Biography poster

TV series

Biography

1987TV-PG27 seasons6.7 / 10

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.

Availability

Not streaming in United States

Checked Sep 1, 2026

Biography premiered April 6, 1987. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.

Synopsis

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.

Season 7 episodes

Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.

← Season 6

Episode 1

David Berkowitz: Son of Sam

1h

For over a year, he held a city hostage to fear. When he was finally caught, the nation was shocked to discover that the "face of terror" was a cherubic postal worker who smiled sweetly for the camera. David Berkowitz claimed the lives of six people in a killing spree that resulted in the largest manhunt in the history of New York. Once apprehended, he confessed to all the crimes and asked the judge to put him away forever so he would not kill again. In this comprehensive portrait, reporters and detectives who worked on the case, the parents of victims, a prosecutor and a former FBI profiler relive the case that galvanized a nation. Psychologists explore the many frustrations and disappointments that led Berkowitz to kill, and in a gripping interview, Berkowitz himself talks about his crimes and jailhouse transformation into the "Son of Hope." Today, he ministers to other prisoners and born-again Christians all over the world in hopes of restoring some meaning to his shattered life. From the dark streets of a shaken city to the jailhouse reformation, BIOGRAPHY examines the "Son of Sam."

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Episode 2

Mao Tse Tung: China's Peasant Emperor

1h

“For 25 years Mao Zedong ruled one quarter of the world’s population. This is the extraordinary story of a farmer’s son who became a God in his life time but in private never shook off his peasant roots; a man who presided over one of the most radical experiments in social reform ever seen in human history but who will be remembered as one of the bloodiest dictators of the twentieth century. This program–told through the accounts of those who have met and studied him, loved and loathed him–includes archive film and pictures going back to the very earliest days of Mao’s life, as well as unique film of China at the turn of the century and during key episodes in Mao’s communist revolution. It includes harrowing and eye-witness accounts of such momentous events as the cultural revolution, the Great Leap Forward and the most severe man-made famine ever recorded.”

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Episode 17

Satan: Prince of Darkness

1h

Examining the story of Satan's fall from grace and his efforts against the human race.

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Episode 63

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

46m

Their incredible exploits earned them a place in American legend. Their true fate remains one of the great mysteries of the Old west.

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Episode 67

Nostradamus: Prophet of Doom

47m6.0 / 10finale

Explore the incredible life of Nostradamus, the enigmatic man known as the Prophet of Doom.

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Episode information updated Sep 18, 2026

More about Biography

Cast

Peter Graves
Scarlett JohanssonSelf
Aileen WuornosSelf (archive footage)
Dawn BotkinsSelf - Aileen's Childhood Friend
Arlene PralleSelf
Steve GlazerSelf - Defense Attorney
Tyria MooreSelf - Aileen's Girlfriend
Donna Jay FulksAileen Wuornos (voice)

Credits

Created by
David L. Wolper, Agnes Nixon
Written by
Lucy Chase Williams, Daniel J. Golden, Peter Jones, Scott Lenz, Paul E. Gierucki, Andy Stevenson

Production details

Status
Returning Series
Series type
Scripted
Episodes
355
Original language
English

Production

  • Towers ProductionsUnited States
  • Departure FilmsUnited States
  • Atlas Media
  • Actuality Productions
  • Foxstar ProductionsUnited States
  • Working Dog ProductionsUnited States

Themes

anthologybiographycelebrityhistorypolitician