Blue: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue PBS Trailer

“Blue: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue” is the first-ever feature-length documentary exploring the remarkable journey of George Rodrigue as an artist.

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Created by the award-winning team behind films such as George Dunbar: Mining the Surfaces, Fats Domino—Walking Back to New Orleans, A Tribute to Toussaint, and Irma Thomas: The Soul Queen of New Orleans, this latest production by WLAE-TV and LAE Productions brings to life the inspiring story of an artist who overcame significant adversity to achieve international acclaim as a pop art icon.

Heavily influenced by the art of Andy Warhol, Rodrigue attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles in the 1960s before returning home to paint Louisiana. After two decades of celebrating Cajun culture on canvas in a way no American artist ever had, Rodrigue achieved commercial success by turning a Cajun folklore character known as the Loup-Garou into the iconic symbol of his later works.

From teaching himself to paint while bedridden with polio to being snubbed by art critics and museums for decades, to his valiant battles with Hurricane Katrina and cancer, George Rodrigue stayed true to his vision and in the process made us all happy to feel Blue.

The film offers an unprecedented, intimate portrait of George Rodrigue through exclusive interviews with his family, friends, curators, critics, collectors, and iconic personalities such as Emeril Lagasse, Drew Brees, James Carville, and former New Orleans mayor Marc Morial. It provides a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into his life and artwork. This one-of-a-kind documentary also includes never-before-seen archive photos, newly restored and unreleased documentaries from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, captivating interviews with the artist himself, and features his final, deeply personal interview—making this film an essential tribute to Rodrigue’s indelible impact on art and culture.