|
Ruth and Billy
Graham: What Grace Provides:
The Grahams' Love Story
Whether Protestant or Catholic,
Christian or non-Christian, nearly everyone in the world
knows the name Billy Graham. He has been lauded as the
greatest Christian evangelist of the 20th
century, and his voice has a familiar resonance on any
radio or television program. But while his fame stretches
the continents as a public figure, few people have ever
seen the human side of Billy Graham. Even fewer know
the story of the woman who made it possible for him
to travel so freely and whom he even called the "real
Christian of the family"--his wife, Ruth.
Ruth and Billy Graham: What Grace
Provides tells the intimate story of the wife and
marriage of the most powerful evangelist of the century.
Unlike any ordinary love story, the Grahams' story is
wrought with frequent heartwrenching partings and fierce
determination to stay together and do the jobs each
of them felt led to do.
Producer Donna Campbell includes
an original music score for the program, based on 18
of Ruth and Billy's favorite hymns and performed by
North Carolina musician Richard Putnam of Shelby, N.C.
The program traces the timeline from before Ruth's and
Billy's births and travels through their childhood,
decisions toward ministry, courtship, and marriage.
Clips from Billy Graham's Christian radio and television
shows introduce several people who became an influential
part of Billy's ministry, such as George Beverly Shea.
Walter Cronkite, former newscaster
for CBS and friend of the Grahams, provides the narration.
Based on contemporary interviews with the Grahams, their
family and friends, the documentary blends archival
footage from family photographs, early television and
home movies. Cronkite also reminisces about his own
relationship with the Grahams.
"I think a lot of us look upon Billy
Graham as being larger than life and one of those saints
or prophets up on a hill who is giving the Word," Lynda
Johnson Robb says. "But you know, he's a real person.
And the same about Mrs. Graham. She's not a plastic
saint."
"This program touches much more
on the Grahams' personal love story, and it especially
focuses on Ruth," says Donna Campbell, producer.
Several other familiar personalities
tell the story of the Grahams: mystery author Patricia
Cornwell, former First ladies Barbara Bush, Lady Bird
Johnson, inspirational singer George Beverly Shea, and
actress Andie McDowell. The documentary includes clips
from many of Billy's travels, highlights from the Grahams'
reception of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and scenes
from several televised interviews with Ruth. Rare family
photos and exclusive interviews with Billy's sisters
in Charlotte, Jean and Catherine, and Ruth's older sister,
Rosa, as well as footage from shows from 1956, "Person
To Person with Edward R. Murrow," and 1957, "This is
Your Life," blend the Grahams' family life with a snapshot
of Billy's ministry.
The idea for the Graham show grew
out of Campbell's 1999 documentary on George Beverly
Shea, Billy Graham's partner in ministry for 50 years.
Ruth, a woman of immeasurable character and strength
that often stood in her husband's shadow, particularly
fascinated Campbell.
"Billy's told me over and over again
that Ruth is the real Christian in the family," says
Barbara Bush. "I think when you are married to someone
whom people idolize, it's hard for the wife sometimes."
Ruth and Billy Graham: What Grace
Provides shares the joy and challenges of the Graham's
marriage and family life. Despite the couple's assurance
that they wouldn't trade a minute of their lives, both
dealt with the frequent hardship of Billy's long absences.
Sometimes Ruth would go with him, adding a playful banter
to his television spots. Most of the time she stayed
at home with their five children, maintaining the household
and writing poetry and personal anecdotes in her journal.
Verses of her poetry, as well as clips from her journal,
paint a vivid portrait of the woman behind the most
renowned evangelist in the world.
"I don't believe the world would
have a Billy Graham if it weren't for a Ruth Graham,"
says daughter Anne Graham Lotz. This is the story that
is about to be told.
UNC-TV is North Carolinas
only statewide broadcasting system, made possible through
a unique partnership of public investment and private
support. UNC-TVs commitment to producing and broadcasting
local and national programs about people of stature
makes it one of the states most important sources
of information. For more information about UNC-TV and
its programs, please visit www.unctv.org.
- UNC-TV -
|