American Masters Season 3 Episodes

Episode 1

Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me

Mon, Jul 11, 198855 mins

A documentary about the life and films of actress Lillian Gish.

Episode 2

A Duke Named Ellington

Mon, Jul 18, 1988110 mins

Considered one of the greatest jazz composers of all time, Duke Ellington had an enormous impact on the popular music of the late 20th century. Today his recordings remain among the most popular jazz of the big-band era.

Episode 3

Andre Kertész of The Cities

Mon, Aug 8, 1988

Known for his extended study of Washington Square Park and his distorted nudes of the 1930s, Andre Kertész was a quiet but important influence on the coming of age of photojournalism and the art of photography.

Episode 4

Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul

Mon, Aug 22, 198860 mins

Aretha Franklin's recording career is examined through archival footage and interviews with family and prominent figures within the music industry.

Episode 5

Diego Rivera: Rivera In America

Mon, Aug 29, 1988

Considered the greatest Mexican painter of the 20th century, Diego Rivera had a profound effect on the international art world. Rivera is credited with the reintroduction of fresco painting into modern art and architecture.

Episode 6

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Mon, Sep 5, 1988

Among the greatest American sculptors and monument builders of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Episode 7

Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre

Mon, Jun 26, 1989

We've all heard the stories. Robert DeNiro drove a taxi for 12 hours shift in New York to prepare for The Taxi. Heath Ledger locked himself up in his apartment to become as lonely as the Joker. Natalie Portman spent one year in a rigorous ballet program for The Black Swan. Marlon Brando did not move from a hospital bed for one month to get into the mindset of an injured veteran. But what is method acting actually? It is a form of acting in which the actor never leaves his character. He portrays his character even he is not on screen. The technique was founded by Konstantin Stanislavsky, a seminal Russian theatre practitioner and actor. He is widely recognized as one of the most outstanding character actors.

Episode 9

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket

Tue, Mar 3, 2026