On PBS: Bubbles Silverman

Wow, PBS has something good on this Thanksgiving, a documentary film called Beverly Sills: Made in America. It airs in most places on November 23 at 9 pm, but you have to check your local listings.

When 10-year-old Belle "Bubbles" Silverman told her father she wanted to be an "opera star," the reaction was more dismay than thrill. It was only after nearly three decades of hard work and grinding out a living that Bubbles -- better known as Beverly Sills -- rose to international fame and critical acclaim. Before retiring from professional singing in 1980 -- and commencing a famous second career as general director of New York City Opera, as well as chairman of both Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera -- Sills had circled the globe, triumphing in a host of leading roles from some of the world's most cherished operas. She also became a household name on television, costarring in numerous specials with friends like Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, and Carol Burnett, as well as guest-hosting THE TONIGHT SHOW for Johnny Carson. BEVERLY SILLS: MADE IN AMERICA is the story of a truly homegrown opera star, told firsthand in excerpts from talk-show interviews, with extended performance sequences from "Manon," "Julius Caesar," "Roberto Devereux," "The Barber of Seville," and many more operas.

The date, it goes without saying, means nothing in terms of when to set your Tivo. Of course, the pathetic WETA is not showing the program at all, but it will air on one public TV station in the Washington area, MPT 67 (November 23, 10 pm).

UPDATE:
I saw it, and it was an interesting program. The best bits were not the singing, which was pretty great, of course, but her appearances on various television shows. She was such a funny lady: you can see one of the excerpts they used, with Danny Kaye -- at YouTube, natch.