THE INCREDIBLE TURK
From the one-hour premiere episode "Churchill, Man of the Century" (20 October 1957) to its last episode The 20th Century unit produced 112 half-hour historical compilation of films and 107 half-hour "originally photographed documentaries" or contemporary documentaries. Narrated by Walter Cronkite, the series of achieved critical praise, a substantial audience, and a dedicated sponsor, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, primarily with its historical compilation films. The compilation documentaries combined actuality footage from disparate archival sources -- national and international, public and private -- with testimony from eyewitnesses, to represent history. ...
Burton Benjamin, whose career at CBS News began as the series' producer and progressed to executive producer, radically revised the concept. He stressed compilations focused on one man's impact on his times or an event ("Patton and the Third Army", "Woodrow Wilson: The Fight for Piece"). These were to be interspersed with more traditional biographical sketches of individual lives ("Gandhi" and "Admiral Byrde"). Benjamin also added a mix of "back of the book" stories, or historical episodes receiving scant attention in history texts and unfamiliar to the general public. These "essays" dealt with individuals, such as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ("The Incredible Turk"). ... Narration reflects the Cold War perspectives of the era.
Information compiled from http://www.museum.tv