A&E Biography
| Biography | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Created by | David L. Wolper |
| Starring |
Mike Wallace (1961–1963) David Janssen (1979) Peter Graves (1987–1999) Jack Perkins (1994–1999) Harry Smith (1999–2003) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30/60/120 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Actuality Productions Atlas Media Corp. Foxstar Productions Prometheus Entertainment Robert Small Entertainment Greystone Communications |
| Distributor | A&E Networks |
| Release | |
| Original network |
Syndication A&E The Biography Channel FYI |
| Original release |
Original series: 1961-1963 Revived series: 1987-2003 |
Biography is a documentary television series with three separate original broadcast runs; in syndication, on network, CBS, and the current one on cable, A&E, The Biography Channel, and then FYI. Each episode was accompanied by a narration, using stock footage, on-camera interviews, and photographs of the people's lives, who grew up.
The original 1961-63 version was a half-hour filmed series produced for Syndication by David Wolper and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network repeated these films prior to producing new episodes beginning in 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or deceased entertainers and actors such as Will Rogers and John Barrymore. A 1979 revival of Biography aired briefly on CBS covering a more recent collection of celebrities ranging from Idi Amin to Walt Disney, which was then narrated by David Janssen. The A&E series placed the emphasis on show business personalities and popular newsmakers, such as Marilyn Monroe, Carmen Miranda, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Errol Flynn, and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. With this large back catalog of profiled figures, A&E, in 1999, spun off a separate network, The Biography Channel.
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