Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Acting

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Born

1950-09-16 (76)

Place of birth

Keyser, West Virginia, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

48 titles

Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. is an American historian, literary critic, filmmaker and public intellectual who currently serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

Known for

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon poster
5.8

After Jay Leno's second retirement from the program, Jimmy Fallon stepped in as his permanent replacement. After 42 years in Los Angeles the program was brought back to New York.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014

The Simpsons poster
8.0

Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.

The Simpsons

1989

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert poster
6.1

Stephen Colbert brings his signature satire and comedy to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the #1 show in late night, where he talks with an eclectic mix of guests about what is new and relevant in the worlds of politics, entertainment, business, music, technology, and more. Featuring bandleader Jon Batiste with his band Stay Human, the Emmy Award-nominated show is broadcast from the historic Ed Sullivan Theater.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015

The Colbert Report poster
7.0

The Colbert Report is an American satirical late night television program. It stars political humorist Stephen Colbert, a former correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Colbert Report is a spin-off from and counterpart to The Daily Show that comments on politics and the media in a similar way. The show focuses on a fictional anchorman character named Stephen Colbert, played by his real-life namesake. The character, described by Colbert as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot", is a caricature of televised political pundits.

The Colbert Report

2005

The View poster
4.3

ABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro discussing the most exciting events of the day. Hot topics in the news, the best experts in their field, celebrity interviews and general entertainment are all part of The View.

The View

1997

Jimmy Kimmel Live! poster
5.3

Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

2003

Film credits

2020s · 6 titles

The Gettysburg Address poster
NR

In the midst of the Civil War, President Lincoln went to Gettysburg. "The Gettysburg Address" investigates the five extant copies of Lincoln's famous speech, separating fact from fiction along the way. Lincoln's greater journey to Gettysburg is chronicled, from his early anti-slavery sentiments as a poor farmer's son to his rousing orations as one of America's greatest leaders.

The Gettysburg Address

2025

W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause poster
6.0

Explore the life and legacy of notable Black scholar and civil rights pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois. From his birth, just five years after the Emancipation Proclamation; to his death, on the eve of the March on Washington in 1963, his legacy as an activist continues to resonate today.

W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause

2026

John Lewis: Good Trouble poster
4.7

The timely biopic focuses on John Lewis’ longstanding prominence as a civil rights champion and his continuing crusade for racial and social equality. The documentary illuminates the 80-year-old Congressman’s life as it chronicles the moments on the extraordinary journey that have shaped his place in history and make him such a galvanizing figure today as protests circle the globe. Lewis’ schedule has increased ten-fold as he has become the go-to figure for TV news shows, podcasts and newspapers and magazines from the Washington Post to Vanity Fair, commenting on and leading the way forward through today’s worldwide protests and demonstrations.

John Lewis: Good Trouble

2020

Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches poster
4.6

Acclaimed actors draw from five of Douglass’ legendary speeches, to represent a different moment in the tumultuous history of 19th century America as well as a different stage of Douglass’ long and celebrated life, while famed scholars provide context for the speeches, and remind us that Frederick Douglass’ words about racial injustice still resonate deeply today.

Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches

2022

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - The Fabric of America poster
NR

Explore the work of one of the most renowned, respected and popular cultural historians with this new retrospective documentary, which explores his work and how it has made history come alive for tens of millions of Americans.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - The Fabric of America

2024

Gospel Live! Presented By Henry Louis Gates, Jr. poster
NR

A one-of-a-kind musical celebration that honors the legacy and influence of Gospel music in America. Contemporary artists join celebrated gospel singers to perform their favorite gospel classics in this live companion to the Gospel docuseries.

Gospel Live! Presented By Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

2024

2010s · 7 titles

13th poster
7.8

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

13th

2016

No artwork available
NR

Actor Courtney B. Vance hosts this special celebrating Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s work with focus on his five quintessential documentary series about American, African and African American history for PBS.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America

2019

Nas: Time Is Illmatic poster
6.9

Time Is Illmatic is a feature length documentary film that delves deep into the making of Nas' 1994 debut album, Illmatic, and the social conditions that influenced its creation.

Nas: Time Is Illmatic

2014

Birth of a Movement poster
6.4

In 1915, Boston-based African American newspaper editor and activist William M. Trotter waged a battle against D.W. Griffith’s technically groundbreaking but notoriously Ku Klux Klan-friendly The Birth of a Nation, unleashing a fight that still rages today about race relations, media representation, and the power and influence of Hollywood. Birth of a Movement, based on Dick Lehr's book The Birth of a Movement: How Birth of a Nation Ignited the Battle for Civil Rights, captures the backdrop to this prescient clash between human rights, freedom of speech, and a changing media landscape.

Birth of a Movement

2017

Not Black Enough poster
7.8

A deep look at the class warfare and the contradictions that African-Americans face within their own community when many of them are ostracized because they are “not black enough.” An analysis of the reasons behind these absurd acts of hatred.

Not Black Enough

2017

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War poster
7.0

The series explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy, with millions of former slaves and free black people seeking out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law. Though tragically short-lived, this bold democratic experiment was, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, a ‘brief moment in the sun’ for African Americans, when they could advance, and achieve, education, exercise their right to vote, and run for and win public office.

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War

2019

America's Library poster
NR

With special access to the Library of Congress, rediscover the history and culture of America through rarely seen treasures unearthed from its extensive holdings - the largest in the world.

America's Library

2018

2000s · 3 titles

1990s · 2 titles

Series credits

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon poster
5.8

After Jay Leno's second retirement from the program, Jimmy Fallon stepped in as his permanent replacement. After 42 years in Los Angeles the program was brought back to New York.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon poster
5.8

After Jay Leno's second retirement from the program, Jimmy Fallon stepped in as his permanent replacement. After 42 years in Los Angeles the program was brought back to New York.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014

The Simpsons poster
8.0

Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.

The Simpsons

1989

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert poster
6.1

Stephen Colbert brings his signature satire and comedy to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the #1 show in late night, where he talks with an eclectic mix of guests about what is new and relevant in the worlds of politics, entertainment, business, music, technology, and more. Featuring bandleader Jon Batiste with his band Stay Human, the Emmy Award-nominated show is broadcast from the historic Ed Sullivan Theater.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015

The Colbert Report poster
7.0

The Colbert Report is an American satirical late night television program. It stars political humorist Stephen Colbert, a former correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Colbert Report is a spin-off from and counterpart to The Daily Show that comments on politics and the media in a similar way. The show focuses on a fictional anchorman character named Stephen Colbert, played by his real-life namesake. The character, described by Colbert as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot", is a caricature of televised political pundits.

The Colbert Report

2005

The View poster
4.3

ABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro discussing the most exciting events of the day. Hot topics in the news, the best experts in their field, celebrity interviews and general entertainment are all part of The View.

The View

1997

The View poster
4.3

ABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro discussing the most exciting events of the day. Hot topics in the news, the best experts in their field, celebrity interviews and general entertainment are all part of The View.

The View

1997

Jimmy Kimmel Live! poster
5.3

Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

2003

Finding Your Roots poster
6.5

Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.

Finding Your Roots

2012

Today with Jenna & Sheinelle poster
3.3

Talk show from NBC

Today with Jenna & Sheinelle

2019

Watchmen poster
7.6

Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, “Watchmen” embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.

Watchmen

2019

America: The Story of Us poster
8.2

From wagon trains crossing the untamed frontier to man's first steps on the moon, this series offers a compelling look at the people, inventions and events that helped forge the United States of America.

America: The Story of Us

2010

No artwork available
NR

Africa is a continent of magnificent treasures and cultures — from the breathtaking stone architecture of 1,000-year-old ruins in South Africa to an advanced 16th century international university in Timbuktu. However, for centuries, many of these African wonders have been hidden from the world, lost to the ravages of time, nature and repressive governments. Join Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, on the journey from Zanzibar to Timbuktu, the Nile River Valley to Great Zimbabwe, the slave coast of Guinea to the medieval monasteries of Ethiopia in search of the lost wonders of the African world.

Wonders of the African World

1999

No artwork available
8.0

Faces of America is a four-part Public Broadcasting Service Public television television series hosted by Professor Henry Louis Gates. The series originally aired February 10 – March 3, 2010 from 8–9 p.m. ET. In Australia, this program aired on SBS One each Sunday at 7:30pm from 9 -30 January 2011. It uses genealogical research and genetics to find the family history of 12 Americans: Elizabeth Alexander, Mario Batali, Stephen Colbert, Louise Erdrich, Malcolm Gladwell, Eva Longoria, Yo-Yo Ma, Mike Nichols, Queen Noor of Jordan, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Meryl Streep, and Kristi Yamaguchi. In the series finale, Gates explored the emerging use of full genome sequencing to understand personal ancestry and health, by learning what might be inferred from his whole genome sequence, and that of his father, through in-depth analysis by a personal genomics company and the Broad Institute. In 2012, PBS aired another miniseries entitled Finding Your Roots also examining questions of genealogy and genetics, and hosted by Gates.

Faces of America

2010

Great Railway Journeys poster
7.0

Great Railway Journeys, originally titled Great Railway Journeys of the World, is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figure from the arts or media, would make a journey by train, usually through a country or to a destination to which they had a personal connection. There were four series broadcast on BBC Two between 1980 and 1999, with the shorter series title being used for all but the first. In 2010 a similar series also aired on BBC Two, Great British Railway Journeys.

Great Railway Journeys

1980

Great Migrations: A People on the Move poster
NR

Explores the transformative impact of Black migration on American culture and society. From the waves of Black Americans to the North—and back South—over the last century to the growing number of immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean today, movement is a defining feature of the Black experience.

Great Migrations: A People on the Move

2025

America's Great Divide: From Obama to Trump poster
NR

A deep look into the growing divide in America from the Barack Obama era through the presidency of Donald Trump.

America's Great Divide: From Obama to Trump

2020

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War poster
7.0

Explore the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy.

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War

2019

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. poster
10.0

Professor Gates describes the history of the African American people by talking to historians, authors, and the people who made history.

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

2013

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. poster
10.0

Professor Gates describes the history of the African American people by talking to historians, authors, and the people who made history.

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

2013

Africa's Great Civilizations poster
7.7

Henry Louis Gates Jr. takes a look at the history of Africa, from the birth of humankind to the dawn of the 20th century. A breathtaking and personal journey through two hundred thousand years of history, from the origins, on the African continent, of art, writing and civilization itself, through the millennia in which Africa and Africans shaped not only their own rich civilizations, but also the wider world.

Africa's Great Civilizations

2017

Gospel poster
10.0

Dig deep into the origin story of Black gospel music, coming out of slavery, blending with the blues tradition, and soaring to new heights during the Great Migration. From Mahalia to Kirk Franklin, in the last century, gospel music has become the dominant form of African American religious expression and provided a soundtrack of healing and uplift to those at the front lines of protest and change.

Gospel

2024

America Beyond the Color Line poster
7.5

Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard's chair of Afro-American Studies, travels the length and breadth of the United States to take the temperature of black America at the start of the new century. He explores this rich and diverse landscape, social as well as geographic, and meets the people who are defining black America, from the most famous and influential to those at the grassroots.

America Beyond the Color Line

2004

Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History poster
5.3

Four-part docuseries that explores the complex relationship between Black Americans and Jewish Americans - forged in shared struggle, tested by division, and representing a uniquely American experience.

Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History

2026

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song poster
NR

The 400-year-old story of the black church in America, the changing nature of worship spaces, and the men and women who shepherded them from the pulpit, the choir loft, and church pews.

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song

2021

Making Black America poster
6.0

A chronicle of the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people—beyond the reach of the “White gaze.” Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. sits with noted scholars, politicians, cultural leaders, and old friends to discuss this world behind the color line and what it looks like today.

Making Black America

2022

Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise poster
9.0

A look at the last five decades of African American history since the major civil rights victories through the eyes of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., exploring the tremendous gains and persistent challenges of these years.

Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

2016

Behind the camera

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War poster
7.0

The series explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy, with millions of former slaves and free black people seeking out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law. Though tragically short-lived, this bold democratic experiment was, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, a ‘brief moment in the sun’ for African Americans, when they could advance, and achieve, education, exercise their right to vote, and run for and win public office.

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War

2019

Leaving Cleaver poster
NR

In March 1997, social activist, former Black Panther, and author, Eldridge Cleaver sat down with Henry Louis Gates Jr. for a discussion of his life as a civil rights activist. It would be the last major interview Cleaver gave before his death in May 1998. This film draws on the 1997 interview, archival footage, and commentary from Cleaver's former wife Kathleen, as well as audio tapes of a 1975 interview that Gates did with Cleaver in Paris.

Leaving Cleaver

1999

Looking for Lincoln poster
NR

Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s quest to piece together Lincoln's complex life takes him from Illinois to Gettysburg to Washington, D.C. and face-to-face with people who live with Lincoln every day -- relic hunters, re-enactors and others for whom the study of Lincoln is a passion.

Looking for Lincoln

2009