.

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.

Born into slavery, Swann was the first known person to identify as a “Queen of Drag” and the first known American activist to lead a queer resistance group.