History

American Masters

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

Becoming Yamazushi

14m 8s

In 1986, a small Japanese restaurant opened its doors and became the first of its kind in Durham, North Carolina. Years later, Yamazushi, operated by George and Mayumi Yamazawa, transformed into an experience that many would say is the first of its kind in the American South. Hip hop artist G Yamazawa reveals the essence of his family’s story and the art of being unapologetically authentic.

Episodes

  • Becoming Helen Keller (Extended Audio Description Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Becoming Helen Keller (Extended Audio Description Version)

    S35 E12 - 1h 36m

    Revisit the complex life and legacy of the author, advocate and human rights pioneer. Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, used her celebrity and wit to champion rights for women, people with disabilities and people living in poverty.

  • Becoming Helen Keller: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Becoming Helen Keller

    S35 E11 - 1h 22m

    Revisit the complex life and legacy of the author, advocate and human rights pioneer. Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, used her celebrity and wit to champion rights for women, people with disabilities and people living in poverty.

  • Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It

    S35 E10 - 1h 28m

    Discover how Moreno defied her humble upbringing and racism to become one of a select group of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winners. Explore her 70-year career with new interviews, clips of her iconic roles and scenes of the star on set today.

  • Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away

    S35 E9 - 1h 22m

    Dive into the career of the legendary blues guitarist, a pioneer of Chicago’s West Side sound and major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Featuring new performances and interviews with John Mayer, Carlos Santana and more.

  • Ballerina Boys: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ballerina Boys

    S35 E8 - 53m 26s

    Discover Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (The Trocks), an all-male company that for 45 years has offered audiences their passion for ballet classics mixed with exuberant comedy. With every step they poke fun at their strictly gendered art form.

  • Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir

    S35 E7 - 1h 39m

    The story of the author whose first novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” was published to great commercial and critical success. With the blockbuster film adaption that followed as well as additional best-selling novels, librettos, short stories and memoirs, Tan firmly established herself as one of the most prominent and respected American literary voices working today.

  • Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (Audio Descriptive Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (Audio Descriptive Version)

    S35 E6 - 1h 49m

    Explore the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller, as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact.

  • Oliver Sacks: His Own Life: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Oliver Sacks: His Own Life

    S35 E5 - 1h 49m

    Explore the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller, as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact.

  • Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story

    S35 E4 - 1h 23m

    After more than 30 years as the colorful bandleader of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, master trumpeter Doc Severinsen continues to defy nature well into his 90s with a grueling schedule of touring, performing and teaching. Trace the life and groundbreaking career of the unstoppable musical icon, revealing his personal trials and underscoring a remarkable journey of inspiration.

  • Twyla Moves: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Twyla Moves

    S35 E3 - 1h 22m

    Explore legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp’s career and famously rigorous creative process, with original interviews, first-hand glimpses of her at work and rare archival footage of select performances from her more than 160 choreographed works.

  • How It Feels To Be Free: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How It Feels To Be Free

    S35 E1 - 1h 53m

    A documentary that tells the inspiring story of how six iconic African American women entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.

Extras + Features

  • Behind the Scenes | Rita Moreno: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Behind the Scenes | Rita Moreno

    S35 E10 - 2m

    Go behind the scenes of Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It to learn how Rita Moreno is a quintessential American success story.

  • Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It

    S35 E10 - 2m 2s

    Discover how Moreno defied her humble upbringing and racism to become one of a select group of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winners. Explore her 70-year career with new interviews, clips of her iconic roles and scenes of the star on set today.

  • How Rita Moreno became a social activist: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How Rita Moreno became a social activist

    S35 E10 - 1m 6s

    Rita Moreno's first foray into social justice was attending the March on Washington with Martin Luther King, Jr. "I was there when he uttered the 'I Have a Dream' speech," she said. She continued to be a conscious activist throughout her career, fighting for Latine and women's rights.

  • Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away

    S35 E9 - 1m 58s

    Dive into the career of the legendary blues guitarist, a pioneer of Chicago’s West Side sound and major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Featuring new performances and interviews with Carlos Santana and more.

  • The two people Buddy Guy admires most as a musician: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The two people Buddy Guy admires most as a musician

    S35 E9 - 1m 41s

    On a trip to Germany, Buddy Guy met some of his musical heroes, including John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton. Meeting them was a huge achievement for Guy; he said, “I don't care if I ever get a chance to make a record or nothin'. I done met the people who I admired the most as a musician."

  • Buddy Guy's Grammys: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Buddy Guy's Grammys

    S35 E9 - 1m 27s

    Buddy Guy discusses the gratitude he feels for winning multiple nine Grammys, including his first, which he won for his song "Damn Right I've Got the Blues."

  • How blues legend Buddy Guy got his hands on his first guitar: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How blues legend Buddy Guy got his hands on his first guitar

    S35 E9 - 3m 38s

    Buddy Guy’s first guitar cost his father two dollars and only had two strings on it. He would go to sleep with it in his hand, walked around with it and played until his fingers almost bled. He taught himself his favorite John Lee Hooker song on that guitar.

  • Ballerina Boys: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ballerina Boys

    S35 E8 - 2m 36s

    Discover Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (The Trocks), an all-male company that for 45 years has offered audiences their passion for ballet classics mixed with exuberant comedy. With every step they poke fun at their strictly gendered art form.

  • Watch these drag ballerinas get ready for a show: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Watch these drag ballerinas get ready for a show

    S35 E8 - 2m 14s

    Dancers from "The Trocks," an all-male comic ballet company describe how performing in drag is empowering, even extending in to wearing pointe shoes, which are normally reserved for women. While they are painful, the enable some of the "best moments" in ballet.

Schedule

  • Image
    American Masters: Moynihan: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Moynihan

    Friday
    Mar 29

    2 Hours

    The life of long-serving Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), considered to have one of the broadest public careers in U.S. political history.
  • Image
    American Masters: Moynihan: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Moynihan

    Friday
    Mar 29

    2 Hours

    The life of long-serving Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), considered to have one of the broadest public careers in U.S. political history.
  • Image
    American Masters: Moynihan: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Moynihan

    Saturday
    Mar 30

    2 Hours

    The life of long-serving Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), considered to have one of the broadest public careers in U.S. political history.
  • Image
    American Masters: Moynihan: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Moynihan

    Saturday
    Mar 30

    2 Hours

    The life of long-serving Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), considered to have one of the broadest public careers in U.S. political history.
  • Image
    American Masters: Moynihan: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Moynihan

    Saturday
    Mar 30

    2 Hours

    The life of long-serving Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), considered to have one of the broadest public careers in U.S. political history.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Friday
    Apr 5

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Friday
    Apr 5

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Saturday
    Apr 6

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Saturday
    Apr 6

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Saturday
    Apr 6

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Sunday
    Apr 7

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Sunday
    Apr 7

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Sunday
    Apr 7

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Sunday
    Apr 7

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Monday
    Apr 8

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: The Incomparable Mr. Buckley: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

    Monday
    Apr 8

    2 Hours

    The intellectual evolution and political legacy of American conservative writer and political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

    Thursday
    Apr 11

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    Writer/producer Norman Lear's turbulent childhood, early success with sitcoms "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons," "Good Times" and "Maude," and social activism.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

    Friday
    Apr 12

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    Writer/producer Norman Lear's turbulent childhood, early success with sitcoms "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons," "Good Times" and "Maude," and social activism.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

    Saturday
    Apr 13

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    Writer/producer Norman Lear's turbulent childhood, early success with sitcoms "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons," "Good Times" and "Maude," and social activism.

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