“American Idealist,” a profile of Peace Corps founder Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., will premier on KCET (channel 6 in Santa Monica) on Monday, January 21, at 9 p.m.

In addition to founding the Peace Corps, Shriver also created Head Start, the Job Corps and VISTA, three of this country’s most direct, successful and enduring public service programs. He also spearheaded President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, but though LBJ enjoyed boasting about it, he failed to allocate sufficient funds for it.

In 1972, Shriver was the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate.

Like her husband, Eunice Shriver has always been committed to public service. She founded and has been actively involved in the Special Olympics from its inception.

The Shrivers are the parents of California’s first lady Maria Shriver and Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver.

Ms. Shriver, a TV journalist, was the documentary’s executive producer. In an interview with TV Guide, she said that she and her brothers call their father “the Elvis of public service.”