It’s movie time!
Visit pbs.org for streaming and broadcasting.
Enjoy this fascinating and sensitive documentary about a down-to-earth, kind and generous man who pursued his artistic passions despite challenges and criticism, and left a legacy that inspires, delights, and amazes. George’s art impacts lives through artistic statements that are poignant and philosophical, yet relatable, while teaming with symbolism and mystery. As to his life itself, specifically his spirit and his presence, I have seen him, in the years since his death, become almost mythic.
Wendy Rodrigue Magnus
That is strange for me as his wife.
For all of the intensity and significance placed on his story, much of it by me, the truth is that he was just George, no more special or important than anyone else. And that is how he lived.
As this film begins streaming and broadcasting nationwide, I am again moved by the reactions. From my earliest days in knowing George, I felt the need to emphasize the person, George Rodrigue, over the image, Blue Dog. For 35 years, I’ve heard ad infinitum, “I know Blue Dog! I’ve seen it everywhere!” And I’ve exclaimed, just as often, “It’s Rodrigue!” …and to myself, with melancholy, “And you don’t know anything.”
George understood this, and he said more than once, “This is where I need you, Wendy, to tell my story, and to set the record straight.”
This is not my film. And by no means is it the whole story. But it’s beautifully woven together, and I’m glad and grateful to have been included in a small way. Thank you to the filmmakers, Sean O’Malley, Jim Dotson, Ron Yager, their colleagues, and to all who participated with interviews and footage! Thank you to Louis and Andre Michot for an incredible original soundtrack!
Thank you to my talented and supportive husband, Douglas Magnus. In addition to his constant help with the George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Foundation and our programming, he contributed priceless vintage footage of George, his friend, for this film.
Most of all, I’m grateful to you. Although it may be Blue Dog that brought you to the film, I feel certain that it’s George Rodrigue who you’ll remember as the final credits roll.
2024-2025 Premieres:
- New Iberia, Louisiana
Evangeline Theater / Sliman Theater for the Performing Arts
Sunday, Nov. 17th
12:00 p.m. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.
FREE (capacity 150)
Learn More - Lafayette, Louisiana
Acadiana Center for the Performing Arts
Sunday, November 24, 2024
6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $12
Visit southernscreen.org to purchase. - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Manship Theatre/Shaw Center for the Arts
Presented by the LSU Museum of Art
Sunday, December 1, 2024
7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $18
Visit manshiptheatre.org to purchase. - Sante Fe, New Mexico
Hosted by the Four Seasons Resort and Santa Fe Community College
Sunday, March 2, 2025
4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Registration for this once in a lifetime class includes an evening with passed hors d’oeurves, followed by a viewing of the documentary Premiere in the grand ballroom, culminating in a 45-minute question and answer session with the film’s production team and Wendy Rodrigue Magnus. The entire evening takes place on the luxurious grounds of the Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado in Santa Fe. A night not to miss! REGISTER NOW - Longview, Texas
Hosted by the Longview Museum of Fine Arts
Friday, April 4, 2025, 5:30-10:30 pm
The Texas Premiere of the PBS Documentary
Cocktails, Hor D’oeuvres, Documentary Premiere, After Party with Gumbo, Fixins, and Live Music by Julieanne & Her One Man Band.
Casual Chic Attire
GET TICKETS HERE
See the broadcast premiere of BLUE: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue in Louisiana!
Sunday, December 8, 7:00 p.m. CST on WLAE in New Orleans, and across Louisiana on Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
This outstanding documentary film about artist George Rodrigue’s life and art streams nationwide on PBS, Spring 2025.
And be sure and follow Rodrigue Blue Dog Film on Facebook.
For world-renowned Cajun artist George Rodrigue, the story of his exiled ancestors was one he told through brushstrokes, one that culminated in a golden eyed Blue Dog. Interviews with family, curators, critics, collectors, and notable subjects and admirers, including Emeril Lagasse, Drew Brees, James Carville, James Michalopoulos, and Marc Morial, in addition to archival interviews of the artist himself, shed light on the significance of Rodrigue’s life and work. 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 then terminal cancer, George Rodrigue stayed true to his vision and in the process made us all happy to feel blue.
DECEMBER 1, 2024: Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge
A wonderful night celebrating BLUE: The Life & Art of George Rodrigue!
OCTOBER 21, 2024: Premier of BLUE: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue at the Orpheum Theater, New Orleans
WOWZA! …A recap, in words and pictures, of the star-studded premiere of the new documentary film: “BLUE: The Life & Art of George Rodrigue.” Star-studded? YES! The people he loved most, the stars of George’s life, walked the ‘blue carpet’ and embraced his spirit and impact through their very presence as witnesses, and in some cases participants, in this illuminating, poignant, and heartwarming film. George’s family, staff, fellow artists, collectors, fans, and dearest friends are Stars, every one of them. During various stages, they each impacted George’s life in ways that shaped not only his extraordinary career, but also the arc of his life’s journey and his ART.
Thank you to everyone who attended this magnificent screening at The Orpheum Theater in New Orleans. I am especially grateful to those who participated in the film, giving of their time, sharing their memories, and contemplating the lasting impact of RODRIGUE within the story of American Art. Thank you to the many folks who supported this nearly 2-year project through generous financial contributions, lodging assistance, and the loan of artworks and venues as backdrops for interviews.
Thank you to everyone at WLAE and Legacy Productions, who conceived of and believed in this production and devoted much of the past two years to its success, including Jim Dotson, Ron Yager, Bruce Lee Smith, and Helen Sigur. Thank you to Andre and Louis Michot and the Lost Bayou Ramblers for the spectacular artistic gift of their original musical score and sound inspired by George’s story and paintings. Thank you to Director Sean O’Malley of O’Malley Productions and his entire team, including Producer Trisha Reece, Editor Jeremy Ashcroft, Cinematographer Michael Dean, plus Osiris, Jason, Josh Johnson, Eric, and all the rest!
Thank you to the Rodrigue Life & Legacy Foundation team, Curator of Exhibitions Dana Holland-Beickert and Outreach Coordinator Heather Parker, who supported me throughout this production with research, photographs, finagling schedules, plus valuable advice, listening, and IDEAS!
Thank you to my husbands, Douglas Magnus and George Rodrigue. Douglas contributed film footage within the production of George and me during the early 2000s. But more than that, he guided me with a wisdom that helped keep me calm as I navigated the personalities, emotions, and memories associated with this sweeping production. In the case of both Douglas and George, their love gives me courage, and their art gives us all hope.
Thank you to the New Orleans Film Festival and to everyone who attended the North American premiere of “BLUE: The Life & Art of George Rodrigue!” For everyone else, in Louisiana you can watch statewide on Louisiana Public Broadcasting on December 8th at 7:00 p.m. The film will stream nationwide on Public Broadcasting beginning June 2025. We are awaiting word on international distribution. There are also plans for additional theater screenings in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana, Longview, Texas, Destin, Florida, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and George’s hometown of New Iberia, Louisiana. I’ll post details as plans are finalized.
Finally, throughout it all, I received no greater encouragement than when I spied Sean’s copy of “The Other Side of the Painting,” the book I wrote about George’s and my journey in the arts. His copy is filled with the marks of his yellow highlighter and pages saved with sticky notes. It is this vision, and the realization of how important my research, interviews and recollections were to this film project, that motivate my progress as I work today on my next book! Stay tuned! 
-Wendy
*My tunic was handmade from horsehair, agave fibers, silver threads, and magic by the incredible textile artist and weaver, Rhiannon Griego of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
*Photos by Douglas Magnus, Margarita Bergen, Tiger Verdin.
Select Media
- Wall Street Journal
‘BLUE: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue’ Review: A Louisianian Painter on PBS
05/27/2025, By John Anderson - WVNews
Blue Dog and beyond: New documentary explores the life and legacy of George Rodrigue
06/02/2024 - TVInsider
‘Blue: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue’ Explores Painter’s Cajun Roots & Lasting Impact
05/28/2025: By Meaghan Darwish