General Dwight D Eisenhower and Field-Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery may have been comrades-in-arms but private correspondence reveals a bitter conflict between them. Ike and Monty - Generals at War is the first of four biographical documentaries investigating the image of five of this century's most powerful figures.
Dr Schweitzer became a 20th century hero when he turned his back on a brilliant career in Europe to run a jungle hospital in the heart of Africa. But in the 1960s the controversy started: was he a saint or racist, a colonialist or a humanitarian? This film visits Schweitzer's hospital in the African jungle to hear from his daughter and people who worked with him. It also explores the radically different views of Schweitzer today - views which reflect the problematic relationship between Africa and the West.
Husband of Jacqueline Kennedy , lover of Maria Callas and many others, Aristotle Onassis knew many beautiful women. But gossip column headlines and paparazzi photographs tell only one part of his remarkable story. A brilliant businessman he foresaw the importance of world oil and was the first to risk building supertankers. But when this bold gambler tried to seize a monopoly for the shipment of Saudi oil, he found himself in conflict with rivals, who were backed by the CIA and the full might of US power. His tale is one of high drama, black comedy and Greek tragedy.
As Stalin's chief of secret police, Lavrenti Beria was the most feared man in the Soviet Union, with a reputation for cruelty. Like Stalin, Beria came from a poor peasant village in Georgia, and his working life was devoted to making real Stalin's vision of a strong Soviet state. Forty years after his death, extensive new research has uncovered an even more complex and horrifying picture of a man who manipulated and murdered his way to the top. Beria's relationship with Stalin was the key to his success, and ultimately his undoing, as former colleagues and victims reveal for the first time on television in the last in the series.
Pope Pius XII is the most controversial Pope of recent times. His reputation depends on the answer to one question - why did he remain all but silent throughout the Holocaust? This film has, for the first time, tracked down key people who knew him. Eye-witnesses, who told the Vatican at the time about the mass-murder of Jews, give evidence about the response they received from the Pope. Their bitter frustration is still keenly felt. Others who owe their lives to the Pope speak out in his praise.
At his peak, A.J.P. Taylor was the most famous English-speaking historian in the world, speaking direct to the television camera without any notes. But the don was denied what he really wanted: Oxford's top history job. Was he the victim of a hidebound establishment, or was he too much in love with the media limelight?
Fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel devoted her life to becoming the symbol of chic. But behind her public image, she hid a secret past as a nightclub singer and mistress to rich admirers, and, during the Second World War, a sinister involvement with Nazi Germany. Chanel has been dead for nearly 25 years but the fashion house she founded is more successful than ever. Was the reputation she constructed her greatest creation?
The last programme in the series focuses on Pablo Escobar, the Colombian cocaine king who was shot dead in December 1993. The most notorious gangster since Al Capone , Escobar is still a hero to many in his home town of Medellfn. Born into poverty, he soon turned from petty crime to drug smuggling and, by using the terror techniques of murder and torture, amassed a fortune estimated at$4 billion. Award-winning director Bill Cran and a film crew travelled to Bogota and Medellin, two of the most dangerous cities in the world, to interview members of Escobar's family, victims of his threats and kidnappings, agents of the US Drug Enforcement Agency and Escobar's fellow criminals. The result is a portrait of the man behind the gangster image of "el patron", the boss.
First of a six-part series seeking the truth behind public perceptions of prominent figures. Harold Macmillan 's slogan was" " you've never had it so good." But behind his cool façade was a private life in turmoil.
Second of a six-part series seeking the truth behind public perception of prominent figures.Her good name was secured with the publication of her book Born Free and her work with wildlife. But there were indications of a much darker side.
His achievements over 15 years in professional boxing justified Muhammad Ali's self-promotion as "The Greatest". But his public conversion to Islam and his controversial refusal to fight in Vietnam were stances for which Ali is almost equally remembered.
His work changed for ever the way Americans regarded sex. But this conservative man seemed an unlikely pioneer.
Overthrown in 1979 in the revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the late Shah of Iran believed himself to be a visionary king leading his people on the path to what he called the "Great Civilisation". Others, however, have simply dismissed him as a Third-World dictator ousted by popular consent.
Once a hitman for Al Capone, Sam Giancana enjoyed a career at the pinnacle of organised crime. Suspected of receiving a request from the CIA to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Giancana had his reign ended in when he was gunned down in Chicago. A man who mixed with film stars and loved Hollywood, Giancana's cruelty was legendary, but he was most famous for his alleged role in the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy.
Albert Speer was Hitler's architect, his arms minister, and his only friend. After the war, he became the only Nazi tried at Nuremberg to say sorry, even apologising for crimes which he claimed had been kept secret from him. He was imprisoned for war crimes and after his release he wrote his best-selling memoirs. But was his remorse genuine, or just a clever strategy? Did he know more than he admitted, and was he still secretly proud of his meteoric career under Hitler? Last in the series.
First of a two-part profile of the philosopher and peace campaigner who influenced the thinking and attitudes of millions. He preached tolerance and liberal values, but, as friends and family remember, the logic and reason of his public life were in sharp contrast to a private world of passion, jealousy and marital disaster. This film explores Russell's extraordinary career, from his battle to masterthe logic of mathematics to his forays into politics and journalism, as a quest for intellectual certainty was matched by a private life riddled with instability.
Second of a two-part profile of the philosopher and peace campaigner. Honoured as a sage and prophet throughout the world, Bertrand Russell preached peace and reconciliation at the height of the Cold War. But his personal I ife was marred by conflict with those closestto him, insanity and - some allege - even devilish cruelty.
Few books have been so widely read as Dr Spock's controversial Baby and Child Care. but the authorfound it hard to practise what he preached with his own children. Drawing on home-movie footage of Spock with his family, and interviews with his two sons, tonight's film traces the origins of Spock's philosophies, and shows howthe man once blamed for the permissive society is now regarded as the voice of tradition.
The series that looks behind the public face of prominent figures continues with a new approach to Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's ascent to the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953. Their names were linked forever, but the tidal wave of celebrity that engulfed them when they returned soon threatened to drive them apart. Newspapers competed for exclusives, politicians sought to bask in their reflected glory, and nationalists claimed the triumph for their own causes. Behind the clamour, a simple nagging question -who got there first?
John Wayne was more than just America's most popular movie actor: his on-screen heroism came to stand for America itself. Off-screen, his bravery in battling the cancerthat eventually killed him endorsed his heroic image. But why did this fervent supporter of the war in Vietnam avoid service in the Second World War, support the Hollywood blacklist and attack his country's civil rights movement? Among tonight's contributors are fellow actors
Wiesenthal, the 88-year-old survivorof a dozen Second World War concentration camps, is the most famous and persistent hunter of Nazis. For over half a century he has sought out fugitives suspected of war crimes against the Jews. But his single-minded methods have not been universally respected, even byfellow anti-Nazi activists. The film includes interviews with novelist Frederick Forsyth - author of The Odessa File, in which the fictionial Nazi-hunterwas based on Wiesenthal -former Austrian president Kurt Waldheim and Wiesenthal himself. It also investigates Wiesenthal's role in the 1961 capture of the notorious Adolf Eichmann.
In the world of film and theatre, few reputations are more bitterly contested than that of Lee Strasberg, creator of method acting. To his champions, he created a new, vibrant acting style that shaped the careers of Paul Newman, James Dean, Marion Brando and Al Pacino, among others. To his critics, he manipulated emotionally vulnerable stars like Marilyn Monroe. Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, Sally Reid, Martin Landau, Ben Gazzara and Eli Wallach are among the actors who contribute to the story of one of Hollywood's most influential men.
Dr Martin Luther King has been immortalised as one of the great champions of civil rights and non-violent protest. But in the 29 years since his assassination, a more complex picture of his personality has emerged. Drawing on interviews with the people he knew, this film reveals that King was never comfortable with the praises he received and was often tormented by self-doubt. Last in the present series.
The flight lasted just 108 minutes but Yuri Gagarin's venture into space, made 37 years ago next month, guaranteed his place in history. This Reputations special tells the story of the first man in space, from the privations of a peasant Russian childhood to the pressure he suffered under the weight of worldwide renown.
The first of six profiles of controversial figures features the sporting legend who changed the image of woman's tennis for ever. As well as a rare interview with King herself, there are contributions from Virginia Wade, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was the first man to reveal the undersea world to a mass audience. But his rise was punctuated by controversy, as revealed by the first biographical account of Cousteau since his death last year.
The biographical series continues with a two-part profile of one of Britain's best-loved comics, whose death ten years ago ended a 30-year radio, television and cinema career.
Concluding the two-part profile of Kenneth Williams , one of Britain's best-loved comics. Tonight's programme picks up the story in the mid-sixties, when Williams's presence on stage, screen and radio had made him a household name. But, as his chat-show appearances demonstrate, his greatest comic creation was his own persona, as gradually he began turning his own character into part of his act.
Kitchenerwas renowned as the great avenger of the British Empire, leading successful military campaigns and persuading a generation of young men to fight in the First World War. But, as tonight's film shows, the real Kitchener had a delicate side which belied his aggressively masculine image.
Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's foreign minister, was a former champagne salesman who became infatuated with the British. He thought that his connections with the British aristocracy and the royal family would bring an alliance with the Nazis. But when he failed, his love for Britain turned to hatred and he did all he could to bring about war. Reputations tells the story of the Nazi diplomat who became Hitler's devoted standard-bearer.
Glamorous, volatile and passionate, Maria Callas was possibly the greatest opera star of the 20th century. Reputations analyses what qualities guaranteed her legendary status.
Albert Frederick Arthur George , known to his family as Bertie, came to the throne when his brother, Edward VIII , abdicated. Thrust into the spotlight, this shy man overcame his fear of public speakingto become one of the country's best-loved monarchs.
Sir Matt Busby is a footballing legend, revered for leading Manchester United from the tragedy of the 1958 Munich air crash to victory in the European Cup. But, it is claimed, he did little to protect his stars from football's harsh realities.
Sugar Ray Robinson dominated the boxing ring in the forties and fifties. He defied the Mob, infuriated the taxman, took on and beat Jake la Motta , won a clutch of world titles, and earned (and lost) an estimated $4 million in the ring.
Two-part profile of Alfred Hitchcock. This edition traces his life from the streets of suburbia to the boulevards of Hollywood, exploring the childhood influences that turned an overweight loner into the master of suspense and revealing how he came to marry Alma Reville, a tough film professional who was her husband's severest critic and fiercest champion.
Two-part profile of Alfred Hitchcock. This second edition examines his output of the 50s and 60s. Groundbreaking thriller Psycho made him wealthy, while films such as Vertigo and Rear Window were hailed by Francois Truffaut as works of genius. But Hitchcock's obsession with control and his pursuit of the perfect blonde actress took on a new and damaging intensity.
Both a barnstorming showman and a misfit, Jimi Hendrix was a jumble of contradictions. A black guitarist ensnared by the trappings of fame that a white audience had given him, he became an icon of peace but adopted a pro-military stance. Friends and fellow musicians remember Hendrix against the backdrop of footage from the guitarist's short life.
Ireland's leader for 21 years, Eamon de Valera was loved and hated in equal measure.A revolutionary, he became president of Sinn Fein in 1918, but his fight for independence led to civil war and he was seen as the scourge of the IRA. This film probes the contradictory, complex character of the prime minister who styled himself as the embodiment of the Irish nation.
At Mata Hari's trial in 1917, the French military believed they had captured one of the 20th century's greatest undercover agents. In reality, however, she was as much a master of invention as a master spy.
Dr Wernhervon Braun 's quest to lead the human race into space began in Nazi Germany. The Saturn V rocket that carried the triumphant Apollo 11 astronauts to the Moon in July 1969 evolved from von Braun's V2 missile, which had killed 5,000 Londoners in the Second World War. This film remembers the achievements of a man said to have inspired the eponymous character in Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove.
In 1972, Olga Korbut 's display at the Munich Olympics turned the Soviet gymnast into the darling of the west. But, behind the scenes, the 17-year-old's rise was far from idyllic. In the first of five revisionist profiles, Korbut reveals all, including allegations against her one-time coach, Renald Knysh.
Recalling the life of flamboyant pianist Liberace, who shot to fame in the fifties with his renditions of popular classics. Family and friends discuss his public persona and how he tried to hide his homosexuality right up to his death from an Aids-related illness in 1987.
Born the son of a cotton-picker in the US Deep South, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis became an unlikely hero when his 1938 defeat of German Max Schmeling was seen as a triumph for democracy over the forces of fascism. But Louis soon became drawn into a downward spiral of debt and controversy.
he darling of the Conservative Party and prime minister between and 1957. Anthony Eden is, nevertheless, remembered today mostly as a failure. But there is more to the story of Eden than the Suez Crisis and his unhappy resignation. His widow Clarissa joins Barbara Castle and the late Alan Clark as contributors to a film that creates a picture of a complex and often passionate personal life.
The embodiment of sixties sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, Janis Joplin seized fame by the throat. But her time at the top was to be cut tragically short - by 27 she was dead. The last in the current series offers an intimate portrait of the star, with recollections from, among others, Tom Jones.
First in a two-part special probing the complex personality of the controversial American president. Astonishingly sensitive information and new interviews have been made available for this absolutely riveting (and scary) second part to the profile of Richard Milhouse Nixon. On his death in 1994, the four surviving US Presidents trooped out to pay tribute to "The Peacemaker", the epitaph chosen for Nixon's headstone. But the truth is somewhat different. He knew ending the war in Vietnam would assure the Presidency for the man who brokered that peace and made sure he was that man. He also entered secret negotiations with the South Vietnamese to dissuade them from attending Lyndon Johnson's peace talks in Paris on the promise of a better deal under a Nixon administration. In other words, he manipulated foreign policy for his own political ends. And it doesn't stop there.
Concluding the two-part profile of the controversial US president. Tonight, evidence that Nixon was involved in sabotaging Vietnam peace talks to further his presidential ambitions.Astonishingly sensitive information and new interviews have been made available for this absolutely riveting (and scary) second part to the profile of Richard Milhouse Nixon. On his death in 1994, the four surviving US Presidents trooped out to pay tribute to "The Peacemaker", the epitaph chosen for Nixon's headstone. But the truth is somewhat different. He knew ending the war in Vietnam would assure the Presidency for the man who brokered that peace and made sure he was that man. He also entered secret negotiations with the South Vietnamese to dissuade them from attending Lyndon Johnson's peace talks in Paris on the promise of a better deal under a Nixon administration. In other words, he manipulated foreign policy for his own political ends. And it doesn't stop there.
Born Richard Jenkins in Wales in 1925, actor Richard Burton 's life and career were changed for ever by his temptestuous relationship with Elizabeth Taylor. The first programme in this new eight-part series uses interviews and extracts from Burton's notes and diaries to reveal his private agonies over his relationship with Taylor, his struggles with addiction, and his attempts to fulfil his acting potential.
The second in this new eight-part series focuses on the founder of modern nursing, who cared for wounded soldiers in the Crimea. The film reveals, however, that Nightingale was neurotic, tyrannical and ruthlessly ambitious, and that more men died in her hospital at Scutari than elsewhere in the Crimea.
The third in this new eight-part series focuses on Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson , who scooped a world record and gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Then, after just two days, Johnson tested positive for steroids, was stripped of his medal and left Seoul in disgrace. Reputations charts his rapid rise and sudden fall.
The fourth film in this new eight-part series paints afresh portrait of jazz diva Billie Holiday. By combining rare archive material, including footage of performances unseen for almost 50 years and interviews with close friends, many of whom have never spoken before on television, a new insight is achieved into the well-publicised excesses of her short life - she died of cirrhosis of the liver aged 44 -which questions the received image of her as a stereotypical victim.
The fifth film in this eight-part series presents a profile of the controversial leader of the Moonies, the Rev Myung Moon. While claiming to be the new Messiah, he is accused of heading a ruthless cult that abducts and brainwashes teenagers. He runs an empire worth billions and to his friends he is a hero, a man of profound spirituality who strives to vanquish evil. To his detractors, however, he is a megalomaniac, a fraud who plans to dominate the world.
The sixth film in this eight-part series presents a profile of the controversial heavyweight champion. An ex-convict who learned to box in prison, his mob connections almost guaranteed him notoriety and his reputation was finally destroyed by allegations of fight-fixing in his title bouts with Floyd Paterson and the then unknown Cassius Clay.
The acknowledged guru of psychedelic drugs, Timothy Leary claimed to have learnt more about himself the first time he ate magic mushrooms than in all his years as a psychologist. Described as "the most dangerous man in America" by the judge who imprisoned him in 1970, his mission was to turn America on to psychedelics. This programme explores the motives, morals and influences of the man who urged a generation to "turn on, tune in, drop out", and became demonised in the process.
A one-off special in the Reputations strand that provides an intimate portrait of the late Sir John Betjeman, the poet laureate who died, aged 77, in 1984. Betjeman's life was full of contrasts. He entertained the world with his warmth and enthusiasm, but, inwardly, he was haunted by fear, religious doubt, remorse and guilt. Highlighting his achievements as a conservationist and broadcaster, the film features contributions from the Prince of Wales and Lord Snowdon, who speak publicly for the first time about the most popular English poet of the 20th century.
A compilation of two previous "Reputations" episodes on Kenneth Williams. One of Britain's funniest yet most complex performers is the subject of an entry in the occasional Reputations series. Michael Parkinson , director John Schlesinger , actors Hugh Paddick , Sheila Hancock , Miriam Margolyes , Derek Nimmo and Leslie Phillips , and writers Alan Simpson and Peter Shaffer discuss his life and career. Includes clips from his work and readings from his diaries.
One of Britain's top entertainers, who died in 1992, is the subject of tonight's edition of the occasional Reputations series. Friends and colleagues - including Jonathan Ross , Griff Rhys Jones , Eric Sykes and Ian Carmichael - recall Howerd's career and a turbulent life marred by depression, money worries, a complicated sexuality- and the LSDassisted therapy that uncovered shocking and painful memories.
The latest in the documentary series asks if Queen Victoria's husband was in reality a manipulative husband, authoritarian father and ambitious politician.
In 1973, Uri Geller captured the attention of the world by bending a fork on British TV, claiming that he did so using only the power of his mind. This edition of the series tells the story of this charismatic showman and his struggle for lasting fame. It is a tale of politicians and scientists, spies and aliens, and of Geller's on-going battle to convince the world that he possesses superhuman powers.
Arthur Lowe. A profile of Lowe begins an evening dedicated to the actor who found enduring fame as the pompous - Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army. However, Lowe's most famous role did not bring lasting success. By the end of his life he was reduced to playing pantomime and provincial theatre. Bad health, including narcolepsy contributed to his decline - and som
