7.0
Biography (1987)
6.7 27 seasons 355 episodes Returning Series
Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or long-dead entertainment figures such as Will Rogers or John Barrymore. The A&E series has placed the emphasis on such people as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. The program ended up profiling enough figures that in 1999, A&E spun it off into an entire network, The Biography Channel.
Seasons & episodes
E1Abbott and CostelloJan 4, 1996 · 1h 0m
Abbott and Costello were one of America’s most beloved comedy duos, blending sharp timing with timeless humor. Bud Abbott, the straight man…
E2Abraham Lincoln: Preserving the UnionJan 11, 1996 · 1h 0m
Abraham Lincoln rose from a frontier log cabin to become America’s 16th president, leading the nation through the Civil War and preserving…
E3Adam & Eve: Lost InnocenceJan 18, 1996 · 1h 0m
They were the world's first people, the first to live, the first to love, the first to yield to temptation. According to Genesis, God creat…
E4Admiral Chester Nimitz: Thunder of the PacificJan 25, 1996 · 1h 0m
He held the U.S. Navy together while America struggled to rebound from Pearl Harbor, and his cunning strategies eventually led the U.S. to…
E5Albert DeSalvo: The Boston StranglerMay 9, 1996 · 1h 0m
Albert DeSalvo was a Massachusetts criminal who became widely known as the self‑proclaimed “Boston Strangler,” a name linked to a series of…
E6Alexander Graham Bell: Voice of InventionMay 30, 1996 · 1h 0m
His drive to help his deaf mother communicate led to one of the most important inventions of the 20th century. But the telephone was only o…
E7Albert DeSalvo: The Boston StranglerJun 6, 1996 · 1h 0m
Albert DeSalvo was a Massachusetts criminal who became widely known as the self‑proclaimed “Boston Strangler,” a name linked to a series of…
E8Annie Oakley: Crack Shot in PetticoatsJun 13, 1996 · 1h 0m
She was the world’s greatest female sharp shooter of her day. Her legend—while rife with contradictions—has been the source of endless film…
E9Audie Murphy: Great American HeroJun 20, 1996 · 1h 0m
Audie Murphy was one of America’s most celebrated World War II heroes, receiving 33 military decorations. Yet despite winning immense natio…
E10Confucius: Words of WisdomJun 27, 1996 · 1h 0m
In an age of intrigue and vice, he was a voice of morality and virtue. Twenty-five hundred years after his death, he is revered as one of t…
E11Conrad Hilton: Innkeeper to the WorldJul 4, 1996 · 1h 0m
He began his career as an unknown entrepreneur in the tiny town of Cisco, Texas. Today, his name graces some of the world's most prestigiou…
E12David and Goliath: A Biblical BattleJul 11, 1996 · 1h 0m
His unerring courage made him one of history's most beloved kings. Chosen by God to be the next ruler of Israel, David was a mere shepherd…
E13Edward VIII: The Traitor KingJul 18, 1996 · 1h 0m
Edward VIII, born in 1894, was the charismatic yet controversial King of the United Kingdom who abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Ameri…
E14Evita: The Woman Behind the MythJul 25, 1996 · 1h 0m
To some, she was a hero. To others, she was a symbol of naked ambition. To the world, she remains a legend. María Eva Duarte de Perón—Evita…
E15Fidel Castro: El ComandanteAug 1, 1996 · 1h 0m
He stood defiantly at the center of some of the worst crises of the Cold War. After over 40 years of rule, he remains one of the most contr…
E17Hatfields & McCoys: An American FeudAug 8, 1996 · 1h 0m
It lasted over a decade and claimed a dozen lives. But the feud that has been immortalized in folklore wasn't nearly as bad as many others…
E18Henry VIII: Scandals of a KingAug 15, 1996 · 1h 0m
Everyone knows the story of the many wives of Henry VIII. But that sordid tale is but a small part of the life of a remarkable leader who l…
E19Jeffrey Dahmer: The Monster WithinAug 22, 1996 · 1h 0m
Jeffrey Dahmer was not a typical serial killer. He did not come from an abusive, impoverished, or violent background. On the contrary, his…
E20John F. Kennedy Jr.: Child of a DreamAug 29, 1996 · 1h 0m
In the aftermath of his father’s assassination, he was fixed in our collective memory as the small boy bravely saluting the final act of Ca…
E21John Paul Jones: Captain of the High SeasSep 5, 1996 · 1h 0m
His sense of adventure brought him to America. His bravery made him the country's greatest naval hero. The son of a Scottish gardener, John…
E22Marie Antoinette: The Tragic QueenSep 12, 1996 · 1h 0m
Marie Antoinette, born Archduchess of Austria, became Queen of France at just 19 after marrying Louis XVI. Initially adored for her beauty…
E23Mikhail Gorbachev: A Man Who Changed the WorldSep 19, 1996 · 1h 0m
His drastic reforms led to the end of his nation as the world knew it. But ultimately, he was undone by his own success. Mikhail Gorbachev…
E24Moses and the Ten CommandmentsSep 26, 1996 · 1h 30m
He was a complex man and a reluctant prophet. But when called upon to save his people, he overcame his doubts and fears and defeated the mo…
E25Moshe Dayan: A Warrior's StoryOct 3, 1996 · 1h 0m
His mastery of desert warfare transformed a tiny, beleaguered nation into a respected military power. But in a world fueled by hatred, he c…
E26Noah and the Ark: Voyage to a New BeginningOct 10, 1996 · 1h 0m
With humanity perched on the brink of destruction, his righteousness saved the world. Every schoolchild knows the story of Noah's ark and h…
E27Richard Nixon: Man and PresidentOct 17, 1996 · 1h 0m
His political savvy took him to the height of governmental power. Corrupt political practices caused him to suffer a humiliating fall and u…
E28Saddam HusseinOct 24, 1996 · 1h 0m
Saddam Hussein rose from a harsh childhood in Tikrit to become the dominant force in Iraq’s Ba’ath Party. After joining the party in the 19…
E29Saint Patrick: Man, Myth & MagicOct 31, 1996 · 1h 0m
Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain and became one of Ireland’s most influential religious figures. Kidnapped by Irish raiders at sixte…
E30The Astors: High SocietyNov 7, 1996 · 1h 0m
The very name conjures up images of the good life black tie affairs and high society balls. Yet their long saga proves that money is no gua…
E31The Fabulous World of FabergéNov 14, 1996 · 1h 0m
In 1885, court jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé was commissioned by Czar Alexander III to create a special jeweled Easter egg for Russia’s Empres…
E32The Hunchback of Notre DameNov 21, 1996 · 1h 0m
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, created by Victor Hugo in 1831, tells the tragic story of Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer of Paris’s Notre…
E33William Shakespeare: A Life of DramaNov 28, 1996 · 1h 0m
He is the world's most influential and admired writer, a man whose imaginative genius still moves us, nearly four centuries after his death…
E16Thomas A. Edison: Father Of InventionAug 5, 1996 · 44m
Thomas Alva Edison, America’s most prolific inventor, revolutionized modern life by securing 1,093 patents and pioneering the first industr…
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