NET Playhouse Biography; George Washington: Portrait of the Hero as a Young Man
- Series
- NET Playhouse Biography
- Producing Organization
- WQED
- WQED (Television station : Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- WQED (Television station : Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Contributing Organization
- WQED (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/120-32d7wq49
- NOLA Code
- NPBW
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- Description
- Program Description
- George Washington as a young officer facing his first command decisions in battle is portrayed by Rene Auberjonois, winner of Broadway's Tony Award for best supporting actor (opposite Katharine Hepburn in "Coco"), in this program produced on location in Western Pennsylvania by WQED, Pittsburgh. Auberjonois, who is currently starring in the Lincoln Center production of "Twelfth Night," is supported in this play by Lyle Bettger and George Montgomery. The former plays the role of James Mackay, commander of a South Carolina armed force that joins Washington in a battle against the French; the latter is seen in the role of Christopher Gist, an English plantation owner who represents a peace-seeking faction. The time is 1754. Washington, a young lt. colonel in the provincial forces fighting for English interests, assumes his first command in what is today Western Pennsylvania. He is leading the First Virginia Regiment 300 hastily recruited volunteer militiamen, poorly trained and poorly equipped in a military maneuver against the French forces who have erected the strong Fort Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio (now the site of Pittsburgh). The Virginia regiment comes from the southeast, across the mountains, and its men are exhausted as they reach a point some 50 miles east of the Forks. The last mountain ridge lies between them and Fort Duquesne. It is here, at Fort Necessity, that Washington will face his first major battle and the first mental anguish of command. Washington is portrayed as an impetuous young man, eager for command and glory, confident that his men, reinforced before battle by the South Carolina company, will defeat an enemy whose forces are reported to number 1,500. His confidence has been bolstered by his defeat of a small French detachment, taken by surprise on Laurel Ridge. The battle of Fort Necessity is revealed as a character-building episode in the life of Washington. For the first time he makes decisions that mean life or death to the men under him, knowing he is outnumbered by forces that are better equipped and more experienced than his own raw recruits. During this encounter, Washington begins to change from the brash, self-confident young man, dubbed the "Virginia firebrand," to a more introspective, cautious leader, learning the responsibilities and burdens of command. He receives opposing counsel from his subordinates. "Portrait of the Hero as a Young Man" is a presentation of the national programming division of WNET/13, produced by WQED, Pittsburgh. It was transmitted nationally by PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service. This 90-minute piece was recorded in color on film. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1972-04-13
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Drama
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
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Actor: Miller, Michael
Actor: Miller, Michael
Actor: Auberjonois, Rene
Actor: Auberjonois, Rene
Actor: Schmidtke, Ned
Actor: Schmidtke, Ned
Actor: Montgomer, George
Actor: Montgomer, George
Actor: Bettger, Lyle
Actor: Bettger, Lyle
Actor: Erhart, Thomas
Actor: Erhart, Thomas
Associate Director: Dick, Stephen
Associate Producer: Altman, Charles
Cinematographer: Brock, Norris
Cinematographer: Goldsmith, Paul
Costume Designer: Anderson, Barbara
Costume Designer: Anderson, Barbara
Costume Designer: Anderson, Cletus
Costume Designer: Anderson, Cletus
Director: Brauchitsch, Mathias von
Director: Brauchitsch, Mathias von
Editor: Brock, Norris
Executive Producer: Venza, Jac
Executive Producer: Venza, Jac
Executive Producer: Fayvid, Jay
Producer: Brauchitsch, Mathias von
Producer: Cherones, Tom
Producer: Cherones, Tom
Producer: Brauchitsch, Mathias von
Producing Organization: WQED
Producing Organization: WQED (Television station : Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Producing Organization: WQED (Television station : Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Sound: Hliddal, Peter
Writer: Katz, Leon
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WQED-TV
Identifier: 2433 (WQED)
Format: 2 inch videotape: Quad
Duration: 01:27:50
-
WQED-TV
Identifier: 10935 (WQED)
Format: Betacam: SP
Generation: Dub
Duration: 01:27:50
-
WQED-TV
Identifier: 10936 (WQED)
Format: 1 inch videotape
Generation: Dub
Duration: 01:27:50
-
WQED-TV
Identifier: 4947 (WQED)
Format: U-matic
-
WQED-TV
Identifier: 4949 (WQED)
Format: U-matic
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2471548-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 2 inch videotape
Generation: Master
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- Citations
- Chicago: “NET Playhouse Biography; George Washington: Portrait of the Hero as a Young Man,” 1972-04-13, WQED, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 23, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-120-32d7wq49.
- MLA: “NET Playhouse Biography; George Washington: Portrait of the Hero as a Young Man.” 1972-04-13. WQED, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 23, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-120-32d7wq49>.
- APA: NET Playhouse Biography; George Washington: Portrait of the Hero as a Young Man. Boston, MA: WQED, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-120-32d7wq49