American Presidents: Life Portraits

American Presidents: Life Portraits
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons One
No. of episodes 41
Broadcast
Original channel C-SPAN
Original airing March 15, 1999 - Dec. 20, 1999
Chronology
Related shows American Writers: A Journey Through History
External links
Website

American Presidents: Life Portraits is a 41-episode, Peabody Award-winning series produced by C-SPAN in 1999. Each episode was aired live, and was a two- to three-hour look at the life and times of one particular President of the United States. Episodes were broadcast from locations of importance to the profiled president, featured interviews with historians and other experts, and incorporated calls from viewers. The series served as a commemoration of C-SPAN's 20th anniversary.

The first program aired on March 15, 1999, and profiled George Washington. Subsequent programs featured each president in succession, concluding with Bill Clinton on December 20, 1999. (Despite serving two non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland was only profiled on one program.)[1]

Presidential portraits

Artist Chas Fagan was commissioned by C-SPAN to paint portraits of each of the 41 men who had held the office of U.S. President through 1999. He was given a 90-day window from the time he agreed to the assignment until the time that the project needed to be complete. In September, 1999, Union Station in Washington, D.C., hosted a display of Fagan's presidential portraits.[2] Since then, Fagan has also painted portraits of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and toured with exhibits of those portraits.

Peabody Award

American Presidents was awarded a George Foster Peabody Award in 1999.[3] Excerpts of the official rationale for that award appear below:

...From the sites, noted biographers, presidential scholars, descendents and other guests presented revealing information and assessments of the life, times and legacies of the presidents. The tone set by chairman and CEO (and reluctant air personality) Brian P. Lamb remains on point: good television often takes time, requires few special effects and demands (and rewards) good listening...
...For creating a series that perfectly embodies the essence of public service in electronic communications, a Peabody Award is presented to C-SPAN for "American Presidents: Life Portraits."

Programs

Note: In addition to the interviewees listed, each program featured a variety of other experts, many of whom were employed by or volunteered for the historical sites from which the programs were being broadcast.

Program #Original air date
with link to video		PresidentLocationFeatured interviewees
1March 15, 1999George WashingtonMount Vernon Estate and Gardens,
Alexandria, Virginia		Richard Norton Smith
2March 22, 1999John AdamsAdams National Historic Site,
Quincy, Massachusetts		David McCullough
3April 2, 1999Thomas JeffersonMonticello,
Charlottesville, Virginia		Andrew Burstein, Annette Gordon-Reed
4April 9, 1999James MadisonMontpelier,
Montpelier Station, Virginia		Jack Rakove, Holly Shulman
5April 12, 1999James MonroeJames Monroe Museum,
Fredericksburg, Virginia
6April 18, 1999John Quincy AdamsMassachusetts Historical Society,
Boston, Massachusetts		Lynn Hudson Parsons
7April 26, 1999Andrew JacksonThe Hermitage,
Hermitage, Tennessee		Robert Remini
8May 3, 1999Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren National Historic Site,
Kinderhook, New York
9May 10, 1999William Henry HarrisonTippecanoe Battlefield,
Battle Ground, Indiana
10May 17, 1999John TylerSherwood Forest Plantation,
Charles City, Virginia		Edward Crapol, Harrison Ruffin Tyler
11May 28, 1999James K. PolkJames K. Polk Ancestral Home,
Columbia, Tennessee
12May 31, 1999Zachary TaylorZachary Taylor National Cemetery,
Louisville, Kentucky
13June 11, 1999Millard FillmoreFillmore House Museum,
East Aurora, New York
14June 14, 1999Franklin PierceThe Pierce Manse,
Concord, New Hampshire		Barry Paris
15June 21, 1999James BuchananWheatland,
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
16June 28, 1999Abraham LincolnLincoln Home National Historic Site,
Springfield, Illinois
17July 9, 1999Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson National Historic Site,
Greeneville, Tennessee
18July 12, 1999Ulysses S. GrantGeneral Grant National Memorial,
New York City, New York		John Y. Simon, Allan Ballard, Ulysses Grant Dietz
19July 19, 1999Rutherford B. HayesRutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center,
Spiegel Grove, Fremont, Ohio		Ari Hoogenboom
20July 26, 1999James A. GarfieldJames A. Garfield National Historic Site,
Mentor, Ohio
21August 6, 1999Chester A. ArthurUnion College,
Schenectady, New York		Thomas C. Reeves
22August 13, 1999Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland Birthplace,
Caldwell, New Jersey
23August 20, 1999Benjamin HarrisonPresident Benjamin Harrison Home,
Indianapolis, Indiana
24August 23, 1999William McKinleyMcKinley National Memorial and Museum,
Canton, Ohio
25September 3, 1999Theodore RooseveltSagamore Hill National Historic Site,
Oyster Bay, New York		Edmund Morris, Sylvia Jukes Morris
26September 6, 1999William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft National Historic Site,
Cincinnati, Ohio
27September 13, 1999Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson Birthplace and Museum,
Staunton, Virginia		John Milton Cooper, Jr., Nell Irvin Painter
28September 20, 1999Warren G. HardingPresident Harding's Home,
Marion, Ohio		Robert Ferrell, Eugene Trani
29September 27, 1999Calvin CoolidgePresident Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site,
Plymouth, Vermont
30October 4, 1999Herbert HooverHerbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum and
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site,
West Branch, Iowa		Richard Norton Smith
31October 11, 1999Franklin D. RooseveltHome of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site and
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum,
Hyde Park, New York		David Kennedy, Hugh Gregory Gallagher, Allida Black
32October 18, 1999Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum,
Independence, Missouri		Alonzo Hamby, Margaret Truman Daniel
33October 25, 1999Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower Center,
Abilene, Kansas		Geoffrey Perret
34November 5, 1999John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy National Historic Site,
Brookline, Massachusetts		Robert Dallek, Thomas C. Reeves
35November 12, 1999Lyndon B. JohnsonLBJ Ranch,
Stonewall, Texas		Joseph Califano, Robert Caro
36November 19, 1999Richard NixonRichard M. Nixon Library and birthplace,
Yorba Linda, California		Melvin Small, Joan Hoff
37November 22, 1999Gerald FordGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum,
Grand Rapids, Michigan		James M. Cannon, Richard Norton Smith
38December 3, 1999Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter National Historic Site,
Plains, Georgia		Douglas Brinkley, Leo Ribuffo
39December 6, 1999Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan ranch,
Santa Barbara, California		Lou Cannon
40December 13, 1999George H. W. BushGeorge Bush Presidential Library,
College Station, Texas		John Robert Greene
41December 20, 1999Bill ClintonClinton Center and Birthplace,
Hope, Arkansas		David Maraniss

References

  1. ↑ http://www.americanpresidents.org/
  2. ↑ http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/152378-1
  3. ↑ 59th Annual Peabody Awards, May 2000.

External links