Biography (1987)
Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or long-dead entertainment figures such as Will Rogers or John Barrymore. The A&E series has placed the emphasis on such people as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. The program ended up profiling enough figures that in 1999, A&E spun it off into an entire network, The Biography Channel.
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Episode 56 - Leif Ericson: Voyages Of A Viking
Release Date: 1995-10-10The 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.
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Episode 57 - Marco Polo: Journey to the East
Release Date: 1995-10-11Leading 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.