History

American Masters

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

Camille A. Brown: Giant Steps

15m 25s

Follow the 5-time Tony-nominated director and choreographer of Broadway’s Gypsy and Hell’s Kitchen as she elevates the possible with bold explorations of everyday movement, and African Diasporic dance. The film foregrounds Brown’s visionary talent from her Queens, New York neighborhood to the Broadway stage, television and movie screens, and schools around the world.

Episodes

  • Moving soon to WETA Passport

    Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse

    S39 E3 - 1h 36m

    Explore the work of cartoonist Art Spiegelman and the impact of his Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, about his parents’ survival of the Holocaust. A defender of free speech, Spiegelman has spoken out as book bans spread across the country.

  • LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story

    S39 E2 - 1h 42m

    Take an intimate look into the life of Liza Minnelli, best known for her Oscar-winning role in Cabaret. Following in the footsteps of her mother Judy Garland, Minnelli used her boundless raw talent to build her own legacy in showbiz.

  • The Disappearance of Miss Scott: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Disappearance of Miss Scott

    S39 E1 - 1h 23m

    Learn about jazz virtuoso and screen superstar Hazel Scott, the first Black American to have their own television show. An early civil rights pioneer, she faced down the Red Scare at the risk of losing her career and was a champion for equality. The film features interviews with Mickey Guyton, Tracie Thoms, Amanda Seales, and Sheryl Lee Ralph as the voice of Hazel Scott.

Extras + Features

  • Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse

    S39 E3 - 2m

    Explore the work of cartoonist Art Spiegelman and the impact of his Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus, about his parents’ survival of the Holocaust. A defender of free speech, Spiegelman has spoken out as book bans spread across the country.

  • Art Spiegelman wrote this comic about his family’s experiences on 9/11: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Art Spiegelman wrote this comic about his family’s experiences on 9/11

    S39 E3 - 1m 21s

    When the Spiegelman family witnessed the towers falling on 9/11, they noticed that the gray of the buildings fell first, leaving bright red beams hanging in the air that slowly disintegrated. Art Spiegelman later depicted this in his comic, “In the Shadow of No Towers.”

  • How Art Spiegelman got involved in the world of underground comix: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How Art Spiegelman got involved in the world of underground comix

    S39 E3 - 1m 40s

    Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” was featured in the comic book “Funny Aminals” in 1972, with a cover by Robert Crumb, one of Spiegelman’s comic heroes. Being part of “Funny Aminals” helped Spiegelman feel like he had established himself in the comics scene.

  • One of the most important pages of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    One of the most important pages of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”

    S39 E3 - 2m 6s

    In this segment of “Maus,” Art Spiegelman illustrated four Jewish victims hung by Nazis in Poland that Spiegelman’s parents knew. The page provides details about the victims as people, humanizing them and asking readers to slow down and acknowledge the horrors of the Holocaust.

  • Liza Minnelli on dealing with the press at an early age: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Liza Minnelli on dealing with the press at an early age

    S39 E2 - 1m 40s

    As the daughter of Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli, Liza Minnelli learned how to handle the press at a young age, which helped with the media attention that came after the successes of “Cabaret” and “Liza with a Z.”

  • LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story

    S39 E2 - 2m 14s

    Take an intimate look into the life of Liza Minnelli, best known for her Oscar-winning role in Cabaret. Following in the footsteps of her mother Judy Garland, Minnelli used her boundless raw talent to build her own legacy in showbiz.

  • What Liza Minnelli was like in her relationships: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What Liza Minnelli was like in her relationships

    S39 E2 - 2m 53s

    Friends described Liza Minnelli as going into her relationships with fervor and passion, even if they were only for a short period of time. “She throws herself into the relationship with the same passion that she throws herself into a song. But then just like in a song, you then go on to the next song.”

  • Liza Minnelli showcased her talents in “Liza with a Z”: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Liza Minnelli showcased her talents in “Liza with a Z”

    S39 E2 - 3m 20s

    Liza Minnelli made “Liza with a Z,” a concert film made for television, with producer Fred Ebb and choreographer Bob Fosse in 1972. The show highlighted both Liza’s personality and her performance capabilities. “What Fred Ebb did in collaboration with her is to take anything that was unpolished and awkward about Liza ... and either polish it or embrace the vulnerabilities.”

  • Liza Minnelli created her own family: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Liza Minnelli created her own family

    S39 E2 - 1m 52s

    Liza Minnelli struggled with fertility issues throughout her life and wasn’t able to have children of her own. However, she surrounded herself with close friends and became a godmother to several of her friends’ children, creating her own chosen family.

Schedule

  • Image
    American Masters: HOPPER: An American Love Story: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    HOPPER: An American Love Story

    Wednesday
    May 14

    1 Hour

    A look into artist Edward Hopper's work, life and relationships, including his early career as an illustrator and his critical and commercial acclaim.
  • Image
    American Masters: HOPPER: An American Love Story: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    HOPPER: An American Love Story

    Wednesday
    May 14

    1 Hour

    A look into artist Edward Hopper's work, life and relationships, including his early career as an illustrator and his critical and commercial acclaim.
  • Image
    American Masters: Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV

    Thursday
    May 15

    2 Hours

    The evolution of Korean artist Nam June Paik, the father of video art and coiner of the phrase "electronic superhighway."
  • Image
    American Masters: Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV

    Friday
    May 16

    2 Hours

    The evolution of Korean artist Nam June Paik, the father of video art and coiner of the phrase "electronic superhighway."
  • Image
    American Masters: HOPPER: An American Love Story: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    HOPPER: An American Love Story

    Friday
    May 16

    1 Hour

    A look into artist Edward Hopper's work, life and relationships, including his early career as an illustrator and his critical and commercial acclaim.
  • Image
    American Masters: Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes

    Friday
    May 16

    1 Hour

    Bebop pioneer and virtuoso composer Max Roach's far-reaching ambitions were inspired and challenged by the inequities of the society around him.
  • Image
    American Masters: Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV

    Sunday
    May 18

    2 Hours

    The evolution of Korean artist Nam June Paik, the father of video art and coiner of the phrase "electronic superhighway."
  • Image
    American Masters: HOPPER: An American Love Story: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    HOPPER: An American Love Story

    Sunday
    May 18

    1 Hour

    A look into artist Edward Hopper's work, life and relationships, including his early career as an illustrator and his critical and commercial acclaim.
  • Image
    American Masters: HOPPER: An American Love Story: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    HOPPER: An American Love Story

    Monday
    May 19

    1 Hour

    A look into artist Edward Hopper's work, life and relationships, including his early career as an illustrator and his critical and commercial acclaim.
  • Image
    American Masters: HOPPER: An American Love Story: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    HOPPER: An American Love Story

    Monday
    May 19

    1 Hour

    A look into artist Edward Hopper's work, life and relationships, including his early career as an illustrator and his critical and commercial acclaim.
  • Image
    American Masters: HOPPER: An American Love Story: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    HOPPER: An American Love Story

    Monday
    May 19

    1 Hour

    A look into artist Edward Hopper's work, life and relationships, including his early career as an illustrator and his critical and commercial acclaim.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Tuesday
    May 27

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Tuesday
    May 27

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Wednesday
    May 28

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Wednesday
    May 28

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.

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