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The Icons That Built America
The Icons That Built America

The Icons That Built America

—Follows those in entertainment who took risks, innovated and blazed trails to redefine performing.
1 seasonDocumentary, HistoryTV-14
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Season 17 of 7 Episodes

  • In 1965, a struggling motorcycle salesman desperate at his small-town dealership comes up with a dangerous publicity stunt that launches him into a new career, but changes entertainment forever.

  • A struggling New York actor, brushed aside, bets on himself to write and star in a movie; by challenging the ideas of what it means to be a leading man at the time, he gives himself a fighting chance in Hollywood.

  • In the 1970s, two maverick broadcasters take a different approach, challenging their bosses, the rules and polite society to help create a new genre: talk radio.

  • A young martial artist and actor from Hong Kong has dreams of breaking into Hollywood, but in the 1970s, the racial barriers block any chance he has of becoming a star.

  • Daytime talk shows in the 1980s is aimed at a stay-at-home female audience and has conversational topics and polite discussion; a young politician-turned-TV host rewrites the rules when an unexpected fight breaks out between his guests.

  • Fitting into the clean-cut roles that comedians occupied in the 1950s, two up-and-coming stand-ups make names for themselves; as society shifts and counter-culture movements take hold, both men realize they need to adapt their comedy.

  • In 1987, a small-time drug dealer forms a hip-hop based group in his hometown of Compton, California; the group's brand of "reality rap" draws backlash; a Seattle-based rock band pioneers a new sound that channels suburban angst and disillusionment.
The Icons That Built America

More about The Icons That Built America

Follows those in entertainment who took risks, innovated and blazed trails to redefine performing.

Starring

Jon Armond

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