King Lear

February 20, 1974
175 min
Season 3 - Episode 5: King Lear

Season 3 - Episode 5: King Lear

Great Performances - Backdrop

Overview

King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.

Episode Information

TV Show

Great Performances

Season

Season 3

Episode Number

5

Air Date

February 20, 1974

Runtime

175 minutes

Guest Stars

D

Douglass Watson

Kent

Paul Sorvino

Paul Sorvino

Gloucester

Raúl Juliá

Raúl Juliá

Edmund

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones

King Lear

Rosalind Cash

Rosalind Cash

Goneril

Lee Chamberlin

Lee Chamberlin

Cordelia