a&e biography charles dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was a British author who penned the beloved classics Oliver Twist , A Christmas Carol , David Copperfield , and Great Expectations .

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Who Was Charles Dickens?

Charles Dickens was a British author, journalist, editor, illustrator, and social commentator who wrote the beloved classics Oliver Twist , A Christmas Carol , and Great Expectations . His books were first published in monthly serial installments, which became a lucrative source of income following a childhood of abject poverty. Dickens wrote 15 novels in total, including Nicholas Nickleby , David Copperfield , and A Tale of Two Cities . His writing provided a stark portrait of poor and working class people in the Victorian era that helped to bring about social change. Dickens died in June 1870 at age 58 and is remembered as one of the most important and influential writers of the 19 th century.

Quick Facts

Early life and education, life as a journalist, editor, and illustrator, personal life: wife and children, charles dickens’ books: 'oliver twist,' 'great expectations,' and more, travels to the united states, 'a christmas carol' and other works, pop culture adaptations.

FULL NAME: Charles John Huffam Dickens BORN: February 7, 1812 DIED: June 9, 1870 BIRTHPLACE: Portsmouth, England SPOUSE: Catherine Thomson Hogarth (1836-1870) CHILDREN: Charles Jr., Mary, Kate, Walter, Francis, Alfred, Sydney, Henry, Dora, and Edward ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius

Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth on the southern coast of England. He was the second of eight children born to John Dickens, a naval clerk who dreamed of striking it rich, and Elizabeth Barrow, who aspired to be a teacher and school director. Despite his parents’ best efforts, the family remained poor but nevertheless happy in the early days.

In 1816, they moved to Chatham, Kent, where young Dickens and his siblings were free to roam the countryside and explore the old castle at Rochester. Dickens was a sickly child and prone to spasms, which prevented him from playing sports. He compensated by reading avidly, including such books as Robinson Crusoe, Tom Jones , Peregrine Pickle , and The Arabian Nights , according to The World of Charles Dickens by Fido Martin.

In 1822, the Dickens family moved to Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London. By then, the family’s financial situation had grown dire, as Charles’ father had a dangerous habit of living beyond the family’s means. Eventually, John was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old. He boarded with a sympathetic family friend named Elizabeth Roylance, who later inspired the character Mrs. Pipchin in Dickens’ 1847 novel Dombey and Son , according to Dickens: A Biography by Fred Kaplan.

Following his father’s imprisonment, Dickens was forced to leave school to work at a boot-blacking factory alongside the River Thames. At the run-down, rodent-ridden factory, Dickens earned 6 shillings a week labeling pots of “blacking,” a substance used to clean fireplaces. It was the best he could do to help support his family, and the strenuous working conditions heavily influenced his future writing and his views on treatment of the poor and working class.

Much to his relief, Dickens was permitted to go back to school when his father received a family inheritance and used it to pay off his debts. He attended the Wellington House Academy in Camden Town, where he encountered what he called “haphazard, desultory teaching [and] poor discipline,” according to The World of Charles Dickens by Angus Wilson. The school’s sadistic headmaster was later the inspiration for the character Mr. Creakle in Dickens’ semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield .

When Dickens was 15, his education was pulled out from under him once again. In 1827, he had to drop out of school and work as an office boy to contribute to his family’s income. However, as it turned out, the job became a launching point for his writing career. Within a year of being hired, Dickens began freelance reporting at the law courts of London. Just a few years later, he was reporting for two major London newspapers.

In 1833, he began submitting sketches to various magazines and newspapers under the pseudonym “Boz,” which was a family nickname. His first published story was “A Dinner at Poplar Walk,” which ran in London’s Monthly Magazine in 1833. Seeing his writing in print made his eyes “overflow with joy and pride,” according to Dickens: A Biography . In 1836, his clippings were published in his first book, Sketches by Boz.

Dickens later edited magazines including Household Words and All the Year Round , the latter of which he founded. In both, he promoted and originally published some of his own work such as Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities .

Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, soon after the publication of his first book, Sketches by Boz . She was the daughter of George Hogarth, the editor of the Evening Chronicle . Dickens and Hogarth went on to have 10 children between 1837 and 1852, according to biographer Fred Kaplan. Among them were magazine editor Charles Dickens Jr., painter Kate Dickens Perugini, barrister Henry Fielding Dickens, and Edward Dickens, who entered into politics after immigrating to the Australia.

In 1851, Dickens suffered two devastating losses: the deaths of his infant daughter, Dora, and his father, John. He also separated from his wife in 1858. Dickens slandered Catherine publicly and struck up an intimate relationship with a young actor named Ellen “Nelly” Ternan. Sources differ on whether the two started seeing each other before or after Dickens’ marital separation. It is also believed that he went to great lengths to erase any documentation alluding to Ternan’s presence in his life. These major losses and challenges seeped into Dickens’ writing in his “dark novel” period.

Best known for his fiction writing, Dickens wrote a total of 15 novels between 1836 and 1870. His first was The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club , and his last was The Mystery of Edwin Drood , which went unfinished due to his death.

Dickens’ books were originally published in monthly serial installments that sold for 1 shilling each. The affordable price meant everyday citizens could follow along, though wealthier readers, such as Queen Victoria , were also among Dickens’ fans. Once complete, the stories were published again in novel form.

Dickens’ books provided a stark portrait of poor and working class people in the Victorian era that helped to bring about social change. In the 1850s, following the death of his father and infant daughter, as well as his separation from his wife, Dickens’ novels began to express a darkened worldview. His so-called dark novels are Bleak House (1853), Hard Times (1854), and Little Dorrit (1857). They feature more complicated, thematically grim plots and more complex characters, though Dickens didn’t stray from his typical societal commentary.

Read more about each of Charles Dickens’ novels below:

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Serial Publication: April 1836 to November 1837 Novel Publication: 1837

In 1836, the same year his first book of illustrations released, Dickens started publishing The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club . His series, originally written as captions for artist Robert Seymour’s humorous sports-themed illustrations, took the form of monthly serial installments. It was wildly popular with readers, and Dickens’ captions proved even more popular than the illustrations they were meant to accompany.

Oliver Twist

Serial Publication: February 1837 to March 1839 Novel Publication: November 1838

While still working on The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club , Dickens began Oliver Twist, or The Parish Boy’s Progress , which would prove to be one of his most popular novels. The book follows the life of an orphan living in the streets of London, where he must get by on his wits and falls in with a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the dastardly Fagin.

Oliver Twist unromantically portrayed the mistreatment of London orphans, and the slums and poverty described in the novel made for biting social satire. Although very different from the humorous tone of the Pickwick Papers , Oliver Twist was extremely well-received in both England and America, and dedicated readers eagerly anticipated each next monthly installment, according to the biography Charles Dickens by Harold & Miriam Maltz. Even the young Queen Victoria was an avid reader of  Oliver Twist , describing it as “excessively interesting.”

Nicholas Nickleby

Serial Publication: April 1838 to October 1839 Novel Publication: 1839

As Dickens was still finishing Oliver Twist , he again began writing his follow-up work in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby . It tells the story of the title character, who must support his mother and sister following the loss of their comfortable lifestyle when his father dies and the family loses all of their money.

The Old Curiosity Shop

Serial Publication: April 1840 to February 1841 Novel Publication: 1841

Taking a few months between projects this time, Dickens’ next serial was The Old Curiosity Shop . Protagonist Nell Trent lives with her grandfather, whose gambling costs them the titular shop. The pair struggles to survive after into hiding to avoid a money lender.

Barnaby Rudge

Serial Publication: February to November 1841 Novel Publication: 1841

Right on the heels of The Old Curiosity Shop came Barnaby Rudge . The historical fiction novel, Dickens’ first, follows Barnaby and depicts the chaos of mob violence. The author originated the idea years prior but is thought to have temporarily abandoned it due to a dispute with his publisher.

Martin Chuzzlewit

Serial Publication: January 1843 to July 1844 Novel Publication: 1844

After his first American tour, Dickens wrote The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit . The story is about a man’s struggle to survive on the ruthless American frontier.

Dombey and Son

Serial Publication: October 1846 to April 1848 Novel Publication: 1848

After an uncharacteristic break, Dickens returned with Dombey and Son , which centers on the theme of how business tactics affect a family’s personal finances. Published as a novel in 1848, it takes a dark view of England and is considered pivotal to Dickens’ body of work in that it set the tone for his future novels.

David Copperfield

Serial Publication: May 1849 to November 1850 Novel Publication: November 1850

Dickens wrote his most autobiographical novel to date with David Copperfield by tapping into his own personal experiences in his difficult childhood and his work as a journalist. The book follows the life of its title character from his impoverished childhood to his maturity and success as a novelist. It was the first work of its kind: No one had ever written a novel that simply followed a character through his everyday life.

David Copperfield is considered one of Dickens’ masterpieces, and it was his personal favorite of his works; he wrote in the book’s preface, “Like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.” It also helped define the public’s expectations of a Dickensian novel. In The Life of Charles Dickens , biographer John Forster wrote “Dickens never stood so high in reputation as at the completion of Copperfield ,” and biographer Fred Kaplan called the novel “an exploration of himself through his art more direct, more honest, more resolute than in his earlier fiction.”

Bleak House

Serial Publication: 1852 to 1853 Novel Publication: 1853

His next work, Bleak House , dealt with the hypocrisy of British society. The first of his “dark novels,” it was considered his most complex novel yet. Drawing upon his brief experiences as a law clerk and court reporter, the novel is built around a long-running legal case involving several conflicting wills and was described by biographer Fido Martin as “England’s greatest satire on the law’s incompetence and delays.” Dickens’ satire was so effective that it  helped support  a successful movement toward legal reform in the 1870s.

Serial Publication: April to August 1854 Novel Publication: 1854

Dickens followed Bleak House with Hard Times , which takes place in an industrial town at the peak of economic expansion. Hard Times focuses on the shortcomings of employers as well as those who seek change.

Little Dorrit

Serial Publication: December 1855 and June 1857 Novel Publication: 1857

Another novel from Dickens’ darker period is Little Dorrit , a fictional study of how human values conflict with the world’s brutality.

A Tale of Two Cities

Serial Publication: April to November 1959 Novel Publication: 1859

Coming out of his “dark novel” period, Dickens published A Tale of Two Cities in the periodical he founded, All the Year Round . The historical novel takes place during the French Revolution in Paris and London. Its themes focus on the need for sacrifice, the struggle between the evils inherent in oppression and revolution, and the possibility of resurrection and rebirth.

A Tale of Two Cities was a tremendous success and remains Dickens’ best-known work of historical fiction. Biographer Fido Martin called the novel “pure Dickens, but essentially a Dickens we have never seen before. This is a Dickens who has at last captured in prose fiction the stage heroics he adored.”

Great Expectations

Serial Publication: December 1860 to August 1861 Novel Publication: October 1861

Many people consider Great Expectations Dickens’ greatest literary accomplishment. The story—Dickens’ second that’s narrated in the first person—focuses on the lifelong journey of moral development for the novel’s protagonist, an orphan named Pip. With extreme imagery and colorful characters, the well-received novel touches on wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and good versus evil. The novel was a financial success and received nearly universal acclaim, with readers responding positively to the novel’s themes of love, morality, social mobility, and the eventual triumph of good over evil.

Our Mutual Friend

Serial Publication: May 1864 to November 1865 Novel Publication: 1865

In June 1865, Dickens was a passenger on a train that plunged off a bridge in Kent, according to biographer Fred Kaplan. He tended to the wounded and even saved the lives of some passengers before assistance arrived, and he was able to retrieve his unfinished manuscript for his next novel, Our Mutual Friend , from the wreckage. That book, a satire about wealth and the Victorian working class, wasn’t received as well as Dickens’ other works, with some finding the plot too complex and disorganized.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Serial Publication: April 1870 Novel Publication: 1870

Dickins’ final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood , began its monthly serialized publication in April 1870. However, Dickens died less than two months later, leaving the novel unfinished. Only six of a planned 12 installments of his final work were completed at the time of his death, according to biographer Fido Martin.

In 1842, Dickens and his wife, Catherine, embarked on a five-month lecture tour of the United States. Dickens spoke of his opposition to slavery and expressed his support for additional reform. His lectures, which began in Virginia and ended in Missouri, were so widely attended that ticket scalpers gathered outside his events. Biographer J.B. Priestley wrote that during the tour, Dickens enjoyed “the greatest welcome that probably any visitor to America has ever had.”

“They flock around me as if I were an idol,” bragged Dickens, a known show-off. Although he enjoyed the attention at first, he eventually resented the invasion of privacy. He was also annoyed by what he viewed as Americans’ gregariousness and crude habits, as he later expressed in American Notes for General Circulation (1842). The sarcastic travelogue, which Dickens’ penned upon his return to England, criticized American culture and materialism.

After his criticism of the American people during his first tour, Dickens later launched a second U.S. tour from 1867 to 1868, where he hoped to set things right with the public and made charismatic speeches promising to praise the United States in reprints of American Notes for General Circulation and Martin Chuzzlewit , his 1844 novel set in the American frontier.

On December 19, 1843, Dickens published A Christmas Carol , one of his most timeless and beloved works. The book features the famous protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly old miser who—with the help of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come—finds the holiday spirit. Dickens penned the book in just six weeks, beginning in October and finishing just in time for Christmas celebrations. Like his earlier works, it was intended as a social criticism, to bring attention to the hardships faced by England’s poorer classes.

The book was a roaring success, selling more than 6,000 copies upon publication. Readers in England and America were touched by the book’s empathetic emotional depth; one American entrepreneur reportedly gave his employees an extra day’s holiday after reading it. Despite its incredible success, the high production costs and Dickens’ disagreements with the publisher meant he received relatively few profits for A Christmas Carol , according to Kaplan, which were further reduced when Dickens was forced to take legal action against the publishers for making illegal copies.

A Christmas Carol was Dickens’ most popular book in the United States, selling more than two million copies in the century after its first publication there, according to Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin. It is also one of Dickens’ most adapted works, and Ebenezer Scrooge has been portrayed by such actors as Michael Caine, Albert Finney, Patrick Stewart, Tim Curry, and Jim Carrey .

Dickens published several other Christmas novellas following A Christmas Carol , including The Chimes (1844) The Cricket on the Hearth (1845), The Battle of Life (1846), and The Haunted Man and the Ghost ’s Bargain (1848). In 1867, he wrote a stage play titled No Thoroughfare .

On June 8, 1870, Dickens had a stroke at his home in Kent, England, after a day of writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood . He died the next day at age 58.

At the time, Edwin Drood had begun its serial publication; it was never finished. Only half of the planned installments of his final novel were completed at the time of Dickens’ death, according to Fido.

Dickens was buried in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey , with thousands of mourners gathering at the beloved author’s gravesite.

When 48 Doughty Street in London—which was Dickens’ home from 1837 to 1839—was threatened with demolition, it was saved by the Dickens Fellowship and renovated, becoming the Dickens House Museum . Open since 1925, it appears like a middle-class Victorian home exactly as Dickens lived in it, and it houses a significant collection related to Dickens and his works.

Many of Dickens’ major works have been adapted for movies and stage plays, with some, like A Christmas Carol , repackaged in various forms over the years. Reginald Owen portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in one of the earliest Hollywood adaptations of the novella in 1938, while Albert Finney played the character alongside Alec Guinness as Marley’s ghost in the 1970 film Scrooge .

Some adaptations have taken unique approaches to the source material. Michael Caine portrayed Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), with members of the Muppets playing other characters from the story, and Gonzo the Great portraying Dickens as a narrator. Bill Murray played a version of Scrooge in a modern-day comedic take on the classic story. Several animated versions of A Christmas Carol have also been adapted, with Jim Carrey playing Scrooge in a 2009 computer-generated film that used motion-capture animation to create the character.

Several more of Dickens’ works have been similarly adapted. Famed director David Lean made celebrated adaptations of both Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948). The latter novel was also adapted into a successful 1960 stage musical called Oliver! , and a 1968 movie version—directed by Carol Reed—of that same musical won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Director.

More recently, The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) put a comedic spin on Dickens’ personal favorite of his own works, with Dev Patel performing the title role. Barbara Kingsolver also adapted the novel in her Pulitzer Prize winner Demon Copperhead (2022).

• The English are, as far as I know, the hardest worked people on whom the sun shines. Be content if in their wretched intervals of leisure they read for amusement and do no worse.
• I write because I can’t help it.
• Literature cannot be too faithful to the people, cannot too ardently advocate the cause of their advancement, happiness, and prosperity.
• An author feels as if he were dismissing some portion of himself into the shadowy world, when a crowd of the creatures of his brain are going from him forever.
• Nobody has done more harm in this single generation than everybody can mend in 10 generations.
• If I were soured [on writing], I should still try to sweeten the lives and fancies of others; but I am not—not at all.
• Well, the work is hard, the climate is hard, the life is hard: but so far the gain is enormous.
• Who that has ever reflected on the enormous and vast amount of leave-taking there is in life can ever have doubted the existence of another?
• I never knew what it was to feel disgust and contempt, till I traveled in America.
• My great ambition is to live in the hearts and homes of home-loving people and to be connected with the truth of the truthful English life.

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

Colin McEvoy joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had spent 16 years as a journalist, writer, and communications professional. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy . He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories.

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Charles Dickens, The A&E Biography

Born into poverty on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, England, Charles Dickens left school to work in a factory to support his family. His novels, most published in serial form, attracted a huge following making him one of the first international literary celebrities. His difficult early life led him to crusade for social justice, through his fiction and in life. ( more )

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Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius

• Episode aired Dec 22, 1995

A painful childhood fuels the ambition of the author. A painful childhood fuels the ambition of the author. A painful childhood fuels the ambition of the author.

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Home > Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius

Segments in this Video

Charles dickens: writer and celebrity (02:39).

Charles Dickens was the foremost writer and public celebrity in 19th century. As a man and a writer, he always sought to better himself.

Charles Dickens: Performance Personality (02:48)

In 1812, Dickens is born into the an interesting and volatile world. The Industrial Revolution leaves many people living in gruesome conditions. As a young man, he loves to entertain people. He spends his formative years in Rochester-Chatham.

Financial Problems for Dickens Family (02:11)

In 1822, Dickens' father, always careless with money, moves back to London at a reduced salary. Charles' school is cancelled. Dickens later immortalizes his father as Mr. Micawber in "David Copperfield."

Charles Dickens in Shoe Polish Factory (02:45)

His family in debtor's prison, young Charles is forced to work in a factory. For him, assembly line work is a disaster; his fantasies are crushed. He is forced to work with uneducated people. The family leaves the prison.

Charles Dickens: A Taste of Life (02:43)

At age 16, Charles Dickens becomes a clerk in a lawyer's office. He dislikes the job and the lawyers intensely. A variety of jobs bring him in contact with a range of speech patterns, personalities, social conditions, and government.

Charles Dickens in Love (04:17)

Dickens' first love is Maria, a banker's daughter. She is playing Dickens and soon drops the heartbroken man. He turns his attention to writing, and soon writes "Sketches by Boz." He falls in love and marries Catherine Hogarth.

"The Pickwick Papers" (03:20)

In 1836, a publisher offers Dickens the opportunity to work on a project called "The Pickwick Papers." Much of Dickens' success is attributed to the serialized format of his works.

Success as a Writer (03:58)

The newly successful Dickens moves his family into a new home. Still working on installments for "The Pickwick Papers," he begins work on two novels. By 1837, Dickens is "hot property." When his sister-in-law dies, Dickens is heartsick.

Charles Dickens in America (03:40)

Dickens is invited to America in 1842 to give a lecture series. American readers welcome him wholeheartedly. He dislikes Americans. "The Christmas Carol" is a huge success. "Dombey and Son" puts Dickens back on the success path.

Charles Dickens: Growing Discontent (02:40)

By 1850, Dickens, his wife, and 10 children live in a fine London house. Though Dickens' family is devoted to him, he grows steadily discontent with marriage and life.

Charles Dickens' Fiction Growing Darker (02:09)

Dickens purchases a home in Rochester that he admired as a boy. Still, Dickens feels a restless energy. He pours his talent into social reform issues and more fiction. His writing reveals a darker view of life than earlier works.

Separation of Charles Dickens and His Wife (03:55)

By 1856, Dickens believes that his wife Catherine is the source of his misery and discontent. He wants change, and he finds that in a 19-year-old actress. He separates from his wife, and by 1858, is in a love affair with the actress.

Last Years of Dickens' Life (03:32)

Charles Dickens, addicted to work and achievement, fears losing his audience and failing as a writer. By the 1860s, Dickens has completed "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations." He does public readings of his greatest works.

Death of Charles Dickens (03:13)

After his public readings, Dickens, in failing health, turns towards writing "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Dickens dies while writing his final work. He is buried in the Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Credits: Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius (01:03)

Credits: Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius

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Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius

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This episode of Biography presents a detailed look at the life of Charles Dickens, beginning with Dickens's harsh childhood and ending in his rise to worldwide acclaim. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (45 minutes)

Length: 47 minutes

Item#: BVL42470

Copyright date: © 1997

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Charles Dickens: the Man, the Myth, the Brand

In “The Life and Lies of Charles Dickens,” Helena Kelly revisits the image the author crafted so carefully in his lifetime.

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By Alexis Coe

Alexis Coe is a historian and the author, most recently, of “You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington.”

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THE LIFE AND LIES OF CHARLES DICKENS , by Helena Kelly

The specter of biography has long struck fear in the hearts of living legends. Martha Washington, Henry James and Somerset Maugham tried to thwart would-be chroniclers by pitching private papers into the fire — heartbreaking acts of futile resistance. Trusted correspondents did not, as James instructed, “burn, burn, burn.”

Charles Dickens, however, had a much happier outcome in his friend John Forster’s three-volume biography, published between 1871 and 1874. The trouble, according to Helena Kelly’s new book, “The Life and Lies of Charles Dickens,” is “simply that Forster wasn’t a very good biographer.”

For decades Forster, a writer and critic of comparatively modest success, was kind of like Dickens’s literary companion. He listened to Dickens’s troubles, read his rough drafts and negotiated much of his life, including a marital separation from Catherine Hogarth, the mother of his 10 children, whom he left for Ellen “Nelly” Ternan, an actress 27 years his junior. It was the first time Dickens — who was “astonishingly, globally famous,” Kelly writes, “a product, a brand” — suffered in the public eye.

And before he died, in 1870, Dickens entrusted Forster with his manuscripts. Ever the “faithful assistant,” Forster copied down “the story Dickens gave him,” and published the first volume of “The Life of Charles Dickens” 18 months after his subject’s death, which is the best time to make hay.

A century and a half later, archives are far more accessible than they used to be, and Kelly is ready to try “Dickens the conjurer” for a book that amounts to “posthumous brand management.” Among a laundry list of perjury charges is Forster’s biggest revelation: that the novel “David Copperfield” was semi-autobiographical, inspired by Dickens’s childhood labor in a boot-polish factory during his father John’s (first) stint in debtors’ prison. Dickens, who wrote his own press releases, had managed to suppress the most basic facts about his background; now readers had Forster to “confirm” what they’d suspected all along.

“The picture of the young Charles as an inexplicably neglected child laboring forlornly in a warehouse by the river while his father languishes in the Marshalsea prison is terribly affecting,” Kelly writes, “but can we be sure that it’s accurate?” This is not a new question — nor is it one the author ultimately answers. In an 1872 issue of The North American Review, a critic called the fib “a good example of this peculiarity of Dickens’s character, and of Mr. Forster’s apparent inability to detect it.”

In fact, many of the inconsistencies, omissions and outright lies Forster parroted have since been corrected and refined; and Kelly — an Oxford Ph.D. whose previous book was “Jane Austen, the Secret Radical” — is noticeably ungenerous with her citations, which mostly include 19th-century sources, conspicuously omitting the generations of scholars who’ve come before her to illuminate Dickens’s dishonesties.

When Kelly unleashes her inner literary critic, she delights readers with pages upon pages illustrating the enduring influence of Dickens’s fictional biography on his fiction: The prisoner John Barsad returns to his family in “A Tale of Two Cities”; the orphan Esther Summerson buries a doll that is a vestige of her former life in “Bleak House”; the titular “Little Dorrit” is born and raised in Marshalsea.

Positioning herself as a truth-teller — “Inconvenient facts keep looming out of the fog,” she writes; “there’s little ground that will bear any weight” — Kelly has no qualms about extrapolating her own unsubstantiated theories from Dickens’s textual clues. Based on her extensive knowledge of Victorian-era ailments, Kelly suspects that the author had syphilis and that, like “the guilt-ridden men who appear in his last novels,” he passed it to his unknowing family, including Catherine, one child who died in utero and another, Walter, who died suddenly at 22. “Proof? No, not that,” Kelly admits. “This is a theory.”

Her title suggests she is out to raise hackles, and if she succeeds, it likely won’t be in the way she intended. In the grand tradition of biography, Dickens’s offenses are middling. And when it came to his own work, he spent a lifetime reimagining and repurposing his personal experiences into fictional narratives — which is what storytellers do.

Speaking of his fiction, when it comes to literary analysis, Kelly isn’t just unimpeachable — she’s energizing . For the first time in years, I’m excited to revisit “David Copperfield” and “Oliver Twist.” I can picture Dickens scholars passing their big, bold but timeworn questions like a baton, which is an achievement in itself.

THE LIFE AND LIES OF CHARLES DICKENS | By Helena Kelly | Pegasus | 272 pp. | $29.95

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Charles Dickens

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Charles Dickens Biography

Dickens, Charles John Huffam (1812-1870), probably the best-known and, to many people, the greatest English novelist of the 19th century. A moralist, satirist, and social reformer, Dickens crafted complex plots and striking characters that capture the panorama of English society.

Dickens's novels criticize the injustices of his time, especially the brutal treatment of the poor in a society sharply divided by differences of wealth. But he presents this criticism through the lives of characters that seem to live and breathe. Paradoxically, they often do so by being flamboyantly larger than life: The 20th-century poet and critic T. S. Eliot wrote, "Dickens's characters are real because there is no one like them." Yet though these characters range through the sentimental, grotesque, and humorous, few authors match Dickens's psychological realism and depth. Dickens's novels rank among the funniest and most gripping ever written, among the most passionate and persuasive on the topic of social justice, and among the most psychologically telling and insightful works of fiction. They are also some of the most masterful works in terms of artistic form, including narrative structure, repeated motifs, consistent imagery, juxtaposition of symbols, stylization of characters and settings, and command of language.

Dickens established (and made profitable) the method of first publishing novels in serial instalments in monthly magazines. He thereby reached a larger audience including those who could only afford their reading on such an instalment plan. This form of publication soon became popular with other writers in Britain and the United States.

II Early Years

Dickens was born in Portsmouth, on England's southern coast. His father was a clerk in the British Navy pay office a respectable position, but with little social status. His paternal grandparents, a steward (property manager) and a housekeeper, possessed even less status, having been servants, and Dickens later concealed their background. Dickens's mother supposedly came from a more respectable family. Yet two years before Dickens's birth, his mother's father was caught embezzling and fled to Europe, never to return.

The family's increasing poverty forced Dickens out of school at age 12 to work in Warren's Blacking Warehouse, a shoe-polish factory, where the other working boys mocked him as "the young gentleman." His father was then imprisoned for debt. The humiliations of his father's imprisonment and his labor in the blacking factory formed Dickens's greatest wound and became his deepest secret. He could not confide them even to his wife, although they provide the unacknowledged foundation of his fiction.

Soon after his father's release from prison, Dickens got a better job as errand boy in law offices. He taught himself shorthand to get an even better job later as a court stenographer and as a reporter in Parliament. At the same time, Dickens, who had a reporter's eye for transcribing the life around him, especially anything comic or odd, submitted short sketches to obscure magazines. The first published sketch, "A Dinner at Poplar Walk" (later retitled "Mr. Minns and His Cousin") brought tears to Dickens's eyes when he discovered it in the pages of The Monthly Magazine in 1833. From then on his sketches, which appeared under the pen name "Boz" (rhymes with "rose") in The Evening Chronicle, earned him a modest reputation. Boz originated as a childhood nickname for Dickens's younger brother Augustus.

Dickens became a regular visitor at the home of George Hogarth, editor of The Evening Chronicle, and in 1835 became engaged to Hogarth's daughter Catherine. Publication of the collected Sketches by Boz in 1836 gave Dickens sufficient income to marry Catherine Hogarth that year. The marriage proved unhappy.

III Literary Career

Soon after Sketches by Boz appeared, the fledgling publishing firm of Chapman and Hall approached Dickens to write a story in monthly instalments. The publisher intended the story as a backdrop for a series of woodcuts by the then-famous artist Robert Seymour, who had originated the idea for the story. With characteristic confidence, Dickens, although younger and relatively unknown, successfully insisted that Seymour's pictures illustrate his own story instead. After the first instalment, Dickens wrote to the artist he had displaced to correct a drawing he felt was not faithful enough to his prose. Seymour made the change, went into his backyard, and expressed his displeasure by blowing his brains out. Dickens and his publishers simply pressed on with a new artist. The comic novel, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, appeared serially in 1836 and 1837 and was first published in book form The Pickwick Papers in 1837.

The runaway success of The Pickwick Papers , as it is generally known today, clinched Dickens's fame. There were Pickwick coats and Pickwick cigars, and the plump, spectacled hero, Samuel Pickwick, became a national figure. Four years later, Dickens's readers found Dolly Varden, the heroine of Barnaby Rudge (1841), so irresistible that they named a waltz, a rose, and even a trout for her. The widespread familiarity today with Ebenezer Scrooge and his proverbial hard-heartedness from A Christmas Carol (1843) demonstrate that Dickens's characters live on in the popular imagination.

Dickens published 15 novels, one of which was left unfinished at his death. These novels are, in order of publication with serialization dates given first: The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1836-1837; 1837); The Adventures of Oliver Twist (1837-1839; 1838); The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839; 1839); The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-1841; 1841); Barnaby Rudge (1841); Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (1843-1844; 1844); Dombey and Son (1846-1848; 1848); The Personal History of David Copperfield (1849-1850; 1850); Bleak House (1852-1853; 1853); Hard Times (1854); Little Dorrit (1855-1857; 1857); A Tale of Two Cities (1859); Great Expectations (1860-1861; 1861); Our Mutual Friend (1864-1865; 1865); and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (unfinished; 1870).

Through his fiction Dickens did much to highlight the worst abuses of 19th-century society and to prick the public conscience. But running through the main plot of the novels are a host of subplots concerning fascinating and sometime ludicrous minor characters. Much of the humor of the novels derives from Dickens's descriptions of these characters and from his ability to capture their speech mannerisms and idiosyncratic traits.

A Early Fiction

Dickens was influenced by the reading of his youth and even by the stories his nursemaid created, such as the continuing saga of Captain Murderer. These childhood stories, as well as the melodramas and pantomimes he saw in the theater as a boy, fired Dickens's imagination throughout his life. His favorite boyhood readings included picaresque novels such as Don Quixote by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes and Tom Jones by English novelist Henry Fielding, as well as the Arabian Nights. In these long comic works, a roguish hero's exploits and adventures loosely link a series of stories.

The Pickwick Papers , for example, is a wandering comic epic in which Samuel Pickwick acts as a plump and cheerful Don Quixote, and Sam Weller as a cockney version of Quixote's knowing servant, Sancho Panza. The novel's preposterous characters, high spirits, and absurd adventures delighted readers.

After Pickwick, Dickens plunged into a bleaker world. In Oliver Twist , he traces an orphan's progress from the workhouse to the criminal slums of London. Nicholas Nickleby , his next novel, combines the darkness of Oliver Twist with the sunlight of Pickwick. Rascality and crime are part of its jubilant mirth.

The Old Curiosity Shop broke hearts across Britain and North America when it first appeared. Later readers, however, have found it excessively sentimental, especially the pathos surrounding the death of its child-heroine Little Nell. Dickens's next two works proved less popular with the public.

Barnaby Rudge , Dickens's first historical novel, revolves around anti-Catholic riots that broke out in London in 1780. The events in Martin Chuzzlewit become a vehicle for the novel's theme: selfishness and its evils. The characters, especially the Chuzzlewit family, present a multitude of perspectives on greed and unscrupulous self-interest. Dickens wrote it after a trip to the United States in 1842.

B Mature Fiction

Many critics have cited Dombey and Son as the work in which Dickens's style matures and he succeeds in bringing multiple episodes together in a tight narrative. Set in the world of railroad-building during the 1840s, Dombey and Son looks at the social effects of the profit-driven approach to business. The novel was immediately successful.

Dickens always considered David Copperfield to be his best novel and the one he most liked. The beginning seems to be autobiographical, with David's childhood experiences recalling Dickens's own in the blacking factory. The unifying theme of the book is the "undisciplined heart" of the young David, which leads to all his mistakes, including the greatest of them, his mistaken first marriage.

Bleak House ushers in Dickens's final period as a satirist and social critic. A court case involving an inheritance forms the mainspring of the plot, and ultimately connects all of the characters in the novel. The dominant image in the book is fog, which envelops, entangles, veils, and obscures. The fog stands for the law, the courts, vested interests, and corrupt institutions. Dickens had a long-standing dislike of the legal system and protracted lawsuits from his days as a reporter in the courts.

A novel about industry, Hard Times , followed Bleak House in 1854. In Hard Times , Dickens satirizes the theories of political economists through exaggerated characters such as Mr. Bounderby, the self-made man motivated by greed, and Mr. Gradgrind, the schoolmaster who emphasizes facts and figures over all else. In Bounderby's mines, lives are ground down; in Gradgrind's classroom, imagination and feelings are strangled.

The pervading image of Little Dorrit is the jail. Dickens's memory of his own father's time in debtors' prison adds an autobiographical touch to the novel. Little Dorrit also contains Dickens's invention of the Circumlocution Office, the archetype of all bureaucracies, where nothing ever gets done. Through this critique and others, such as the circular legal system in Bleak House , Dickens also investigated the ways in which art makes meaning and the workings of his own narrative style.

A Tale of Two Cities is set in London and Paris during the French Revolution (1789-1799). It stands out among the novels as a work driven by incident and event rather than by character and is critical both of the violence of the mob and of the abuses of the aristocracy, which prompted the revolution. The successful Tale of Two Cities was soon followed by Great Expectations , which marked a return to the more familiar Dickensian style of character-driven narrative. Its main character, Pip, tells his own story. Pip's "great expectations" are to lead an idle life of luxury. Through Pip, Dickens exposes that ideal as false.

Dickens's last complete novel is the dark and powerful Our Mutual Friend . A tale of greed and obsession, it takes place in an ill-lit and dirty London, with images of darkness and decay throughout. Only 6 of the 12 intended parts of Edwin Drood had been completed by the time Dickens died. He intended it as a mystery story concerning the disappearance of the title character.

IV Final Years

The end of Dickens's life was emotionally scarred by his separation from his dutiful wife, Catherine, as the result of his involvement with a young actress, Ellen Ternan. Catherine bore him ten children during their 22-year marriage, but he found her increasingly dull and unsympathetic. Against the advice of editors, Dickens published a letter vehemently justifying his actions to his readers, who would otherwise have known nothing about them.

Following the separation, Dickens continued his hectic schedule of novel, story, essay, and letter writing (his collected letters alone stretch thousands of pages); reform activities; amateur theatricals and readings; in addition to nightly social engagements and long midnight walks through London. His energy had always seemed to his friends inhuman, but he maintained this activity in his later years in disregard of failing health. Dickens died of a stroke shortly after his farewell reading tour, while writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood .

V Achievement

Dickens's social critique in his novels was sharp and pointed. As his biographer Edgar Johnson observed in Charles Dickens: His Tragedy and Triumph (1952), Dickens's criticism was aimed not just at "the cruelty of the workhouse and the foundling asylum, the enslavement of human beings in mines and factories, the hideous evil of slums where crime simmered and proliferated, the injustices of the law, and the cynical corruption of the lawmakers" but also at "the great evil permeating every field of human endeavour: the entire structure of exploitation on which the social order was founded."

British writer George Orwell felt that Dickens was not a revolutionary, however, despite his criticism of society's ills. Orwell points out that Dickens "has no constructive suggestions, not even a clear grasp of the nature of the society he is attacking, only an emotional perception that something is wrong." That instinctive feeling becomes so moving in the novels because Dickens made the injustices he hated concrete and specific, not abstract and general. His readers feel the abuses of 19th-century society as real through the life of his characters. Underlying and reinforcing that illusion of reality, however, is a rich and complicated system of symbolic imagery resulting from superb artistry.

Through his characters, Dickens also touched a range of readers, which was perhaps his greatest talent. As his friend John Forster wrote, his stories enthralled "judges on the bench and boys in the street" alike. The illiterate, often too poor to buy instalments themselves, pooled their pennies and got someone to read aloud to them.

Near the end of the serialization of The Old Curiosity Shop , crowds thronged to a New York pier to await the ship from London carrying the latest instalment. As it came to the dock people roared, "Is Little Nell dead?" The pathetic death of the novel's child-heroine, Nell Trent, became one of the most celebrated scenes in 19th-century fiction. Such public concern over Little Nell's end guaranteed that Dickens's social message would be heard, not only by his avid readers, but also by those in power.

Dickens was a careful craftsman, with a strong sense of design; his books were strictly outlined. Any current notions that Dickens's novels are long because he was paid by the word, or sloppy because he wrote them under pressure of monthly deadlines, are simply untrue. What organizes Dickens's stories is sometimes not apparent at first glance, although it makes sense in novels that emphasize character. It is the logic of psychology, the tensions and contradictions of our drives and emotions, which Dickens plumbed, laying side by side the best and the worst of the human heart. This is a very different logic from the order of realism that rests on common sense. Dickens detested common sense, seeing in its seeming obviousness a form of tyranny.

The theater was a crucial influence on Dickens's work. As a young man Dickens tried to go on stage, but he missed his audition because of a cold. Not only did Dickens later write comic plays, melodramas, and libretti (words for musical dramas), he was also often involved in amateur theatricals for good causes, and spent his last two decades reading his own stories to packed audiences. Dickens's readings were as much a sensation in England and America as was his writing, and they proved as profitable. The readings revealed the part of the man that made him a practiced magician and hypnotist as well.

Dickens's love of the theatrical makes his works lend themselves readily to media adaptations. Motion-picture or television versions exist for almost every one of them. A Christmas Carol was one of the earliest to be adapted, first appearing as the silent film Scrooge (1901), directed by Walter R. Booth. The most notable adaptations include A Christmas Carol (1938), directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Reginald Owen, and, probably the most famous of all, A Christmas Carol (1951), directed by Brian Desmond Hart and starring Alastair Sim. A later production titled Scrooged (1988) was directed by Richard Donner and starred Bill Murray. David Lean directed the most famous of the many versions of Great Expectations (1946). The film Oliver! (1968), a musical based on Oliver Twist and directed by Carol Reed, won six Academy Awards. Nowadays people are probably more familiar with the many BBC television miniseries productions of Dickens's works.

Contributed By: Laurie Langbauer, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Professor of English, University of North Carolina. Author of Novels of Everyday Life: The Series in English Fiction, 1850-1930.

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S1994E06 The Rockefellers

• May 30, 1994

Their name is synonymous with wealth. But over the past few generations, they have made as much of a mark in philanthropy as in business. John D. Rockefeller amassed a billion dollars in the last half of the nineteenth century by doggedly pursuing a single dream total control of the oil refining industry. By the turn of the century, the dream was realized and he was the world's richest man. This documentary draws on expert commentary and archival footage to tell the story of this unique robber baron. Though he was a ruthless businessman, he eschewed personal excess and passed along a legacy of philanthropy to his children. See how his son embraced his father's philosophy, devoting his life to giving away much of the money his father had made. And get an up-close look at the many charities funded by Rockefeller money.

S1994E11 George Washington: Founding Father

• June 24, 1994

He was a gentleman farmer from Virginia, a brilliant and bold tactician who proved equally adept at leading men into battle and a young nation into the future.From his youth of privilege to his inauguration as the nation's first president, here is George Washington's remarkable life. Exploring the truths, exploding the myths, it's the portrait of a man who first distinguished himself in the British forces, before creating the army that would ultimately defeat them. His was the pivotal role in establishing the modern world's first nation with neither a King nor an emperor.This is a stirring look at the American hero who remains in the words of Henry Lee "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen."

S1994E12 Stephen King

S1994e15 anthony hopkins.

• July 11, 2007

S1994E17 Davy Crockett: American Frontier Legend

• August 1, 1994

From backwoodsman to politician to martyr, Davy Crockett lived an incredible life that has been obscured by the legends which have sprung up around him. From his feuds with Andrew Jackson to the truth about his coonskin cap, BIOGRAPHY® probes the life and legend of one of America's best -known folk heroes.

S1994E17 Donald Trump: Master of the Deal

From his days on top of the world in the glitzy eighties to his decline and remarkable rebirth, chronicle the astonishing life of the modern Midas whose name is synonymous with wealth.

S1994E18 Roy Rogers: American Legend

• August 2, 1994

Roy Rogers, along with his wife Dale Evans, and horse Trigger become icons of the western genre.

S1994E19 Willie Nelson: My Life

• August 4, 1994

S1994E20 Lizzie Borden: A Woman Accused

• April 7, 1995

Her name is forever linked to murder most foul, but who was the spinster accused of one of the most gruesome crimes in history?

S1994E21 Patsy Cline: Remembering Patsy

• August 5, 1994

Patsy Cline died in a plane crash on March 5, 1963. Now, her musical legacy lives on in Remembering Patsy. This heartfelt celebration features 17 great Patsy Cline songs, and 10 rare television appearances, recently discovered and never before seen on video. You'll meet Patsy through her intimate home movies, her personal letters, as read by Arista recording artist Michele Wright, and the fond reminiscences of Patsy's husband, Charlie Dick, and Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Mel Tillis, Roy Clark, Eddy Arnold, Bill Anderson and Jan Howard. A new generation of stars including Trisha Yearwood, k.d. lang, Ronna Reeves, Lisa Stewart, and Marsha Thorntorn, add insight into Patsy's influence and proof positive that Patsy Cline does live on in her music.

S1994E22 Eleanor Roosevelt: A Restless Spirit

• August 30, 1994

S1994E25 Bette Davis: If Looks Could Kill

• September 13, 1994

S1994E27 Benjamin Franklin: Citizen Of The World

• September 15, 1994

Franklin's own words come alive in this detailed portrait of America's first great statesman and Renaissance man.

S1994E28 Mike Tyson: Fallen Champ

• September 16, 1994

S1994E29 Michelangelo: Artist and Man

• September 21, 1994

S1994E30 Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess

• October 17, 1994

An account of the life and career of Marilyn Monroe, one of Hollywood's most famous and glamorous movie stars. Her sad and difficult childhood is recounted, including her mother's breakdown and her life with unsympathetic foster parents. After being "discovered" by Hollywood, Monroe endured many insecurities and problems that came along with a world that called her a "goddess", but saw her as a sex object. Although her movie roles reveal a sense of humor, warmth, and talent, her life continued-with three failed marriages, addiction to drugs and alcohol, and a tragic, controversial death. Interviews with actress Sheree North, Gloria Steinem, Donald Spoto and Monroe's first husband offer information and reflections.

S1994E31 Edgar Allan Poe: The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe

• October 27, 1994

Descend into the dark world and tragic life of the melancholy author who is the uncontested master of the macabre, and hear excerpts from his famous works.

S1994E33 Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey

• December 5, 1994

William Frederick Halsey Jr. seemed a throwback to the Jurassic age of naval warfare. While admirals were thinking deep strategic thoughts in Hawaii and Washington, Halsey was eager to hurl his ships alongside an enemy he unabashedly hated. His heart and mouth were on the same hair trigger as his mighty task force's deadly weapons and they got him into more trouble than the enemy ever did. Though he was more fighter than tactician, Halsey's men loved him. When the action was touch and go there was no better man to bellow orders than "Bull Halsey."

S1994E34 FDR: The War Years

• December 6, 1994

Second of the two-part series on FDR. This film reviews his term as President during the cataclysmic war years and his international policies. At this death on April 12, 1945, a nation mourned for the man whose vision and faith led the country through a tumultuous period in history.

S1994E37 Santa Claus

• December 19, 1994

Celebrate the enchantment embodied within the legend of one of history's most beloved figures. Though rooted in various religions, Santa also symbolizes the secular spirit of generosity. Adored by children worldwide, but often with a different name and emanating from disparate myths, he continues to create instantaneous mirth and joy. Join us on a jolly journey through time to reveal his roots--from the Roman Befana to the Germanic Berchta and Knecht Ruprecht, from Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus.

S1994E38 Shari Lewis And Lamb Chop

• December 20, 1994

S1994E39 Stooges: The Men Behind The Mayhem

• December 23, 1994

For six decades, the Three Stooges ran amuck in a riotous frenzy of eye-poking, ear-slapping, kicks, jabs, punches and frying pans to the cranium. Now Laughsmith Entertainment and A&E offer fans of the Moronic Maestros a chance to relive the Golden Age of Stoogery. Through rare recordings, exclusive interviews and outtakes of behind-the-scenes antics, "Stooges: The Men behind the Mayhem" tells the pure, uncensored Stooge story--from the early vaudeville years with Shemp and Ted Healy, through the golden years at Columbia Pictures with Curly, to the final feature films with Curly Joe DeRita, "the last Stooge." Whether you're fascinated by the unrestrained id, or just enjoy the good, clean humor of pliers applied to the nose, you'll find something to love in this in-depth look at America's most beloved madcaps The Three Stooges!

S1994E40 Harry S. Truman

S1994e41 w.c. fields: behind the laughter.

• August 8, 1994

S1994E42 Christa McAuliffe

• July 11, 1994

Teacher Christa McAuliffe dies with six other astronauts in the Challenger explosion.

S1994E43 Cary Grant: Leading Man

• June 28, 1994

Photos, film clips, and interviews reveal Cary Grant's self-made style.

S1994E44 Gilda Radner

• December 26, 1994

Clips and interviews help fans relive the life of Gilda Radner.

S1994E45 Cleopatra Destinys Queen

• November 25, 1994

S1994E46 General Douglas MacArthur

Narrated by Harry Chase.

Season 1995

S1995e01 jaqueline kennedy onassis: in a class of her own.

• January 1, 1995

As First Lady, she won the hearts of the American people with her beauty, style, and grace. As a young widow, she became the object of the nation's fascination. In this intimate account, Biography explores Jackie's life from that terrible day in Dallas until the time of her own death in 1994. Here is the story of this enigmatic woman and inspirational icon who, despite unwavering calls for privacy throughout her life, was forever destined to live in the blinding glare of the media spotlight.

S1995E02 Jesus: His Life

• September 26, 1995

Portrait of Jesus Christ that focuses on the events that help us understand Jesus the man--the years in the wilderness, his ministry.

S1995E03 Raquel Welch

• January 2, 1994

S1995E04 The Vanderbilts: An American Dynasty

• January 2, 1995

Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in New York in 1794. He grew up on the banks of New York Bay on Staten Island where his father kept a small farm and ferried goods to Manhattan. Cornelius left school at age 11 and became a scholar of the harbor. Listen to his story to find out how he parlayed his love of boats and keen business sense into an American dynasty.

S1995E05 Milton Hershey: The Chocolate King

• January 6, 1995

He built one of the great American fortunes from the ground up, and in an era of ruthless robber barons, his commitment to fairness led him to sweet success.

S1995E06 P.T. Barnum: American Dreamer

• January 16, 1995

S1995E07 Sammy Davis Jr.: Mr. Entertainment

• February 3, 1995

S1995E08 The History of Hamlet

• February 7, 1995

S1995E09 Donna Summer: From Disco To Diva

• February 9, 1995

S1995E10 Thomas Jefferson: Philosopher Of Freedom

• February 21, 1995

"Thomas Jefferson: Philosopher of Freedom" studies the life of the third President. Included: his rivalry with John Adams; events preceding his writing of the Declaration of Independence; his skills as an architect, naturalist and linguist.

S1995E11 Attila The Hun: Scourge Of God

• February 27, 1995

His name is equated with bloodthirsty conquest and barbaric fury. But the legendary conqueror was more than just a fighter.

S1995E12 Loretta Lynn: True Story Of The Coal Miner's Daughter

• March 13, 1995

Born to a poor family in Kentucky and a married mother of three by the time she was 19, Loretta Lynn becomes one of the famous country music performers.

S1995E13 Charlton Heston: For All Seasons

• March 20, 1995

S1995E14 Love and Death: The Story Of Bonnie And Clyde

• April 3, 1995

Their lawless spree of robbing and killing took the lives of a dozen people. Yet something about them captured America's imagination; perhaps the glamorous ideal of the romantic outlaw had special appeal during the Depression. Archival news footage, newspaper accounts, and the recollections of observers relate the true picture of Bonnie and Clyde, including the dramatic ambush that ended their lives. An interview with Clyde's sister gives the viewer insight into the character of her brother and his girlfriend.

S1995E15 John Dillinger: Public Enemy No. 1

• April 4, 1995

S1995E16 Lizzie Borden: A Woman Accused

S1995e17 jimmy carter: to the white house and beyond.

• April 11, 1995

S1995E18 Huey Long: The Kingfish

• April 13, 1995

S1995E19 The Unknown Jesus

• April 16, 1995

For 2,000 years the popular image of Jesus has remained fundamentally static. Today, the millennium prompts questions long-debated in scholarly circles. What is known about the historicity of Jesus? Is his existence indisputable? From period accounts to controversial hypotheses, THE UNKNOWN JESUS traces the origins of the stories surrounding the key figure of Christianity. Many have studied Jesus' life according to the Gospels, but these writings, penned decades after his death, narrate a Jesus of a specific faith. Armed with ancient sources such as the Dead Sea scrolls, the papyrus books at Nag Hammadi, and often overlooked writings of the early church, modern scholars discuss riveting new theories that challenge the common conception of Jesus. Join A&E for a probing investigation into the life and legacy of Jesus Christ, the most influential figure in the Western world.

S1995E20 The Extraordinary Journeys Of Jules Verne

• April 17, 1995

He captured the imagination of millions and helped launch a generation of readers and writers on fantastic voyages of the mind.

S1995E21 Marconi: Whisper In The Air

• April 19, 1995

S1995E22 Pierre Elliott Trudeau

• April 25, 1995

S1995E23 Betty Grable: Behind The Pin-Up

• May 8, 1995

S1995E24 Mickey Rooney: Hollywood's Little Giant

• May 15, 1995

S1995E25 Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective

• May 22, 1995

The very essence of Victorian London, Sherlock Holmes has been the subject of more films, books, and biographies than any other character in English literature - even though he never actually existed.

S1995E26 Jack The Ripper: Phantom Of Death

• May 23, 1995

In the annals of crime, perhaps no name evokes terror more than that Jack the Ripper. Although this anonymous killer committed his gruesome murders more than a century ago, his name lives on. This program goes to England to investigate the murder of five women, which took place in 1888 and have gripped the collective psyche ever since. Most frightening of all is the fact that murderer was never caught, or even identified. Criminologists present their theories on the identity of the infamous killer. Never-before-released photographs graphically display the vicious work of Jack the Ripper's knife

S1995E27 Howdy Doody And Buffalo Bob Smith

• May 29, 1995

Puppet Howdy Doody and his human friend Buffalo Bob become the first breakout stars of early children's TV.

S1995E28 Genghis Khan: Terror And Conquest

• June 5, 1995

S1995E29 Patton: A Genius For War

• June 11, 1995

This documentary from Biography reviews the career and personal life of controversial General George S. Patton.

S1995E30 The Red Baron: Master Of The Air

• June 12, 1995

See rare combat footage of the Red Baron in action, and witness his burial with full military honors by the British!

S1995E31 Mozart

• June 19, 1995

S1995E32 Pocahontas: Her True Story

• June 26, 1995

S1995E33 Daniel Boone

• June 27, 1995

S1995E34 Lewis & Clark: Explorers Of The New Frontier

• June 29, 1995

Extensive accounts from their journals bring the epic quest to explore a vast continent to life.

S1995E35 Crazy Horse: The Last Warrior

• June 30, 1995

S1995E36 King George III: Mad Or Maligned?

• July 3, 1995

S1995E37 Paul Revere: The Midnight Rider

• July 5, 1995

He risked everything to free his nation. Now venture into the incredible life and legacy of Paul Revere the master silversmith who forever change the course of American history.

S1995E38 Benedict Arnold: Triumph And Treason

• July 6, 1995

In the Revolutionary War, he was one of America's greatest leaders-until his traitorous turn to the British cause made his name synonymous with treason.

S1995E39 To John with Love: A Tribute to John Candy

• July 17, 1995

S1995E40 Tokyo Rose: Victim of Propaganda

• August 9, 1995

During World War II experts in psychological warfare battled for the hearts and minds of the enemy through the use of propaganda. The Allies used this type of warfare as did the Germans and the Japanese. One famous Japanese broadcast featured the sultry voice of “Tokyo Rose,” who was actually a staff of more than a dozen women who broadcast music and relatively ineffectual propaganda to the enemy through out the war. When the war was over the search for scapegoats and traitors began. This is the story of one woman who was singled out, branded as Tokyo Rose and convicted of treason.

S1995E42 Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

• September 3, 1995

S1995E43 Malcolm X: A Search For Identity

A profile of Malcolm X (1925-65) features a previously unaired confession by Talmadge Hayer, one of the slain Muslim leader's convicted assassins. Also: his childhood, including the institutionalization of his mother and the death of his father; a study of his rise within the Nation of Islam; and excerpts from some of his speeches.

S1995E43 Malcolm X

S1995e44 dean martin: everybody loves somebody.

• September 4, 1995

S1995E45 Liberace: Mr. Showmanship

• September 6, 1995

S1995E46 Charles Manson: Journey Into Evil

• September 11, 1995

Charles Manson is an American cult leader whose followers carried out several notorious murders in the late 1960s and inspired the book Helter Skelter.

S1995E47 Ted Bundy: The Mind of a Killer

• September 12, 1995

American serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy was one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th century.

S1995E48 King Arthur: His Life and Legends

• September 18, 1995

S1995E49 Robin Hood: Outlaw Of The Forest

• September 19, 1995

S1995E50 Hercules: Power Of The Gods

• September 20, 1995

He is mythology's greatest and most celebrated hero, a towering figure whose name is synonymous with strength itself. The son of a mortal woman who was seduced by Zeus, Hercules was the mightiest of all humans. His celebrated 12 labors took him to the very ends of the earth and beyond as he fought fearsome creatures, battled injustice and defied even the gods themselves. Journey back to Ancient Greece to discover the origins of this epic hero. Probe the true meaning of his labors, and see how Hercules' divine power is balanced by very human frailty.

S1995E51 Patrick Henry: Voice Of Liberty

• September 25, 1995

“Give me liberty or give me death.” This episode of Biography tells Patrick Henry’s story through expert commentary, period accounts and artifacts, and revealing excerpts from Henry’s speeches and writings

S1995E52 Susan B. Anthony: Rebel for the Cause

• September 28, 1995

For over half a century, she endured threats and ridicule in her tireless quest for reform. She did not live to see the victory she helped bring about. Susan B. Anthony earned her place in history as an unstoppable crusader for woman's suffrage, helping found America's first major civil rights movement. BIOGRAPHY revisits her inspiring life, from her childhood in Massachusetts to cutting her teeth in activism as an anti-slavery crusader. But it was not until after the Civil War that she really began to make a name for herself, forming the National Women's Suffrage Association with Elizabeth Stanton. She would devote the rest of her life to the cause. Here, dramatic re-enactments bring the pivotal moments of her crusade to life including her 1872 arrest for daring to vote while historians reflect on her vital legacy. Relive one of the most influential and important campaigns in American history, and explore the drive and devotion of the remarkable woman at its head.

S1995E53 Andrew Jackson: A Man For The People

• September 29, 1995

S1995E54 Brigham Young: Architect Of Faith

• October 2, 1995

This episode of Biography looks at Brigham Young, a settler in the American west and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Known as the “Mormon Moses”, Young followed founder Joseph Smith as head of the Mormon church.

S1995E55 Christopher Columbus: Explorer Of The New World

• October 9, 1995

The life and times of Christopher Columbus are chronicled in this release in the BIOGRAPHY series. His journey to Asia was historic for many reasons, and although it later transpired that the Vikings had beaten him to it, his name is still rightly lauded for his achievements. Some rare artefacts and interviews with historians combine here to tell Columbus's remarkable tale.

S1995E56 Leif Ericson: Voyages Of A Viking

• October 10, 1995

The tale had been kept alive for generations, but the intriguing story of Vinland seemed more legendary than true. But a landmark discovery rewrote the history of human exploration, and showed he had indeed visited North America. Five hundred years before Christopher Columbus, Leif Ericson and the Vikings sailed from Greenland to a new land sighted further west. For centuries, their story was shrouded in mystery. But a remarkable discovery by archeologist Anne Ingstad uncovered the site of the legendary Vinland a Viking settlement in Newfoundland. BIOGRAPHY journeys to the Dark Ages to tell the story of one of the greatest explorers of all time, and the extraordinary journey that made him a legend. Tour the site where Ericson set foot on the New World, and learn what is known of his life from the world's leading scholars. Set sail for history in this unique program which re-creates one of the most important journeys in human history and introduces the legendary explorer at its heart.

S1995E57 Marco Polo: Journey To The East

• October 11, 1995

Leading historians and historic re-enactments bring the fabled journeys of the world's most famous adventurer to life. His epic adventures in the Far East remain among the most celebrated journeys in human history. His writings gave Europeans their first authoritative look at life in that distant land. Marco Polo will forever be remembered as one of the greatest explorers and adventurers in history. His 20-year sojourn took him to China, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He served in the court of the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan and for three years governed the city of Yangzhou. BIOGRAPHY® retraces the path of this great adventurer in this riveting program. Extensive excerpts from The Travels of Marco Polo capture the magic and wonder of his journey, while historians reveal what is known of his private life. See how his famous trip was actually the second undertaken by his family, and discover how his capture by Genoan forces in 1298 led to the writing of his historic book. It's a thrilling account of one of the greatest adventures in human history, and a revealing portrait of the man who went where others dared not dream

S1995E58 Ponce de Leon: The First Conquistador

• October 12, 1995

Lured to the New World by promises of gold and glory, legendary explorer Ponce de Leon earned himself a place in history.

S1995E58 Ponce De Leon: The First Conquistador

He was one of the first and most famous of a breed of men who would carve out an empire in the New World. His name is forever linked to the futile search for the Fountain of Youth. Ponce de Leon is remembered for his misguided quest, but ""the first Conquistador"" deserves better. BIOGRAPHY; travels back in time to stand with the Spanish adventurer on the edge of the New World. Contemporary historians and period accounts bring his remarkable accomplishments to life he sailed with Columbus, discovered Florida and was the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was also extremely successful at laying waste to the existing cultures and planting the seeds of the colonization that followed. Leading experts examine his motivations in the context of the time and culture he lived in, and dramatic re-enactments relive his stirring adventures. Soldier, adventurer and explorer, this is the complete story of the man who chased one of humanity's most illusive dreams and left an indelible mark on the New World."

S1995E59 George Custer: Showdown At Little Bighorn

• October 16, 1995

S1995E60 Sitting Bull: Chief of The Lakota Nation

• December 10, 1995

5th of May, 1877 - Nearly a year after he won the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull led his people into The Grandmother's Country (Canada, so-named out of respect for Queen Victoria - Grandmothers were much-revered) to try to find some relief from the U.S. Army. Here he and his people lived in peace for four years. His younger warriors started making trouble with the neighboring tribes, however, and the Canadian government asked Sitting Bull to return to the U.S. Sitting Bull engineered the victory at 'Custer's Last Stand'. Sitting Bull was a brilliant tactician, a Lakota Visionary, able to spur his warriors to victory even after defeat. It was for this talent that the U.S. Army feared him most. He saw the victory at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, so his warriors knew they were going to be victorious. Unfortunately they did not heed the second part of his prophecy, to not take any of the white man's property as spoils of war. Sitting Bull never signed a "peace treaty." A meadowlark told him of his death by Lakota People. This is a comprehensive look at the life of the Great Lakotoa Chief, one of the last Great Leaders of the Indian Resistance Movement - a look at the life of a great man who still inspires The People today.

S1995E61 Wild Bill Hickok: Gentleman Of The Old West

• October 18, 1995

S1995E62 The James Gang: Outlaw Brothers

• October 19, 1995

S1995E63 Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

• October 20, 1995

S1995E64 Boris Karloff: The Gentle Monster

• October 23, 1995

S1995E65 Lon Chaney Jr.: Son Of A Thousand Faces

• October 25, 1995

S1995E66 Bela Lugosi: Hollywood's Dark Prince

• October 27, 1995

S1995E67 Nostradamus: Prophet of Doom

• November 6, 1995

Explore the incredible life of Nostradamus, the enigmatic man known as the Prophet of Doom.

S1995E68 H.G. Wells: Time Traveller

• November 7, 1995

This episode of Biography profiles Herbert George Wells, a pioneer of science fiction who forecast everything from chemical warfare and the atom bomb to computer chips and modern birth control.

S1995E69 Paul Newman: Hollywood's Charming Rebel

• November 13, 1995

S1995E70 Roger Moore: A Matter of Class

• November 16, 1995

S1995E72 John Wilkes Booth: Assassin In The Spotlight

• November 20, 1995

A profile of John Wilkes Booth, the infamous actor and devoted Confederate who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.

S1995E73 Lee Harvey Oswald: An American Tragedy

• November 21, 1995

S1995E74 The Gettys: A Tragedy of Riches

• November 26, 1995

S1995E76 Andrew Carnegie: Prince of Steel

• December 1, 1995

S1995E77 Al Capone: Scarface

• December 4, 1995

A profile of Al Capone, who was Chicago's gangland kingpin in the '20s but was cut down by the IRS in 1931 and spent eight years in Alcatraz.

S1995E78 The Kellogg Brothers: Corn Flake Kings

• November 27, 1995

They may have collaborated on the cornflake, but the Kellogg brothers could not have been less alike; one was an eccentric crusader for health, the other a shrewd businessman. John Harvey Kellogg and his younger brother Will Keith played out one of the most dramatic and bitter family feuds in American history, yet before their split, they were partners for 20 years. BIOGRAPHY® paints a detailed portrait of the Kellogg brothers, drawing on extensive original footage and commentary from family members and historians. Witness the feud that drove the brothers apart and watch Will Keith turn their humble invention into the cornerstone of one of the most successful companies in the world. From the first corn flake to their 10-year legal battle, THE KELLOGG BROTHERS: CORN FLAKE KINGS presents the tumultuous story of the men who revolutionized America's breakfast.

S1995E79 Edgar Bergen: His Many Voices

• December 14, 1995

S1995E80 Mary Tyler Moore: All American-Girl

• December 18, 1995

S1995E81 Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius

• December 22, 1995

A painful childhood fuels the ambition of the author.

S1995E82 Charles Schulz: A Charlie Brown Life

• December 25, 1995

S1995E83 Stan Lee: the ComiX-Man

• December 26, 1995

S1995E84 Colin Powell

S1995e85 bugsy siegel.

Iconic mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel built the Flamingo casino in Las Vegas, igniting an era of glamour, gambling and gangsters in the desert.

S1995E86 Sigmund Freud: Analysis of a Mind

• August 9, 1996

The life and work of the great and influential psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), is examined. Archive footage of Freud and a unique sound recording of his voice are included.

S1995E87 Hirohito of Japan: The Last Banzai

• October 22, 1995

A royal portrait of the highly private man who was installed as god and humiliated in war but remains a symbol of ancient culture in an industrialized society.

S1995E99 Henry Kissinger: A Diplomat's Life

• January 8, 1996

S1995E100 Clive Barker

S1995e101 dr. martin luther king jr.: a historical perspective, s1995e102 o.j. simpson, s1995e102 h.g. wells: time traveler, s1995e103 jesse jackson: i am somebody, s1995e104 james earl jones: with a strong voice, s1995e104 nicholas and alexandra, s1995e105 richard burton: an actor's life, s1995e106 fdr: years of crisis.

• February 23, 1995

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's rise and first two presidential terms.

S1995E107 Peter Sellers

S1995e109 tony bennett: the art of the singer, s1995e109 the pulitzers, s1995e110 albert schweitzer: darkness and light, s1995e111 ike & monty: generals at war, s1995e111 carl reiner: still laughing, s1995e112 raymond chandler, s1995e113 mary tyler moore: all american girl, s1995e113 larry king, s1995e114 goebbels: master of propaganda, s1995e115 louis armstrong: laughin' louis, s1995e116 donna summer, s1995e120 leona helmsley, s1995e121 aristotle onassis: the golden greek, s1995e122 coco chanel: a private life, s1995e123 eric clapton, s1995e124 yul brynner: the man who was king, s1995e125 debbie reynolds, s1995e126 lance ito: sitting in judgment, season 1996, s1996e01 carol burnett: just to have a laugh.

• April 28, 1996

S1996E02 Jeffrey Dahmer: The Monster Within

• June 3, 1996

Jeffrey Dahmer was a sex offender and serial killer who killed 17 males between 1978 to 1991. Dahmer was sentenced to fifteen consecutive life terms. He was murdered by a fellow prison inmate during his incarceration.

S1996E03 Carl Sagan: A Cosmic Celebrity

• July 1, 1996

S1996E04 Sir Isaac Newton - The Gravity of Genius

• August 7, 1996

S1996E05 Richard Pryor: Comic On The Edge

• July 8, 1996

Richard Pryor: Comic on the Edge chronicles the turbulent career of the African-American stand-up comic and TV and film star who broke new ground before self-destructing.

S1996E06 Gary Gilmore: A Fight to Die

• December 11, 1996

Murder Gary Gilmore was executed by a volunteer firing squad in 1977. His death inspired Norman Mailer’s nonfiction book The Executioner’s Song.

S1996E07 The Boston Strangler

• June 6, 1996

Alberto DeSalvo was born September 3, 1931 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. DeSalvo was in and out of trouble with the police from an early age, but nothing as gruesome as the Boston Strangler case. Between 1962 and 1964, DeSalvo admitted to murdering 13 women in Boston, most of whom were elderly and alone. DeSalvo was killed in prison after being sentenced to life.

S1996E08 Alexander Graham Bell: Voice Of Invention

• August 6, 1996

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 one of many notable contributions he made to fields ranging from medicine to aviation. Alexander Graham Bell left his mark on the world with the invention of the telephone. But he might have been a footnote in history if not for his lawyer, who filed for the patent a mere two hours before his rival Elisha Gray, who had also unraveled the mysteries of communicating bywire. From his childhood in Scotland and his long struggle to get out from under his father's shadow to the invention of the precursors to the X-ray machine and Iron Lung, BIOGRAPHY traces the life of the famed inventor. Discover how he saved National Geographic from financial ruin, and why Helen Keller dedicated her autobiography to him! BIOGRAPHY proudly presents a tribute to a man whose life and genius touched millions.

S1996E09 Stonewall Jackson

• July 11, 1996

He earned his nickname for bravery at Bull Run. He met his fate in a tragic accident at Chancellorsville.

S1996E10 Dwight D. Eisenhower: Supreme Commander in Chief

• February 19, 1996

S1996E11 Admiral Chester Nimitz: Thunder of the Pacific

• October 15, 1996

He inherited a shattered, demoralized command with burning ships, ruined planes and over 2,000 men under his new command were dead before he got to direct a shot in return. See how Admiral Nimitz pushed the Japanese to surrender against incredible odds, ending the war in the Pacific.

S1996E12 Mark Twain: His Amazing Adventures

• November 11, 1996

Profiling Mark Twain (1835-1910) in his roles as steamboat pilot, gold miner, lecturer and reporter. Included: how Sam Clemens chose his pen name; the 1895 world tour aimed at paying his way out of bankruptcy; comments from scholars.

S1996E13 Adam & Eve: Lost Innocence

• February 12, 1996

The first love story, the first morality play--the story of Adam and Eve has inspired countless poets and artists and shaped Western civilization as we know it today. Through the use of paintings and interviews, a fascinating portrait of the lives of the first man and woman is created.

S1996E14 Samson and Delilah: Love and Betrayal

• August 22, 1996

Feared and revered for slaying thousands of Philistine people with a donkey's jawbone, the Hebrew judge Samson was one of the strongest men in the Bible. But he did have one weakness: his love for a Philistine courtesan named Delilah. This installment of A&E's popular "Biography" series explores the legendary love affair that was built on passion and -- unbeknownst to Samson -- betrayal, as Delilah was being paid to deplete her lover's strength.

S1996E15 Mary of Nazareth: A Mother's Life

• December 24, 1996

This story of the mother of Jesus looks at what is known of her life, and how historians and the faithful have regarded her through the centuries.

S1996E16 Amelia Earhart

• September 24, 1996

This episode of Biography spotlights Amelia Earhart, the most celebrated female aviator of all time. Includes extensive archival footage.

S1996E17 Abraham Lincoln: Preserving the Union

• November 5, 1996

Honest, eloquent and courageous, he risked everything to save a young America from self-destruction, and paid the ultimate price. This unforgettable program tells the complete story of Abraham Lincoln, from the rustic childhood that forged his beliefs to the tough campaign that made him president. Historians examine the difficult leadership choices of his turbulent first term, as well as his bouts with depression and troubled marriage to Mary Todd. Experts untangle a web of murder and kidnapping plots to learn the truth about the complex conspiracy that made Lincoln an American Martyr.

S1996E18 John F. Kennedy: A Personal Story

• November 3, 1996

Youthful and charismatic, John Fitzgerald Kennedy inspired America with a renewed sense of pride and confidence. A war hero, respected Senator and author of the Pulitzer Prize - winning Profiles in Courage, the dashing and handsome young Kennedy regarded life as a race against boredom. Experience the pivotal moments of his life though archival footage and interviews with esteemed journalists, White House insiders and members of the family.

S1996E19 Theodore Roosevelt: Roughrider to Rushmore

• February 20, 1996

Theodore Roosevelt, author, cowboy, conservationist, soldier, explorer and, notes historian Kathleen Dalton, "the President who launched the 20th century." Included: clips of Roosevelt's Roughriders in action during the Spanish-American War.

S1996E20 Richard Nixon: The Man and the President

• January 7, 1996

Richard M. Nixon is profiled. According to narrator Jack Smith, he was "a figure larger than life but more obviously human than any other politician of his era." Interviewed: Nixon biographer Stephen Ambrose; columnist William Safire; former Nixon aides John Ehrlichman, Charles Colson and John Dean.

S1996E21 Lucky Luciano

S1996e22 gypsy rose lee: naked ambition.

• January 1, 1996

S1996E23 The Beatles Story

S1996e24 saddam hussein, s1996e25 h. norman schwarzkopf: a soldier's story, s1996e26 moshe dayan: a warrior's story, s1996e27 rush limbaugh: always right, s1996e28 james brown: the godfather of soul.

• February 5, 1996

S1996E29 Annette Funicello

S1996e30 samson and delilah: love and betrayal, s1996e31 rudolph valentino: the great lover, s1996e32 ronald reagan: the role of a lifetime.

This episode of Biography traces the life of Ronald Reagan from his childhood in the small, working class towns of Illinois, through his career as a Hollywood actor, and his political career which took him from liberal Democrat to conservative Republican, from a two-term governorship of California, to a two-term presidency that helped define and shape policies in the 1980s and far beyond.

S1996E33 George Bush

S1996e34 the great ziegfeld, s1996e35 mussolini: italy's nightmare.

"Il Duce," Benito Mussolini, rises to power in 1922 and leads Italy as an Axis ally through World War II.

S1996E36 Joseph Stalin: Red Terror

• February 7, 1996

He held absolute power over the Soviet Union for 29 years. His legacy arguably surpasses even Hitler's he sent over 20 million of his own countrymen to their deaths! Josef Stalin is one of the greatest tyrants of all time. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union the extent of his atrocities have been revealed to a stunned world and he has taken his place alongside Hitler as one of the most reviled leaders of the century. This comprehensive portrait revisits the life of "Uncle Joe" through astonishing Soviet archival film and an astonishing collection of interviews. Biographers Robert Conquest and Edvard Radzinsky explore his disastrous reforms including the collectivization of agriculture and his massive purges. Former interpreter Valentin Berezhkov offers a first-person view of the dictator while purge victim Dr. Janusz Bardach talks about his time in the Gulags. And in a rare interview Mikail Gorbachev explores the rise rule and legacy of the most infamous of all his predecessors. BIOGRAPHY proudly presents a definitive history of one of the most important compelling and hated men in history.

S1996E37 John F. Kennedy Jr.: Child of a Dream

S1996e38 burt lancaster: daring to reach, s1996e39 st. patrick: the man, the myth, s1996e40 arnold schwarzenegger: flex appeal, s1996e41 jamie lee curtis: hollywood's girl next door, s1996e42 jim carrey: the joker's wild, s1996e43 bruce lee: the curse of the dragon, s1996e44 gene kelly, s1996e45 moses and the ten commandments, s1996e46 meyer lansky: mob tycoon, s1996e47 hatfields & mccoys: an american feud.

• June 17, 1995

In the heart of Appalachia, along the border of the Tug Fork River, a family feud ignited when Floyd Hatfield stole a hog from an unsuspecting Randolph McCoy in 1878. After 11 years' time, a dozen people lay dead -- and the national press had a field day with exaggerating details in subsequent coverage. More than 100 years later, this "Biography" installment seeks to set the story straight by talking with descendants of both fabled families.

S1996E48 Muhammad Ali

S1996e49 conrad hilton: innkeeper to the world, s1996e50 the du ponts: america's wealthiest family, s1996e51 george burns: one hundred years of laughter, s1996e52 abbott and costello meet biography, s1996e53 mata hari: unveiling the myth.

"Mata Hari: Seductive Spy" profiles Margaretha Zelle (1876-1917), "the ultimate femme fatale"---dancer, courtesan and, the French government contended, World War I spy. "She loved fame, she loved risk, she loved danger," says her biographer Erika Ostrovsky.

S1996E54 Captain Bligh: Mutiny on the Bounty

S1996e55 john paul jones: captain of the high seas.

”I have not yet begun to fight.” These words immortalized the seafaring Scotsman who would side with the Americans in the War for Independence. Naval hero to some, pirate to others, Captain John Paul Jones took on the Royal Navy —and won. This episode of Biography, hosted by Jack Perkins, details the life of this extraordinary man.

S1996E56 Hugh Hefner: American Playboy

S1996e57 jean harlow: platinum bombshell, s1996e58 faberge: imperial jeweler, s1996e59 the phantom, s1996e60 the hunchback of notre dame, s1996e61 henry viii: scandals of a king, s1996e62 marie antoinette: the tragic queen, s1996e63 richard the lionheart, s1996e64 elizabeth ii: the making of a queen, s1996e65 zorro: mark of the z, s1996e66 audie murphy: great american hero, s1996e67 edward viii: the traitor king.

• July 14, 1996

A profile suggests Edward VIII was forced from the throne for fascist sympathies instead of his romance.

S1996E68 William Shakespeare: A Life of Drama

Profiling William Shakespeare. Included: his unhappy marriage to Anne Hathaway; common themes in his plays; and speculation on his sexual preference.

S1996E69 Betty Boop: Queen of Cartoons

• August 8, 1996

She first appeared on screen with the body of a woman and the head of a dog! Re-invented as 100% woman, the racy cartoon star became an American icon.

S1996E70 Solomon and Sheba: An Epic Love Story

Solomon was the son of David and his beloved Bathsheba. He was a 12-year-old prodigy when he ascended to the throne of Israel. Yet for all his storied wisdom, his agnificent talent for palace building, and his 700 wives, Solomon remained a lonely and introspective man for most of his rule. Who was the mysterious and beautiful queen who finally captured the king's heart? Witness Solomon's evolution from his juvenile accession of the throne to his position as the wisest man of the ancient world.

S1996E71 J. Pierpont Morgan: Emperor of Wall Street

• September 9, 1996

From his rise to power to his legendary battles with Theodore Roosevelt, this is the complete story of the legendary financier who twice saved the nation.

S1996E72 The Astors: High Society

S1996e73 david and goliath: a biblical battle, s1996e74 amelia earhart: queen of the air, s1996e75 tyrone power: the last idol.

• October 1, 1996

S1996E76 Edward G. Robinson: Little Big Man

S1996e77 katharine hepburn: on her own terms, s1996e78 michael douglas: son of spartacus, s1996e79 robert e. lee, s1996e80 admiral chester nimitz: thunder of the pacific, s1996e81 alice faye: the star next door, s1996e82 peter lorre: the master of menace.

• November 1, 1996

S1996E83 John F. Kennedy: A Personal Story

S1996e84 abraham lincoln: preserving the union, s1996e85 mark twain: his amazing adventures, s1996e86 frederick douglass, s1996e87 tarzan: the legacy of edgar rice burroughs, s1996e88 fidel castro: el comandante, s1996e89 leonard nimoy: spock and beyond, s1996e90 shirley temple: the biggest little star, s1996e91 kathie lee gifford: having it all, s1996e92 mary of nazareth: a mother's life, s1996e93 evita peròn: the woman behind the myth, s1996e94 arthur godfrey: broadcasting's forgotten giant, s1996e95 carmen miranda: the south american way, s1996e96 howard stern: radio rebel.

• July 29, 1996

A look at Howard Stern's life and career from growing in Long Island to the making of his movie "Private Parts."

S1996E97 The Earp Brothers: Lawmen of the West

• May 30, 2006

They are perhaps the most famous lawmen of the Old West the Earp brothers: Virgil, Morgan, James, Newton, Warren and Wyatt. But did they really use their power to uphold the law? BIOGRAPHY takes a penetrating look at the career of the legendary gunslingers, and searches for answers to the question that has trouble historians for decades. Interviews with experts suggest that, in many cases, the brothers used their badges to rise above the law, not defend it. But others say that in such a lawless time and place, the Earps did what they had to do to carry out their duties as best they could. Travel with the Earps through the legendary towns of the Old West Leadsville, Dodge City, and Tombstone in search of their legacy. Revisit their finest moments and greatest defeats, and see rare pictures that bring these Western legends to life. From their Midwestern roots to the O.K. Corral, follow the Earps along a path of blood and controversy.

S1996E98 Christa McAuliffe: Teacher in Space

S1996e99 buffalo bill: showman of the west.

• July 26, 1996

S1996E100 Benito Mussolini: Italy\'s Nightmare

S1996e101 thomas edison: father of invention.

• August 5, 1996

S1996E102 Bud Abbott & Lou Costello: Abbott & Costello Meet Biography

• April 29, 1996

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are one of the most famous and beloved comedy teams in history. Their unique chemistry and superb comedic timing have never been surpassed. In a partnership that lasted 21 years they conquered every facet of show business, including burlesque, radio, Broadway, motion pictures and television.

S1996E103 Jerry Lewis: The Last American Clown

• August 18, 1996

S1996E104 The Menendez Brothers: Sins of the Children

• January 24, 1996

The shotgun murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez, on August 20th, 1989, had law enforcement officials stumped: who would have killed the wealthy executive and his wife in their posh Beverly Hills mansion?

S1996E105 General Omar Bradley

General Omar Bradley was known as one of WWII's finest commanders. This biography uncovers the history and complex character that drove this peerless fighter not only up to and through WWII, but in the critical years after it.

S1996E106 Heidi Fleiss Hollywood Madam

• September 27, 1996

S1996E107 Geronimo The Last Renegade

• July 25, 1996

Season 1997

S1997e01 eliot ness: untouchable.

• January 22, 1997

"The Untouchables,'' based on his book, mythologizes treasury agent Eliot Ness.

S1997E02 Julia Child: An Appetite for Life

• October 14, 1997

A spicy look at the renowned TV chef and French cooking expert. Traces her life from privileged childhood to her cooking career, which didn't begin until she attended the Cordon Bleu at age 35.

S1997E03 Andrew Cunanan

• September 17, 1997

Andrew Cunanan was a serial murder who killed fashion designer Gianni Versace, and at least four other people, before committing suicide in a Miami houseboat.

S1997E04 Timothy McVeigh: Soldier of Terror

• July 8, 1997

This profile of Timothy McVeigh, the former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of the Oklahoma City bombing, traces his early life in Pendleton, N.Y., and his military hitch, including his service in the Persian Gulf War. Chris Bury narrates.

S1997E05 Seeing Double

• December 10, 1997

S1997E06 Vincent Price: The Versatile Villain

• October 12, 1997

Horror legend Vincent Price is profiled.

S1997E07 Jane Russell: Body and Soul

• October 20, 1997

S1997E08 Judy Garland: Beyond the Rainbow

• March 23, 1997

"Judy: Beyond the Rainbow" profiles entertainer Judy Garland (1922-69) in a blend of movie and TV clips and revealing interviews. Among those commenting: daughter Liza Minnelli, Mickey Rooney, June Allyson, Ann Miller.

S1997E09 Rasputin: The Mad Monk

• March 10, 1997

He was an uneducated peasant who gained a reputation as a faith healer. His strange behavior and incredible influence over the imperial family made him notorious his death made him a legend. Gregory Rasputin dominated the final years of imperial Russia.

S1997E10 Noah and the Ark: Voyage to a New Beginning

• June 18, 1997

With humanity perched on the brink of destruction, his righteousness saved the world. Although most people know the story of the Flood and Noah's Ark, few know details about Noah, the man. sailor, vintner, farmer, healer, and prophet-is said to have lived for 950 years. This remarkable BIOGRAPHY® traces the holy man's life, illuminating little-known facts and exploring his role as the central figure of the renowned tale of destruction and rebirth. Uncover Noah's extraordinary story through interviews with renowned historians, biblical excerpts and period accounts, stunning location footage from the Holy Land, and rare paintings and artifacts. NOAH & THE ARK offers a fascinating investigation into the life of one of the Bible's most celebrated men, a figure who foresaw a terrible end and a new beginning for mankind.

S1997E11 Lucrezia Borgia: Pretty Poison

• June 2, 1997

Born the illegitimate daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia--later Pope Alexander VI--Lucrezia Borgia was three times married to further her father's political ambitions. Her first marriage had been annulled and her second husband was murdered on orders from her brother. The third of these was in 1501, to Alfonso son of the Duke of Este, who inherited the Duchy of Ferrara, where she established a brilliant court of artists and men of letters, and devoted herself to the patronage of art and education. But what of her reputation for wantonness and crime? She has been called the most depraved woman in history. As Lucrezia grew up in Roman society, rumors about her were rampant. Did she have incestuous affairs, with her father, the pope, and her brothers? Was pricking enemies with an arsenic-drenched ring her favorite method of disposing men? Or was Lucrezia a victim of her family's ruthless quest for power, exploited for her beauty and kindness? Is her reputation more legend than fact?

S1997E12 Larry Flynt: Fighting Dirty

• January 15, 1997

From bootlegger to convict, to millionaire pornographer, to born-again Christian, to paraplegic gunshot-victim, Larry Flynt's life so far has been anything but ordinary. As the founder and publisher of Hustler Magazine Flynt broke new ground in porn publishing, offering filth and debauchery of a sort hitherto only imaginable. In his life Larry Flynt has always courted controversy, and along the way he's made himself the enemy of millions. But Larry Flynt always seems to come out on top. This comprehensive portrait follows Flynt from his dirt-poor Appalachian childhood to his surprising role as a poster-boy for First Amendment rights. Rare footage documents the defining moments in his life, from the launch of Hustler in 1974 to his landmark Supreme Court victory over Moral Majority head Jerry Falwell. In a moving interview, Flynt recalls his long and painful recovery from the assassination attempt that nearly took his life, and the tragic death of his wife. From selling moonshine to his dad to the controversial film that cemented his place in folklore, this is the controversial saga of Larry Flynt.

S1997E13 F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great American Dreamer

• April 14, 1997

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), the “Great American Dreamer” whose literary classics include “The Great Gatsby” and “Tender Is the Night.” Interviewed: Garrison Keiller and three Fitzgerald biographers.

S1997E14 Ayatollah Khomeini: Holy Terror

• September 11, 1997

A profile of Ayatollah Khomeini, the theocratic Iranian revolutionary leader. “He was no fanatic,” says Mike Wallace. “He knew exactly what he was doing.” Also interviewed: Mideast expert Fouad Ajami; New York Times correspondent Elaine Sciolino.

S1997E15 The Gambinos: First Family of Crime

S1997e16 sam giancana, s1997e17 masters and johnson: the science of sex, s1997e18 woodrow wilson: reluctant warrior, s1997e19 g. gordon liddy: warrior with a cause, s1997e20 dow and jones: wizards of wall street.

This episode of Biography tells the fascinating story of Charles Dow and Edward Jones and the flabbergasting financial circus they launched. Distributed by A&E Television Networks.

S1997E21 Samuel Bronfman: Whiskey Man

S1997e22 sonja henie: fire on ice.

She dominated her sport like few athletes in history, winning three consecutive Olympic Gold Medals and an unprecedented ten world figure skating championships. She parlayed her athletic success into a legendary career in entertainment. Sonja Henie skated into the hearts of the world, racing across the ice like a comet, her blond curls circling her head like a halo. BIOGRAPHY captures her the magic through footage of her world championship performances, and follows her to Hollywood, where she became one of the top box-office draws of the thirties and forties.

S1997E23 Joan Rivers: Can She Talk!

S1997e24 sophia loren: actress italian style, s1997e25 henry fonda: hollywood's quiet hero, s1997e26 sidney poitier: the defiant one, s1997e27 audrey hepburn: the fairest lady.

The story of how Audrey Hepburn survived World War II, became an award winning actress, and gave back to the world as a humanitarian.

S1997E28 Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen

S1997e29 nancy reagan: the president's leading lady, s1997e30 peter graves, s1997e31 leonardo da vinci: renaissance master, s1997e32 shirley temple: hollywood's little princess, s1997e33 shah of iran, s1997e34 pancho villa: outlaw hero, s1997e35 katharine graham: pillar of the post, s1997e36 barbara stanwyck: straight down the line, s1997e37 erwin rommel: the last knight.

He served the cruelest monster who ever lived, yet emerged with his reputation intact. His military brilliance and sense of honor earned him a place among history's most fabled commanders. Erwin Rommel may be the greatest general to serve in World War II. His dreaded Panzer legions inflicted bitter defeats on the Allied commanders who opposed him. Yet his unwavering brilliance and nobility won him the enduring respect of his enemies, and eventually the betrayal of his master. This in-depth portrait explores the life of the commander who tore up Hitler's order to execute captured Jewish soldiers. Footage of his army in action and interviews with the men who fought with and against him testify to his tactical genius, while excerpts from his writings reveal the private man. Trace the remarkable life of Hitler's greatest commander, Erwin Rommel, the "Desert Fox."

S1997E38 Hannibal: The General's General

S1997e39 richard petty: king of the road, s1997e40 lucrezia borgia: pretty poison, s1997e41 george marshall: soldier and statesman.

General George C. Marshall, the subject of this Biography program, was instrumental in the Allied victory in World War II. In 1948, as Secretary of State in the Truman administration, Marshall initiated a program of economic and technical assistance to speed rebuilding of the postwar European economy.

S1997E42 Al Gore: A Burning Ambition

S1997e43 dr. ruth westheimer: speaking of sex, s1997e44 louis farrakhan: minister of rage, s1997e45 carl sagan: a cosmic celebrity, s1997e46 sylvester stallone: the rocky road to the top, s1997e47 tom hanks: hollywood's golden boy, s1997e48 malcolm forbes: high-flying millionaire, s1997e49 doris duke: the lonely heiress, s1997e50 armand hammer: a life of deception, s1997e51 oscar levant: brilliant shadow, s1997e52 flash gordon: journey to greatness, s1997e53 andy griffith: hollywood's homespun hero, s1997e54 alan alda: more than mr. nice guy, s1997e55 phil silvers: top banana, s1997e56 george armstrong custer: america's golden cavalier.

George Armstrong Custer was a sorry excuse for a cadet at West Point, but he was also brave and dashing--an egomaniac with a flare that made him America’s most celebrated soldier of the time. To most Americans he was famous as the “boy general,” but after the Civil War he became infamous to Indians as “Yellow Hair,” the most sadistic white man of them all. Learn more about Custer and how his massive ego eventually got the better of him when he picked the wrong fight at the wrong place, Little Big Horn. It remains one of history’s legendary battles, forever known as Custer’s Last Stand

S1997E57 Dutch Schultz: Menace to Society

S1997e58 ayatollah khomeini: holy terror, s1997e59 frank serpico: honor bound, s1997e60 frank costello: prime minister of the mob, s1997e61 ivan the terrible: might and madness.

• September 29, 1997

He was the first Tsar of Russia. He killed his own son and even had several of his wives murdered. He resorted to torture, exile, and imprisonment to repress those who stood against him. But the ruler known as "Ivan the Terrible" also established sweeping reforms that helped bring his nation out of the Dark Ages.

S1997E62 Diana: The People's Princess

S1997e63 queen victoria: royal family values, s1997e64 hail caesar: julius caesar.

• October 5, 1997

Considered an upstart, Julius Caesar becomes the first Roman emperor.

S1997E65 Hail Caesar: Augustus

• October 6, 1997

Caesar Augustus stabilizes Rome; Pax Romana.

S1997E66 Hail Caesar: Nero

• October 7, 1997

Unstable Nero flees Rome in disguise and disgrace.

S1997E67 Hail Caesar: Hadrian

• October 8, 1997

Emperor Hadrian strengthens Rome.

S1997E68 Hail Caesar: Constantine

• October 9, 1997

Constantine grants Christians freedom of worship.

S1997E69 Hail Caesar: Justinian

• October 10, 1997

Justinian struggles to reunite the Roman Empire.

S1997E70 James Earl Ray: The Man and the Mystery

S1997e71 kirk douglas: a lust for life.

His striking looks and indomitable spirit caught America's attention. His determination and willingness to risk everything made him one of the most respected and admired figures in Hollywood.Kirk Douglas knew from childhood that he wanted to be an actor. The child of Russian immigrants, his road to fame started in tiny Amsterdam, New York. BIOGRAPHY; takes a behind-the-scenes tour of his remarkable life, from his first role on Broadway to his emotional acceptance of the Oscar; for lifetime achievement.

S1997E72 Mia Farrow: A Life of Drama

S1997e73 gloria vanderbilt: an heir of style, s1997e74 oliver north: beyond the call of duty, s1997e75 edward r. murrow: voice of america, s1997e76 hap arnold: the sky warrior, s1997e77 anastasia: her true story.

• November 24, 1997

When the Communists took over Russia in 1917, the royal family was executed the year after, 1918. But in later years, many said that the youngest princess escaped. The program looks at recent evidence which clears up many questions surrounding the fate of the young woman, as well as the identity of the Anastasia claimer in New York City in 1928. Was she the genuine princess or a fake?

S1997E78 R.H. Macy: Merchant Prince

Chronicles 19th-century retail pioneer R.H. Macy's Nantucket boyhood and seafaring days, as well as his business failures and triumphs. Highlights include details of the first New York City Macy's department store and the empire it inspired. Commentary and photographs are featured.

S1997E79 Vincent Van Gogh: A Stroke of Genius

S1997e80 j.c. penney: main street millionaire, s1997e81 sam walton: bargain billionaire, s1997e82 the woolworths: five-and-dime fortune and failure, s1997e83 the marshall fields: a chicago tradition, s1997e84 neiman marcus: last of the merchant kings, s1997e85 edgar cayce: the sleeping psychic, s1997e86 stanley and livingstone, s1997e87 charles kuralt: a life on the road, s1997e88 cinque: freedom fighter, s1997e89 truman capote, s1997e90 joan collins: a personal dynasty, s1997e91 molly brown: an american original, s1997e92 jimmy stewart: his wonderful life, s1997e93 dalai lama: the soul of tibet.

• December 26, 1997

The BIOGRAPHY of the Dalai Lama explores the life and times of Tibet's political and spiritual leader. Born the fifth of seven children in a small rural village, the Dalai Lama was proclaimed leader of the Tibetan people after demonstrating that he was the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama. In 1950, the life of the Dalai Lama changed suddenly when the Chinese communists invaded Tibet and prohibited the practice of religion. Flung into exile, the Dalai Lama has spent his years in neighboring India tirelessly negotiating for the cultural autonomy for his people. Rewarded for his efforts, the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. A man of great charm, wit, intelligence and humility, the Dalai Lama has become one of the world's most admired men and a great leader in the tradition of pacifistic resistance.

S1997E94 Luciano Pavarotti: King of the High Cs

S1997e95 mahatma gandhi: pilgrim of peace.

Mahatma Gandhi---the charismatic leader of India's independence movement---is profiled. Included: his upbringing, legal career, message of nonviolent resistance and assassination. Also: interviews with Gandhi's grandson; the Dalai Lama; journalists; and academics.

S1997E96 FDR, Part 1

S1997e97 fdr, part 2, s1997e98 joseph kennedy: father of an american dynasty.

• July 28, 1997

Joseph P. Kennedy (1888-1969) is profiled in a program on the political dynasty's ambitious patriarch, a financier, movie producer and ambassador to Great Britain who fathered America's first Irish-Catholic President and two senators.

S1997E99 Thurgood Marshall: Justice for All

• February 18, 1997

S1997E100 Dale Carnegie: Man of Influence

S1997e101 mahatma gandhi: pilgrim of peace.

• November 2, 1997

The life and work of the Indian revolutionary who led 300 million people to independence from Britain.

S1997E102 Joan of Arc: Virgin Warrior

• September 22, 1997

The life of the teenage peasant girl who, convinced that she was sent by God to liberate France from the English, became the game-changer in the Hundred Years' War.

Season 1998

S1998e01 vincent van gogh: a stroke of genius.

• August 28, 1998

The artist's works are among the world's most-treasured masterpieces today, but they were almost completely ignored in his lifetime.

S1998E02 Angela Lansbury: A Balancing Act

• September 13, 1998

S1998E03 John Wayne: American Legend

• March 15, 1998

A portrait of the legendary actor whose portrayals of rugged, straight-shooting men made him an American icon. Charlton Heston, Ron Howard, and Patricia Neal, among others, offer their remembrances of "Duke".

S1998E04 Colonel Sanders: America's Chicken King

• December 6, 1998

Here is the story of the fast-food giant who waited 65 years before he hit it big. For the first 65 years of his life, he bounced from job to job, trying to make ends meet. It was only after he collected his first social security check that he found the secret to success. Colonel Sanders' face is one of the most recognizable commercial icons in the world. Yet few people know the story of the man behind the chicken franchise. BIOGRAPHY® interviews his two daughters and official biographer to tell the rags-to-riches story of the country boy from Indiana. Family photos show him in the days before he became famous, behind the counter of the 6-seat dining room attached to a gas station where he perfected his blend of 11 herbs and spices. Discover how a fire launched him on the road to riches, and how he built an empire of 600 stores in just a decade. But even then, some of his old poor luck stayed with him when he sold the business, he opted for a $40,000 annual salary for life rather than stock options! Fellow fast-food maven Dave Thomas who cut his teeth at KFC helps tell the story of America's Chicken King.

S1998E05 David Berkowitz

• March 28, 1998

David Berkowitz was a serial killer active in the 1970s in New York City and was known by the name Son of Sam.

S1998E06 Baby Face Nelson

• February 9, 1998

Gangster Baby Face Nelson.

S1998E07 William Shatner: Captain's Log

• March 9, 1998

"William Shatner: Captain's Log" chronicles the actors long presence in the public eye. Best known as Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise.

S1998E08 Pat Benatar

• September 19, 2003

S1998E09 Evel Knievel: Hell on Wheels

• December 20, 1998

S1998E10 Ernie Kovacs: Please Stand By

• June 23, 1998

S1998E11 Jerry Seinfeld: Master of His Domain

• May 11, 1998

S1998E12 Denzel Washington: The Preacher's Son

• August 4, 1998

S1998E13 Nicholas & Alexandra

• November 11, 1998

For almost a century their fabled dynasty and tragic fate has been enveloped in myth and surrounded by mystery. Now, with the opening of the former Soviet Union, the true story of Nicholas and Alexandra can be told. This groundbreaking production, filmed on location throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe, presents a treasure trove of information and documents that have been kept secret for decades. Intimate diaries, letters and personal effects from the once-sealed imperial archives tell the astonishing story of the Romanovs' reign. Chilling eyewitness accounts, testimony from executioners, and a somber exhumation finally put to rest the enigma of their dynasty's horrifying end. Stunning, fact-filled and grand, this is the ultimate chronicle of a romance that changed the world.

S1998E14 David Copperfield

• January 5, 1998

S1998E15 Bio Remembers: Farrah Fawcett

Her greatest success came after she won a starring role in a new series called 'Charlie's Angels'. Farrah Fawcett-Majors became a household name as the sexy blonde, Jill Munroe. 'Charlie's Angels' was a huge success but Farrah became a phenomenon.

S1998E16 Satan: Prince Of Darkness

• September 21, 1998

The Personification of Evil holds a mysterious appeal: a fascinating charisma that draws the curious, as well as admirers and even zealous devotees. What is the nature of the Beast, where did he come from and what role does this complex figure play in the eternal human drama? From the Biblical tale of the Fall to stories of those who believe they have crossed his path, A&E Biography takes a journey through the "life" of Satan. Scholars, historical experts, and theologians examine classic paintings, academic texts, and modern movies for a look at the many ways Satan has been portrayed throughout the centuries.

S1998E17 Elizabeth: The Reluctant Monarch

• August 12, 1998

Great Britain's Elizabeth II is profiled. Born in 1926, the Queen has served as the United Kingdom's constitutional monarch since 1952. Included: highlights of her reign and her reaction to problems within the Royal Family; interviews with friends and associates.

S1998E18 Mikhail Gorbachev: The Man Who Changed the World

• January 4, 1998

Profiling former Soviet Union premier Mikhail Gorbachev, whose glasnost policies led to the collapse of the USSR and his replacement by Boris Yeltsin.

S1998E19 Bob Hope: America's Entertainer

S1998e20 ernest hemingway - wrestling with life.

• September 27, 1998

A&E's long-running biography series takes a look at one of the 20th century's most emblematic figures, Ernest Hemingway. Through a collection of still photography, narration by granddaughter Mariel Hemingway, commentary from author A.E. Hotchner and publisher Charles Scribner, and readings from Hemingway's writing (including personal letters and unpublished works) by Scott Glenn, the film takes us from the man's Midwestern childhood roots up through the tragic suicide that serves as a bittersweet exclamation on what is otherwise considered to be a life of profound accomplishment.

S1998E21 Beethoven: The Sound and the Fury

• August 29, 1998

A profile of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) covers his unhappy childhood, musical output, political sympathies and failed romances. Interviewed: Isaac Stern, Kurt Masur and Anne-Sophie Mutter.

S1998E22 Charlie Chaplin: A Tramp's Life

• May 10, 1998

Profile of legendary performer and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin

S1998E23 Mao Tse Tung: China's Peasant Emperor

• October 1, 1998

Born on December 26, 1893, in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, China, Mao Tse-tung served as chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 1959, and led the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 until his death. Mao's "Great Leap Forward" and the Cultural Revolution were ill-conceived and had disastrous consequences, but many of his goals, including stressing China's self-reliance, were generally laudable.

S1998E24 Johnny Cash: The Man in Black

• April 29, 1998

The inimitable vocal chords of Johnny Cash will always be sorely missed by music fans, but he left behind an incredible legacy for his legions of followers to bask in. This documentary on Cash follows his life from a rough upbringing in Arkansas to global success which was achieved without compromising his vision. Friends, fellow musicians, and family members unite to tell Cash's inspiring tale here, resulting in a heartfelt tribute to the great man.

S1998E25 Casanova

S1998e26 confucius: words of wisdom, s1998e27 greta garbo: the mysterious lady.

• April 20, 1998

BIOGRAPHY® traces this mysterious star's life -- from her poor childhood in Stockholm through her early years in Hollywood silent films to her smooth transition to talkies with her low, throaty voice. Known for her reclusiveness, the less she spoke, the more the public and the press pursued her. In particular, her exotic love affairs were followed closely, even long after she retired from film. GRETA GARBO: THE MYSTERIOUS LADY features clips from her sensual performance opposite John Gilbert in the MGM silent film FLESH AND THE DEVIL, her sound film debut, her final two comedy films, and rare clips of Garbo on the streets of New York City in the 1970s. Interviews include acquaintances, walking companions, biographers, journalists, and a photographer who spent twelve years of his life stalking Garbo during her final years. Karen Swenson, author of Greta Garbo: A Life Apart, was a consultant for the program.

S1998E28 The Von Trapp Family: Harmony and Discord

• December 13, 1998

S1998E29 Doris Day: It's Magic

S1998e30 robert schuller, s1998e31 steve rubell, s1998e32 frank sinatra, s1998e33 tennessee williams: wounded genius.

• April 26, 1998

The classic works of Tennessee Williams have earned him a reputation as one of the greatest American playwrights of the 20th century. Now BIOGRAPHY-® paints an in-depth portrait of the famed writer and the personal problems that both plagued his life and inspired his masterworks. Williams first found sanctuary from his famously dysfunctional family by writing them as characters into his stories. Personal issues such as his constant need for companionship were manifested in his remarkably unique body of work which was laded with controversial themes of sexuality. Yet even after finding success with such hits as The Glass Menagerie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Streetcar Named Desire Williams began an irreversible downfall spiraling into a substance-abusing depression. Featuring interviews with Williams his brother biographers and friends this fascinating comprehensive program sheds light on the life of a tormented genius.

S1998E34 Donna Reed

S1998e35 connie francis: america's sweetheart of song.

• October 25, 1998

S1998E36 Loretta Young: Hollywood's Heavenly Beauty

• February 24, 1998

S1998E37 Chrstina Onassis:

• May 25, 1998

S1998E38 Bill Gates: Sultan of Software

• September 29, 1998

Bill Gates at the age of 42 has established himself as one of the titans of American business in the 20th Century. His company Microsoft now controls 95% of the world's operating systems for personal computers which has made Gates the richest man in the world with an estimated personal worth of more than 50 billion dollars.

S1998E39 Dave Thomas: Made to Order

• December 8, 1998

Story of the lovable guy behind the Wendy's fast-food empire. He began with Kentucky Fried Chicken and invented the famous bucket of chicken with Colonel Sander's face on it. After leaving KFC, he started doing Wendy's commercials in 1989--the first of 500.

S1998E40 The Coors: A Family Brew

• January 28, 1998

Adolph Coors emigrates from Germany to American, where he starts a brewery, run by his family for several generations.

S1998E41 Chesty Puller: The Marine's Marine

• November 10, 1998

The life of the tough-as-nails Marine who compiled an unmatched fighting record from the jungles of the Banana Wars and Guadalcanal, and from Peleliu to the Chosin Reservoir.

S1998E42 Oskar Schindler The Man Behind The List

• May 8, 1998

S1998E43 Hedda Hopper Hollywood Gossip Queen

• October 12, 1998

S1998E44 Bill Robinson: Mr. Bojangles

• February 26, 1998

S1998E45 Enrico Caruso: the Voice of the Century

• October 11, 1998

Enrico Caruso brings opera to the common man.

S1998E46 Helen Thomas First Lady of the Press

• August 20, 1998

S1998E47 Nat King Cole

S1998e48 lawrence welk: a wunnerful wunnerful life.

• February 6, 1998

S1998E49 Norman Vincent Peale

• December 4, 1998

S1998E50 Calvin Klein

• January 13, 1998

S1998E51 Ozzie and Harriet: The Adventures of America's Favorite Family

• June 21, 1998

S1998E52 Anthony Quinn: A Lust for Life

• July 1, 1998

Summaries An actor of many faces, Mexican-born Anthony Quinn has appeared in over 270 films in ethnically diverse roles from an American Indian to a Greek peasant. Quinn himself tells his fascinating story with help from his daughter and son, actors and directors including Kirk Douglas, Julie Harris and Stanley Kramer. Including clips from such acclaimed films as La Strada, Viva Zapata! and Zorba the Greek.

Season 1999

S1999e01 drew barrymore: beating the odds.

• September 8, 1999

S1999E02 Fred Gywnne: More than a Munster

• October 19, 1999

Harry Smith narrates this account of the life and multifaceted career of Frederick Hubbard Gwynne.

S1999E03 Elizabeth Montgomery: A Touch of Magic

• February 15, 1999

Elizabeth Montgomery was born into show business. Her parents were screen actor Robert Montgomery and Broadway actress Elizabeth Bryan Allen. Elizabeth graduated from the Spence School in New York City and attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. After three years intensive training, she made her TV debut at the age of 19 in her father's 1950s playhouse series 'Robert Montgomery Presents'. She also tried her hand at Broadway, and 'Late Love' was her debut. She married at the age of 21, to TV director Frederic Cammann, but the marriage did not last. Her big screen break came with 'The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell' in 1955. In 1960, Elizabeth portrayed Rusty Heller, in an episode of 'The Untouchables', and was nominated for her first Emmy. In 1956, she met her second husband, actor Gig Young, fourteen years her senior and an abusive alcoholic. They were divorced in time for her to marry producer William Asher in 1963. Their union produced three children. Her most famous role was Samantha Stephens, the nose twitching sorceress married to a mortal. 'Bewitched' lasted eight seasons on ABC, and garnered the cast and crew many Emmy nominations and awards, five alone for Elizabeth. After 'Bewitched', Liz went on to make a number of TV movies. She portrayed Lizzie Borden in 'The Legend of Lizzie Borden', for which she received another Emmy nomination. Elizabeth Montgomery was not only a versatile television actress but also an AIDS and Gay Rights activist. She had very liberal political views and narrated a series of documentaries in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including 'Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair' (1988) and the Academy Award winning 'The Panama Deception' (1992). She died of cancer in May 1995. She passed away just eight weeks after her cancer diagnosis. Peter Graves (Host) Rebecca Asher William Asher Dominick Dunne Robert Foxworth Sandra Gould Elizabeth Montgomery Liz Sheridan

S1999E04 John Wayne Gacy: A Monster in Disguise

• August 4, 1999

John Wayne Gacy is on record as the worst serial killer in United States history, with 33 victims.

S1999E05 Richard Speck: Natural Born Killer

• August 19, 1999

In 1966, Richard Speck committed one of the most horrifying mass murders in American history when he brutalized and killed eight student nurses living on Chicago's South Side.

S1999E06 Howard Cosell: Telling It Like It Is

• November 1, 1999

S1999E07 Andre the Giant

• January 13, 1999

Documentary, released by the World Wrestling Federation, about the late wrestling superstar Andre the Giant, portraying his childhood in a small French village, his rise to fame as a professional wrestler, and his slow physical decline and eventual death in 1993. With commentaries by Vince McMahon, Classy Freddie Blassie, Killer Kowalski and Gorilla Monsoon, as well as Andre's brother and friends.

S1999E08 Ceausescu: The Unrepentant Tyrant

• March 13, 1999

The life of the despotic communist ruler who rose from the poor fields of rural Romania to the luxurious heights of political power. From loved and respected leader, he turned into a despised tyrant, and his execution in 1989.

S1999E09 Nicolas Cage

• August 9, 1999

S1999E10 Gene Tierney: A Shattered Portrait

• March 26, 1999

A&E Biography about life and times of the beautiful actress of the 40's and feature interview of her ex-husband, her second daughter and her co-star.

S1999E12 The Tiffanys: Mark of Excellence

• February 28, 1999

S1999E13 Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel

• August 24, 1999

Recalling the life and film career of Linda Darnell (1921-65), whose talent and beauty gained her fame in films during the 1940s, but whose personal life was marred by alcoholism. Included are comments from daughter Lola.

S1999E14 Mick Foley: Madman Unmasked

• November 17, 1999

S1999E15 Marquis de Sade: The Depraved Aristocrat

• July 14, 1997

A profile of the Marquis de Sade, the 18th-century French writer whose affinity for perverse sexual activity resulted in his incarceration.

S1999E16 Queen Noor: Between Two Realms

S1999e17 pat nixon: behind the smile.

• July 19, 1999

S1999E18 The Osmonds: Pure and Simple

• September 9, 1999

S1999E19 Tanya Tucker

S1999e20 susan hayward, s1999e21 the carpenters, s1999e22 peter o\'toole, s1999e23 wayne newton, s1999e24 dinah shore: sealed with a kiss, special 0x24 john f. kennedy, jr.: the death of an american prince.

• July 26, 1999

Recalling the life of John F. Kennedy Jr., the magazine publisher and son of JFK. Included: his life in the limelight, his career in the New York City DA's office, and his 1999 death in a plane crash.

S1999E25 Dorothy Dandridge

• August 23, 1999

S1999E26 Ida Lupino: Through the Lens

• August 14, 1999

S1999E27 Jerry Springer: In the Center Ring

• September 22, 1999

S1999E28 John Steinbeck: An American Writer

S1999e29 wayne newton: king of las vegas.

• November 25, 1999

S1999E30 Merv Griffin: Master of the Game

S1999e31 bob fosse, s1999e32 william holden: an untamed spirit.

• April 27, 1999

S1999E33 Angie Dickinson: Tinseltown's Classiest Broad

• October 26, 1999

S1999E34 Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show

• December 27, 1999

A profile of comic Andy Kaufman (1949-84) recalls his offbeat brand of humor and eccentric behavior, which caused controversy on the sets of “Taxi” and “Fridays”; his obsession with professional wrestling; and his fight against lung cancer. Included: comments from Jim Carrey, Cindy Williams and Jeff Conaway.

S1999E35 Heinz: The Ketchup Kings

• April 12, 1999

Profile of three generations of the family that built an international business giant, and became well-known philanthropists, giving generously to their city and country.

S1999E36 Jimmy Doolittle: King of the Sky

• November 3, 1999

The dazzling career of the aviation pioneer who led WWII's most hair-raising air raids, and whose perilous experiments with blind flying helped usher in the era of commercial aviation. Experts and members of his family shed light on his daring exploits, which included the first American raid on Tokyo during the war.

S1999E37 Lesley Ann Warren: A Cinderella Story

• April 5, 1999

Actress Lesley Ann Warren

S1999E38 Tony Robbins The Secret of His Success

• February 3, 1999

S1999E39 Kris Kristofferson

• November 22, 1999

S1999E40 Tammy Wynette

• January 27, 1999

S1999E41 The Judds: Country's Dynamic Duo

• January 1, 1999

S1999E42 Slobodan Milosevic Servia

• April 9, 1999

S1999E43 Stone Cold Steve Austin

• November 15, 1999

S1999E44 Alfred Hitchcock

S1999e45 the rat pack: part 1, s1999e46 the rat pack: part 2, season 2000, s2000e01 yvonne decarlo: gilded lily.

• July 18, 2000

Peter Graves narrates this account of the life and career of Vancouver, British Columbia native Peggy Middleton, who takes her middle name and her mother's maiden name to defy the odds to become the lovely actress, dancer, singer and author Yvonne DeCarlo.

S2000E02 Al Lewis: Forever Grandpa

• November 30, 2000

A Biography of Al Lewis, actor and activist best known for his portrayal of Grandpa in the 60's TV show The Munsters.

S2000E03 Deborah Kerr: Getting to Know Her

• June 14, 2000

S2000E04 Florence Henderson

• April 9, 2000

S2000E05 Janis Joplin

• August 17, 2000

Portrait of the 1960s queen of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll who died of a drug overdose at age 27, just two years after her first album went gold. Here is the truth about Joplin's wild living, her years of drinking, touring, and hard work, and her search for love, fame, and the perfect voice.

S2000E06 Ben Vereen: The Hard Way

• October 10, 2000

S2000E07 Hulk Hogan: American Made

• June 13, 2000

S2000E08 Redd Foxx: Say It Like It Is

• January 11, 2000

S2000E09 Vladimir Lenin: Voice of Revolution

• April 20, 2000

Documents released since the fall of the Soviet Union shed new light on one of the most controversial and influential figures of the century.

S2000E10 Adam West: Behind the Cowl

• September 4, 2000

S2000E11 John J. Pershing: The Iron General

• November 11, 2000

His was a face made for monuments, and a life worthy of them. He was arguably more responsible for transforming America into an international power than anyone else. John J. Pershing started his career as an Indian fighter on the frontier. He ended it as the greatest war hero America had ever seen. In between was enough triumph and tragedy for several lives. This searching profile pieces together a portrait of an ambitious, driven man haunted by a searing tragedy--the loss of his wife and three daughters killed in a fire. Military historians detail how he transformed a tiny, 128,000-man force into an army of four million men, and then led it to victory in the greatest battle America had ever fought--the Meuse Argonne offensive in October 1918. That Pershing was no tactical genius is clear, but his crude force made up in numbers what they lacked in strategy.

S2000E12 Mary Magdalene

• June 20, 2000

For nearly 2,000 years, she was believed to be a prostitute who repented and became a disciple of Jesus. But we reveal the truth about Mary that is finally emerging. In interviews, scholars tell us that she was almost certainly not a prostitute, but a wealthy woman whose support helped early Christianity to survive.

S2000E18 Ed O'Neill

• September 23, 2013

Profile of the popular actor now starring in the hit TV show Modern Family. Early on, O'Neill's career was a series of "almosts." He almost became an NFL linebacker, and he was almost cast as Sam on Cheers, but Ted Danson got the job. O'Neill finally broke through when he landed the role of the obnoxious but lovable Al Bundy on Married...with Children. Now he's a solid success with countless TV shows and films under his belt.

S2000E19 Bill Clinton: Hope, Charisma & Controversy

• February 12, 2000

The first president to be born after WWII, he represented the strength and energy of a new generation. Although his term was marred by personal scandal and controversy, Bill Clinton managed to salvage his reputation and his career. BIOGRAPHY® presents an intimate portrait of the charismatic leader, drawing on extensive interviews with friends and family-including his mother and biographer-and archival photographs and clips. Learn about his childhood in Hope, Arkansas, and trace his political career, from an influential handshake with JFK to the presidency. Follow Clinton through his Oxford days, Vietnam War protests, and his relationship with Hillary Rodham. Personal problems plagued Clinton throughout his career, but he managed to battle through, showing strength, dignity, and determination. BILL CLINTON: HOPE, CHARISMA & CONTROVERSY offers an inside-look at one of the most ambitious and resilient men in politics.

S2000E20 Charles Lindbergh: Against the Wind

• December 28, 2000

A profile of American aviator Charles Lindbergh (1902-74) examines his historic solo flight to Paris in 1927; the tragic death of his eldest son; and Lindbergh's public disgrace after making anti-Semitic remarks during World War II.

S2000E21 Howard Carter: Triumph & Treasure

• November 26, 2000

A profile of British archaeologist Howard Carter (1874-1939), who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt in 1922 after searching in the desert for 30 years.

S2000E22 Jim Jones: Journey Into Madness

• October 20, 2000

Profiling Jim Jones (1931-78), founder of the People's Temple. Included: the orchestration of the mass suicide that claimed 912 followers in November 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana.

S2000E23 Peter the Great: The Tyrant Reformer

• June 28, 2000

Czar Peter the Great brings science, culture and tyranny to Russia.

S2000E24 Jimmy Hoffa: The Man Behind the Mystery

• September 27, 2000

The question continues to be raised: what happened to Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa after his release from prison in 1975, when President Nixon commuted Hoffa's sentence? His disappearance decades ago led to reports that he was murdered; others claim to have seen him in foreign lands, living under a new identity. This program investigates the facts surrounding Hoffa's disappearance and looks at his life before he went to prison. Long the object of criminal investigations. Hoffa had many ties to the Mafia. Archival news footage chronicles his controversial public life. Interviews with family, friends, and colleagues paint an altogether different picture of the missing man.

S2000E25 Bob Dylan

• August 8, 2014

A biography of Bob Dylan

S2000E26 Stephen King

• January 17, 2000

Stephen King's stories terrify readers and movie fans worldwide.

S2000E27 Mackenzie Phillips

S2000e28 shirley jones, s2000e29 jack webb: just the facts ma'am.

• October 6, 2000

Here are the facts--just the facts--about the actor who became a TV legend with his portrayal of no-nonsense detective Joe Friday on "Dragnet". We look behind the badge to profile a workaholic whose love of Crown Royal was legendary; a perfectionist whose temper moved others to succeed; and a versatile producer and director who created "Adam-12" and "Emergency!" Martin Milner, Stephen J. Cannell, who wrote for Webb, and third wife Jackie Webb Schweitzer are interviewed.

S2000E30 Cesar Romero: In a Class by Himself

• September 5, 2000

S2000E31 Julie Newmar: The Cat's Meow

• September 6, 2000

S2000E32 Robert Redford: Hollywood Outlaw

• October 29, 2000

Robert Redford has dazzled movie audiences for nearly 40 years-yet his love of privacy and low-key demeanor have made him an uncommonly mysterious figure.

S2000E33 Pol Pot: Secret Killer

• January 20, 2000

S2000E34 Buck Owens: Acting Naturally

• November 17, 2000

A profile of country legend Buck Owens (1929-2006) recalls his tough childhood in Texas and his involvement in the evolution of country music in Bakersfield, California.

S2000E35 Hank Williams

S2000e36 phyllis diller, s2000e37 james garner: hollywood maverick.

• October 3, 2000

S2000E38 The Gabors: Fame, Fortune, and Romance

S2000e39 andrew cunanan: murder on the run, s2000e40 george washington: american revolutionary, s2000e41 leslie nielsen: naked laughter.

• May 26, 2000

Actor Leslie Nielsen is profiled in a documentary that recalls the many facets of his career, from the serious side (in films like “The Poseidon Adventure”) to the comic (in the “Naked Gun” films). Included are comments from pals Robert Stack and Priscilla Presley.

S2000E42 Richard Widmark: Strength of Characters

• June 29, 2000

S2000E43 Sandra Dee: Sophisticated Baby

• June 26, 2000

S2000E44 Dick Powell: Thanks a Million

• June 8, 2000

S2000E45 Attack at Waco

S2000e46 vivien leigh: a delicate balance.

• January 31, 2000

S2000E47 Barbara Walters: A Driving Force

• October 16, 2000

S2000E48 Anne Rice: Vampires, Witches and Best Sellers

• October 23, 2000

S2000E49 Wallis Simpson

• October 25, 2000

Biography of Wallis Simpson, the divorced American commoner who became Duchess of Windsor by marrying King Edward VIII of England shortly after his abdication from the throne.

S2000E50 Noah Wyle

• December 6, 2000

S2000E51 Boris Yeltsin

S2000e52 hermann goering - ambition without conscience.

• January 18, 2000

Hermann Goering: Ambition Without Conscience

S2000E53 Don Knotts

• January 4, 2000

S2000E54 William S Paley The Eye of CBS

• June 24, 2000

S2000E55 Pat Robertson

• July 29, 2000

S2000E56 Josip Broz Tito The Rebel

• February 18, 2000

S2000E57 David Koresh: Preacher of Fire

• April 19, 2000

In 1993, the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas burnt down while under siege by federal agents. Explore David Koresh, the charismatic, evangelical preacher who led his flock into flames of death.

Season 2001

S2001e01 the love boat.

• September 5, 2001

A look back at the series the critics claimed would "sink like the Titanic," but which sailed on for nine years with it's Aaron Spelling formula of bikinis, blondes, celebrity guests, and lovable stars. Features interviews with Gavin MacLeod ("Captain Stubing"), Fred Grandy ("Gopher"), Bernie Kopell ("Doc"), Ted Lange ("Isaac"), and Jill Whelan ("Vicki"). 350mb Bio HD 512x384 Documentary

S2001E02 Jackie Gleason: The Great One

• September 23, 2001

Portrait of the incomparable comic who became an American icon playing bus driver Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners". Gleason's drinking, spending, and over-the-top lifestyle became legendary as he climbed to the top of show business. We look back at the ladies in Gleason's life, birth of "The Honeymooners", and his successful career in movie dramas, including "The Hustler". Features interviews with Milton Berle, Sally Field, Burt Reynolds, Jayne Meadows, and Neil Simon.

S2001E03 Charlie Sheen: Born to Be Wild

• May 7, 2001

S2001E04 Princess Diana

• July 10, 2001

S2001E05 Kim Fields: A Little Somethin' Somethin'

• October 10, 2001

S2001E06 Jimmy Swaggart: Fire and Brimstone

• May 10, 2001

S2001E07 Dick Van Patten: The Sure Bet

• June 14, 2001

S2001E08 Oscar De La Hoya: Body and Soul

• July 23, 2001

S2001E09 Enzo Ferrari

• November 8, 2001

A profile of Enzo Ferrari, who became famous for the cars that bear his name.

S2001E10 Gary Busey: The Hard Way

• June 26, 2001

S2001E11 Charles Darwin: Evolution's Voice

• February 5, 2001

S2001E12 Al Pacino

• May 14, 2001

Profile of the very private actor who has managed to remain an artist in the increasingly commercial film industry. Born to Sicilian parents in East Harlem, New York, Pacino suffered a lonely childhood before winning stardom on the Off-Broadway stage and achieving unparalleled success in some of the greatest movies ever made, including The Godfather, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon.

S2001E13 Carroll O'Connor: All in a Lifetime

S2001e14 henry hill: goodfella.

• June 10, 2001

S2001E15 Laverne & Shirley

S2001e16 dick cheney: quiet authority, s2001e17 the famous wally amos.

• April 25, 2001

S2001E18 Brigitte Nielsen

S2001e19 robert mitchum, s2001e20 shelley winters: full disclosure, s2001e21 gloria & emilio estefan: made for each other.

• October 20, 2001

S2001E22 Bobby Rydell: Wild About Bobby

S2001e23 osama bin laden: in the name of allah.

• July 18, 2001

S2001E24 Tim Burton: Trick or Treat

• July 31, 2001

Eccentric artist Tim Burton starts his career as an animator for Disney before becoming a successful film director.

S2001E25 Jennifer Jones: Portrait of a Lady

• August 18, 2001

Biography: Jennifer Jones reveals how Jennifer battled back from the loss of her husband, financial pressure, and a stalled career to forge a new life. Jennifer Jones' story is told with film clips, photos, and interviews that include Carrie Fisher, Charlton Heston, stepson Daniel Selznick, Dennis Hopper, Dominick Dunne, son Robert Walker Jr., Sally Kellerman, and others.

S2001E26 Porsche: Driven to Perfection

Sometimes called an "engineer's engineer", the obsessive genius of Ferdinand Porsche ranged from inventing the first hybrid automobile in 1900 to collaborating with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. From triumphs on the racetrack to tragedy behind prison bars, discover why the Porsche is still very much alive in 21st Century design strategy.

S2001E27 Bob Newhart: The Last Sane Man...

• January 7, 2001

S2001E28 Imelda Marcos: Steel Butterfuly

• October 24, 2001

Portrait of the colorful and controversial former First Lady of the Philippines, who went on buying sprees that included New York City skyscrapers and 3,000 pairs of shoes. Although once a heroine to the millions of peasants, Imelda and her dictator husband Ferdinand amassed personal fortunes of billions of dollars while in power. Many believe the money was stolen from the government and international loans designed to help the poor.

S2001E29 Bobby Darin

• August 29, 2001

S2001E30 Paul Lynde

• January 18, 2001

S2001E31 Robert Reed

• November 1, 2001

S2001E32 Gloria & Emilio Estefan: Made for Each Other

S2001e33 dionne warwick: don't make me over.

• August 28, 2001

S2001E34 RuPaul

• November 14, 2001

Season 2002

S2002e02 biography close-up: saturday night live.

• April 22, 2002

An affectionate SNL retrospective that also offers a revealing examination of the famed show's inner workings during a typically frenetic, hilarious, sleep-deprived week in New York City.

S2002E03 The Manson Women: An American Nightmare

• July 16, 2002

lthough Charles Manson is notoriously connected to the brutal slayings of actress Sharon Tate and other Hollywood residents, he was never actually found guilty of committing the murders himself. However, he is still associated with several brutal slayings including the famous 'Tate-La Bianca' killings that have immortalized him as a living embodiment of evil. Images of his staring 'mad eyes' are still used today to illustrate countless serial-murder news stories. Together with Manson, The Family (his young, loyal drop-out disciples of murder) are thought to have carried out some 35 killings. Most were never tried, either for lack of evidence or because the perpetrators were already sentenced to life for the Tate/La Bianca killings. In May 2007 Manson was denied parole for the 11th time.

S2002E04 Martin Lawrence: Comic Trip

• August 6, 2002

S2002E05 Carolyn Jones: Morticia and More

• May 9, 2002

S2002E06 Whoopi Goldberg

• October 27, 2002

S2002E07 David Bowie: Sound and Vision

• November 4, 2002

S2002E08 Ronald Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime

Trace the real-life drama behind a life that's as spectacular as any Hollywood movie. The many lives of Ronald Reagan--movie actor, TV star, governor, president--are explored in a personal journey from his boyhood to the Presidency.

S2002E09 Hitler And Stalin: The Roots of Evil

S2002e13 coke vs. pepsi: a duel between giants.

• February 15, 2002

An all-American saga born amidst the ruins of the American Civil War, a saga of a hundred-year-old war between two economic giants whose financial weight can be calculated in the billions.

S2002E14 Donald Rumsfeld: Top Gun

S2002e15 sean connery, s2002e16 gracie allen- the better half, s2002e17 the mary tyler moore show- making it after all, s2002e18 jonathan harris- never fear, smith is here, s2002e19 john & abigail adams: love and liberty.

• July 2, 2002

S2002E20 Chris Farley: Reckless Laughter

• July 23, 2002

S2002E21 RFK: His Many Sides

• February 18, 2002

A profile of Robert F. Kennedy recalls his childhood; his work in JFK's campaign and as Attorney General; his election to senator and his campaign for the Presidency; and his assassination in 1968. Among those commenting: Joseph Kennedy II; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; Robert Kennedy Jr.; JFK speechwriter Ted Sorensen; and biographer Laurence Leamer.

S2002E22 The Barrymores

• September 19, 2002

Starting in the 19th century, the lives of the famous Broadway and Hollywood Barrymore family are described in this biography. Significant time is given to siblings Lionel, Ethel and John Barrymore...but also continuing to the present time with Drew Barrymore.

S2002E23 Jezebel

• February 25, 2002

S2002E24 Farrah Fawcett: America's Angel

S2002e25 grace kelly: hollywood princess, s2002e26 george carlin: more than 7 words, s2002e27 jessica lange: on her own terms, s2002e28 ingrid bergman: a passionate life, s2002e29 billy barty: always think big, s2002e30 jon bon jovi: it\'s his life, s2002e31 home improvement: a half-hour of power.

The behind-the-scenes story of the creation and evolution of the hilarious sitcom that took a fresh look at family relationships.

S2002E32 Carlos Santana: Supernatural Journey

• October 20, 2002

Musician Carlos Santana is profiled.

S2002E33 Mark Hamil

S2002e34 the mary tyler moore show.

• May 22, 2002

History of the hit CBS comedy series

S2002E35 The Wonder Years

• July 1, 2002

History of the hit ABC comedy series

S2002E36 Malcolm in the Middle

• September 23, 2002

History of the hit Fox comedy series

S2002E37 John Ritter: In Good Company

• October 30, 2002

S2002E38 The Partridge Family

• December 2, 2002

S2002E39 The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Making It After All

S2002e40 malcolm in the middle, s2002e41 the wonder years, s2002e42 priscilla presley: keeper of a dream.

• September 17, 2002

S2002E44 The Year 1975

S2002e45 david cassidy.

• January 1, 2002

S2002E46 Charles Bronson: Brute Force

• August 27, 2002

S2002E47 Jan & Dean: The Other Beach Boys

• July 12, 2002

An in-depth look at the tumultuous career of Jan & Dean.

S2002E48 Charlie's Angels

• October 21, 2002

Season 2003

S2003e01 john travolta, s2003e02 jane seymour.

• January 21, 2003

S2003E03 Peter Boyle

S2003e04 eva braun: love and death, s2003e06 ricardo montalban: pride and passion, s2003e07 james baldwin, s2003e08 elizabeth taylor: facets, s2003e09 diane keaton: on her own, s2003e09 brigitte bardot: animal attraction.

• July 14, 2003

S2003E10 Faye Dunaway

S2003e10 arnold schwarzenegger.

• July 2, 2003

From bodybuilder to blockbuster action star to comedy king to politician, we look at the remarkable life of a young Austrian boy who has courageously followed his every dream.

S2003E11 Ted Kaczynski

S2003e11 robert duvall.

• March 24, 2003

S2003E13 Timothy Leary

S2003e13 aileen wuornos.

• April 22, 2003

An abused child who later earned her living as a sex worker, Aileen Wuornos was found guilty of killing six men and was later executed in a Florida prison.

S2003E14 Mel Gibson

S2003e15 cybill shepherd, s2003e17 tom selleck: more than magnum, s2003e20 bill o'reilly: the attitude factor, s2003e21 elvis & june: a love story, s2003e23 batman: holy batmania.

• July 7, 2003

A history of the campy classic '60s TV series “Batman,” starring Adam West and Burt Ward, who are on hand to comment. Included: screen tests and clips of memorable scenes. Also commenting is executive producer William Dozier; and Batmobile customizer George Barris.

S2003E24 The Munsters: America's First Family of Fright

• July 8, 2003

A look at The Munsters TV show with various clips from the show and interviews with the cast. A look back at one of the most successful sitcoms to emerge from the 60's.

S2003E24 Deborah Reed

S2003e25 gwyneth paltrow, s2003e27 betty white: hollywood's golden girl.

• July 15, 2003

Though Betty White has always looked like the sugary sweet girl-next-door, her comedic talents often tap into her acid wit.

S2003E29 Kim Cattrall

S2003e30 tom hanks & rita wilson, s2003e35 kevin spacey, s2003e38 janet leigh.

• October 27, 2003

Janet Leigh is perhaps best known for her infamous shower scene in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, 'Psycho', and for her marriage to actor Tony Curtis. Leigh was discovered by retired MGM actress Norma Shearer, who saw a picture of her at a ski resort and recommended her for a screen test, through which she landed an MGM contract.

S2003E40 Louis XIV: The Sun King

S2003e42 james dean: outside the lines, s2003e48 the green river killer.

• December 16, 2003

Serial killer Gary Leon Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, murdered as many as 60 women along Route 99 before he was caught in 2001.

S2003E49 Patricia Heaton

S2003e50 mike myers, s2003e51 ray liotta: hollywood goodfella, s2003e52 chuck barris: dangerous imagination, s2003e53 marie antoinette, s2003e54 mr. mcdonald's, s2003e55 helen gurley brown: the original cosmo girl, s2003e56 pat buchanan, s2003e57 the saudi royal family, s2003e58 mary martin, s2003e59 bo derek, s2003e60 true crime authors: casino, s2003e60 prince albert, s2003e61 true crime authors: helter skelter, s2003e62 humphrey bogart, s2003e63 spencer tracy, s2003e63 steve buscemi, s2003e64 true crime authors: black mass, s2003e65 oksana baiul: after the glory, s2003e66 clark gable, s2003e66 paul kane, s2003e67 alec guinness, s2003e67 pablo escobar: the terror of colombia, s2003e68 julia louis-dreyfus, s2003e69 marg helgenberger: don't call me marg, s2003e70 the presley family, s2003e70 post-impressionists: van gogh & gauguin, s2003e71 barbara eden and elizabeth montgomery, s2003e72 the versace family, s2003e73 working for charles & diana, s2003e74 patrick stewart: make it so, s2003e75 james coburn, s2003e75 john carpenter, s2003e76 coldplay, s2003e77 david greenglass: twice a traitor, s2003e78 richard ashcroft, s2003e79 mark knopfler, s2003e80 ridley scott, s2003e81 sinead o'connor, s2003e82 david lynch, s2003e82 shania twain, s2003e83 fatboy slim, s2003e83 bernie mac, s2003e84 jonathan demme, s2003e85 sting, s2003e86 cameron crowe, s2003e86 lee majors, s2003e87 alanis morissette, s2003e87 brigitte bardot, s2003e88 anthony minghella, s2003e88 betty white, s2003e89 doris roberts, s2003e89 alice cooper, s2003e90 david gray, s2003e90 will smith, s2003e91 paul newman, s2003e91 tom crean, s2003e92 tom clancy, s2003e93 kevin costner.

S2003E93 Jane Pauley

S2003e94 the dixie chicks, s2003e95 phil spector, s2003e96 nancy greene, s2003e97 suzanne somers, s2003e98 kim jong il.

• September 4, 2003

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, is feared to be building nuclear weapons.

S2003E99 Saturday Night Live

S2003e100 all my children.

• September 8, 2003

S2003E101 Tom Ridge: Assignment: Mission Impossible

S2003e102 all the presidents' kids, s2003e103 always patsy cline, s2003e105 sharon stone, s2003e106 russell crowe, s2003e107 mama cass, s2003e108 pat benatar, s2003e110 natalie wood.

• September 23, 2003

S2003E111 Jane Withers

S2003e112 nicole kidman, s2003e113 lucille ball, s2003e114 marilyn monroe, s2003e115 paul kane: visions from the wilderness, s2003e116 clint eastwood, s2003e117 michael moore, s2003e118 dick van dyke: put on a happy face, s2003e119 walt disney, s2003e120 siegfried & roy.

• October 21, 2003

S2003E121 Laura Ashley

S2003e122 linda blair, s2003e123 wes craven, s2003e124 petula clark: this is my song, s2003e125 harrison ford, s2003e126 debbie harry, s2003e127 ava gardner, s2003e128 scouts, s2003e129 mick fleetwood, s2003e130 meat loaf, s2003e131 ozzy osbourne, s2003e132 cher, s2003e133 jfk: a personal story.

• November 10, 2003

Friends and biographers remember President John F. Kennedy.

S2003E134 Errol Brown

S2003e135 jack ruby, s2003e136 keanu reeves, s2003e137 james brolin, s2003e138 the nazi officer's wife, s2003e139 andy williams, s2003e140 sears, s2003e141 home depot, s2003e142 happy days, s2003e143 m*a*s*h.

• July 10, 2003

S2003E144 Dr. Seuss

S2003e145 the partridge family, s2003e146 ub 40, s2003e148 sam peckinpah, s2003e150 beck, s2003e151 jack london, s2003e152 patty duke, s2003e153 red hot chili peppers, s2003e154 woody allen, s2003e155 the cole porter story, s2003e156 lynda carter, s2003e157 buffy the vampire slayer, season 2004, s2004e01 alec baldwin.

• February 23, 2004

S2004E02 Ottis Toole and Henry Lee Lucas

• November 30, 2004

Ottis Toole, serial killer and cannibal, confessed to killing more than a hundred people with his partner Henry Lee Lucas. Toole murdered John Walsh's son. Henry Lee Lucas as an American criminal, convicted of murder. He killed at least three women but confessed to killing upwards of 600.

S2004E03 Richard Ramirez

• October 19, 2004

Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez is an American serial killer who left more than 25 victims in his wake. He is on death row at San Quentin Prison.

S2004E04 Pete Townshend

S2004e05 andrei chikatilo.

• November 3, 2004

Andrei Chikatilo confessed to 56 murders when he was eventually caught in 1990. The brutal killer preyed on children and young vagrants, eating intimate parts of their bodies. On 22nd December 1978, Chikatilo killed his first documented victim; 9 year old Lena Zakotnova was lured into an abandoned shed, where Chikatilo tried to rape her. Trying to control the struggling child, Chikatilo slashed her with a knife, ejaculating whilst doing so, confirming his psychological connection between violent death and sexual gratification that went on to typify all future attacks. An eyewitness had seen Chikatilo with the victim, shortly before her disappearance, but his wife provided him with a cast-iron alibi that enabled him to evade any further police attention. A 25-year old, Alexsandr Kravchenko, with a previous rape conviction, was arrested and confessed to the crime under duress, probably as a result of extensive and brutal interrogation. He was tried for the killing of Lena Zakotnova, and executed in 1984.

S2004E06 Johnny Depp

• October 11, 2004

S2004E07 Louie B. Mayer

S2004e08 led zeppelin.

• December 1, 2004

S2004E09 Jackson Pollock

• October 21, 2004

American painter who was a leading exponent of Abstract Expressionism, an art movement characterized by the free-associative gestures in paint sometimes referred to as “action painting.” During his lifetime he received widespread publicity and serious recognition for the radical poured, or “drip,” technique he used to create his major works. Among his contemporaries, he was respected for his deeply personal and totally uncompromising commitment to the art of painting. His work and example had enormous influence on them and on many subsequent art movements in the United States. He is also one of the first American painters to be recognized during his lifetime and after as a peer of 20th-century European masters of modern art.

S2004E10 Ed Gein

• July 20, 2004

Ed Gein was obsessively devoted to his mother, a religious fanatic. After her death, Gein began robbing graves––keeping body parts as trophies, practicing necrophilia, and experimenting with human taxidermy. He then turned to murder, killing at least two women in 1957. Gein inspired film characters Norman Bates, Hannibal Lecter, and Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

S2004E11 Dwight D. Eisenhower: Supreme Commander-in-Chief

• June 6, 2004

S2004E12 Joel Rifkin

• November 23, 2004

Serial killer Joel Rifkin killed 17 women in the 1990s before the police tried to pull him over for a missing license plate (and discovered his latest victim).

S2004E13 Ariel Sharon

• August 16, 2004

A look at the turbulent life of the Israeli Prime Minister beloved by right-wingers but hated by Palestinians. A great military commander who scored impressive victories in the 1967 and '73 Arab-Israeli wars Sharon blundered in the '80s as mastermind of the disastrous invasion of Lebanon. As one of the architects of Israel's West Bank settlement policy Sharon walks a political tightrope trying to maintain Israeli security while offering Palestinians limited self-determination.

S2004E14 Moses Sithole

• November 9, 2004

South Africa’s worst serial killer was found guilty in 1997 of 38 murders and 40 rapes. What drove Moses Sithole to commit his heinous crimes?

S2004E15 Pedro Alonzo Lopez

erial killer. Born Pedro Alonzo Lopez in 1949 in Tolmia, Colombia. The son of a prostitute, Lopez grew up in a world of poverty and political violence. His mother kicked him out at age eight, forcing him to fend for himself on the streets. After being raped and practically starving to death, he ended up at a school for orphans. By his mid-teens, Lopez had left school and returned to Colombia where he took to stealing cars. He ended up in prison where he was brutally gang raped. He retaliated by killing each of his assailants and was released in 1978. Following his release, Lopez claimed to have raped and killed at least 100 girls from various Indian tribes throughout the region. In 1980, while in police custody, Lopez revealed that he had performed similar grisly acts with more than 100 others throughout Peru and Colombia. Police were skeptical at first, but Lopez escorted agents to his burial sites, where they uncovered 81 bodies. Though it is impossible to know exactly how many lives Lopez took, some guess the number to be more than 300. In late 1980, Lopez was convicted on multiple counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

S2004E16 Albert Einstein

• August 10, 2004

William Hurt narrates this profile of Albert Einstein (1879-1955), "a loner thrown into the public eye," which recalls his social causes and scientific achievements. Featured: interviews with colleagues, including fellow Nobel laureate Linus Pauling; archival footage; excerpts from his speeches and writings.

S2004E17 Cheers

• January 29, 2004

S2004E18 Lawrence of Arabia

A legend in his own time, he was once simply T.E. Lawrence, a child fascinated by archaeology. He grew up to work for British Military Intelligence, and ultimately joined the Arab Revolts. But what drove Lawrence in his passionate fight for Arab independence? This profile provides remarkable insights into the man whose romantic and violent story captivated the world.

S2004E19 Catwoman- Her many lives

S2004e20 the munsters, s2004e21 jayne mansfield.

• February 9, 2004

An overview of Jayne Mansfield's life and tragic death.

S2004E22 Morgan Freeman

• July 28, 2004

S2004E23 Matthew McConaughey

S2004e24 brad pitt.

• December 7, 2004

S2004E25 Lord Byron

Born in 1788, Lord Byron was one of the leading figures of the Romantic Movement in early 19th century England. The notoriety of his sexual escapades is surpassed only by the beauty and brilliance of his writings. After leading an unconventional lifestyle and producing a massive amount of emotion-stirring literary works, Byron died at a young age in Greece pursuing romantic adventures of heroism.

S2004E26 Mothers and Daughters in Hollywood

S2004e27 simon cowell, s2004e28 antonio banderas, s2004e29 the ringling brothers, s2004e30 cheech marin, s2004e31 bram stoker, s2004e32 rudyard kipling.

• December 13, 2004

S2004E33 David Koresh

• April 21, 2004

S2004E34 James Joyce

• October 12, 2004

S2004E35 Cecil B. DeMille

• October 3, 2004

S2004E36 Hunter S. Thompson

• November 4, 2004

S2004E37 Sandra Day O\'Connor

S2004e38 jack unterweger.

• December 9, 2004

Jack Unterweger was an Austrian serial killer who murdered several women before committing suicide in 1994. In 1976 jailed for murder but became a literary sensation while in prison. Out on parole, he killed nine prostitutes before being caught once more.

S2004E39 Anwar Sadat

S2004e40 tatum o\'neal, s2004e41 julianne moore, s2004e42 buster keaton, s2004e43 steve mcqueen: life in the fast lane.

• September 1, 2004

S2004E44 Tippi Hedren: Magnificent Obsession

• August 15, 2004

S2004E45 Don Adams

• September 29, 2004

Don Adams from the show Biography profiles the popular TV actor, best known for his hit series "Get Smart." The Manhattan native began his show business career as a stage comic. After winning three Emmys as Maxwell Smart, Adams went on to a successful career as a voice actor on "Inspector Gadget" and "Spike & Mike."

S2004E46 Traci Lords

S2004e47 laura bush, s2004e48 the kray twins.

• September 27, 2004

S2004E49 Salvador Dali

• October 7, 2004

S2004E50 Neil Young

S2004e51 harold shipman.

• December 21, 2004

S2004E52 Liza Minnelli

• June 11, 2004

Interviews with Marisa Berenson, Mia Farrow, Liza Minnelli.

S2004E53 MaryKate Ashley Olsen

• June 15, 2004

Season 2005

S2005e01 chuck norris.

• September 23, 2005

A look at the actor who parlayed his martial arts skills into a successful acting career. We visit Chuck on the set of his new TV movie, Walker, Texas Ranger, giving Chuck the opportunity to return to the Cordell Walker role he played on TV for eight years. Chuck talks about his difficult childhood, his brother's death in Vietnam, his rise to the top of the karate world and friendship with Bruce Lee, and his divorce and remarriage.

S2005E02 Elton John

• March 25, 2005

S2005E03 Jerry Garcia

• December 13, 2005

S2005E04 Shania Twain

• May 6, 2005

S2005E05 Genghis Khan: Terror and Conquest

• January 1, 2005

Among the greatest military leaders of all time was Genghis Khan. His penchant for military expansion produced one of the largest and best-controlled empires in the history of the world. This program tells the story of his conquests that garnered him land holdings throughout the known world of Asia and Europe. The program uses reenactments, artworks, writings, and the opinions of historians to paint a picture of the commander, who was both military strategist and governor of a vast empire.

S2005E06 The Brady Bunch

• June 24, 2005

S2005E07 Onassis Dynasty

• November 22, 2005

S2005E08 Sylvester Stallone: The Rocky Road to the Top

• March 2, 2005

Profile of the actor whose life story is similar to his greatest screen creation, boxer Rocky Balboa. Though he's best known as an actor, he's a successful writer, director and artist as well. He's also a sculptor - of his own body. His incredible physique set a new standard for action heroes. Like Rocky, his story is one of a man triumphing over incredible odds. This revealing profile will explore the many facets of Sylvester Stallone through film clips, behind the scenes footage and exclusive interviews. With full participation from Sly himself, the result is a unique, intimate and exciting portrait of this Hollywood icon that is not to be missed.

S2005E09 Jackie Robinson

• January 31, 2005

S2005E10 Peter

• December 11, 2005

One of the original 12 apostles, Peter was present during many of the most important moments of Jesus's ministry. Peter walked on water at Jesus's bidding, denied knowing Jesus in the courtyard of the high priest, drew his sword when Jesus was arrested, and had the privilege of an individual post-resurrection appearance by Jesus. Believed to have been crucified, Peter is said to have asked to be crucified upside down because he didn't think himself worthy of dying the same way as Jesus.

S2005E11 Pontius Pilate

• December 15, 2005

Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea during the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, is profiled.

S2005E12 Solomon

• April 7, 2006

Story of the third king of Israel who is known for his great wisdom. When his reign began, he asked the Lord for the wisdom to rule well, and God granted him his wish, as well as riches and honor. Solomon built the first Temple and helped the Israelites to enjoy a long period of security and prosperity, but was often distracted by his reputed 700 wives and 300 concubines.

S2005E13 ABBA

• December 28, 2005

The Swedish pop group ABBA (Agnetha F ltskog, Bj rn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad) had a string of hits in the 70's and 80's before breaking up in 1982. Throughout much of the world, especially Europe and Australia, the ABBA phenomenon never went away, with repackaged hits compilations and live collections continuing to hit the charts long after the group's demise. Their music was revitalized and introduced to a new generation yet again with the premiere of Mamma Mia, a global smash-hit musical based on their catchy tunes. It remains a top draw on Broadway today, proving that truly outstanding music never loses its charm.

S2005E14 The Facts of Life

• July 25, 2005

S2005E15 Paris Hilton: Not So Simple

• November 4, 2005

S2005E16 Charles Darwin Evolution's Voice

He had to battle prejudice, ignorance and his own fear in his search for the truth. More than any other scientist, he changed mankind's view of the world and our place in it. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution stands as one of the most important discoveries in the history of science. Yet in his lifetime, Darwin was reluctant to reveal what he had learned for fear that it would make him and his family despised outcasts. He was right to worry; more than a century later, there are those who cannot accept his findings. At the time, they were viewed by many as heresy. From his historic voyage on the Beagle to his personal anguish over publicizing his findings, this is a fascinating profile of the life and times of the great naturalist. Excerpts from his journals detail his discoveries while leading scientists and scholars, including the author of Charles Darwin: Evolution of a Naturalist, shed light on his private life, public persona and monumental legacy.

S2005E17 Calamity Jane

• December 10, 2005

Profiling frontierswoman Calamity Jane (1852-1903), born Martha Jane Cannary.

S2005E18 Buddy Ebsen

S2005e19 the google boys.

• April 16, 2005

Google's meteoric rise to internet stardom is one of the great business sagas of our time. The sons of college professors, Larry Page and Sergey Brin - two brainy Stanford University grad students who founded the company - say their goal was to make the entire world's information searchable and instantly accessible. At last count, they were answering 200 million queries a day. As with the invention of the internet, it's changing our lives in ways we couldn't imagine. Google became the world's number one search engine because it returned better, more relevant search results faster than the competition. How it does that is a secret, but enough is known among search engine experts to unlock some of the mysteries of this conceptually simple yet infinitely complex software.

S2005E20 General Douglas MacArthur: The Return of a Legend

• September 30, 2005

S2005E21 Dorothy Stratten

• January 25, 2005

S2005E22 Ray Romano

• May 13, 2005

Ray Romano becomes the highest-paid actor per episode in TV history

S2005E23 Arthur Shawcross

• July 29, 2005

Known as The Genesee River Killer, Shawcross was born on June 6, 1945 in Maine. After dropping out of school, Shawcross enlisted in the Army and fought in the Vietnam War.

S2005E24 Toby Keith

• December 9, 2005

S2005E25 Gary Coleman

• April 13, 2005

S2005E26 Ron Popeil

• December 17, 2005

S2005E27 Catherine the Great

• December 22, 2005

S2005E28 The Onassis Dynasty

• December 5, 2005

A profile of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis (1906-75) also examines the lives of his family members, including his wives, Athina Livanos and Jackie Onassis; and his children, Alexander and Christina.

S2005E29 Lech Walesa

• June 12, 2005

Lech Walesa heads the Solidarity movement that topples communism in Poland.

S2005E30 Frida Kahlo

• June 28, 2005

S2005E31 Ben & Jerry

• November 26, 2005

With flavor names like Phish Food and Karamel Sutra, Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream has built a reputation over the years as a fun-loving company with a unique and creative approach to business. When Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield met in gym class in 1963, they realized that they shared two important qualities: a hatred for running and a love for food. They also agreed that it was no fun being in business just to earn a living--they wanted to enjoy themselves too. So in 1977 they turned to ice cream making by enrolling in a $5 correspondence course to learn the craft. Their recipe was a sophisticated concoction: a blend of fresh Vermont milk, cream and generous portions of whatever ingredients took their fancy.

S2005E32 Bruce Willis

• February 23, 2005

S2005E33 Heather Locklear

• June 17, 2005

S2005E34 David Hasselhoff: Driven

• August 5, 2005

S2005E35 Danielle Steel

• January 8, 2005

Season 2006

S2006e01 tv game shows.

• July 14, 2006

For decades, we've watched countless contestants on TV answer trivia, perform stunts, and challenge lady luck. We've jumped for joy when they won and were crushed when they lost. Many a host has mesmerized us with their ear-to-ear grins, humorous banter, and exceedingly charming personalities. The games may have gotten more elaborate, the ideas more inventive, and the stakes higher, but one thing hasn't changed...TV Game Shows are as popular as ever. This 2-hour quirky special doesn't just look at the history of TV Game Shows, it celebrates the entire genre in a fun, light-hearted trip down memory lane. Filled with hilarious clips, amusing interviews, and hilarious commentary, it's fast paced, campy, and funny.

S2006E02 Dave Chappelle

• July 31, 2006

Dave Chappelle began making appearances in films such as Robin Hood: Men In Tights and Half Baked in the mid-1990s. In 2003, Chappelle landed his own show on Comedy Central, Chappelle's Show. He received two Emmy Award nominations for the wildly popular and controversial show, which frequently addressed race relations. In 2006, he abruptly quit the show and moved to a farm in Ohio.

S2006E03 Steve Martin

• February 3, 2006

S2006E04 Final Days: The Fame and Fate of Marilyn Monroe

• March 17, 2006

Recalling the last days of Marilyn Monroe, who died in 1962 at the age of 36.

S2006E05 Bobby Flay

• December 20, 2006

S2006E06 Bobby Fischer

• August 28, 2006

World chess champion Bobby Fischer becomes a recluse after losing his title.

S2006E07 Jason Priestley

• December 5, 2006

A profile of actor Jason Priestley, who rose to fame during the TV series “Beverly Hills, 90210” and suffered serious injuries during a car crash in 2002 when his race car hit a wall at the Kentucky Speedway.

S2006E08 Country Diva

• March 28, 2006

S2006E09 Bill Cosby

• November 15, 2006

S2006E10 Bea Arthur

• November 23, 2006

Biography remembers the actress and comedienne with the heart of gold in this 6 part special.

S2006E11 Barack Obama

At the second day of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, an unknown and untested speaker took the stage as the keynote speaker for the event. 4 years later, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States.

S2006E12 Warren Buffett

S2006e13 maria callas, s2006e14 caroline kennedy, s2006e15 marjorie merriweather post, s2006e16 dolly parton.

• April 28, 2006

S2006E17 Mary Kay

• December 15, 2006

Mary Kay Ash; founder of May Kay cosmetics. Pioneer in home-based business for women.

S2006E18 Gallo Brothers

• October 30, 2006

S2006E19 Tom Jones

• January 5, 2006

S2006E20 Tiger Woods

• December 21, 2006

S2006E21 Pat Tillman

The life of NFL–safety–turned–Army–infantryman Pat Tillman, who turned down a $9 million contract to join the military after the 9/11 attacks, and who was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan in 2004.

Season 2007

S2007e01 weird al yankovic.

• October 11, 2007

“Weird Al” Yankovic, who rose to fame in the '80s with his musical parodies, is profiled

S2007E02 The Brat Pack

• October 10, 2007

S2007E03 The Monkees

• December 20, 2007

S2007E04 The Beatles Women

• August 8, 2007

S2007E05 Meatloaf

• April 23, 2007

Meatloaf was born Michael Lee Aday. He was the first child of police officer father Orvis and school teacher mother, Wilma. Orvis was a renowned alcoholic who would often slumber into drinking binges which lasted several days. As Meat Loaf would inevitably end up driving round town with his mother, looking in bars for Orvis, he would often instead stay with his grandmother Charlsee Norrod. After completing college, Meat Loaf enrolled at North Texas State University where he was called for an army physical. Meat Loaf was so determined not to pass the fitness test that he deliberately gained sixty-eight pounds in just over a month. Yet despite being colour blind and overweight, his draft notice arrived two weeks later - which he ignored. In 1967, Meat Loaf left Texas and moved to Los Angeles where he started working as a bouncer at a nightclub. It was in LA that Meat Loaf formed his first band, Meat Loaf Soul. It was during the recording of their first song that Meat Loaf hit a note so high that he managed to blow a fuse on the recording monitor which immediately led to an offer of three separate recording contracts- which he turned down all of. The band underwent several line-up changes on lead guitar, each time culminating in a new band name, including Floating Circus and Popcorn Blizard. After Floating Circus split, Meat Loaf took on several low-key jobs, one of which would inadvertently lead to his breakthrough in the media. While working as a parking lot attendant he had a chance meeting with a man who asked what Meat Loaf did when he wasn’t on the lot. After mentioning that he was a singer in his spare time, the man suggested he should audition for the stage musical, Hair. The audition was a success and led to Meat Loaf starring in a six month run in Detroit. Meat Loaf’s role in Hair was the kickstart he needed, as the publicity generated led to an invite from Motown to record a duet album with Stoney Murphy. The album entitled Stoney and M

S2007E06 Sheryl Crow

She's the new Revlon spokeswomen, Lance Armstrong's ex-girlfriend, and a nine-time Grammy-winning rock star. This portrait of Sheryl Crow follows her meteoric career from the time she first burst onto the rock scene with her album, "Tuesday Night Music Club," in 1993. In 2003, she met cycling great Lance Armstrong and the two became a high-profile couple. She also became involved in Lance's LiveStrong Foundation's fight against cancer. But ironically, days after they broke up, Crow was diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease is now in remission, and Crow, the new mother of an adopted baby boy, continues to draw big crowds for her performances.

S2007E07 Whitney Houston

• February 16, 2015

Whitney Houston The Real Story

S2007E08 Tina Turner

• August 9, 2007

S2007E09 Britney Spears

S2007e10 the ken and barbie killers: paul bernardo and karla homolka.

• October 7, 2007

In the spring of 1987, 23-year-old Paul Bernardo met Karla Homolka in a suburban hotel restaurant outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Although still in high school, 17-year-old Karla fell for Paul, immediately. Together, they made a picture-perfect couple, complete with a horse-drawn carriage for their fairy tale wedding. But the seemingly perfect couple was not so perfect after all. Alone, Paul was responsible for nearly 20 rapes throughout the area. And together, they were guilty of drugging, raping and murdering three young girls, one of which was Karla's 14-year-old sister. They captured most of the assaults on videotape.

S2007E11 Jon Stewart

• November 7, 2007

Jon Stewart is the host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which dubs itself "the most trusted name in fake news" and has run for nearly 20 seasons.

S2007E12 Rachael Ray

• November 21, 2007

S2007E13 Chris Farley

S2007e14 george michael.

• November 29, 2007

S2007E15 Meat Loaf

• April 27, 2007

S2007E16 Cameron Diaz

• April 25, 2007

S2007E17 The Harry Potter Kids

• December 17, 2007

They were virtually unknown when they were cast in the first Harry Potter movie in 2000, but Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have since become worldwide stars. When Radcliffe won the coveted role as Harry in The Sorcerer's Stone, he was plucked from almost compete obscurity. Grint was a fan of the books and wanted a part in the films so much that he sent a video of himself rapping about how much he wanted the role. Watson was just 11 and had almost no acting experience when the film was released. Today, all the Potter kids are grown, especially Watson, who has been named one of the world's sexiest women by the magazine "FHM".

S2007E18 Reese Witherspoon

• June 25, 2007

S2007E19 Sean Connery

• June 7, 2007

S2007E20 Ozzy Osbourne

• July 15, 2007

S2007E21 Tom Hanks

• July 28, 2007

S2007E22 Rob Lowe

• August 15, 2007

S2007E23 Raquel Welch

• August 18, 2007

S2007E24 Howard Schultz and Starbucks

• August 29, 2007

S2007E25 Denzel Washington

• December 5, 2007

S2007E26 John Belushi

• March 10, 2007

When he died, Belushi's widow taped a collection of conversations with John's friends, colleagues and family. These form a backdrop to a profile of an American comic legend.

S2007E27 Dana Plato

S2007e28 the all new mickey mouse club, s2007e29 mickey rourke, s2007e30 ashton kutcher, s2007e31 beyonce, s2007e32 christian bale, s2007e33 hilary swank, s2007e34 meredith vieira.

• April 24, 2007

S2007E35 Robert Downey Jr.

• January 10, 2007

S2007E36 Queen Latifah

• September 13, 2007

S2007E37 Patrick Dempsey

S2007e38 kristy mcnichol, s2007e39 diana: tragic love.

• August 27, 2007

A profile of Princess Diana (1961-97) features reminiscences by those who knew her, including her nanny; hairdresser; speechwriter; teachers; and personal trainer.

S2007E40 Anna Nicole Smith

Biography: Anna Nicole Smith documents the life of the troubled model who rose to fame in the pages of adult magazines before becoming a Guess jeans model, and a tabloid fixture upon her marriage to an elderly millionaire. Her protracted legal battle over his estate, as well as her outlandish public behavior made her a tabloid fixture.

S2007E41 The Terminator: Anatoly Onoprienko

• August 25, 2007

For six years, Anatoly Onoprienko terrorized the entire Ukraine. He killed eight families, 52 people total. The press nicknamed him "The Terminator," and he has vowed to kill again if he ever escapes jail.

S2007E42 Fleetwood Mac

• November 8, 2007

A history of the band Fleetwood Mac examines their long career spanning more than 40 years. Included: the different members over the years; the numerous breakups.

S2007E43 Kelsey Grammer

• October 17, 2007

A profile of Kelsey Grammer, who rose to fame in the sitcoms “Cheers” and “Frasier.”

S2007E44 NSYNC

• December 6, 2007

S2007E45 Daniel Craig

Season 2008, s2008e01 the spice girls.

• January 4, 2008

S2008E02 Duran Duran

• January 10, 2008

S2008E03 Lindsay Lohan

• January 31, 2008

S2008E04 Ayman Al Zawahiri

• February 5, 2008

S2008E05 Hugh Laurie

• February 6, 2008

S2008E06 Raul Castro

• February 7, 2008

S2008E07 Barry White

• February 14, 2008

S2008E08 Martin Short

• December 28, 2008

S2008E09 Goldie Hawn

• February 20, 2008

S2008E10 Rothschild Family Dynasty

S2008e11 halle berry.

• February 21, 2008

S2008E12 Johnson Family Dynsaty

S2008e13 gucci family dynasty.

• February 22, 2008

S2008E14 Hugh Grant

S2008e15 kenny chesney.

• February 28, 2008

S2008E16 Bret Michaels

• March 5, 2008

S2008E17 Sacha Baron Cohen

• March 11, 2008

S2008E18 Jamie Foxx

• March 19, 2008

A notorious, underworld organization labeled "The Syndicate" executes mob hits that result in the murders of an estimated 1, 000 people across the U. S before ultimately meeting its demise at the hands of strong government opposition.

S2008E19 Scott Baio

• May 28, 2008

He was a teen idol best known for his characters Chachi Arcola on Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi and Charles on the hit 1980s sitcom Charles in Charge. Scott Baio's good looks, charm and wit helped him maintain success "post-Chachi" as an actor, producer and director...but fame like that of "Chachi" is hard to come by twice. A playboy, who virtually haunted Hugh Hefner's mansion, dating countless centerfolds in addition to blonde bombshells Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear, Baio has made a comeback with the reality show, Scott Baio is 45...and Single.

S2008E20 Sharon Osbourne

S2008e21 randy couture: ultimate fighter.

• August 6, 2008

He's the five-time champ of America's fastest growing sport. His fights sell out arenas and millions of fans in 36 countries worldwide tune in to telecasts weekly and pay top dollar for exclusive pay-per-view events. He's Randy Couture: the Ultimate Fighting Champion. The simple title belies the near inhuman strength it has taken to kick, choke and claw his way to the top of professional fighting. From early days on his high school wrestling team to the Army and Olympics, this Washington native has built a career on years of training--perfecting his signature style referred to as the "ground and pound." Losses on and off the mat take their toll, but also drive Couture to cement his title as "the best fighter of all time."

S2008E22 Patrick Duffy

• June 10, 2008

S2008E23 Sarah Silverman

• March 1, 2008

S2008E24 Adam Sandler

S2008E25 Colin Farrell

• October 12, 2008

S2008E26 Pink Floyd

• December 25, 2008

With the release of 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd abruptly went from a moderately successful acid-rock band to one of pop music's biggest acts. The recording, in fact, remained on Billboard's Top 200 album chart longer than any other release in history. Along with 1979's The Wall, it established Pink Floyd as purveyors of a distinctively dark vision. Experimenting with concept albums and studio technology and breaking free of conventional pop-song formats, Pink Floyd prefigured the progressive rock of the '70s and ambient music of the '80s.

S2008E27 The Rolling Stones

• December 19, 2008

They began calling themselves the "World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band" in the late '60s, and few disputed the claim. The Rolling Stones' music, based on Chicago blues, has continued to sound vital through the decades, and the Stones' attitude of flippant defiance, now aged into wry bemusement, has come to seem as important as their music.

S2008E28 Matt Damon

• April 2, 2008

S2008E29 The Wahlberg Brothers

• December 5, 2008

S2008E30 John McCain: American Maverick

S2008e31 joe biden, s2008e32 jack black, s2008e33 run d.m.c., s2008e34 valerie bertinelli, s2008e35 ted kennedy: tragedy, scandal, and redemption.

Chronicling the life of U.S. senator Ted Kennedy. Among the topics: his privileged upbringing, relationship with his father, personal tragedies, including the deaths of four siblings; and legislative career. Interviewed: Kennedy, Sen. Orrin Hatch, cousins Joe Gargan and Kerry McCarthy, and Bobby Kennedy, Jr.

S2008E36 Genesis

• December 23, 2008

This A&E Biography of "Genesis" covers the band from the Peter Gabriel era all way into the "When in Rome" tour of 2007. However, please note that this is a biography that contains no actual Genesis music.

S2008E37 Julia Roberts

S2008e38 selena, s2008e39 martina navratilova.

• December 4, 2008

S2008E40 Cate Blanchett

• May 25, 2008

S2008E41 Kate Winslet

• December 17, 2008

S2008E42 Salma Hayek

• March 18, 2008

S2008E43 Christian Slater

• October 2, 2008

S2008E44 Stevie Wonder

• December 8, 2008

S2008E45 Clive Owen

• November 27, 2008

S2008E46 Edmund Kemper

• April 15, 2008

S2008E47 The Who

S2008e48 jerome brudos, s2008e49 heather mills, s2008e50 witches.

• October 30, 2008

The episode will focus on the history of witchcraft, spanning from ancient times to the modern day Wicca movement, and explore the facts and fiction surrounding witches. The program begins by traveling back 2000 years before Christianity when witches were considered great healers who prayed to the forces of nature.

S2008E51 The Kinks

• December 14, 2008

British rock group The Kinks, who emerged during the British Invasion in the '60s, are profiled.

S2008E52 Ian Fleming

He created the immortal character James Bond, and his colorful life was much like his 007 brainchild. The author Ian Fleming was a spy and a womanizer--and he liked his martinis shaken, not stirred. A member of the British aristocracy, he was also a journalist, banker, and military man who wrote his first Bond novel at age 43. Over the next 11 years, he wrote 13 more Bond tales, and even a popular children's book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

S2008E53 The Chessboard Killer: Alexander Pichushkin

• November 18, 2008

Russian serial killer Alexander Pichushkin, nicknamed "The Chessboard Killer," was caught in Moscow and convicted in 2007 of killing 48 people. Following his arrest the police discovered a chessboard with dates on all but two of the squares, apparently connected to the murders he committed. Due to the gruesomeness and number of murders, Russians considered reinstating the death penalty.

S2008E54 Eddie Murphy

• July 9, 2008

S2008E55 The Agnelli Family Dynasty

• September 13, 2008

S2008E56 Sam Kinison

Season 2009, s2009e01 child star heart throbs.

• April 8, 2009

S2009E02 The Mamas and the Papas

• May 28, 2009

S2009E03 Metallica

• June 3, 2009

S2009E04 Three's Company

• August 11, 2009

S2009E05 Carrie Underwood

• November 12, 2009

S2009E06 Bill Gates

From college dropout to the world's richest man, follow the amazing journey of the sultan of software. He dropped out of Harvard to build a software business. The company he founded is one of the biggest in the world, and his programs now run on 95% of computers. Bill Gates is an American icon for the silicon age, a tech nerd who turned his genius into the world's largest personal fortune, an entrepreneur who built a dominant company from the ground up according to his vision. From his privileged childhood to his recent battles with the Justice Department, BIOGRAPHY® profiles the "Sultan of Software" through interviews with those who know him best, including his mother and father. Get a glimpse of Gates the businessman through the eyes of Microsoft Co-Chairman Steven Ballmer, while childhood and college friends offer a more personal portrait. From the birth of MS-DOS to his increasing ventures beyond the world of computing, this is a compelling profile of one of the most influential businessmen of the century.

S2009E07 Bruce Springsteen

• August 6, 2009

S2009E08 Aerosmith

• June 4, 2009

S2009E09 Freddie Mercury

• January 29, 2009

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury, originally named Faroukh Bulsara, grew up in India and moved to Britain in 1964 to work for a time in Heathrow airport. Initially a vocalist in a band called Wreckage, Mercury joined Queen in 1971. At this point the band was made up of ex-Smile members Brian May on guitar and Rodger Taylor on drums. John Deacon answered an advert in the music press to become the band's bassist. Their early career saw them release the poorly received album 'Queen' in 1973, and go on tour extensively, supporting Mott the Hoople. Their second album, 'Queen 2', gave them their first hit single: 'Seven Seas Of Rye'. They gradually found a loyal audience in a difficult time for music; Freddie made a charismatic front man and the band worked together as a skilful team. 'Sheer Heart Attack' and 'A Night At The Opera' followed, the former bearing 'Killer Queen', the latter 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. This epic song was a record breaker, remaining the longest running number one for twenty years. Mercury wrote the catchy number 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', from the album 'The Game', released in 1980, the same year that the band penned the score to 'Flash Gordon'. Mercury's solo work included material for the soundtracks to 'Electric Dreams' and 'Metropolis'. His version of 'The Great Pretender' was a hit in 1987. He recorded an album and single, 'Barcelona', with opera diva Montserrat Caballe, for the Barcelona Olympics. The group worked together again on 'The Miracle' and 'Innuendo', which was the last material to be released before Freddie's tragic death from AIDS in November 1991. He only admitted he was suffering from the virus the day before his death. On 22 November 1991, Mercury had called Queen's manager Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to discuss a public statement. The next day, 23 November, the following announcement was made to the press: "Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wis

S2009E10 Moses and the Ten Commandments

• April 28, 2009

Although chosen by God to receive the Ten Commandments and lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, Moses was often plagued by self-doubt. This A&E Biography special examines the complex life of this Biblical figure, telling his story through interviews with experts and illustrating it with images of rare paintings and artifacts, as well as beautiful location photography. Though born of Hebrew slaves and always a reluctant prophet, Moses nonetheless managed to free God's people from the Pharaoh's chains of slavery, under which they had lived for centuries.

S2009E11 Tragic Side of Comedy

• June 24, 2009

Why do those who make us laugh the hardest seem to have the most troubled souls? This two-hour event will look at the fantastic rises and fatal descents of such stars as John Belushi, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, and others uncovering the reasons why the gift of laughter often comes with such a steep price tag. We'll hear from friends, lovers, colleagues, psychiatrists, authors and more going deep inside the troubled lives and hysterical work of some of the greatest comic minds of our time.

S2009E12 Diff'rent Strokes

• April 1, 2009

What do a softcore porn star-turned-armed robber, a rehabilitated coke addict, and a bankrupt 4'8" 40-year-old have in common? They were the child stars of Diff'rent Strokes, the popular NBC/ABC sitcom that aired from the late '70s to the mid '80s. From what happened behind the scenes to what went wrong after the cameras stopped rolling, we'll find out what the gang was really talkin' about when Gary Coleman would ask, "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

S2009E14 Family Ties

S2009E15 Full House

S2009E16 Beverly Hills, 90210

• September 8, 2009

"Beverly Hills, 90210" invents the genre of primetime teenage soap opera and paves the way for a generation of imitators. In 1990 Beverly Hills 90210 was the most exciting teen drama that had ever hit the airwaves-it was also the most controversial. In this revealing behind-the-scenes look at one of the most iconic television series from the '90s relive the friendships the scandals and the gutsy storylines that brought 90210 cast members unbridled fame. Learn how the stars of the show were originally cast and why the program was initially panned by critics. Discover how the show created a new genre-the prime-time teenage soap opera-and how it paved the way for a generation of angst-ridden dramas from Party of Five to Felicity to Dawson's Creek. Finally find out what happened to the cast after they stepped off the set for the final time in 2000. Featuring no-holds-barred interviews with cast members and critics as well as archival footage from some of the show's most notable moments BIO-® presents the real story behind BEVERLY HILLS 90210.

S2009E17 David Letterman

• September 17, 2009

David Letterman has been called the crown prince of the current age of irony. His unconventional humor and brash on-air antics have inspired numerous comedians and talk show hosts who have followed in his footsteps.

S2009E19 Kirstie Alley

• October 7, 2009

S2009E20 Robert DeNiro

• July 22, 2009

Widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time, this is the story of two-time Academy Award-winner Robert DeNiro. DeNiro grew up in his New York's Little Italy, the son of divorced parents, known then simply as "Bobby Milk." We'll follow him as he drops out of school, joins a local street gang before finding his way to the stage and subsequently to the big screen. We'll go inside his over-the-top method acting rituals, look at how he snagged famous roles in such films as The Godfather II, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Goodfellas as well as his more recent comedic performances in Meet the Parents.

S2009E21 Kurt Cobain

• July 30, 2009

S2009E22 Heath Ledger

• January 28, 2009

S2009E23 Sean Penn

• May 27, 2009

S2009E24 Joaquin Phoenix

• December 23, 2009

S2009E25 Sarah Jessica Parker

S2009e26 teen heartthrobs, s2009e27 woody harrelson.

• November 24, 2009

S2009E28 Chevy Chase

He was the breakout star of Saturday Night Live, winning over audiences with his cool, laidback persona and razor sharp wit. He went on to star in some of the biggest comedy hits of the 80's--including Caddyshack, National Lampoon's Vacation, and Fletch.

S2009E29 Kevin James

S2009e30 george clooney, s2009e31 geronimo, s2009e32 cat stevens, s2009e33 jules verne.

• October 15, 2009

S2009E34 Norman Rockwell: An American Portrait

• October 30, 2009

This Biography video spotlights Norman Rockwell, the complicated painter who produced the glorious and uncomplicated illustrations that thrilled readers for decades and helped to shape the nation. In a career spanning 60 years, Norman Rockwell produced over 320 covers for the Saturday Evening Post.

S2009E35 J.W. Marriott

• November 10, 2009

S2009E36 Bono

• May 7, 2009

S2009E37 Patrick Dempsey

S2009e38 the everly brothers, s2009e39 boyz ii men, s2009e40 guns n' roses, s2009e41 teri hatcher, s2009e42 bill murray, s2009e43 green day.

• October 1, 2009

S2009E44 Pope Benedict XVI

Season 2010, s2010e01 p. ramlee.

• October 31, 2010

The iconic actor, director, singer and songwriter, his contribution to Malay film and music remains legendary in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

S2010E02 Rodney Dangerfield

• January 21, 2010

S2010E03 Married with Children

• July 14, 2010

A look at the over-the-top and controversial sitcom about a dysfunctional Chicago family that lasted 11 seasons on TV. The crude antics of the family's disgruntled father Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill), his tacky wife Peg (Katey Sagal), his ditzy daughter Kelly (Christina Applegate), and girl-chasing son Bud (David Faustino) delighted some viewers and offended others. The show was a huge departure from the picture-perfect families viewers often saw on television, but even as it ruffled feathers, the show represented a more realistic picture of the everyday problems that Americans were dealing with in the late 80s and 90s.

S2010E04 Rosie O'Donnell

• July 21, 2010

S2010E05 Billy Joel

• November 18, 2010

Known the world over as the original piano man, Billy Joel is the 6th best selling recording artist of all time. This Long Island native has lived a life with incredible highs and devastating lows. He's battled depression, lost his fortune to an embezzler and been married three times, including his high profile marriage to super model Christie Brinkley. He's also toured the world dazzling enormous audiences on his own and with friend Elton John, singing iconic songs from a career spanning more than 40 years!

S2010E06 John Candy

• January 9, 2010

The larger-than-life Canadian with a heart to match was known for his family-friendly fare, appearing in nearly 40 films before his untimely death at the age of 43. After college, Candy became a member of the famed Second City Comedy Troupe. The success of Second City TV propelled John to Hollywood during the height of its "Canadian Invasion." Films like The Blues Brothers and Stripes catapulted him to fame thanks to his large, lovable persona. His bright career was cut short in 1994 when, while filming on location in Mexico, Candy died from a massive heart attack. Today, he is still universally loved and remembered fondly thanks to his buffoonish jokes, infectious smile, and side-splitting impersonations.

S2010E07 Leonardo DiCaprio

• February 26, 2010

S2010E08 Fallen Beauty Queens

• December 2, 2010

S2010E09 Ellen DeGeneres

• November 2, 2010

S2010E10 Tyra Banks

• September 23, 2010

S2010E11 Pink

• October 7, 2010

S2010E12 Megan Fox

• November 22, 2010

S2010E13 The Captains of the Final Frontier

• November 3, 2010

An in-depth look at all of the Star Trek Captains and the real people behind them.

S2010E14 Jimi Hendrix

S2010e15 black sabbath.

• July 15, 2010

S2010E31 The Jackson 5

• December 22, 2010

Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958, to Katherine and Joseph Jackson—a former guitarist who had once entertained musical aspirations of his own. At just 5 years old, Jackson was lauded for his incredible vocal range, and his father recruited him as the lead singer of the family's newly formed group, The Jackson 5, which included Michael's older brothers, Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, and eventually, Marlon. Embracing his new role as frontman for the group, Jackson impressed audiences with his ability to convey complex emotions with his singing, and the Jackson 5 rapidly rose to fame, producing the No. 1 song, "I Want You Back," among several other chart toppers.

S2010E32 Manson: The Notorious Crime and Trial

S2010e33 michelle yeoh, s2010e34 mark harmon.

• June 23, 2010

S2010E35 Marilyn Manson

S2010e36 nancy mckeon.

• August 31, 2010

Season 2011

S2011e01 jeff dunham: birth of a dummy.

• November 22, 2011

An in-depth profile of the comic who has accomplished a seemingly impossible feat--he's made ventriloquism hip again. So hip, in fact, that for the past two years, Jeff Dunham has been the top-grossing touring comedian in the world with more than a quarter-billion hits on YouTube to his credit. This two-hour special includes rare performance footage, home videos, original interviews with Jeff and those who know him best, as well as sold-out performances featuring Walter, Peanut, Achmed, Jose, and the rest of his cast of characters. And, for the first time ever, behind-the-scenes footage of Jeff creating, building, and performing a brand new character, Achmed Junior.

S2011E02 Gordon Ramsay

• April 21, 2011

S2011E03 The Captains of the Final Frontier

• November 3, 2011

Star Trek: the most influential science fiction television series of all time. What began as a cult favorite, stands today as a worldwide phenomenon that only grows stronger with each new addition. And at the center of it all stand the fearless captains of each Star Trek generation: a class of iconic characters whose leadership and choices changed the course of their own universe forever. This two-hour special will relive, analyze and shed new light on the incredible triumphs and epic failures of the most legendary leaders in Starfleet history. We're gathering the biggest names and foremost experts on the subject and weaving their never-before-heard accounts and stories with the most exciting, awe-inspiring and iconic clips, footage and photos. It's an in-depth look at those who have boldly taken the series to new and unexpected heights.

S2011E04 Fallen Centerfolds

• December 20, 2011

S2011E05 Natalie Portman: The Professional

• December 29, 2011

S2011E06 Scarlett Johansson

• December 23, 2011

S2011E07 America's 10 Most Hated

• December 14, 2011

S2011E08 Hollywood: From Homely to Hot

• December 22, 2011

S2011E09 Hollywood's Baddest Breakups

• December 15, 2011

S2011E10 Under 21 and Filthy Rich

• December 30, 2011

S2011E11 Kate Middleton

S2011e12 pippa middleton, s2011e13 chelsea handler, s2011e14 tawny kitaen.

• July 21, 2011

S2011E15 Celebrity Mistresses

They are the other women - always available to be wined, dined, and pampered, but, most importantly, also hidden from view. Until they're not. And then they find their names splashed across every tabloid the supermarket racks can hold. They are "Celebrity Mistresses" - the beautiful women you've never heard of until that day they're discovered attached to some of the biggest names in entertainment, business and sports. Guests include: Joslyn James, Tamsen Fadal, Steve Hirsch, Dr. Ava Cadell, Cooper Lawrence, Sarah Symonds and others.

S2011E16 Erwin Rommel

S2011e17 steve-o.

• June 7, 2011

S2011E18 Elmore Leonard

S2011e19 alfred kinsey, s2011e20 jennifer aniston.

• November 9, 2011

S2011E21 Marisa Tomei

• January 10, 2011

S2011E22 The Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty

• December 8, 2011

S2011E23 Twiggy

S2011e24 queen: days of our lives, s2011e25 h.h. holmes, s2011e26 drew peterson, season 2012, s2012e01 jaws: the inside story.

• June 23, 2012

S2012E02 David Bowie

• January 22, 2012

S2012E03 Glee- Don't Stop Believing

• April 10, 2012

S2012E04 Warren Jeffs

• April 15, 2012

S2012E05 Lucky - The Story of Charles Lindbergh

• January 3, 2012

S2012E06 Harley-Davidson

• August 28, 2012

Behind the chrome, growling engines and sleek lines of Harley-Davidson motorcycles lies the story of two families with motorcycles in their blood. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company was founded in 1903 by William S. Harley, Arthur Davidson, Walter Davidson and William A. Davidson. The Harley was originally designed to have fun; throughout the century it has been commissioned for World War I and II, survived The Great Depression, and brought the company back to life after coming close to bankruptcy. The strong spirit of the Harley-Davidson families lives on. Why do they call Harley-Davidson motorcycles "Hogs"?

S2012E26 Richard Speck

S2012e27 danny devito.

• March 8, 2012

S2012E28 Casey Anthony: How Did We Get Here?

S2012e29 ted williams, s2012e30 babe ruth, s2012e31 jean-marie le pen, season 2013, s2013e01 grimaldi family dynasty.

• February 26, 2013

Season 2014

S2014e01 sarah palin.

• April 2, 2014

Sarah Palin became the first female governor of Alaska, as well as the first woman to earn the Republican Party's vice-presidential nomination. Sarah Palin was born on February 11, 1964, in Sandpoint, Idaho, and entered politics in 1992. In 2006, she became Alaska's youngest and first female governor. Two years later, she was tapped as Republican presidential nominee John McCain's running mate, making her the first in her party to achieve that feat. After resigning as Alaska governor in 2009, Palin went on to serve as a contributor for Fox News, wrote multiple books and launched her own online news channel.

Season 2015

S2015e01 aerosmith, s2015e02 jennifer love hewitt, s2015e03 who is donald trump.

• December 16, 2015

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump has dominated the headlines since he announced his presidential run. But how much do we understand about this charismatic but polarizing figure? Hear from those who know him best including family, celebrities, authors, friends and enemies in this provocative psychological profile that explores the mind of Donald Trump. His outsized ego and competitive nature, the glamorous women at his side, and his relentless drive to control and manipulate are all on display in this no-holds look at the man who would be president.

Additional Specials

Special 0x1 brian wilson, special 0x2 frank zappa.

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. This biography hosted by Peter Graves tries to touch on a portion of his life...

SPECIAL 0x3 Coke Vs. Pepsi - A Duel Between Giants

SPECIAL 0x4 M.A.S.H. - Television's Serious Sitcom

Special 0x5 biography of the millennium: 100 people -1000 years, special 0x6 hitler and stalin.

Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. He initiated World War II and oversaw fascist policies that resulted in millions of deaths. Joseph Stalin, the first general secretary of the Communist Party, took over after Vladimir Lenin's death and became the leader of the Soviet Union.

SPECIAL 0x7 Lady Diana Spencer

Special 0x8 alien intent.

• November 1, 2011

For those who feel that they've survived a close encounter with an extraterrestrial, questions linger and torment them long after the incident has ended: Who were these things? Where did they come from? Am I losing my mind? Why was I chosen? In this special, world-renowned UFO expert Whitley Strieber attempts to answer these questions, by helping those who are struggling to find closure from their haunting and seemingly very real personal encounters. Strieber, along with a network of leading scientists and researchers, tackle the UFO phenomenon on a human level, reaching out to those who have had paranormal experiences with an objective mindset and a determination to find the truth.

SPECIAL 0x9 Mahatma Ghandi

Special 0x10 albert einstein, special 0x11 al capone: scarface.

In the thrilling underworld of speakeasies, Tommy Guns and turf wars, Al Capone was the undisputed emperor of Chicago. Scarface was many things to many people a ruthless and vindictive murderer, a generous patron, and a wild and glamorous impresario. But to all, Capone is the most notorious gangster in American history. Follow his journey from the immigrant neighborhood of his youth to the glittering circles of Chicago's powerful elite with this in-depth program. Rare photographs, films and exclusive interviews paint an extraordinary portrait of the man who became the ultimate American anti-hero. And historians reveal how accountants brought down the ruler of a vast criminal empire. Learn the true story of the legendary gangster who will forever be known as Scarface.

SPECIAL 0x12 John and Abigail Adams - Love and Liberty

Founding father John Adams and his wife, Abigail, made valuable contributions to budding U.S. independence; the second president played a key role in the American Revolution, the Constitutional Congress and the Constitution itself, while Abigail housed local militia during the revolution, and her many letters are now priceless historical documents. This biography tells their story through interviews with descendants, politicians and historians.

SPECIAL 0x13 George Lucas: Creating an Empire

• January 27, 2002

This two-hour special, spiced with some wonderful film clips, charts Lucas' life from his small-town childhood in Modesto, Calif., to his rocket ship ride into the moviemaking stratosphere and beyond after the momentous release of "Star Wars" in 1977. Having pioneered state-of-the-art special effects and an acclaimed movie sound system (THX), the shy and aloof Lucas is considered one of film's archetypal gear heads and gizmo wizards.

SPECIAL 0x14 Guns N Roses

Guns N' Roses are an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose, has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversy since its formation. Guns N' Roses have released five studio albums, two EPs, one live album, and three music video DVDs during its career. The band is currently working on the infamous album Chinese Democracy, which has been in production for over a decade. Once released, the album will be the first original recording from Guns N' Roses since the 1991 releases of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. Guns N' Roses have sold an estimated 90 million albums worldwide, including 39 million in the United States.

SPECIAL 0x15 Lynda Carter

A look at the life and career of the ravishing actress who became a pop culture icon portraying TV's "Wonder Woman". But Lynda Carter had a long journey to stardom before transforming into the sexy super heroine who gave bad guys a lesson in girl power. She was a lounge singer and beauty queen before taking on the role of the comic book character. Now she's enjoying life as a D.C. power wife and loving mother. Loni Anderson and Kenny Rogers share their recollections of Carter.

SPECIAL 0x16 Catwoman

Special 0x17 mark twain, special 0x18 will rogers, special 0x19 nelson rockefeller: passionate milionaire, special 0x22 barbara bush: first mom.

On April 17. 2018, Former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away in her home in Houston, Texas. She was 92 years old.

SPECIAL 0x25 JFK Jr: The Final Year

• July 16, 2019

July 16, 2019 marks the 20-year anniversary of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s death. This two-hour documentary special, airing on the anniversary, reframes the last year of his life in an entirely new way.

SPECIAL 0x26 Biography Close-Up: Sesame Street

• March 18, 2001

This two-hour special exploring the history and pre-school educational Muppet magic of the beloved PBS children's series is filled with quirky delights, including never-before-seen footage of the original "Sesame Street" pilot from the landmark series that first went on the air in 1969, and fascinating behind-the-scenes encounters with various Muppeteers, including Big Bird's human alter ego, Carroll Spinney, and the gentle, witty man behind Elmo, Kevin Clash, as they rehearse and work.

SPECIAL 0x27 Biography of the Year 2002

• December 9, 2002

SPECIAL 0x28 Biography: Dolly

• April 12, 2020

Explores the genius songwriter behind the rhinestones and the private individual who reveals almost everything in the lyrics of her songs. Featuring exclusive interviews with Dolly herself, her musicians, co-writers and producers, the documentary explores why Dolly is considered one of the greatest and most important songwriters of modern times. Also captures Dolly’s celebration at the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville’s home of country, on the 50th anniversary of her very first performance there.

SPECIAL 0x29 David Cassidy - The Last Session

• January 1, 2018

The original ‘Biography’ documentary special “David Cassidy: The Last Session,” intertwines an intimate biography of the late David Cassidy as told through his own words in never-before-heard audio tapes from 1976 with a raw and poignantly filmed final recording session. Grappling with the onset of dementia and headed into the studio to record a tribute to his father, Jack Cassidy, David invited a documentary film crew to chronicle the journey. During production David fell gravely and unexpectedly ill and it was during this time, he revealed to producers that his struggle with alcoholism had continued up through the recording session, and that his doctors had concluded that alcohol poisoning had likely been the chief cause of his tragic health decline, including his dementia. He would tragically pass away a few weeks later. For the first half of the 1970’s David was one of the world’s biggest rock stars, breaking venue attendance records internationally and reaching a level of fame that rivaled that of the The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley himself. This profoundly revealing documentary explores that level of celebrity from the inside as few films have ever done. Interview participants include rocker and lifelong friend Alice Cooper; journalist and publicist Elliot Mintz; “The Partridge Family” stars Danny Bonaduce and Brian Forster; David’s cousin Charles Douglas; Grammy Award-winning musician Kim Carnes; songwriter and musician Dave Ellingson; rock photographer Henry Diltz; Grammy Award-winning drummer Hal Blaine; “The Partridge Family” producer Mel Swope; former Tiger Beat magazine editor Ann Moses; former Rolling Stone writer Robin Green; David’s childhood friend Sam Hyman; composer, producer and keyboardist Craig J. Snider; guitarist Dave Robicheau; drummer Teri Cote; bass player Frank Fabio and David’s neuropsychologist Dr. Barbara Peavey.

SPECIAL 0x30 Biography: Farrah Fawcett Forever

• July 9, 2019

A celebration of the life of actress Farrah Fawcett, an American icon whose influence on pop culture has been underestimated.

SPECIAL 0x31 Biography: Kenny Rogers

• April 13, 2020

Chronicles Roger’s life from his childhood, through the rise and fall of The First Edition, the iconic release of “The Gambler,” and to the height of his career as a successful solo artist, actor and pop-culture icon. Utilizing live performances and behind-the-scenes moments from Rogers’ 2017 star-studded farewell concert in Nashville, this “Biography” special pays tribute to a true country music legend.

SPECIAL 0x32 Merle Haggard: Salute to a Country Legend

Captures the most iconic moments from a one-night-only concert event honoring Merle Haggard and his music on what would have been his 80th birthday. Packed with captivating live performances, never-before-seen interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage with some of music’s biggest superstars.

SPECIAL 0x33 I Want My MTV

• September 8, 2020

An in-depth look at MTV and its impact on music and culture since its creation in the '80s.

SPECIAL 0x34 The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne

• September 7, 2020

Traces Ozzy’s life from his childhood in poverty and time in prison, to fronting legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Black Sabbath and successful Grammy Award-winning solo career, to one of rock’s elder statesmen and a loveable 21st century television dad. The two-hour documentary explores how Ozzy has continually reinvented himself and his career to propel himself toward greater success.

SPECIAL 0x35 Merle Haggard

Special 0x36 george jones.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

The Life and Lies of Charles Dickens by Helena Kelly review – great speculations

A new biography suggests everything we know about Dickens is wrong

T wo years after Charles Dickens’s death in 1870, his closest friend, John Forster, published the first volume of his Life of Charles Dickens . Based on letters Dickens had written to him and stories he had told him, it was, in effect, an authorised biography. For Dickens buffs, it has always been both a matchless source and an untrustworthy narrative. By Helena Kelly’s account, it is more misleading than the most sceptical biographer has supposed. Far from Forster being Dickens’s hagiographer, he was his dupe. We have always known that Dickens aimed to manage his reputation; as Kelly sees it, this led him to deeper deceit than anyone has previously imagined.

So, for instance, Forster was the first to make public what Dickens said was the most crushing experience of his life: being sent, aged 12, to work in a blacking warehouse. It was an experience that he handed on to the young protagonist of David Copperfield. “It is wonderful to me how I could have been so easily cast away at such an age,” Dickens wrote, in the account Forster quoted. Yet Kelly picks at some inconsistencies about dates to suppose that it was all fiction. Dickens wanted us to believe he had been neglected and mistreated: it made for a great story of triumph over adversity.

At its heart, this book is an example of something familiar to 21st-century readers: a case history of celebrity. Those “Lies” are in its title because, for Dickens, the cost of fame was “the ability to be honest about himself”. Kelly is right that the great novelist was obsessed with “brand management”, as she calls it, that he “loved to control how others viewed him”. More questionable is her conviction that duplicity was essential to his character. She thinks his early life was “the perfect training for a liar”.

First, she latches on to the fact that his sister Harriet died not as a baby, as had been assumed, but aged nine, as researchers have only recently discovered. Silence about this truth is apparent evidence of Dickens’s deep trauma and his need to lie about it. Kelly also hypothesises that Dickens’s father John was involved in embezzlement. His boss in the Navy Pay Office, one John Slade, shot himself when auditors started investigating him. Surely Dickens Sr knew all about it? This becomes a hidden truth that haunts Dickens for the rest of his life, emerging indirectly in his novels every time the topic of dodgy dealings comes up.

The key words in Kelly’s narrative are “perhaps”, “maybe” and “possibly”, which, supported by her sense of Dickens’s deviousness, allow her to make all sorts of speculations. In middle age, Dickens met with Maria Beadnell, now a married mother of two, whom he had courted more than 20 years earlier. He wrote to her flirtatiously, but was then horrified to find her stout and matronly. Cruelly, he used her for the character of Flora Finching in Little Dorrit. But Kelly claims this was a smokescreen. “It seems perfectly possible that there was an affair.” The depiction of Flora Finching was just “a blind, a distraction”.

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Her Dickens is so steeped in deceit that even the great blunders of his life can be reinterpreted as deep-laid schemes. After he publicly announced his estrangement from his wife, rumours began to swirl about his relationship with his sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth, who had taken Dickens’s side and become, in effect, his housekeeper. It has always been thought that these rumours were mortifying to both of them, but Kelly believes Dickens allowed them to circulate because they distracted attention from his relationship with Ellen Ternan, the young actor with whom he was besotted and who became his mistress.

It has long been surmised that Ternan gave birth to their baby in France, where Dickens started making trips in the early 1860s. The story of Dickens’s biggest secret has often been told, so Kelly needs to add something new. Her theory is that one of the two sons of Ternan’s cousin, Frances Cleveland, was in fact Dickens and Ternan’s child. Born after the death of his sailor father, he might have been “a little cuckoo in the Cleveland nest”. Dickens’s trips to France were him “laying a false trail”.

Kelly finally infers that Dickens wanted rumours about his relationship with Ternan to circulate in order to hide a more shameful truth. In a final flurry of speculations (“Perhaps … could it be that … possibly …”) she explains various misfortunes in Dickens’s life (and the “decidedly retroussé noses” of his younger children) with the theory that he developed syphilis in his early 30s and infected his wife. Or maybe Catherine Dickens, blameless in all previous accounts of the writer’s life, was the source of the infection. “It’s not impossible that Catherine could have contracted syphilis during an affair of her own – it isn’t as if she didn’t have an excuse for being unfaithful.” Not impossible, no. But if that is the only standard that conjectures about Dickens’s life have to meet, where does that leave the truth?

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