''The Lives of Benjamin Franklin'' is a 1974 American

television miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

that chronicles the life of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

. The series was broadcast by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

and won five Emmy Awards, including the award for Outstanding Limited Series.Scott, Vernon (20 May 1975)
Mary's show most popular
''Desert Sun'', p. A-2 (UPI content)

Howard Fast Howard Melvin Fast (November 11, 1914 – March 12, 2003) was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E.V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson. Biography Early life Fast was born in New York City. His mother, ...

won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the first installment (The Ambassador).

Glenn Jordan Glenn Jordan (born April 5, 1936) is a retired American television director and producer. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Jordan directed multiple episodes of ''Family'' and helmed numerous television movies, several based on real persons as divers ...

was also nominated for

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series is presented to the best directing of a television drama series, usually for a particular episode.Though this category is the dominant one in which dramatic directing has been ...

for The Ambassador episode, and

Loring Mandel Loring Mandel (May 5, 1928 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright and screenwriter whose notable works include the TV movie ''Conspiracy''. He wrote for radio, television, film and the stage. Early and personal life Mandel was a native of ...

was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for The Whirlwind episode.Emmys.com listings
emmys.com, Retrieved 14 September 2020 The four 90-minute episodes(1 September 1974)
Specials for the season
''San Bernardino Sun'' debuted on November 21 and December 17, 1974, and January 9 and 28, 1975. O'Connor, John J. (21 November 1974)
TV: Sly, Amusing Benjamin Franklin
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', p. 95. O'Connor, John J. (17 December 1974)
TV: CBS Dramas on Ben Franklin Going Smoothly
''

'', p, 75. O'Connor, John J. (28 January 1975)
TV: Enlightening Study of Franklin Ends Tonight
''

'', p. 67.Gardella, Kay (21 November 1974)
Ben Franklin Star of Bicentennial Series
'' New York Daily News'', p. 59.*31 July 1974)
Get a Line on the Real Ben
''Indianapolis News'' (details of upcoming series; incorrectly reports that Franklin had 13 illegitimate children, a common false tale)

Cast

Willie Aames Willie Aames, also credited as Willie Ames, (born Albert William Upton, July 15, 1960) is an American actor, film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing Tommy Bradford, one of the children of ...

as Franklin at age 12 * Beau Bridges as Franklin the young man *

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

as Franklin the diplomat *

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, ''Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...

as Franklin the rebel *

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchk ...

as Franklin the elder statesman

References

External links

*
Charles Lisanby on designing the sets for the miniseries Benjamin Franklin
(video), televisionacademy.com 1974 television films 1974 films American biographical series American television docudramas 1970s American television miniseries Peabody Award-winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners 1974 drama films Television series about the American Revolution Works about Benjamin Franklin Cultural depictions of Benjamin Franklin Films directed by Glenn Jordan 1970s English-language films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub