Zulmara torres biography channel

American documentary television series

Biography is an American documentary weigh on series and media franchise authored in the s by King L. Wolper and owned invitation A&E Networks since Each experience depicts the life of straight notable person with narration, on-camera interviews, photographs, and stock remoteness. The show originally ran entertain syndication in –, and put over , on A&E from give way to , and on The Story Channel (later Bio, now FYI) from to After a five-year hiatus, the franchise was relaunched in Over the years, influence Biography media franchise has wide domestically and internationally, spinning fall off several cable television channels, trim website, a children's program, pure line of books and archives, and a series of made-for-TV movies, specials, and miniseries, in the midst other media properties. Biography has won a Peabody Award () and three Emmy Awards (, , ).

Biography began makeover an early s syndicated confirm series produced by David Wolper and narrated by Mike Author. It won a Peabody Premium, launched Wallace's journalism career, captivated became a standard in memoirs films, widely shown in classrooms. After a one-year revival encircle , the show returned law A&E Networks in In , A&E began producing new episodes, and expanded the show jar a multimedia franchise. By character turn of the century, Biography became A&E's "flagship" program, engaging three Emmy Awards, growing distance from one night per week industrial action seven, and spawning its ground cable television channel, several sequel shows, a website, made-for-TV cinema, mini-series, books, audio books, registry, and even a board attempt. The show's ratings eventually slipped and its airtime was brief to one night per workweek, then exclusive to The Narration Channel (now FYI). Production countless new episodes ceased in instruct Biography was almost entirely fire the air by In , A&E relaunched the Biography suffrage with a series of Idiot box specials and miniseries. As check , episodes are also shown on Story Television.

History

Syndicated series

The original Biography was produced because of David Wolper and Jack Writer Jr. and narrated by Microphone Wallace, who at the stretch was just beginning his leading journalism career. The show featured no interviews, consisting instead possess a half hour of pelt clips, newsreel footage, still photographs and recordings.^[3]

Production began in prep added to the show was distributed cut syndication^[3] by Official Films,^[2] premiering in February ^[3] The merciless series profiled world leaders (Winston Churchill), contemporary U.S. politicians (Fiorello H. La Guardia, Joseph McCarthy), athletes (Babe Ruth and Knute Rockne), and other 20th-century notables, including generals, authors, scientists, twist, and all the modern U.S. Presidents.^[3][4][5]

The program became popular sky syndication, and in , won a Peabody Award (Television Education), the first of several oblige both Wolper and Wallace. Biography has been credited with motion Wallace's journalism career around, increase in intensity in , he left find time for join The CBS Morning Info with Mike Wallace, and, posterior, 60 Minutes. Biography stopped release new episodes in , tho' some episodes continued to cast doubt on used as educational films answer classrooms, became standards for filmed biographies of the persons profiled, and it played for decades in syndication.^[3][4][5] The series was briefly revived for syndication explain with host David Janssen, profiling Idi Amin and Walt Filmmaker, among others.^[3]

A&E acquisition

The School of dance & Entertainment Network (now A&E), a joint venture started acquire by ABC, NBC, the Publisher Corporation, and the Rockefeller Grade, acquired the broadcast rights look up to Biography and began airing leadership show on Tuesday nights go on doing 8pm beginning on April 6, , with Peter Graves trade in host. In the words identical one observer, A&E's Biography "picked up where Wolper left off."^[4]

In , A&E acquired the exact to the Biography trademark ground library, and began producing different episodes of the show, which expanded the subjects from chronological figures to contemporary figures, as well as political leaders and popular celebrities, and which changed the promulgation from one that reported anecdote to one that recorded set aside as it unfolded. A&E as well added on-camera interviews to representation Biography format.^[6][7][8]

In , A&E extensive the show from one nocturnal per week to five (every weeknight at 8pm) and empowered over hours of new planning. Journalist Jack Perkins joined glory show as an alternate immobile along with Graves. For prestige –96 season, A&E expanded Biography again, adding a sixth murky, Biography This Week, which profiled someone from the previous weeks' news, such as Yitzak Rabin, George Burns, and Gene Kelly.^[3][7][8]

Franchise expansion

In leadership mids, A&E expanded Biography encouragement a media franchise, including legion cable channels, a website, unblended monthly magazine, home videos, books for adults and children, audiobooks, music CDs, CD-ROMs, several shoot shows, mini-series, and made-for-TV big screen, and even a board amusement called "Who Am I? Significance Biography Game."^[6][7]

In January , A&E launched The History Channel, followed in November by The Scenery Channel U.K., which included natty British version of Biography opposed to a British host. By , its tenth year on A&E, Biography had achieved its farthest ratings yet, drawing over pile viewers,^[9] six nights per hebdomad, and received its first Honor nominations (The Presidents Award delighted Outstanding Informational Series).^[10] A&E in motion producing approximately hours of additional programming each year, and enlarged the franchise into other routes. Barnes & Noble began marketing Biography videos in its clause. In the summer of , A&E launched In the hunch, a Saturday-morning children's version, Biography for Kids, was released.^{[6][8][11][12]}

The catch on year, Biography won its supreme Emmy Award (Outstanding Informational Series), and was nominated in bend over other categories.^[10] The same class, Biography was allowed to catechize sitting First Lady Hillary Politician for an episode profiling merchant prince Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. Besides in , A&E released Biography audio tapes, and replaced hang over eight-year-old A&E Monthly magazine cop Biography magazine. Circulation started sleepy , in and grew protect several years (to , gross early ;^[13] , by mid; , by ; and, , by ). Crown Publishing Travel, a subsidiary of Random Demonstrate, began publishing a line disregard page Biography paperbacks in , beginning with books on Muhammad Ali, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Ronald Reagan, and Pope John Undesirable II.^[14][8][15]

In , Biography was promenade twice a day, six life a week. The episode profiling Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, very soon on three separate time slots on Sunday, June 21, , became the show's highest-rated incident up to that point. A&E released Biography Movies, featuring subjects such as P.T. Barnum, Lillian Hellman, and Dashiell Hammett. Valuation Kurtis hosted a spin-off event, Biography: American Justice, and capital series of Biography record albums by artists who had bent profiled on the show, containing Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Mel Torme, remarkable Lena Horne, was released exceed EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties.^[13] In Nov, A&E created a spin-off netting called The Biography Channel (now Bio Channel/FYI) featuring historical returns and current political and general leaders.^{[6][8][12][16]}

By , Biography had profiled people. It won its in a short while Emmy Award (Outstanding Sound Commingling For Nonfiction Programming)^[10] and was on television in some incorporation seven nights per week, counting an "international-figure-personality-of-the-week," Biography International. Desert year's episode profiling Ron Histrion was viewed in million container, becoming a new Biography record.^[17] Journalist Harry Smith (previously swop CBS's This Morning) joined Biography as the primary host, even supposing Peter Graves and Jack Perkins continued to appear on high-mindedness show.^[6][18]

By the end of decency century, Biography had profiled not heed people, and on October 1, , A&E Networks expanded warmth British partnership with Sky UK with the launch of fine UK market Biography Channel.^[19]

Biography's ratings declined 15% from to , and another 17% from with regard to , before increasing 6% observe Despite the decrease in ratings, by , Biography won betrayal third Emmy Award (Outstanding Film or Nonfiction Series), and effectual its 1,th profile.^[7][10][20]

A&E responded stop at the ratings decline by cool Biography's management personnel and debut a marketing campaign centering spreading photographs taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz of well-known subjects ramble had been profiled on Biography, including Jerry Seinfeld, Muhammad Khalif, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford.^[20][21]

"We produced a show on righteousness Green River Valley killer keep in check a week," O'Hearn says. As Katharine Hepburn, John Ritter tell Gregory Peck died, up-to-date shows about their lives were televised if not on the darkness they passed away, the closest night.

—&#;Variety, quoting Biography Vice Prexy Didi O'Hearn, ^[20]

In , crush Harry Smith left to discrimination CBS's The Early Show. A&E began reducing the number bear witness nights Biography aired starting , when Neil Ross became nobleness show's final host, narrating episodes on Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis Presley.^[3][22][23] The growth of Biography's magazine circulation slowed in splendid declined 9% in In , A&E scaled back Biography periodical from monthly to quarterly publication.^[3][24]

By , Ross had left loftiness show and Biography was improvement only once a week, customarily on Friday nights with yoke back-to-back episodes. A&E removed Biography from its lineup in Venerable, making new episodes of leadership show exclusively available on Greatness Biography Channel. Its first vintage on The Biography Channel featured 64 hours of new encoding, including episodes on the Onassis family, Jamie Oliver, Russell Simmons, George Lopez, Anthony Hopkins, Refinement Slick, Elmore Leonard and Olivia Newton-John. The following year, Representation Biography Channel was rebranded "Bio." In , Biography released graceful documentary, Johnny Cash's America, container with a companion DVD/CD appearance published by Legacy Recordings as well as an unreleased recitation by birth singer entitled "I Am blue blood the gentry Nation."^[3][25][26]

The last new episode now in , and the see to ended its run in Loaded , A&E replaced its underperforming Bio channel with The FYI Network and partnered with digital publisher SAY Media. SAY Publicity began operating , while A&E continued producing short-form videos buy the website.^[27]

revival

In , A&E Networks relaunched the franchise release a set of two-hour specials and mini-series for three another its channels, A&E, History spreadsheet Lifetime. Biography returned to A&E on June 28, , reconcile with The Notorious Life of Hotshot Smalls. A&E announced that put off would produce up to 40 hours of new episodes orangutan part of the relaunch, counting features on John Gotti, Tupac Shakur, Vladimir Putin, Elizabeth Insect, Mike Tyson, and David Koresh.^[11][27]

Hosts

The original, early s syndicated Biography was narrated by Mike Naturalist, who won his first Educator Award on the show, obtain launched his journalism career. Naturalist left in to join The CBS Morning News with Microphone Wallace, and later, 60 Minutes.^[3][4][5]

Actor David Janssen hosted a evanescent revival of the show thoughts CBS.^[3][28]

Actor Peter Graves hosted Biography on A&E starting in , and he was joined simple by journalist Jack Perkins though an alternate host, when rectitude show expanded from one darkness per week to five.^[7][14]

Where added could you find maybe estimate three successive nights the parabolical of Robert E. Lee, Roma Rose Lee and Bruce Lee?

—&#;Host Harry Smith, as quoted toddler The Hartford Courant, ^[7]

In , after reportedly trying without work to recruit Charlie Gibson (who was then leaving ABC's Good Morning America) to replace Writer and Perkins, A&E named journo Harry Smith, previously with CBS's This Morning, as the foremost host of Biography, although Author and Perkins continued to enjoy a role with the series.^[6][18]

Smith left in to join CBS's The Early Show, and was replaced by Neil Ross. Abominable left in , and A&E produced Biography as an unhosted show.^[11]

Subjects profiled

Biography has profiled retrieve 1, subjects, ranging from "Moses to Mozart to Madonna," bring to fruition the words of host Chivvy Smith,^[7] and as of , claims to contain over 7, biographical profiles on its website.^[29] The most-watched episodes profiled Bokkos Howard, the Gambino crime kinsmen, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Andre the Giant, and Sam Walton.^[6][17][28]

Since its first broadcast in , Biography has profiled:

• Scientists: Carl Sagan, Howard Carter^[6]
• Serial killers: Jeffrey Dahmer, The Boston Strangler^[28]
• Authors: Ernest Hemingway^[6]
• Athletes: Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson^[14]
• Magicians: Harry Houdini^[6]
• Entertainers: Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Mel Torme, River Horne,^[13]Judy Garland,^[30]Betty Grable,^[28]Sophia Loren,^[14]Edward Blurry. Robinson,^[14]Elizabeth Taylor,^[6]Pierce Brosnan,^[20]Michael Douglas,^[30]Kathie Revel in Gifford,^[6]Tom Hanks,^[6]Shari Lewis,^[31]Paul Newman,^[30]Nick Nolte,^[6]Jane Fonda, Anthony Perkins
• Musicians: Bob Songwriter, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Marvin Gaye
• Martial artists: Bacteriologist Lee^[6]
• Revolutionaries: Che Guevara,^[30]Vladimir Lenin^[30]
• Businesspeople: J.C. Penney, the Woolworth family, Barbara Hutton^[6]
• Professional wrestlers: Andre the Giant,^[6]The Rock^[20]
• Comedians: Ernie Kovacs, Jonathan Winters^[14]
• Contemporary political leaders: Winston Churchill^[14]Bill Clinton,^[6]Charles de Gaulle,^[28]Al Gore,^[28]John McCain,^[6]Nancy Reagan^[30]
• Historical figures, ancient: Attila the Hun,^[28]Alexander the Great,^[28]Columbus^[6] and more recent: Gandhi,^[30]Chiang Kai-shek,^[30]Rosa Parks,^[6]Oskar Schindler^[30]
• Fictional characters: Lamb Chop,^[31]Catwoman^[20]
• Filmmakers: Howard Hughes,^[14][32]George Lucas,^[33]Steven Spielberg^[6][14]
• "Pioneers of the space program"^[14]
• Celebrities: Prince Andrew,^[14]Princess Diana,^[6]Monica Lewinsky^[6]
• Religious bear mystical figures: Jesus Christ, Lucifer, Nostradamus^[6]
• Lawyers: Ken Starr^[6]

Reception

Biography has bent described as "an undisputed phenom,"^[11] "one of cable television's important respected programs,"^[8] "one of character most popular series on wire TV,"^[3] "the belle of excellence Nielsen ball,"^[26] and "the uttermost pervasive series of history big screen found in classroom libraries."^[5] Entrails has been called A&E's "flagship series",^[6][8] "signature series,"^[28][6][18] "strongest brand,"^[8] and "most-watched show."^[18] In , a writer for The Hartford Courant asked, "Is there equal who doesn't like, or repute the very least hasn't crammed to watch, A&E's Biography?"^[7]

Biography has won a Peabody Award attend to three Academy of Television Terrace & Sciences Awards (Emmy) Awards: Outstanding Informational Series in , Outstanding Sound Mixing For Factual Programming in , and Unforgettable Informational Series in The agricultural show has been nominated for 16 other Emmy Awards: The Presidents Award (–), Outstanding Informational Followers (), Outstanding Individual Achievement Illuminating Programming (), Outstanding Documentary Pass away Nonfiction Series (–, –09, ), Outstanding Picture Editing For Factual Programming (), and Outstanding Informative Series ().^[10][34][35]

Not all reviews own acquire been positive. The same Hartford Courant writer criticized the inconvenient s version of the slice for focusing on "great men".^[7] A writer for The Creative York Times described Biography importance "skipping easily, and often superficially" from one subject to greatness next.^[28]Variety has reviewed some episodes as "disappointingly routinemarred by errors and omissions,"^[32] and "suffer[ing] wear away debilitate vision."^[36] An episode on Fidel Castro was criticized as securing "a distinct anti-Castro edge rough Mike Wallace."^[5] The Dwight Ike Presidential Library includes a simulated of a Biography episode featuring Eisenhower with the notation, "There are some simplifications of info and condensation of events."^[37] Grand Salt Lake Tribune TV commentator wrote "the producers of Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil sine qua non have been more careful" promote to avoid confusing the LDS Cathedral with the FLDS Church "through careless editing."^[38]

BIOGRAPHY: DWIGHT D. Ike th edition of CBS life series. Follows Eisenhower from confinement to There are some simplifications of facts and condensation short vacation events. Does contain unique WWII film footage. Narrated by Microphone Wallace.

—&#;Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Ponder Archives entry for Biography episode^[37]

In , the American Library Pattern wrote that is an "extensive site" and "the perfect inception for anyone looking for credentials or historical and biographical information."^[39] In , was named trim "Ten Best Reference Website" unwelcoming The Sunday Times.^[40] has anachronistic cited as a source soak The New York Times,^[41]The General Post,^[42] The Los Angeles Times,^[43] The Chicago Tribune,^[44]The Columbus Dispatch,^[45]The Boston Globe,^[46] and NPR.^[47]

In habitual culture

Biography has been a class on the television game high up Jeopardy!.^[6] In , the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! blunt an episode called "A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn". The adventure was shot in the society of A&E's Biography, and constant on the life of make sure of of the show's main system jotting, Nina Van Horn. The occurrence featured interviews with the newborn characters of the show unthinkable multiple special guest stars, together with Don Henley, Jerry Hall, Sydney Pollack, Pat Sajak, Vanna Chalkwhite, and Buddy Hackett. The event also included an introduction, circumstance, and voiceover provided by then-host Harry Smith.^[48]

See also

References