Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
American Masters Season 4 Episodes
Season 4 Episode Guide
10 Episodes 1989 - 1989
Episode 1
Harold Clurman: A Life of Theatre
Mon, Jun 26, 1989
Harold Clurman: A Life of Theatre profiles the career of celebrated director/producer Harold Clurman. A man known for his passionate commitment to working with actors, Clurman devoted his life to the theatrical arts, serving not only as a director and producer, but as a respected critic as well. The program features footage of Clurman on the job delivering thought-provoking lectures and helping actors construct roles. Meryl Streep narrates. Stella Adler, Karl Malden, and Julie Harris are interviewed. Betsy Boyd, Rovi.
Episode 2
Stella Adler: Awake and Dream!
Mon, Jul 10, 198957 mins
This profile of acting coach Stella Adler includes interviews with Adler and with colleagues, students, and friends, along with clips from her own acting performances as well as from her classes.
Episode 3
Satchmo: The Life of Louis Armstrong
Mon, Jul 31, 198985 mins
Home movies, film clips, and interviews provide insight into the remarkable life and career of jazz trumpeter and bandleader Louis Armstrong.
Episode 4
James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket
Mon, Aug 14, 198987 mins
Profiles the life and work of author/civil rights activist, James Baldwin.
Episode 5
Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker
Thu, Aug 17, 198959 mins
At age eleven, he had just begun to play the saxophone. At age twenty he was leading a revolution in modern jazz music. Today, Charlie "Yardbird" Parker is considered one of the great musical innovators of the 20th century.
Episode 6
Neil Simon: Not Just for Laughs
Mon, Aug 21, 1989
Neil Simon is the world's most successful playwright. He has had dozens of plays and nearly as many major motion pictures produced. He has been showered with more Academy and Tony nominations than any other writer.
Episode 7
Jasper Johns: Ideas in Paint
Mon, Sep 11, 1989
In the late 1950's, Jasper Johns emerged as force in the American art scene. His richly worked paintings of maps, flags, and targets led the artistic community away from Abstract Expressionism toward a new emphasis on the concrete.
Episode 8
Mort Sahl: Shaping Laughter
Mon, Sep 18, 198987 mins
Mort Sahl revolutionized the world of stand-up comedy. But through it all, Mort Sahl has remained an unflinching critic of American politics, and he has never backed away from his beliefs.
Episode 9
W. Eugene Smith: Photography Made Difficult
Mon, Sep 25, 198987 mins
The war in the South Pacific, a country doctor in Colorado, victims of industrial pollution in a Japanese village -- all were captured in unforgettable photographs by the legendary W. Eugene Smith. This program showcases over 600 of Smith's stunning photographs and includes a dramatic recreation in which actor Peter Riegert (Crossing Delancey, Local Hero) portrays the artist using dialogue taken from Smith's diaries and letters. Interwoven through the program are archival footage and interviews with family and friends of this brilliant, complicated man, whose work developed from twin themes of common humanity and social responsibility.
Episode 10
Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius
105 mins
In this film, we explore the life, career and art of silent cinema's third major talent after Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd. We learn of his rise from a mere Chaplin rip off actor to a stellar talent when he found his own style of comedy which often involved outrageous stunts he performed even after his left hand was disfigured in an accident.
