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AMERICAN MASTERS: Dr. Tony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci laughs while being interviewed in his home.
Courtesy of Topspin Content/ Room 608 / American Masters Pictures
/
PBS
Dr. Anthony Fauci laughs while being interviewed in his home.

Premieres Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV + Thursday, March 22 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2 / PBS App

Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name during the AIDS crisis of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The physician-scientist and immunologist has since served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President for seven different administrations in the U.S. In 2020, he found himself in the spotlight again as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the globe.

Beginning with the inauguration of President Joe Biden and spanning two years, AMERICAN MASTERS "Dr. Tony Fauci" captures America’s most prominent physician, as he reflects on the pandemics that have shaped his 50-year career.

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Follow Dr. Anthony Fauci as he grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and his 50-year career as the nation’s leading public health advocate. American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci reveals a rarely seen side of the physician, husband and father as he confronts political backlash, a new administration and questions of the future.

See Dr. Fauci at home, in his office and in the corridors of power, as he grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and his 50-year career as the nation’s leading public health advocate. "Dr. Tony Fauci" reveals a rarely seen side of the physician, husband and father as he confronts political backlash, a new administration and questions of the future. The film had its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 10, as part of the film festival’s documentary competition.

Dr. Fauci's response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s was first widely criticized by LGBTQIA+ activists. "We wanted treatment because we were sick ... And that's what led us to you," said AIDS activist David Barr. However, in later years he became a widely respected ally, eventually developing lifelong friendships with the activists.

Dr. Fauci’s prerogative to help others, including those who cannot afford medical treatment, is modeled upon his father’s compassionate service as a pharmacist in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He attended Cornell University Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medicine), where he specialized in adult internal medicine, focusing mainly on infectious diseases and the immune system.

Dr. Fauci and Muriel Bowser, mayor of D.C., visit the neighborhood of Anacostia and go door-to-door, encouraging residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and combating vaccine hesistancy.

Dr. Fauci graduated first in his class with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1966, completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (now NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center), and joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a clinical associate in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' (NIAID) Laboratory of Clinical Investigation in 1968. Dr. Fauci became the director of NIAID in 1984, and he has led the United States’ efforts against such viral diseases as HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola, COVID-19, and more.

Since the spring of 2020, Dr. Fauci has had 24/7 security. You feel like you have to be aware all the time that there's a possible danger," said his wife, Dr. Christine Grady.

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AMERICAN MASTERS is available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.

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Credits:

A production of Topspin Content and American Masters Pictures in association with Room 608, Inc. Directed by Mark Mannucci. Produced by Lia Dosik Carney, Eddie Barbini and Mark Mannucci. Laura Jespersen is co-producer. Michael Kantor is executive producer for AMERICAN MASTERS.

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