Guest film critic Michael Sragow, film critic for The San Francisco Examiner, reviews "Colors," the controversial film about gangs and gang violence in Los Angeles. It stars Robert Duvall and Shawn Penn, and is directed by Dennis Hopper.
Baseball great Willie Mays, one of the most potent all-round players in the history of baseball. In his 22 seasons in the major leagues, Mays played in 21 All-Star Games, batted over .300 and hit 660 home runs. His autobiography, Say Hey, has just been published. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)
Mal Sharpe, the self-described last of the Man-on-the-Street interviewers. Sharpe, who used to contribute to National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," specializes in eliciting unusual responses from unsuspecting interviewees. He'll ask a screaming delegate on the floor of the Republican Convention in 1980 if they're happy with Reagan as the nominee.
Blues singer Moses Rascoe sings "St. Louis Blues." Rascoe, who retired from truck driving in 1983, was discovered at a folk society performance in York, Pa. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)
Film director William Friedkin. He won an Academy Award for the thriller "The French Connection." His other films include "The Exorcist," "The Boys in the Band" and "The Night They Raided Minsky's." His latest work is an action-adventure film for television. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)
Alan Beck, a leading authority on the relationships between pets and their owners. Beck is the director of the Center for Interaction of Animals and Society at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the cast recording of the contemporary opera "Nixon in China." The score was written by minimalist composer John Adams.
Cinematographer Nestor Almendros. The films he has photographed include "Sophie's Choice," "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Days of Heaven," for which he won the Academy Award. He has directed the photography for films by Eric Rohmer and Francois Truffaut. Almendros worked in Havana in the early years of the Castro regime before he had a falling out with the authorities.
Rock historian Ed Ward profiles The Velvet Underground. Sponsored by Andy Warhol, the band was a favorite of the jet-set crowd but reviled by the hippie culture that couldn't comprehend their music. The band featured Lou Reed and violist John Cale. Their best known songs include "Waiting for the Man," "Heroin" and "Sister Ray."
Television Critic David Bianculli previews the last two episodes of St. Elsewhere, the quirky NBC series set at the beleaguered St. Eligius Hospital. The show, which has run for seven seasons, ends on May 25th.
Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews two new albums featuring trumpeter Paul Smoker. Smoker studied trumpet with Doc Severinsen and has played in a varied of settings, including orchestras, brass quintets and circus bands.
Jim Lehrer, co-anchor of the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, the nightly PBS news show. Lehrer is also a published novelist and playwright. His new novel is titled Kick the Can. Lehrer is also known to many viewers of PBS for his series on his own recovery from a heart attack.
Painter Jacob Lawrence. For nearly five decades, Lawrence has been widely regarded as one of America's most important black artists. His work depicts the black American experience from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement. In 1986, a major traveling retrospective of his work was brought together by the Seattle Art Museum.
Lehrer, who died Jan. 23, was a nightly figure on PBS news for more than three decades, and moderated presidential debates in every election from 1988 through 2012. Originally broadcast in 1988.
Singer Susannah McCorkle performs a tribute to composer Irving Berlin. McCorkle will perform tributes to Berlin each week at this time throughout the month.
Poet W.S.Merwin. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1970 work, The Carriers of Ladders. His books of poetry include The Song of Roland, The Compass Flower and, his latest collection, The Rain in the Trees.
Composer William Bolcom. He is best known for his humorous and accomplished piano accompaniment of his wife, the singer Joan Morris, in their performances of American popular songs. His own compositions include the vast choral cantata "Songs of Innocence and Experience," that sets the poems of William Blake to music. He won this year's Pulitzer Prize in Music. Bolcom is also renown for his ragtime compositions, especially his work "Graceful Ghost."
