The Jacksons: An American Dream

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The Jacksons: An American Dream
DVD cover
Written by	Joyce Eliason
Directed by	Karen Arthur
Starring	Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs Angela Bassett Holly Robinson Peete Margaret Avery Alex Burrall Jermaine Jackson Jr. Bumper Robinson Floyd Meyers Jr. Monica Calhoun Jason Weaver Angel Vargas Terrence Howard Vanessa Williams Billy Dee Williams Wylie Draper Colin Steele
Theme music composer	Harold Wheeler
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	2
Production
Producers	Suzanne de Passe Joyce Eliason Jermaine Jackson Margaret Maldonado Stan Margulies
Running time	300 min.
Production companies	Motown Productions KJS Films PolyGram Filmed Entertainment de Passe Entertainment Stan Margulies Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	November 15 (1992-11-15) – November 18, 1992 (1992-11-18)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Jacksons: An American Dream is an American five-hour epic miniseries broadcast in two halves on ABC and originally broadcast on November 15 through November 18, 1992.^[1] It spans five decades, beginning with the rise of the Jackson family, one of the most successful musical families in show business, from a midwestern steel town to the early and successful years of the popular Motown group the Jackson 5.

The miniseries was executive produced by Suzanne de Passe and Stan Margulies, produced by Joyce Eliason, Jermaine Jackson and Margaret Maldonado, and directed by Karen Arthur. The movie was filmed in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, where director Arthur had previously filmed her feature film Lady Beware. The miniseries features an all-star cast, including Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as the Jacksons' patriarch Joseph Jackson, Angela Bassett as the family matriarch Katherine Jackson. Abolade David Olatunde, Alex Burrall, Jason Weaver and the late Wylie Draper, who died the following year, played Michael Jackson in different eras, while Bumper Robinson and Terrence Howard played Jackie Jackson in different eras. Shakiem Jamar Evans and Angel Vargas played Tito Jackson, Margaret Avery played Katherine's mother, Martha Scruse, Holly Robinson Peete played Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams played Berry Gordy, and Vanessa Williams played Suzanne de Passe.

The Jacksons: An American Dream is based on Katherine Jackson's My Family autobiography. A critical and commercial success, the program won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Choreography, while the performances of Hilton-Jacobs and Bassett received widespread acclaim.