The BEST episodes of Biography season 1997

#1 - F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great American Dreamer

Season 1997 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/14/1997

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.

#2 - Vincent Price: The Versatile Villain

Season 1997 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/12/1997

Horror legend Vincent Price is profiled.

#3 - Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady

Season 1997 - Episode 27 - Aired 3/21/1997

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

#4 - Vincent Van Gogh: A Stroke of Genius

Season 1997 - Episode 79 - Aired 11/28/1997

#5 - Alan Alda: More Than Mr. Nice Guy

Season 1997 - Episode 54 - Aired 6/10/1997

#6 - Joan of Arc: Virgin Warrior

Season 1997 - Episode 102 - Aired 9/22/1997

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.

#7 - George Armstrong Custer: America's Golden Cavalier

Season 1997 - Episode 56 - Aired 9/7/1997

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

#8 - Ivan the Terrible: Might and Madness

Season 1997 - Episode 61 - Aired 9/29/1997

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.

#9 - Hail Caesar: Julius Caesar

Season 1997 - Episode 64 - Aired 10/5/1997

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

#10 - Hail Caesar: Augustus

Season 1997 - Episode 65 - Aired 10/6/1997

Caesar Augustus stabilizes Rome; Pax Romana.

#11 - Hail Caesar: Nero

Season 1997 - Episode 66 - Aired 10/7/1997

Unstable Nero flees Rome in disguise and disgrace.

#12 - Hail Caesar: Hadrian

Season 1997 - Episode 67 - Aired 10/8/1997

Emperor Hadrian strengthens Rome.

#13 - Hail Caesar: Constantine

Season 1997 - Episode 68 - Aired 10/9/1997

Constantine grants Christians freedom of worship.

#14 - Hail Caesar: Justinian

Season 1997 - Episode 69 - Aired 10/10/1997

Justinian struggles to reunite the Roman Empire.

#15 - Kirk Douglas: A Lust for Life

Season 1997 - Episode 71 - Aired 10/16/1997

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.

#16 - Anastasia: Her True Story

Season 1997 - Episode 77 - Aired 11/24/1997

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?

#17 - Truman Capote

Season 1997 - Episode 89 - Aired 12/17/1997

#18 - Dalai Lama: The Soul of Tibet

Season 1997 - Episode 93 - Aired 12/26/1997

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.

#19 - Mahatma Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace

Season 1997 - Episode 95 - Aired 11/2/1997

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.

#20 - Joseph Kennedy: Father of an American Dynasty

Season 1997 - Episode 98 - Aired 7/28/1997

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.

#21 - Thurgood Marshall: Justice for All

Season 1997 - Episode 99 - Aired 2/18/1997

#22 - Mahatma Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace

Season 1997 - Episode 101 - Aired 11/2/1997

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

#23 - Lucrezia Borgia: Pretty Poison

Season 1997 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/2/1997

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?

#24 - Seeing Double

Season 1997 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/10/1997

#25 - Jane Russell: Body and Soul

Season 1997 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/20/1997