The Greatest American

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The Greatest American
Presented byMatt Lauer
Country of originUnited States
Production
Executive producers
  • Jason Raff
  • Elyse Zaccaro
Original release
NetworkDiscovery Channel
ReleaseJune 5 (2005-06-05) –
June 26, 2005 (2005-06-26)

The Greatest American is a 2005 American television series hosted by Matt Lauer. The four-part series featured biographies and lists of influential persons in American history, and culminated in a contest in which millions in the audience nominated and voted for the person they believed is the "greatest American".

Format[edit]

The Greatest American is broken into four episodes. The first episode introduces the 25 finalists based on a vote conducted early in 2005. The second episode features biographies of the finalists and allows viewers to vote for the top five nominees. The third episode introduces the top five nominees with commentaries from celebrities.[1] In the finale, viewers participate in another vote for the first 15 minutes[2] before the greatest American, according to the series, is announced.[1]

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

Man speaking with a microphone in his right hand
Matt Lauer in 2005

In January 2005, the Discovery Channel and AOL announced The Greatest American, a seven-hour-long miniseries, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Discovery Channel.[3] On January 21, Discovery and AOL began conducting a vote to determine the greatest American based on, according to an Associated Press report, who "most influenced the way they think, work and live".[4] Later in February, it was revealed that Matt Lauer would host the show.[3] He took the role partly because of the debate the series could generate, similar to that surrounding the high ranking of Diana, Princess of Wales, in the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons.[5] Voting continued until spring.[6]

Jason Raff and Elyse Zaccaro served as executive producers of The Greatest American.[7] Ann Coulter makes an appearance.[8] Tom Westman also makes an appearance to voice his support for Benjamin Franklin,[9] whom Ralph Archbold portrays in the series.[10]

Voting[edit]

Nominees[edit]

The 100 nominees for the title of "greatest American" were unveiled on April 18,[6] when over 500,000 votes had already been cast.[11] Discovery's alphabetized list included:[12]

Finalists[edit]

By June, the 25 finalists were unveiled.[18] In alphabetical order, the finalists include:[19]

Results[edit]

The American public cast a total of over 2.4 million votes through telephone lines, text messages, and email correspondence. The names with the most votes were:[20][21]

  1. Ronald Reagan
  2. Abraham Lincoln
  3. Martin Luther King Jr.
  4. George Washington
  5. Benjamin Franklin
  6. George W. Bush
  7. Bill Clinton
  8. Elvis Presley
  9. Oprah Winfrey
  10. Franklin D. Roosevelt
  11. Billy Graham
  12. Thomas Jefferson
  13. Walt Disney
  14. Albert Einstein[b]
  15. Thomas Edison
  16. John F. Kennedy
  17. Bob Hope[c]
  18. Bill Gates
  19. Eleanor Roosevelt
  20. Lance Armstrong
  21. Muhammad Ali
  22. Rosa Parks
  23. The Wright Brothers
  24. Henry Ford
  25. Neil Armstrong

Broadcast[edit]

The first episode was broadcast on June 5, 2005, the second on June 12, the third on June 19, and the finale on June 26.[1]

Reception[edit]

The list of the 100 nominees, many of whom were entertainers, inventors, industrialists and presidents,[11] was criticized upon its unveiling. Ann DeFrange of The Oklahoman questioned the significance of the celebrities,[22] as did David M. Shribman.[23] Kevin McDonough of United Feature Syndicate called the list "fascinating in a depressing way, revealing the short attention spans and media-obsessed nature of our times".[24]

Shortly after Ronald Reagan received the title of the greatest American, his son, Ron, told Discovery that his father's then-recent death was a possible factor and that "I'm sure he would be very honored to be in the company of these great gentlemen."[20]

In the years following the 2005 broadcast, the list of nominees and the final rankings have elicited continuous re-evaluation and criticism. Andrew Manis believed that it would have been unlikely for Martin Luther King Jr. to land near fifth place had most of the audience "been fully aware of King's radically prophetic theology and social ethics", citing a conservative shift and the Reagan Revolution in the 1980s.[25] Paul Kengor used The Greatest American to justify Reagan's popularity among the general public.[26] Abshalom Jac Lahav said he was inspired by the top 100 nominees list to create the exhibit, The Great Americans, featuring 34 paintings of well-known and lesser-known subjects "dressed in anachronistic or symbolic costuming".[27] In 2019, Susan Dunne of the Hartford Courant commented that the reputations of certain nominees, notably Donald Trump, Bill Cosby, and Michael Jackson, had changed negatively or positively since the 2005 broadcast.[27]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Obtained American citizenship[13]
  2. ^ a b c Obtained American citizenship[14]
  3. ^ a b c Obtained American citizenship[15]
  4. ^ Obtained American citizenship[16]
  5. ^ Obtained American citizenship[17]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Viewers Pick 'Greatest American'". The Washington Post. June 5, 2005. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  2. ^ McAlister, Nancy (June 26, 2005). "Viewers cast Votes to help Determine who is the "Greatest American"". Record Searchlight. p. 3. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Lauer to Host Discovery's Greatest American". Multichannel News. February 9, 2005. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  4. ^ Drezner, Daniel W. (January 21, 2005). "The Greatest Americans?". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Bobbin, Jay (June 5, 2005). "Matt Lauer guides viewers in picking 'Greatest American'". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 268. Retrieved June 21, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.
  6. ^ a b "Nominees for 'Greatest American' unveiled". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Beauchamp 2010, p. 854.
  8. ^ Celizic, Mike (January 7, 2009). "Ann Coulter 'delighted' she isn't banned from NBC". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  9. ^ Murphy, William (July 5, 2005). "Survivor may call it quits". Newsday. p. 14. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Huntington 2006, p. 66.
  11. ^ a b Skillings, Jon (May 12, 2005). "Is Bill Gates the greatest American ever?". CNET. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  12. ^ "The Top 100". Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Cleall 2022, p. 220.
  14. ^ Isaacson 2007, p. 479.
  15. ^ Zoglin 2014, p. 44.
  16. ^ Leamer 2005, p. 155.
  17. ^ Carlson 2013, p. 138.
  18. ^ Walker, Jesse (June 29, 2005). "The Greatest American Heroes (Believe It Or Not)". Reason. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  19. ^ Wilson, Jamie (June 7, 2005). "It's Ali v Oprah in search for greatest American". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Wilson, Jamie (June 27, 2005). "The greatest American? Lincoln? Einstein? No - it's Ronald Reagan". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  21. ^ Gregory, Anthony (June 28, 2005). "The Greatest Americans". LewRockwell.com Blog. Archived from the original on September 8, 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  22. ^ DeFrange, Ann (June 14, 2005). "List of greatest Americans contains some odd selections". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  23. ^ Shribman, David M. (June 12, 2005). "Who will emerge as greatest American?". The Blade. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  24. ^ McDonough, Kevin (June 4, 2005). "'Southern Rock' looks at earlier era". The Spokesman-Review. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  25. ^ Manis 2008, p. 185.
  26. ^ Kengor 2009, pp. 103–104.
  27. ^ a b Dunne, Susan (February 19, 2019). "From Abe to RBG to Oprah: Great and famous Americans as never seen before". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.

Works cited[edit]

Books[edit]

Chapters[edit]

Journal articles[edit]

External links[edit]

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