The Rise of the Religious Right in America
PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES
CALVIN SKAGGS
Executive Producer
Calvin Skaggs, who is president of Lumiere Productions, has produced and directed in theater, film and television. His most recent theatrical feature, Fly By Night, won the Filmmakers' Trophy for Best Dramatic Film at Sundance in 1993. Another theatrical film, On Valentine's Day, was selected as the official American entry in the Venice Film Festival in 1986. The New York Times called his feature-length adaptation of James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain "the best American television film of the year." For television, Skaggs has produced over two dozen films, including the much-acclaimed series, THE AMERICAN SHORT STORY, as well as distinguished work for PBS series such as AMERICAN MASTERS, AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE, and WONDERWORKS. Skaggs grew up in Missouri and Arkansas. He has a B.A. from Henderson State College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University in American Literature.
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DAVID VAN TAYLOR
Series Producer
David Van Taylor co-produced and co-directed the new, critically acclaimed feature documentary A Perfect Candidate, a behind-the-scenes look at Oliver North's Senate campaign. The Washington Post called it "one of a small handful of essential films about politics in this country," while The New York Times termed it "a fine, trenchant documentary...it would be hard to find a more chilling portrait of the American electoral process." Van Taylor has written, directed, and edited documentaries since 1986, including work for such diverse sources as the Ford Foundation and TV Nation with Michael Moore. His film Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance vs. Judas Priest received a 1993 Emmy nomination and won the International Documentary Association Award. Van Taylor graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Sociology and Afro-American Studies.
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CLIFF ROBERTSON
Narrator
Cliff Robertson began acting on Broadway in the mid-fifties. His long and distinguished career includes roles in the theatrical films Picnic; The Best Man; Autumn Leaves; J.W. Coop (which he wrote, directed and starred in); Out of Season; The Devil's Brigade; Three Days of the Condor; Obsession; and Star 80 (Bob Fosse's last film). He received an Academy Award for his acclaimed performance in the title role of Charly, and was personally chosen by President Kennedy to portray the President's exploits as a Navy Lieutenant in the film PT-109. On television Mr. Robertson was a regular cast member of FALCON CREST, and appeared in numerous miniseries and motion pictures for television. Among his more recent credits are the the miniseries Key to Rebecca and The Man and the Machine (as Henry Ford); Ghosts of '87, a one-man special about the Constitution; and the motion picture-for-television Dead Reckoning.
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BENNETT SINGER
Producer, Episode 5
Bennett Singer came up through the ranks at the documentary production company Blackside, working as associate producer on EYES ON THE PRIZE II and THE GREAT DEPRESSION, both broadcast on PBS. He subsequently produced Hollow Liberty for the ITVS series THE QUESTION OF EQUALITY. Bennett, who also has a background in publishing and multimedia, produced The Letter from a Birmingham Jail, a multimedia database, and co-edited and wrote for several of Blackside's companion publications. He holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University.
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JERRET ENGLE
Producer, Episode 6
Jerret Engle conceived and produced a feature documentary which had the rare distinction of having received all three prizes for documentaries at the 1993 Sundance Festival: Audience Award, Jury Prize, and Filmmaker's Trophy -- as well as the International Documentary Award. Her film, Something Within Me, is a dramatic portrait of an inner-city school with an innovative music curriculum. Prior to her filmmaking career, Jerret was an editor at E.P. Dutton. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Michigan.
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WILLIAM MARTIN
Chief Consultant and Author of Companion Book
William Martin served as chief consultant to the documentary series, and is the author of the companion volume, WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE: The Rise of the Religious Right in America, to be published in September 1996 by Broadway Books. Mr. Martin teaches sociology at Rice University, where he is the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Professor of Religion and Public Policy in the Department of Sociology, as well as Senior Scholar at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. A graduate of Abilene Christian University, he also received B.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard. He has written a number of books, including A Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story, and more than 100 articles for publications such as The Atlantic, Esquire, Harper's, Texas Monthly.
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