Simon and Garfunkel: Songs of America (1969): Cast

It follows Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel on stage, in the recording studio and on tour as they navigate a turbulent America. The program aired before the Bridge Over Troubled Water album’s release, giving viewers the first public hearing of its title track. Interwoven are news clips of Cesar Chávez and the United Farm Workers, the Poor People’s Campaign march on Washington, and the assassinations of JFK, RFK and Martin Luther King Jr., underscoring the era’s upheaval. Initially backed by Bell Telephone, executives balked at the powerful segment and the special was ultimately picked up by CBS.

• PS Paul Simon as themselves
• AG Art Garfunkel as themselves
• Robert Ryan as themselves
• Charles Grodin as themselves