Hampton is best known for his PBS series "Eyes on the Prize" about the civil rights movement. He said his intention was to tell the story in a way in which blacks were not the "victims." HIs other highly acclaimed documentaries were "America's War on Poverty" and "The Great Depression." HAMPTON had struggled since 1990 with lung cancer. He was 58. (REBROADCAST from 2/1/90)
Tonight, PBS debuts the documentary series, "America's War on Poverty: Untold Stories from the Front Line." The five-part series examines President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, which he declared during his State of the Union Address in January 1964. It included programs like Head Start, and Job Corps. Terry will talk with Executive Producer Henry Hampton and journalist and consultant Nicholas Lemann.
Documentary Producer Henry Hampton. In 1987 he produced the prize-winning documentary series on PBS, "Eyes on the Prize." The series documented the civil rights movement from 1954 to 1965. The New York Times' Walter Goodman called the series, "a moving documentary" in which "the nobility of America's civil-rights struggle comes through with the directness and strength of a spiritual." It's sequel, "Eyes on the Prize II," is now being broadcast and covers the movement from 1965 to the 1980s.