Turner Classic Movies to honor Robert Osborne with 48-hour special

NEW YORK -- Turner Classic Movies will pay tribute to long-time host and film historian Robert Osborne with a 48-hour special to celebrate his 23-year career with the network.  

The network said Tuesday that the tribute will run all day Saturday March 18 and Sunday March 19. Osborne, the longtime face of TCM, died Monday at age 84.

The tribute will feature long-form interviews conducted by Osborne, an interview of Osborne conducted by Alec Baldwin for the host’s 20th anniversary and Osborne’s very first movie intro, filmed for Turner Classic’s first broadcast in 1994, for “Gone With the Wind.”

Some of Osborne’s interviews include sit-downs with Debbie Reynolds, Liza Minelli and Peter O’Toole. He told Mo Rocca on “CBS Sunday Morning” that his favorite interview in that role was with former movie musical star Betty Hutton, who -- by the year 2000 -- had not appeared on camera for nearly 20 years. 

On Monday, TCM recalled Osborne as “fundamental in shaping TCM into what it is today.”