PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
Tonight’s installment covers the years 1945 to 1953 – the Baby Boom boom years – and focuses, among other things, on the evolution and emerging popularity of bluegrass, which would see mass acceptance thanks to The Beverly Hillbilliesand Bonnie and Clyde in the Sixties. Among the artists profiled tonight: Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and Hank Williams (pictured), also known by tonight’s program’s subtitle, “The Hillbilly Shakespeare.” Check local listings.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Sidney Poitier continues to be saluted by TCM every Tuesday this month – and tonight’s celebration begins with a prime-time triple-header that shows the actor at his powerful best, presenting an amazing range: first a determined inner-city teacher, then the ideal dinner date and potential husband, and finally a proud lawman sticking up for both himself and his race. And all three films were released in the single year of 1967. To Sir, with Love (8 p.m. ET, pictured) was one of my favorite movies as a young teen, and retains its charm. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (10 p.m. ET) pairs Poitier with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, playing the parents of a privileged white girl who brings a young black man home as her new boyfriend. And In the Heat of the Night (midnight ET) pairs Poitier with, and pits him against, incendiary actor Rod Steiger, in a film that, like the two preceding it, attacks racial attitudes with a vengeance – and a purpose. Watch all three films together, as you can this evening, and you get indisputable proof of the talent, power, and importance of Sidney Poitier.
