Judy CrichtonJudy Crichton was among the first women to write, direct and produce documentaries at the CBS and ABC news divisions in the 1970s. Among her many works, she was most proud of "The CIA's Secret Army," which revealed the terrorist activities of Cuban eiles in Miami and the support they received from the CIA, and "The Battle for South Africa," one of the first U.S. media reports to interview future South Africa president, Thabo Mbeki.A lifelong New Yorker, Judy was born in 1930 and was married for over forty years to novelist Robert Crichton, who wrote the bestselling books, "The Great Impostor," "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" and "The Camerons." Judy chronicles their whirlwind courtship and difficult but thrilling marriage to her troubled yet charming husband in "Portrait of a Marriage: A Memoir."In the 1980s, Judy became founding executive producer of "American Experience," the landmark PBS history series. During her tenure, the series won seven Emmys; six Peabody Awards; five Writers Guild Awards; and two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Journalism Awards. In 1998, Judy received the Writers Guild's Evelyn F. Burkey Award, a lifetime achievement award presented annually to a television writer. In 2000, Judy was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Bill Clinton who said, "In creating and producing "American Experience," she set a new standard for what television documentaries can be. With talent, passion and purpose, Judy Crichton has elevated a medium she loves and lifted all those who watch it." Crichton's first book was "1900: The Turning Point" (Holt 1998) about the significant events of that pivotal year. Judy died in 2007 at the age of 77, leaving her memoir unfinished at the time of her death. Her daughter Jennifer edited and assembled the drafts her mother left behind, and gave the book the title Judy had always wanted to use, even though another book by the same title had been published in the 1970s: "Portrait of a Marriage." Read More Read Less