Biography (TV program)
Biography is an American documentary television series and media franchise created in the 1960s by David L. Wolper and owned by A&E Networks since 1987. Each episode depicts the life of a notable person with narration, on-camera interviews, photographs, and stock footage. The show originally ran in syndication in 1962–1964, and in 1979, on A&E from 1987 to 2006, and on The Biography Channel (later Bio, now FYI) from 2006 to 2012. After a five-year hiatus, the franchise was relaunched in 2017. Over the years, the Biography media franchise has expanded domestically and internationally, spinning off several cable television channels, a website, a children's program, a line of books and records, and a series of made-for-TV movies, specials, and miniseries, among other media properties. Biography has won a Peabody Award (1962) and three Emmy Awards (1997, 1999, 2002).
Biography
Documentary
- Mike Wallace (1961–1963)
- David Janssen (1979)
- Peter Graves (1987–1999)
- Jack Perkins (1994–1999)
- Harry Smith (1999–2002)
- Neil Ross (2003–2006)
United States
English
30/60/120 minutes
Wolper Productions (1961–1963, 1979)
ABC News Productions[1]
February 1962 –
1964
1979
- A&E (1987–2006)
- The Biography Channel/Bio/FYI (2006–2012)
April 6, 1987 –
2012
Biography began as an early 1960s syndicated television series produced by David Wolper and narrated by Mike Wallace. It won a Peabody Award, launched Wallace's journalism career, and became a standard in biography films, widely shown in classrooms. After a one-year revival in 1979, the show returned on A&E Networks in 1987. In 1990, A&E began producing new episodes, and expanded the show into a multimedia franchise. By the turn of the century, Biography became A&E's "flagship" program, winning three Emmy Awards, growing from one night per week to seven, and spawning its own cable television channel, several spin-off shows, a website, made-for-TV movies, mini-series, books, audio books, records, and even a board game. The show's ratings eventually slipped and its airtime was reduced to one night per week, then exclusive to The Biography Channel (now FYI). Production of new episodes ceased in 2011 and Biography was almost entirely off the air by 2012. In 2017, A&E relaunched the Biography franchise with a series of TV specials and miniseries. As of 2022, episodes are also shown on Story Television.
Biography (media franchise)
TV series
Crown Publishing Group/Random House-published line
Biography magazine
- Biography
- Biography This Week
- Biography for Kids
- Biography International
- Biography: American Justice
- Biography Movies series
- Johnny Cash's America
- The Notorious Life of Biggie Smalls
- Gotti & Son
- David Koresh and the Siege Of Waco
- The End of America: Putin's Master Plan
- Elizabeth Smart: Autobiography
- Who Killed Tupac?
- Mike Tyson: Autobiography
- Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil
"Who Am I? The Biography Game" (board game)
EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties-published line
- The Biography Channel (1998–2006)
- Bio (channel) (2006–14)
- The Biography Channel (UK and Ireland)
- Bio (Australian)
- The Biography Channel (Canada)
Biography has profiled over 1,000 subjects, ranging from "Moses to Mozart to Madonna," in the words of host Harry Smith,[7] and as of 2018, Biography.com claims to contain over 7,000 biographical profiles on its website.[29] The most-watched episodes profiled Ron Howard, the Gambino crime family, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Andre the Giant, and Sam Walton.[6][17][28]
Since its first broadcast in 1962, Biography has profiled:
In popular culture[edit]
Biography has been a category on the television game show Jeopardy!.[6] In 2000, the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! did an episode called "A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn". The episode was shot in the style of A&E's Biography, and focused on the life of one of the show's main characters, Nina Van Horn. The episode featured interviews with the other characters of the show and multiple special guest stars, including Don Henley, Jerry Hall, Sydney Pollack, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, and Buddy Hackett. The episode also included an introduction, conclusion, and voiceover provided by then-host Harry Smith.[48]