Pioneers of Television

I was sitting there in tears in my living room watching it. We learned the truth about America. to break each other's legs to be in the show.

ED ASNER

White actors were willing I mean, these novels were just the best stuff ever. I do love you, Meggie. I always will. And I found myself in the biggest melodrama of all time. The saga of an American family. Now, you listen to old Fiddler if you wants to keep alive. You in America now. But I think the responsibility of television spiritually, and emotionally. is to lift up its audience, intellectually,

SEACREST

They captured audiences like nothing before. "Rich Man, Poor Man," "Roots," "Thorn Birds." Look at the size of those audiences. They poured huge amounts of money into them. "Roots" hit the mark. It did more than entertain. The material was sensational. It served as a vehicle for enlightenment and empowerment. They brought our favorite characters from the page to the screen. He was a man that knew who he was. He knew his name, he knew his culture. I tell you, Fiddler, sometimes it seem like being alone and being free, they're all the same for a slave. You don't be free. You be dead. I felt it incumbent that I must be in that show. Can you capture or buy 170 healthy blacks and deliver them to the hold of the Lord Ligonier? It had a profound effect on me, the reception to "The Thorn Birds." You can marry me. You love me. But I love God more.

WARD

It was probably not the right project for me.

SEACREST

They opened our eyes to a new way of seeing. They hit the side of America that you don't get in the history books in school. Did it shock a lot of people? I'm sure it did. I felt, "This is it, this is as good as it's going to get." It's the absolute best use of music pictures and sound that we can achieve. Together, they created the most popular stories ever told on the small screen through an art form called the miniseries. of Television. They are the Pioneers Nome, Alaska, January 1977. The normally raucous town bar turns quiet at 7 P.M. as the channel changes to ABC.

BURTON

Nome, Alaska... and the bar was packed every night. And silent -- I mean, everybody was watching.

SEACREST

Simultaneously, the same story was playing out in Key West, Florida, and all points in between. America was fixated on the most popular drama a TV miniseries called "Roots." the nation had ever seen, Restaurants and bars were saying, "We have the big screen television. Come here, have your dinner and you can watch 'Roots.'" Theaters emptied out, meetings were rescheduled. Even Las Vegas seemed vacant. They closed the casinos in Vegas when "Roots" aired, nobody was on the street. Casinos were empty because people were watching "Roots." And that is something. As those eight nights unfolded and the audience grew and then it was the national conversation. Over the eight consecutive nights, "Roots" attracted more viewers than any previous TV drama. It's unlikely any television series will again have the impact that "Roots" had in 1977.

Baby crying

SEACREST

Ha ha! Look at this baby. Aww! Aww! Aww! What do you call him? We call him Baby Boy. And we'll go on calling him that until his father decides on a name for him eight days from today. "Roots" wasn't just a popular program, it was a cultural landmark, a phenomenon that transformed Americans' understanding of slavery. "Roots" is the story of Alex Haley's family, beginning with his great, great, great, great grandfather, who was captured in Africa and brought to America as a slave. The miniseries follows the family's saga through a hundred years of slavery... and finally to freedom. And Alex, when he talked about these characters and what he knew about them, literally, you were on the edge of your seat. Every time, it was absolutely riveting. Absolutely riveting. He was a master storyteller. When "Roots" was first greenlit by ABC, African-American actors saw a unique opportunity to play roles of substance. The actors were terribly excited to be part of it, because we'd never had anything like this before to be part of.

Typewriter typing

SEACREST

The toughest role to cast was Kunta Kinte. The whole miniseries hinged on finding an actor who was believable, physical... and young.

BURTON

First time I was in front of a camera was the screen test, March 27th, 1976.

Beep

BURTON

We're not children. We're very close to being men, Yoboto.

WOMAN

Close to being men. Ha! Close to being men. Go tend your billygoat! I was a sophomore in theater school at USC. I didn't know about acting for the camera.

SEACREST

Despite his lack of experience, LeVar Burton won the role of Kunta Kinte. Early in the production, he faced Kunta's capture in Africa. one of the more challenging scene --

Whip cracks

Groaning, shouting

SEACREST

in slow motion. Those indelible images of Kunta jumping and flailing I just kept going. And the sand and the sweat and the sun, kept trying to get out of these chains. I just kept going, kept jumping, The sequence, as it's cut together, is just brilliant because, in sort of a montage of imagery, you see this wild stallion being subdued. all at the same time. And it's beautiful and terrifying When you look at the trajectory of the life of this character, Because his life is forever changed. that's a very pivotal moment, that capture. The next section in the miniseries, aboard the slave ship, was the most difficult for LeVar Burton to play and for audiences to watch. This was the first time America witnessed, on film, the true horrors of the slave ships. It was five to six months of every day living in the bowels of a ship, in your own filth, day after day after day for six months. ABC worried that the cruelty was too horrific, the story too one-sided, and so a sympathetic white character was added, a ship's captain, who was disturbed by the slave trade but went along begrudgingly, played by Ed Asner. Someone who took the job -- the dirty, filthy job. But he was going to try to make it clean -- i.e., in airing out his slaves while they were at sea, hosing them down, limiting the crowdedness in the slave quarters. That type of thing. While Ed Asner played a somewhat sympathetic character, many other roles required white actors to portray cold-hearted callousness. ABC was fearful that the onscreen cruelty might turn away audiences, so the network insisted that the more ruthless roles were played by some of TV's most likable white actors -- Sandy Duncan, Lorne Green, Chuck Connors, and Robert Reed. Vic Morrow was so uncomfortable playing the famous whipping scene, he begged forgiveness of his fellow actors. He apologized. He says, "I'm sorry." I said, "What do you feel sorry for?" "I'm sorry. I'm apologizing in advance." I said, "What do you mean?" "I'm going to have to really do the scene fully. I said, "Oh, I get ya..." and I didn't know what he meant. It's the whipping scene." Take him up. The scene, among the most indelible in the miniseries, had to be shot twice because it was so difficult

Whip cracking, actor groaning

SEACREST

for actor LeVar Burton.

BURTON

When it came time to put it on film, it was daunting. And I just could not relax enough to be "in" the scene. I was in the consciousness of, "Wow, this isn't comfortable to me at all!" What's your name? Kunta. Kunta Kinte.

SEACREST

A week later, LeVar Burton was able to make it through the scene...

Shrieking

SEACREST

but now ABC had a new problem. The portrayal was so realistic, the brutality so intense, there was concern it might spark racial unrest. So what ABC thought that they would do was they brought the actors who played the two characters in that scene. Welcome to "Good Morning, America."

BURTON

The actor who played Kunta and the actor who played the overseer, Vic Morrow and LeVar Burton, they brought them together to sit on that couch with David Hartman to prove that there was no animosity between us two, and of course, there wasn't. Thinking back on it now, I think that that was probably a very responsible thing for the network to have at least attempted to do.

SEACREST

Following the whipping scene, Louis Gossett Jr's Fiddler character attempts to comfort Kunta Kinte.

BURTON

I think of all of the moments in the series, that's my favorite.

Agitated breathing

BURTON

And Lou is absolutely transcendent in that moment. It's all Fiddler. just comes pouring out of that man. The compassion that The whipping scene is over "What you care what that white man calls you?" and I have the last line, and the last line was, What you care what that white man calls you? "Toby. Kunta. Kunta Kinte. That be your name, that's what you'll always be." And that was the last line of the scene. What you care?...make you say Toby. You know who you be. Kunta. That's who you'll always be. And I looked down at LeVar. I kept putting ice water on his wrist, I said, There is going to be another day." "There's going to be a better day, you understand me? There's gonna be another day.

SEACREST

The last line wasn't in the script... it flowed out of Louis Gossett Jr. in that emotional moment.

BURTON

It's a powerful, powerful moment on a lot of levels for a lot of reasons. Another day, when there's no more lynching, another day when we're equal. There's going to be another day when we have our first black president, there's going to be another day.

SEACREST

The line was right for Kunta Kinte in the 18th century... but it also had resonance for actor Louis Gossett Jr. in the 20th. A hit on Broadway in 1953, Louis Gossett Jr. hadn't faced the full force of racial prejudice until he came to Hollywood in the mid-1960s. The first time he drove a car in Beverly Hills, it took all afternoon to go just two miles because of repeated traffic stops. Four and a half hours of sitting by curbs, checking me out because I answered to the description. No, I didn't -- They just had never seen a black man out that way in Los Angeles in 1966. Abandoning the new car, Gossett began walking through Beverly Hills. Within 20 minutes, I was handcuffed to a tree, for 3 hours. A "better day" did eventually come for Louis Gossett Jr. In 1982, he won just the third Oscar awarded to an African-American for his part in "An Officer and a Gentleman." Louis Gossett Jr. won an Emmy. And for his role as Fiddler in "Roots,"

Applause

SEACREST

MAN,

LAUGHING

Yeah!

SEACREST

Like Louis Gossett Jr., LeVar Burton didn't experience the full effects of racism until he was a young man. One night, while "Roots" was filming in Georgia, Burton went out to a local bar and danced with a white woman. Alex Haley, took him aside.

BURTON

Alex came to me and he pulled my coat tail and he said, you know... and I'd never had any experience in the South -- and he said, "Let me just remind you that even though this is 1976, that there are still prevailing attitudes in certain parts of this country where that kind of behavior is not looked favorably upon.

SEACREST

As "Roots" moved into the second and third night of the broadcast, it was already having a profound impact on how Americans understood the nation's racial history. As the story moved forward in time, The only time I get to be free is when I run away. John Amos played the older Kunta Kinte. I tell ya, Fiddler, sometime it seem like... being alone and being free, they're all the same for a slave. You be dead. You don't be free. Then I'd be free. I didn't care, after I did "Roots," if I ever worked again in life. That is, in the industry. Because I felt like, "This is it, this is as good as it's going to get." Just before filming his first scenes, John Amos was overcome with emotion. And those millions that had died on the ships on the way over here as slaves, they were speaking to me in so many voices -- it was not my imagination -- that I was just overwhelmed. And I began to... I became agitated. I was speaking in tongues. They tell me I was yelling and screaming and flip flopping on the ground. These were my ancestors speaking to me, saying, "Now you will be our voice. You will speak, and if they want to know what the African spirit is about, you stay resolute, you stay strong. Show them, you will not break, as we did not break. You will not break, Kunta Kinte." And that's what I carried throughout the rest of the project. I am Kunta Kinte, A fighting man from the village of Jufureh! son of Omoro and Binta Kinte! I gonna learn to run! I'm gonna do better than learn to walk. John Amos always took his craft seriously, starting out as a standup comedian in New York. He came to Los Angeles as a writer... and landed acting roles like Gordy the Weatherman on the "Mary Tyler Moore show." Everywhere I go, people yell, "Gordy, when's Ted coming back?" They do? Where? Yeah. Everywhere. How many yell that? 650. I mean, men or what? Women, too? Women, too. Young women? Yeah. Would you say that women yell more often -- Nobody yelled it, Ted. Nobody yelled nothing. But even a recurring role on a network TV show didn't inoculate John Amos from racial violence when he ventured into the wrong neighborhood. The San Fernando Valley Police pulled up, pulled me out of the car, choked me to the point of unconsciousness, took me to the police station, in cuffs and manacles -- where the warrant officer asked for my autograph while I was being booked. The actress who played Kunta's daughter, Kizzy, was Leslie Uggams. I became Kizzy. And there was something about... I knew her. Somehow, I knew her. I mean, I wore her skin. And so, all those experiences that she was going through, I just zoned into it. "Roots" wasn't Uggams' first breakthrough on television. In 1970, she became the first African-American woman to host a network variety show. Before that, she was a regular on Mitch Miller's TV show. There are many good singers, but not often in your life will a new voice make your skin tingle. Leslie Uggams has that kind of voice. At 17, she can look forward of listeners right outta their seats! to lifting a couple of generations I'm just a little sparrow in the nest of the Lord Large sections of America never saw these shows, because many TV stations would not air a program with an African-American singer. The network and the sponsors were giving Mitch some heat about me being on the show because the show was blacked out in the South. They wouldn't accept the show because I was on it. In one of "Roots'" most emotional scenes, slave owners sell Kizzy, meaning she will never see her parents again. The scene had special power because it reflected

Kizzy sobbing

SEACREST

a bitter truth for thousands of families. KIZZY,

SOBBING

Please!

Shrieking, sobbing

SOBBING

Mama! Mama! Yah! It's just so hurtful. So... I can't even express it in words. So that day, when we shot that, I just lived that.

Sobbing

UGGAMS

you are never going to see your mother and father again. Everything that you know, everything that you had is never going to be that way again. in your relationship with your parents,

SEACREST

Leslie Uggams' most challenging scene came in the fifth episode, when her character was raped by the slaveowner, played by Chuck Connors.

UGGAMS

That was a hard scene for me to do. She wasn't a victim. That's the main thing about Kizzy was, she was never a victim. Of all the things that happen to her, she found a way to use it and... "I'm not going to be victimized." I bought you, you're my property now. Cost a fair price. Enough for a payment on a cotton gin, Well, Kizzy, I'm gonna get my money's worth right now. you overseer said. but I ain't got no time to play -- Now, Kizzy, I'd rather not hurt you,

Kizzy groaning

UGGAMS

That was the hardest part, and that scene did not just show that she's being violently raped. So you see in those eyes, not only hate, but she's gonna use this, she's gonna use this.

SEACREST

Like all the relationships in "Roots," Kizzy's story reflected the real life events of Alex Haley's family. As a result of the rape, Haley's great great great grandmother, Kizzy, gave birth to Haley's great great grandfather, known as "Chicken George," played in "Roots" by Ben Vereen. I feel like, if I'm only remembered for Chicken George, great. I've done my job. Ben Vereen wasn't the obvious choice for the role, because he wasn't an actor, he was a song-and-dance man. Listen, Carol. Someday you'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds Are far behind you Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimneytops That's where I'll find you When Ben Vereen originally tried to land the role of Chicken George, he was rebuffed. He said, "Ben, they're looking for actors." He said, "You're a song-and-dance, man. They're not gonna... just forget about it." Vereen didn't give up and eventually won the part, creating one of the miniseries' most memorable characters. He done the worst thing that a man can do to me... He took away all my hopes! What about Tildy and the children? They ain't got no hopes as long as Master Moore's alive. Man ain't worth a chicken, he ain't alive. Mama, get outta my way! Don't do it, George! It'll be worse than it is! Killing Master Tom Moore, that's no more than killing a dog. He's your daddy!

MOTHER

No, dammit, no!

SEACREST

Like the other actors in "Roots," Ben Vereen had experienced his share of racial prejudice... especially the time he visited the South as a boy and tried to enter an all-white theater. His friend pulled him back. He said, "Don't you ever do that." I said, "What?" He said, "They'll kill you, man. We're not even supposed to be up on the sidewalk." He said, "Don't even look at a white person." Chicken George's family included his son Tom and daughter-in-law Irene... played by Georg Stanford Brown and Lynne Moody. The word was out. There was this show called "Roots" being cast and it was hiring all of these black actors and actresses. And everybody could get a shot almost at it. So there was this excitement because this had never happened before in my time. All the performers and the crew, we all knew that we were involved in something important. And that we were very special to be part of it. Tom! What is it, honey? Man wants his horse shoed, Tom. Well, he's gonna have to get back. I'm powerful busy. he don't look like the "gettin' back" kind. I don't know, Tom, Daddy? My daddy! Tom's storyline flowed into the years after the Civil War, recounting how the end of slavery was just the first step on the long road to equality. A full hundred years later, actor Georg Stanford Brown still faced government-sanctioned racism.

BROWN

I was married in 1966. it was still against the law for me to do so. I married a white woman. It was still against the law, this is 1966. So... we might be far removed from that now, but it was a lot closer when "Roots" first came on the scene. When I was in high school, they had a note going around saying there will be an assembly for all the black students and they announced there would be no mixed dating at the prom, unless we had a note from each parent.

SEACREST

Tom and Irene ultimately experienced freedom and "Roots" ends on a note of hope. But Kunta Kinte, he never forget where he come from. He never forget Africa. When the "Roots" storyline concludes in the late 1860s, equality seems in reach. But when the miniseries ended its run in 1977, African-American actors faced a playing field that was still not level. Roles for African-Americans remained scarce. We thought, hey, hey, hey, we're here, we've arrived, they've seen how fabulous we are, and we're all going to be working on different things. And it just didn't happen. So many great write-ups in all these different newspapers, but absolutely nothing else. No jobs. So I didn't expect that would happen. While "Roots" may not have had a significant impact on TV casting directors, it did have a profound effect on the audience. "Roots" wasn't just a show about history, it was a historical event itself, helping shift public opinion by telling the truth about the African-American experience.

GOSSETT

Somebody finally told the truth, and television is such a powerful medium, such a powerful medium. For them to tell an honest truth like "Roots," it's history.

SEACREST

Before "Roots," discussions of slavery were limited to a paragraph or two in dry textbooks. In those days, there was nothing called "Black History Month" or "Black History Studies." There was -- when I was going to school -- it was a paragraph, "You were a slave and Lincoln freed you." In a paragraph, it was like...

Chuckles

SEACREST

it was like, we were slaves. We came from Africa and we spoke some umba-jumba. It wasn't even a language that we spoke, you know, umba-jumba. And so as a kid I didn't want to be African. Roots helped changed all that, serving as a new kind of textbook, educating a nation, vividly, emotionally, leaving a lasting impact.

UGGAMS

It was a lesson for everybody. It gave us a sense of pride. There were a lot of babies being born named Kunta and a lot of girls being born named Kizzy. So that showed how proud it was to be African-American. There was no way of getting around the fact that this was material that had never been presented before, on a mass scale to an American audience. What was accomplished through those eight nights of television, of moving pictures and sound that we can achieve. it's the absolute best use

SEACREST

"Roots" remains the most-watched miniseries of all time, but it wasn't the first. A year earlier, ABC launched the genre with "Rich Man, Poor Man," starring three largely unknown actors -- Peter Strauss, Susan Blakely, and Nick Nolte. Well, Julie Prescott. Long time, no see. Yes, it has been a long time, hasn't it? Uh-huh. Listen, why don't we all go to Delmonico's and have a drink? Come on, girls, let's go. What do you say? Peter Strauss and Nick Nolte played characters who roughly approximated their own personalities. Strauss was a precise, disciplined actor, while Nolte liked to improvise in the moment. You must be crazy, what'd you do that for? Yes! Why? You really want to know? Beats the hell outta me. I was so meticulous -- every line had a specific reading, and I had notes in my script And Nick would just try to throw me off all the time. and it had to be done a certain way. One early scene perfectly illustrates their differing styles.

STRAUSS

He just decided, "What can I do within the frame that will make him crazy?" and he was just sitting there off-camera looking at me, winking, and I'm going, "Oh, something is coming and I'm not going to like it."

SEACREST

The script called for Nick Nolte's character to wake up Peter Strauss. But in the moment, Nolte took it a step further.

STRAUSS

And sure enough, I saw him put his finger in his mouth as much spittle as possible on it. and he tried to enable that finger to sustain And I saw it coming towards me and it went right in the ear.

Gasps

STRAUSS

Shove over! And it was great. That was fun, and it achieved the result it had to achieve.

Sighs

STRAUSS

Long movie. Yeah. It was a double feature. Where have you been, anyway? I wouldn't want to destroy your illusions. Oh, I don't have any. Not about you. because I've always hero-worshipped you. Oh, you wound me, brother,

SEACREST

Based on the book of the same name, "Rich Man, Poor Man" is the tale of two brothers, Rudy and Tom Jordache, their friendship, competition, and very different paths through life. Wait, what the hell are you doing here, Rudy? Do you think I'm a charity case? You just take that partnership and shove it!

RUDY

Just like Pop, it's him and Uncle Harold all over again. There's not a brain in your head! But I can still knock you on your butt any day of the week! That's some answer. Women fell in love with Rudy Jordache, the character. So it's interesting. Women, I think, fell in love with him. But, I think, when you read the book, that you tend to... your heart goes more out, of course, to Tom because he has all these tragedies. Hi, Pa. I bought you out of this in case you're interested. $3,000. I hope she was worth it. I'm gonna pay you back, Pa, every cent. I don't want it. That $3,000 pays all my debts. This is the last time I ever want to see or hear from you. When I walk out that door, that's the last of us, forever. You get it? I got it.

SEACREST

The woman in the middle is Julie, played by Susan Blakely. My memories are almost like I lived that. I feel like I lived it. I want to tell you something. You don't have to tell me anything, Rudy. I want to. I said it to you a long time ago. And it's as true now as it ever was. I've loved you ever since I can remember almost. I've never really considered any kind of life for me that didn't include you in it. When the miniseries began, Susan Blakely was the better known of the three main actors, thanks to a successful modeling career. She'd dabbled in acting but hadn't yet landed a breakthrough role. And it was just too good of an opportunity to pass. And I didn't know what a miniseries was, never heard of any. Blakely's role was a composite of two very different characters in the book, which meant she played a wide emotional range in "Rich Man, Poor Man." Playing depressed, by the way, is difficult. Talk about having to slow it down. But there was a part of me every day that just wanted my character to shape up, you know. You've had enough to drink. There is no such thing as enough to drink. I'm gonna take you to bed. You won't be the first. If I play my cards right, you won't be the last either. Rudy Jordache was played by Peter Strauss, who began his acting career in elementary school.

STRAUSS

One day a teacher came up to me and said, "Do you want to be in a play?" And, I've never been in a play. I don't think I'd ever seen a play.

SEACREST

The moment he first set foot on the grade school stage, Peter Strauss's future was set. There is this place which is magic. And some people... for me, I was home. This is home. This is where I want to be the rest of my life. I had no qualms. Age 12. That was it. Peter Strauss had just a few small roles on his resume when "Rich Man, Poor Man" was cast. ABC worried that the three main actors didn't have the name recognition to carry a major project. So the supporting roles on the miniseries were peppered with more-famous stars, like Ray Milland, Van Johnson, Dorothy McGuire, and Ed Asner who played Axel Jordache, father of Tom and Rudy. I didn't think I was right for the role. I had read the book. An unsympathetic character in the book, Axel Jordache was softened in the screenplay, especially in his relationship with his wayward son, Tom. Ed Asner took the role. They had me going to the high school to talk about -- in the book it's Rudy. In the screenplay it became Tom. Have you ever been to school? In another country. In what other country? Was it considered proper for a student to draw a picture of his teacher nude in the classroom? Oh! Is this supposed to be you? Yes, it is. Yes, yes, yes. I see the resemblance. Do teachers pose nude in the high schools these days? I can see no further point in this conversation. The French teacher is a bitch and she calls me names. And I would call her a name. If you didn't strut around with your boobs hanging out and you tail wiggling in a tight skirt like some cheap two-dollar chippy, young boys wouldn't be tempted to draw pictures like that! Besides which, I think he's flattered you. You...

Slap!

SEACREST

I know all about you! I don't go for talk like that, you slut. But it showed that I was ready to fight for Tom even in high school. I just want to thank you. What for? You don't owe me a damn thing. For what you said. He was just a hardworking immigrant trying to make it in America. And had two sons to raise, and sons are not easy. One reason the series succeeded was a storyline that offered two different heroes, appealing to a broad range of viewers. For example, Europeans preferred the strait-laced Rudy. Americans liked the rough and tumble Tom.

STRAUSS

The American hero is the traditional blond, tough bar-room brawler. And the European hero is someone who works through a family and for financial gain and reward and family honor. Whereas, Americans have cowboys as heroes. They're sweaty, they're a little dirty, they're a little tougher.

Crowd cheering

STRAUSS

Nice, nice!

REF

1, 2, 3...

SEACREST

In America, and around the world, "Rich Man, Poor Man" attracted huge audiences... single-handedly paving the way for an entirely new genre -- the novel for television... the miniseries.

STRAUSS

There is not a day that someone doesn't come up to me and say, "Hey, 'Rich Man, Poor Man,' I loved that show." I've done things the next morning no one remembers what I did the night before. And yet it is astonishing that people will still stop me and talk about "Rich Man, Poor Man."

SEACREST

After the enormous success of "Rich Man, Poor Man" and "Roots," miniseries producers began scooping up popular novels with abandon. Including a best seller by Colleen McCullough

Romantic soundtrack plays

SEACREST

called "The Thorn Birds." For the key role of Meggie, the producers chose a newcomer, Rachel Ward. Although it would be her big break, Ward was wary of the role. the storyline too melodramatic. To her, the dialogue seemed stilted, I can't! I can't! Goodbye, my Meggie. It's hard -- it's difficult to say lines like, "Go on then to that God of yours but you'll come back to me because I'm the one who loves you." Cate Blanchett to pull that one off. I mean I defy, you know, Go on, then, go on to that God of yours, because I'm the one who loves you. but you'll come back to me Everything was very overwritten and overdramatic. It was basically almost impossible language to make naturalistic. Despite her concerns, Rachel Ward took the role of Meggie. Audiences loved her, rewarding "The Thorn Birds" with some of the biggest ratings in television history. But Rachel Ward was bludgeoned by the critics, a wound that still stings decades later. I got some terrible reviews, and I wonder if critics know how much pain they inflict. Of the primary actors, 7 out of 8 received Emmy nominations. Only Rachel Ward was left out.

WARD

I took it very, very personally. I felt embarrassed and humiliated. I can remember where I was and the exact words of both the Newsweek critic and the New York Times critic with such vividness, that it will -- it had such a profound effect on me, the criticism for my character. I left Hollywood after that -- that was enough for me. I didn't really need to go through that again. I'm sure there will be many people listening to this now and going, "What the hell!"

You know

huge miniseries, incredibly popular, dream job for any actor. And there you go, isn't that ironic? It was just a devastating experience for me. One I actually don't really think I've entirely come to terms with.

SEACREST

For Rachel Ward, the criticism was offset by one silver lining. It was on the set of "The Thorn Birds" God, you are beautiful. that she met her future husband, actor Bryan Brown. How many times you been in love? Whoever he was, he was a fool to let you go. Only once. I was a typical Australian young man. I mean, I noticed good looking girls. I wasn't an idiot, you know. The one positive that I took away from "The Thorn Birds" and can take away from "The Thorn Birds" is that I did find the love of my life. On screen, Meggie's true love wasn't Bryan Brown's character, played by Richard Chamberlain. it was Father Ralph, Meggie, I need no reminder of you. Not now, not ever. I carry you within me. You know that. The forbidden love between Meggie and Father Ralph resonated deeply with audiences... Oh, you've come back! made authentic by the genuine chemistry between Rachel Ward and Richard Chamberlain. Meggie, don't cry. We clicked together and we had a kind of mutual trust. You know, there was an awful lot of kissing and fooling around and stuff in it, and you've got to trust the person you're acting with and she was just wonderful. Forgive me. No. Damn you. Meggie! No more! Even today, "The Thorn Birds" stands as the most widely watched romance in television history. I do still have people coming up and saying and how much they loved Meggie. how much they loved "The Thorn Birds" Father Ralph loved Meggie, but he also loved the church, which set up the central conflict of "The Thorn Birds." In the screenplay, the character was portrayed as something of an opportunist, a scoundrel. But Richard Chamberlain saw Father Ralph differently. I thought he'd be much more interesting if he really did have a true vocation in the church, if he really did want the power, and if he really did love Meggie with all his heart. By the time he was cast in "The Thorn Birds," Richard Chamberlain already had twenty years of television experience. In 1980, Chamberlain desperately wanted to land the lead role in the high-profile miniseries "Shogun." But author James Clavell wanted Sean Connery for the part. Chamberlain had dinner with the author and made his case. I had meetings with Clavell and finally convinced him -- by lowering my voice and wearing lots of t-shirts under my clothes so I'd look bigger and more Sean Connery-ish. I finally convinced him to hire me. After the success of "Shogun," Richard Chamberlain didn't have to work as hard to land the role of Father Ralph in "The Thorn Birds." Because of the huge success of both projects, he was later dubbed the "king of the miniseries."

CHAMBERLAIN

I did some really great miniseries, and if they wanted to call me king that's fine with me. I had had the incredible good fortune of being in some of the best miniseries ever.

SEACREST

In the early scenes of "The Thorn Birds," Richard Chamberlain played opposite Barbara Stanwyck, one of the last roles of the actress's storied career. Known throughout Hollywood as the consummate professional, Stanwyck never forgot her lines... except once. We had the scene where Ralph has been working and comes in and he's drenched, a huge rainstorm. out in the fields of Drogheda, He takes off his clothes on the veranda, thinks he's alone. And when he was stark naked, she comes out. And they have this wonderful scene where she touches his shoulders. Ralph de Bricassart. You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen, But, of course, you already know that. Curious how you view us mortals with contempt And he tries to remain aloof. for admiring that beauty. I thought it was my soul you were after, Mary. It is. Because at my age, officially, I'm supposed to be beyond the drives of my body. But she went up in her lines. And everybody was like totally amazed. And she said... "It's been so long since I've stood next to a naked man." And it was just sweet, you know, so sweet. Although "The Thorn Birds" was set in Australia, there was just one Australian actor in the cast.

BROWN

I like playing Australians. It's instinctive about how I behave. And I behave different to Americans, even though we have

Chanting, laughing

BROWN

a lot of things in common, we're different. What was great was this was a big Australian melodrama. The Americans told it, and told it in whatever way they wanted to, which is their right.

SEACREST

On that point, Colleen McCullough disagreed. The author of "The Thorn Birds" was unhappy with nearly every production decision. She didn't like the casting of Richard Chamberlain or Rachel Ward, she objected to the screenwriter and director, and she called the production "instant vomit." I think Colleen was talking through a hole in her head. She wrote a big melodrama -- What did she want it to be? I do remember she also had a go at me, and my casting of it. So I'm not...

Laughs

SEACREST

So there you go. I thought the book was very well served by the miniseries. Colleen McCullough didn't think so. But I thought, oh, she should have been so lucky to have this extraordinarily good cast, et cetera, and a wonderful script. I guess, writers think they've got babies on their hands, but you know, she got paid an enormous a lot of money; sold a lot more books, she should be bloody grateful. Colleen McCullough's objections didn't faze the viewing audience and "The Thorn Birds" still ranks among the most-watched dramas of all time. People responded to it because and they wanted to watch what happened to them every night. those people became real for them on screen, It's a theme common to all the best miniseries -- beloved characters who survive epic sagas that play out over decades. The 70's was a period where we told great stories on television. I thank Alex Haley every day in my heart for making me a part of history. No complaints here. As I look back, it's been an incredible journey. That was an opportunity that very few actors ever get. I guess it was hugely popular so in some respects we got it right. It has enriched my life greatly. And I can only hope that it's also enriched so many other people's.

GOSSETT

I think the responsibility of television is to lift up its audience intellectually, spiritually and emotionally. I was hoping for greater awareness, that people would dig deeper into our history. We learned the truth about America. It was an extraordinary event, and television prided itself on event programming. Not everybody in... I'm gonna cry now....in life gets their absolute wishes answered. I'm so grateful for it. You know, it doesn't happen to that many people.

SEACREST

Together, they captured our imagination and created a whole new art form -- They are the "Pioneers of Television." the television miniseries. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. They are endowed with certain inalienable rights. Among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." All of that is gorgeous. It's written beautifully. Those men wrote it in blood. But what is written and the way we are should be together rather than separate. That's the aspiration of the average American. For more insider features about your favorite TV stars, stories you won't hear anywhere else, visit pbs.org. To order this program, visit us online at shopPBS.org. Or call us at 1-800-PLAY-PBS.