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Ken Burns

  • Birthplace: Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • Birthday: July 29, 1953

Celebrated American documentarian of the 1980s and 90s who gradually amassed a considerable reputation and a devoted audience with a series of reassuringly traditional meditations on Americana. Burns' works are treasure troves of archival materials; he skillfully utilizes period music and footage, photographs, periodicals, and ordinary people's correspondence, the latter often movingly read by seasoned professional actors in a deliberate attempt to get away from a "Great Man" approach to history. Like most non-fiction filmmake…more

Credits

Actor
Camera, Film & Tape
Consultants & Advisors

Career Milestones

  • 2007

    Extended his deal with PBS through the year 2022; which calls for him to deliver at least three major new series as well as several smaller-scale documentaries

  • 2006

    Directed The War, a 14-hour documentary about World War II (aired September 2007 on PBS); earned a DGA nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

  • 2005

    Helmed the PBS documentary about heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

  • 2003

    Directed the PBS documentary, Horatio s Drive about the historic journey of motorist Horatio Nelson Jackson

  • 2001

    Created and directed Jazz , a 19-hour series for PBS; also served a director of photography

Awards

  • 1998

    Peabody Award:

  • 1998

    Producers Guild of America Award: Television

  • 1995

    Emmy: Outstanding Informational Series

  • 1991

    Emmy Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement (Informational Programming)

  • 1991

    Emmy Award: Outstanding Informational Series

Upcoming Appearances

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