FDR Mondays, May 12 and 19, 2008 at 9pm (check local listings) "Here, packed into 4-1/2 hours. Is an impressionable, often startlingly vivid portrait of the political career of the century.” The Wall Street Journal As president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a remarkably popular figure. His radio “Fireside Chats” went into millions of living rooms across the country; his picture hung on the walls of countless homes and businesses; his wife was the most admired woman in America. Since his death over six decades ago, FDR, the man who led America successfully through the twentieth century’s two great crises—the Depression and World War II—has been transformed from personality to icon.

On Mondays, May 12 and 19, 2008, PBS’S reprises FDR, a biography which goes beyond the familiar words and images to offer an intimate, incisive, and often surprising portrait of a man who changed America’s ideas about the presidency, who still shapes our understanding of the role of government, and whose influence defines the terms of much of our political discourse. Produced by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by author and historian David McCullough, the four-and-a-half hour documentary examines FDR’s elusive public and private personalities and the remarkable trajectory that carried him from his family estate at Hyde Park to the .

As part of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE’S multimedia election-year project THE PRESIDENTS, FDR is included in a series of critically acclaimed 20th century presidential portraits that, for the first time, will be available on the Web in their entirety to provide historical context for current political candidates and promote civic engagement in the political process. Beginning in March 2008, FDR, Reagan and will be available as streaming video or for download at www..org/presidents/2008. In the following weeks, the newest film in the series, George H.W. Bush and LBJ, Nixon, and will round out the library, totaling over twenty-five hours of content-rich programming. All seven films will be broadcast on PBS beginning in May 2008, with Bush launching the broadcast series. more “With FDR and THE PRESIDENTS, we want to engage viewers in the civic process. To my mind, that involves not just voting on Election Day, but also taking an active interest in where we've been as a nation and what led our country to the place we now hold on the international stage,” says AMERICAN EXPERICENCE executive producer, Mark Samels. “As we enter a pivotal election year, it is interesting to see the many issues the country wrestled with throughout the 20th century–from war and religion to healthcare and education–that we are still debating today. THE PRESIDENTS will give our audience access to our presidential history in a vast array of forms: streaming video on our Web site, downloadable podcasts and vodcasts, and PBS national broadcasts. Collectively, this content provides an invaluable historical roadmap—helping viewers to understand where we have been, so that they may better decide where we are going.” CREDITS FDR is a film by David Grumin Productions, Inc. for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. Producer/director David Grubin Writer David Grubin Senior producer Chana Gazit Editors Susan Fanshel and Geoff Bartz Music Michael Bacon Narrator David McCullough Senior creative consultant Geoffrey C. Ward

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is a production of WGBH Boston Series producer Sharon Grimberg Executive producer Mark Samels

Major funding for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Major corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers. Funding for The Presidents provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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2 ABOUT AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Television's most-watched history series, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE has been hailed as "peerless" (Wall Street Journal), "the most consistently enriching program on television" (Chicago Tribune), and "a beacon of intelligence and purpose" (Houston Chronicle). On air and online, the series brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America's past and present. Acclaimed by viewers and critics alike, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE documentaries have been honored with every major broadcast award, including twenty-four Emmy Awards, four duPont-Columbia Awards, and fourteen George Foster Peabody Awards, one most recently for Two Days in October. ABOUT WGBH BOSTON WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer. More than one- third of PBS's prime-time lineup and companion Web content as well as many public radio favorites are produced by WGBH. The station also is a pioneer in educational multimedia and in access technologies for people with disabilities. For more information visit wgbh.org.

For more information about AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and FDR visit pbs.org/americanexperience Promotional photography is available for download from pbs.org/pressroom and pressroom.wgbh.org. PRESS CONTACTS To request a screener or schedule an interview, please contact: Patrick Ramirez, WGBH, 617.300.4251, [email protected] Jen Holmes, WGBH, 617.300.5388, [email protected] Laura Bowman, WGBH, 617.300.5332, [email protected]

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