| Genre: | Historical anthology |
| Director: | Lamont Johnson Daniel Petrie José Quintero Michael Ritchie (film director) Alexander Singer |
| Theme Music Composer: | Nelson Riddle |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Executive Producer: | Robert Saudek |
| Producer: | Gordon Oliver |
| Camera: | Single-camera |
| Runtime: | 44 mins. |
| Company: | Robert Saudek Associates |
| Channel: | NBC |
Profiles in Courage is an American historical anthology series that was telecast weekly on NBC from November 8, 1964, to May 9, 1965 (Sundays, 6:30–7:30 p.m., Eastern and Pacific Time). The series is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1956 book Profiles in Courage by U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated the previous November.
The series lasts for 26 episodes, each of which features a figure from American history who took an unpopular stand during a critical moment in the nation's history. Seven of the eight senators from Kennedy's book are profiled, with the exception of Mississippi's Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar. Music for the opening and closing theme is arranged by Nelson Riddle, based on the Irish ballad The Boys of Wexford, home of Kennedy's ancestors.
Each episode ends with a recording of Kennedy's voice declaring that, "These stories of past courage can teach... they can offer hope and they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this, each man must look into his own soul."
Of the 26 episodes, three teleplays profile women: Episode 2: high school teacher Mary S. McDowell in 1918; Episode 9: Puritan reformer Anne Hutchinson in 1637 (the earliest time frame depicted in any episode); Episode 15: schoolteacher Prudence Crandall in 1832.
| Episode # | Episode era and historical detail behind the individual profile in courage | Episode title (names in bold are subjects of chapters in Kennedy's book) | Year of birth | Year of death | Actor portrayal | Original airdate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | 1924 Democratic National Convention#Ku Klux Klan presence — Alabama Senator Oscar Underwood opposes the Ku Klux Klan | Oscar W. Underwood | 1862 | 1929 | Sidney Blackmer | November 8, 1964 | ||
| 1-2 | 1918 Brooklyn high school teacher Mary Stone McDowell#Her firing as a teacher for refusing to encourage her students' purchase of World War I Liberty Bonds | Mary S. McDowell | 1876 | 1955 | Rosemary Harris | November 15, 1964 | ||
| 1-3 | 1850 Compromise — Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton#Later Senate career and tension | Thomas Hart Benton | 1782 | 1858 | Brian Keith | November 29, 1964 | ||
| 1-4 | 1894 University of Wisconsin professor Richard T. Ely#Education and career in defense of academic freedom | Richard T. Ely | 1854 | 1943 | Dan O'Herlihy | December 6, 1964 | ||
| 1-5 | 1861 Texas in the American Civil War#Governor Sam Houston refuses to sanction Texas' secession from the Union | Sam Houston | 1793 | 1863 | J. D. Cannon | December 13, 1964 | ||
| 1-6 | 1915 Leo Frank#Commutation of sentence by Georgia Governor John Slaton | John M. Slaton | 1866 | 1955 | Walter Matthau | December 20, 1964 | ||
| 1-7 | 1770 defense attorney and future President | John Adams | 1735 | 1826 | David McCallum | December 27, 1964 | ||
| 1-8 | 1946 Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft#Condemnation of Nuremberg Trials | Robert A. Taft | 1889 | 1953 | Lee Tracy | January 3, 1965 | ||
| 1-9 | 1637 Massachusetts Bay Colony Antinomian Controversy — Boston midwife and Puritan religious reformer Anne Hutchinson | Anne Hutchinson | 1591 | 1643 | Wendy Hiller | January 10, 1965 | ||
| 1-10 | 1838 Missouri Militia Brigadier General Alexander William Doniphan#The 1838 Mormon War | Alexander William Doniphan | 1808 | 1887 | Peter Lawford | January 17, 1965 | ||
| 1-11 | 1893 Haymarket affair#Pardon and historical characterization — Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld | John Peter Altgeld | 1847 | 1902 | Burgess Meredith | January 24, 1965 | ||
| 1-12 | 1843 escaped slave Frederick Douglass#Abolitionist and preacher risks recapture into slavery | Frederick Douglass | 1817 | 1895 | Robert Hooks | January 31, 1965 | ||
| 1-13 | 1850 Compromise — Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster#Taylor administration, 1849–1850 | Daniel Webster | 1782 | 1852 | Martin Gabel | February 7, 1965 | ||
| 1-14 | 1916 President Woodrow Wilson Supreme Court candidates#Louis Brandeis nomination | Woodrow Wilson | 1856 | 1924 | Whit Bissell | February 14, 1965 | ||
| 1-15 | 1832 Canterbury Female Boarding School#Trials of Prudence Crandall, Connecticut schoolteacher and activist for education of black girls | Prudence Crandall | 1803 | 1890 | Janice Rule | February 21, 1965 | ||
| 1-16 | 1860 Tennessee Senator and future President Andrew Johnson#Secession crisis | Andrew Johnson | 1808 | 1875 | Walter Matthau | February 28, 1965 | ||
| 1-17 | 1869 President Ulysses S. Grant's Secretary of State Hamilton Fish#Cuban belligerency and insurrection 1869–1870 | Hamilton Fish | 1808 | 1893 | Henry Jones | March 7, 1965 | ||
| 1-18 | 1920 Socialist Party of America#Expulsion of Socialists from the New York Assembly — Charles Evans Hughes#Presidential candidate | Charles Evans Hughes | 1862 | 1948 | Kent Smith | March 14, 1965 | ||
| 1-19 | 1868 Kansas Senator Edmund G. Ross#Andrew Johnson impeachment deciding vote | Edmund G. Ross | 1826 | 1907 | Bradford Dillman | March 21, 1965 | ||
| 1-20 | 1917 American entry into World War I#Declaration of war — Nebraska Senator George W. Norris#Senator leads filibuster against Armed Ships Bill | George W. Norris | 1861 | 1944 | Tom Bosley | March 28, 1965 | ||
| 1-21 | 1887 Grover Cleveland#Vetoes pension bills — Grand Army of the Republic#History | Grover Cleveland | 1837 | 1908 | Carroll O'Connor | April 4, 1965 | ||
| 1-22 | 1807 John Quincy Adams#U.S. Senator from Massachusetts — support for Embargo Act of 1807 | John Quincy Adams | 1767 | 1848 | Douglas Campbell | April 11, 1965 | ||
| 1-23 | 1807 Burr conspiracy#Trial — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall#Burr conspiracy trial | John Marshall | 1755 | 1835 | Gary Merrill | April 18, 1965 | ||
| - | 1-24 | 1906 Denver judge and social reformer Ben B. Lindsey#Juvenile court advocacy | Benjamin Barr Lindsey | 1869 | 1943 | George Grizzard | April 25, 1965 | |
| - | 1-25 | 1787 Founding Father from Virginia George Mason#Road to dissent and refusal to sign the Constitution until it contained a Bill of Rights | George Mason | 1725 | 1792 | Laurence Naismith | May 2, 1965 | |
| - | 1-26 | 1847 Ohio Senator Thomas Corwin#Political career delivers a speech in opposition to the Mexican War | Thomas Corwin | 1794 | 1865 | George Rose | May 9, 1965 |
The series won two awards; a Peabody Award for Robert Saudek and a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television.
Episodes of Profiles in Courage on the Internet Archive