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.
Biography (Season 1)
6 Apr. 1987 (Episode 1)
Air date: 1987-04-06
Runtime: 60 min
Al Capone: Scarface (Episode 2)
Air date: 1987-04-13
Runtime: 60 min
Bob Hope: America's Entertainer (Episode 3) 9.0
Air date: 1987-04-20
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: A profile of orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass (1818-95), who campaigned against slavery, discrimination and other injustices directed against blacks. Douglass, a former slave himself, also helped run the Underground Railroad, a series of safe houses for escaped slaves.
Bugsy Siegel (Episode 4)
Air date: 1987-04-27
Runtime: 60 min
Dalai Lama: The Soul of Tibet (Episode 5)
Air date: 1987-05-04
Runtime: 60 min
King Arthur: His Life and Legends (Episode 6)
Air date: 1987-05-11
Runtime: 60 min
Lucky Luciano: Chairman of the Mob (Episode 7)
Air date: 1987-05-18
Runtime: 60 min
Nelson Mandela: Journey to Freedom (Episode 8)
Air date: 1987-05-25
Runtime: 60 min
Muhammad: The Prophet (Episode 9)
Air date: 1987-06-01
Runtime: 60 min
Napoleon Bonaparte: The Glory of France (Episode 10)
Air date: 1987-06-08
Runtime: 60 min
Bonnie & Clyde: The Story of Love & Death (Episode 11) 10.0
Air date: 1987-06-15
Runtime: 60 min
Babe Ruth (Episode 12)
Air date: 1987-06-22
Runtime: 60 min
Frederick Douglass (Episode 13)
Air date: 1987-06-29
Runtime: 60 min
Lizzie Borden: A Woman Accused (Episode 14) 10.0
Air date: 1987-07-06
Runtime: 60 min
Milton Hershey: The Chocolate King (Episode 15)
Air date: 1987-07-13
Runtime: 60 min
