Susan Lacy
Producer
About This Interview
Susan Lacy was interviewed for three hours in New York City. She recalled her early experience working for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and discusses how she became deputy director of performance programs at Thirteen/WNET (the New York PBS affiliate) where she was a program executive for Great Performances. Lacy recalls the genesis of American Playhouse, a program which she helped to create at WNET. She discusses in great detail how she came up with the idea for the documentary series American Masters, its early struggles, and why she is so passionate about the series. Lacy discusses several of the specific subjects the series covered: Judy Garland, Bob Dylan, James Baldwin, Charlie Chaplin, Leonard Bernstein, Rod Serling, and more. The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on June 11, 2011.
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Highlights
Susan Lacy on believing in
American Mastersfrom the beginning and its success "passion and committment will take you very far"
Clip begins at: 06:15, Duration: 05m 23s- Susan Lacy on what makes
American Mastersunique
Clip begins at: 40:05, Duration: 01m 48s - Susan Lacy on finding the crux of the story in the edit room
Clip begins at: 59:41 - Susan Lacy on the mission behind
American Mastersand why it's not a typical celebrity biography series
Clip begins at: 09:44, Duration: 01m 54s 
"I learned that our programs had to be as good as the artists we were making films about."
Clip begins at: 45:50, Duration: 01m 35s
Interview
- Part 1
- On her early childhood; traveling with her parents
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On working for the Historic Preservation Program of the National Endowment for the Arts
Clip begins at: 12:40 - On her education at the University of Virginia; on editing the newspaper there and being a controversial figure (she required a bodyguard at one point); on how she wound up working for Channel 13 (PBS in New York City)
Clip begins at: 21:21 - On the influence TV's Golden Age had on her; on what she saw as a need for arts and culture on television; on the pressure on TV to draw in ratings with celebrities
Clip begins at: 31:03 - On her first job at WNET (PBS in New York) in program development and grantwriting; on working with Jac Venza, her mentor, on Great Performances at WNET; on his passion for a drama series on PBS and how that resulted in her developing American Masters
Clip begins at: 36:15 - On how television programming at PBS has changed
Clip begins at: 44:38 - On developing the American Masters series
Clip begins at: 48:03 - Part 2
- On why she wanted American Masters to air in primetime; on the business model for the series
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On believing in American Masters from the beginning and having a passion for the mission behind the series; on the struggles in finding funding for the series
Clip begins at: 06:15 - On the funding challenges and negotiating rights for a series like American Masters
Clip begins at: 13:14 - On the genesis of American Masters and how the idea for the series came to her; on choosing the artists for the series; on why there is no host on the series
Clip begins at: 21:05 - On the title American Masters; on doing episodes about non-Americans; on how the subjects are chosen
Clip begins at: 28:31 - On programming changes to American Masters after it was cancelled because the subjects had been too obscure
Clip begins at: 34:00 - On where the viewership follows for American Masters; the particular subject matter or the brand's reputation
Clip begins at: 41:53 - On the American Masters episodes which one can really learn a lot from, like the Bob Dylan or Judy Garland episode: "it's a history lesson"
Clip begins at: 48:27 - Part 3
- On not being able to realize a vision for a film; such as the American Masters' on Lena Horne; on wanting to go back and revise some of the earlier episodes
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On American Masters' subjects she has become close to; Rod Serling, Gore Vidal; on feeling privileged to have the opportunity to tell their stories
Clip begins at: 03:03 - On the decision to give first-time filmmakers a chance to develop their talent; on how the subject and filmmaker are matched; on what sort of guidelines they are given
Clip begins at: 12:44 - On her management style and her team at PBS; on loving her work
Clip begins at: 23:31 - On who is on the shortlist to be featured on American Masters; on advances in technology; on their archival process; on what she's learned from working on the series
Clip begins at: 30:48 - On what she's learned about American culture and about artists; on the future of American Masters; on how to measure success
Clip begins at: 40:30 - On her advice to aspiring documentarians; on how she's like to be remembered
Clip begins at: 50:23
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I am writing to you after having seen the excellent documentary on Woody Allen with all the information provided, there seems to me to be two areas which were overlooked or not discussed in greater detail which I would have appreciated more about them. The first subject area- there was a great deal of attention paid, rightfully so, to his handling of mortality in his films and writings, but I feel that he has paid a great deal of attention to the subject of evil winning over good. Clearly, that was evident in Crimes and Misdeameanors and returned to it again in Match Point. Frankly, in my opinion, these are two of his best films. I am sorry that the documentary did not discuss these story lines and his own opinions in greater depth in that regard. What I believe is the second oversight was his use of music in all his films. Yes, the documentary did discuss the Gershwin score used in Manhattan and its related relevance. If anyone is interested in American pop music played in jazz format or not, most of Woody Allen's films would provide that music. Yet, no mention was made of it and or why Woody Allen uses the American pop song. In my opinion, just as most of his films are an homage to the city of NY, the same I believe, hold true for the American pop song by the way of his films. Since part two of the documentary ran only 1 and 1/2 hours, I would like to have seen an additional 1/2 hour devoted to these two subjects. I am writing to you in the hopes that you will respond to my comments or, if not, to kindly forward it to Robert Weide for his consideration. With appreciation, Sandy
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