Elizabeth Deane

Elizabeth Deane
OccupationsProducer, writer, and director
EmployerGBH-TV
Notable workVietnam: A Television History, Rock & Roll
Children2

Elizabeth Deane is a writer, producer and director of documentary films for PBS, specializing in American history. She is best known for Vietnam: A Television History, described by the New York Times as "a landmark in television journalism",[1] as well as her many prizewinning films for the PBS series American Experience. Her limited series, Rock & Roll, was described by the Times as "as good as television gets." Vietnam won six Emmys. Both Vietnam and Rock & Roll received Peabody Awards. Her other works include presidential politics, biographies, and musical history.[2]

Career

Vietnam, with Stanley Karnow as Chief Correspondent, drew PBS's largest audience to date.[3] Deane, based at WGBH-TV in Boston, wrote and produced three episodes in the thirteen-part series: "America's Mandarin", "Homefront USA", and "The End of the Tunnel".[4][5][6] Vietnam won six Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, a George Polk Award, a DuPont-Columbia Award, and an Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization of American Historians. Originally broadcast in 1983, the program was rebroadcast as part of the PBS history series American Experience in 1997.[7]

Deane was also co-creator and executive producer for the PBS series Rock & Roll, a co-production of GBH and the BBC. The ten-part documentary series, with Rolling Stone and former New York Times music critic Robert Palmer as chief consultant, traced the history of rock music from the 1950s through the early 1990s.[8][9][10] The New York Times deemed the series as "good as television gets".[8] Rock & Roll won a Peabody Award and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Deems Taylor award for excellence in music programming.[11][12][13] The program was also nominated for an Emmy.[14] Under the BBC title of Dancing in the Street, the series was nominated for the BAFTA award.[15]

Prior to Rock & Roll, Deane was senior producer for Frontline's four-part series Crisis in Central America,[16] which won a Peabody Award.[17] She was senior producer for the 13-part series War and Peace in the Nuclear Age for GBH in 1989.[18][19][20]

Deane productions for the American Experience series include programs for its special collection, The Presidents. She was executive producer for "Nixon" in 1990, and wrote, directed and produced Part II of the three-part series.[21][22][23] "Nixon" was nominated for an Emmy that year[14] and won a Writers Guild Award for Deane in 1991.[24] She was executive producer for "The Kennedys" in 1992,[25][26] which won the Best Documentary award from the British Broadcasting Press Guild in 1993.[27] The Presidents series won a George Foster Peabody Award in 1997.[24][28]

Continuing her work for American Experience, Deane was executive producer for "The Rockefellers" in 2000, and wrote, directed and produced Part 1.[29][30][31] She was executive producer of "Ulysses S. Grant", which aired in 2002. She also wrote, produced, and directed part two of "Ulysses S. Grant".[32][33][34] "Reconstruction: The Second Civil War" followed in 2004. Deane was series producer for "Reconstruction", and she wrote and produced part two of the series.[34][35][36] Deane was awarded an Erik Barnouw Award for "Reconstruction" from the Organization of American Historians[37] as well as a Writers Guild Award nomination.[38] She was series producer and wrote "John & Abigail Adams" for The Presidents in 2006.[39][40][41] "John & Abigail Adams" was also nominated for a Writers Guild Award.[42]

In 2009, she was co-creator and executive producer of a second musical history for GBH and the BBC, Latin Music USA. The four-part series documented music created by Latinos in the U.S.[43][44][45][46] and was featured at the Aspen Ideas Festival.[47]

More recently Deane served as an executive producer for the four-part PBS series American Veteran, which premiered in 2021. Produced by Insignia Films and subtitled "You are Never the Same", the series described the veteran experience across the arc of American history and explored the present deep divide between veterans and civilians, who have no idea what it means to serve. Each episode was narrated by a different veteran, including actor Drew Carey and Senator Tammy Duckworth. As one critic described the series, "It asks civilians to walk a mile in veteran boots, and it lights a path for the journey."[48][49]

Deane has also worked in support of GBH's Media Library and Archives, writing short essays featuring programming from the archives for the GBH digital program guide. The essays are posted on Open Vault, the website of the GBH archives.[50]

Personal life

Raised in Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, Florida, Deane is an art history graduate of Wellesley College. She is married with two children and lives in Boston, Massachusetts.[51]

See also

References

  1. ^ John Corey, "TV: 13-Part History of Vietnam War on PBS", New York Times webpage, originally published 4 October 1983
  2. ^ "Biographies". WGBH Arts. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television - Vietnam: A Television History". www.museum.tv. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014.
  4. ^ "America's Mandarin". PBS. March 29, 2005. Archived from the original on May 16, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  5. ^ "Homefront USA". PBS. March 29, 2005. Archived from the original on May 16, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  6. ^ "The End of the Tunnel". PBS. March 29, 2005. Archived from the original on May 16, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  7. ^ "Vietnam Online Transcripts and Credits". PBS. March 29, 2005. Archived from the original on June 23, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  8. ^ a b John J. O'Connor (September 25, 1995). "Television Review; Once More, Remembering When Rock Was Young". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  9. ^ Tina Maples (September 21, 1995). "Hail, Hail rock 'n' roll". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
  10. ^ Tom Dorsey (September 24, 1995). "PBS Launches Season with 'Rock & Roll,' a stellar documentary". Louisville Courier-Journal.
  11. ^ "Rock & Roll". Peabody Awards. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  12. ^ "Elizabeth Deane". OpenVault. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  13. ^ "28th Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award Recipients". ASCAP. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Report by Nominee All Positions Elizabeth Deane", The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
  15. ^ "Television Huw Wheldon Award for the Best Arts Programme or Series in 1997". BAFTA Awards. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  16. ^ John Corry (April 9, 1985). "Crisis in Central America, on PBS". The New York Times.
  17. ^ "Frontline: Crisis in Central America (PBS)". Peabody Awards. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  18. ^ Zvi Dor-Ner; Elizabeth Deane; David Alan Rosenberg (December 1989). "War and Peace in the Nuclear Age". The Journal of American History. 73 (3). JSTOR 2936578.
  19. ^ Marc Gunther (January 23, 1989). "War, Peace and nukes: How the world changed". Detroit Free Press.
  20. ^ Mike Boone (January 22, 1989). "Prepare to be hooked on War and Peace in the Nuclear Age". The Gazette.
  21. ^ "Cast & Crew: Film Credits for Nixon". PBS. Archived from the original on November 18, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  22. ^ Rick Kogan (October 15, 1990). "Recurring Patterns". Chicago Tribune.
  23. ^ Mark Feeney (October 15, 1990). "The Countless Sides of Richard Nixon". Boston Globe.
  24. ^ a b "Broadcast awards". PBS. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  25. ^ "Cast and Crew". PBS. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  26. ^ Phillip Whitehead (October 11, 1992). "The Bootleg Politician". The Independent on Sunday.
  27. ^ "BPG Awards 1993". Broadcasting Press Guild. December 31, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  28. ^ "The American Experience: The Presidents". Peabody Awards. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  29. ^ "Cast & Crew: The Rockefellers". PBS. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  30. ^ Hal Boedeker (October 15, 2000). "In the Footsteps of Giants of Power". Orlando Sentinel.
  31. ^ Walter H. Combs (October 15, 2000). "Tycoon's Tale – The Rockefellers". Buffalo News.
  32. ^ "Cast & Crew: Film Credits". PBS. Archived from the original on December 18, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  33. ^ "American Experience: Ulysses S. Grant". People. May 3, 2002.
  34. ^ a b Ron Wertheimer (May 3, 2002). "That Man in Grant's Tomb is More Than He Seemed". The New York Times.
  35. ^ "The Film and More". PBS. December 19, 2003. Retrieved March 2, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  36. ^ Dorothy Rabinowitz (January 16, 2004). "Citizen King". Wall Street Journal.
  37. ^ "Professional Excellence and Service Awards: Erik Barnouw Award". Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  38. ^ "Llew Smith films and links". BlueSpark Collaborative. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  39. ^ "Film Description". PBS. August 26, 2005. Archived from the original on December 18, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  40. ^ Ted Mahar (January 22, 2006). "Prolific Letters Give us a Terrific Twosome for the Ages". The Oregonian.
  41. ^ Irv Letofsky (January 23, 2006). "American Experience: John & Abigail Adams". Hollywood Reporter.
  42. ^ Andrew Gans (December 14, 2006). "Tony Awards Broadcast Receives Writers Guild Nomination". Playbill. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  43. ^ "Producers". PBS. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  44. ^ "Latin Music USA". PBS. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  45. ^ Jordan Levin (October 11, 2009). "Evolution of Latin Music". Miami Herald.
  46. ^ David Hinckley (October 12, 2009). "Why US Moves to a Latino Beat". New York Daily News.
  47. ^ "Aspen Ideas Festival 2009" (PDF). The Aspen Institute. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  48. ^ "American Veteran", PBS website, last accessed 23 February 2026
  49. ^ TV Review: American Veteran, New York Times webpage, originally published 22 October 2021
  50. ^ "Elizabeth Deane". GBH. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  51. ^ Hal Boedekeer (September 20, 1992). "Executive Producer Got Her Start in Coconut Grove". Miami Herald.
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