Who is Ken Burns? See Net-worth, Quote, Awards, Fact, Wiki

Ken Burns Wiki Biography

Kenneth Lauren Burns was born on the 29th July 1953, in Brooklyn, New York City USA, and is a film director and producer, probably best recognized for directing and producing documentary films, such as “The Civil War” (1990), “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” (2009), “Prohibition” (2011) and “The Roosevelts” (2014). He has been an active member of the film industry since 1981.

So, have you ever wondered how rich Ken Burns is? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the total size of Ken’s net worth is over $1.5 million as of mid-2016. Most of his income is the result of his successful involvement in the entertainment industry as a filmmaker – director and producer.

Ken Burns Net Worth $1.5 Million

Ken Burns was born to Robert Kyle Burns, who worked as a cultural anthropologist, and Lyla Smith Burns, who was a bio-technical worker; his brother is Ric Burns, who works also as a filmmaker of the documentary films. His family moved frequently, so he spent his childhood in France, and Ann Arbor among other places, where his father worked as a professor. Bright and talented he carried his love for making movies through his high school years, when he received a movie camera for his 17th birthday. Upon matriculation from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor in 1971, he enrolled at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts; some of his professors were photographers Elaine Mayes and Jerome Liebling. He graduated with a BA degree in Film Studies and Design in 1975.

Subsequently, his professional career began when Ken founded the production company Florentine Films in 1975, together with Elaine Mayes classmate Robert Sherman, based in Walpole, New Hampshire. Since then, his career has gone only upwards, and so has his net worth, as well as popularity. Parallel with working at his own company, Ken has worked as a cinematographer for numerous television channels, including the BBC channel, Italian television, and others.

In 1977, Ken began working on his first documentary film – “Brooklyn Bridge” – which was an adaptation of a book named “The Great Bridge”, by David McCullough. The film was released in 1981, and was nominated for an Academy Award in the category for Best Documentary, increasing his net worth by a large margin. The film was followed by other documentaries, such as “The Shakers: Hands To Work, Hearts To God” (1984), and “The Statue Of Liberty” (1985), which was also nominated for Oscar.

At the beginning of the next decade he created the documentary miniseries “The Civil War”, based on the American Civil War, which achieved huge ratings. His next big work was the TV series “Baseball” (1994), for which he won an Emmy Award in the category for Outstanding Informational Series. Two years later, he was the executive producer of the film “The West”, directed by Stephen Ives, which also contributed a lot to his net worth.

Furthermore, he also won an Emmy Award in the category for Outstanding Non-fiction Series, for directing and producing his next film “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”. Most recently, he has created such films as “The Dust Bowl”, and “The Central Park Five”, both released in 2012, and “The Roosevelts” (2014), and “Cancer: The Emperor Of All Maladies” (2016). “The Vietnam War” will be released in 2017, and will likely further increase his net worth.

Speaking about his personal life, Ken Burns has been married to Julie Deborah Brown since 2003; the couple has two daughters. Previously, he was married to Amy Stechler (1982-1993), with whom he also has two daughters. His current residence is in Walpole, New Hampshire.



Full Name Ken Burns
Net Worth $1.5 Million
Date Of Birth July 29, 1953
Place Of Birth Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Profession Filmmaker
Education Hampshire College (1971–1975), Pioneer High School (1971)
Nationality American
Spouse Julie Deborah Brown (m. 2003), Amy Stechler (m. 1982–1993)
Children Sarah Burns, Lily Burns, Olivia Burns, Willa Burns
Parents Robert Kyle Burns, Lyla Smith Tupper
Siblings Ric Burns
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kenburnspbs
Twitter https://twitter.com/kenburns
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122741/
Awards Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Non-fiction Series, Lincoln Prize, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series, Grammy Award for…
Nominations Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming, News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Programming – Long Form, News & Documentary Emmy Award for Bes…
Movies The Roosevelts, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, Jackie Robinson, The Dust Bowl, The Central Park Five, The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God, Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, Unforgivable Blackness, Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip, Huey Long, The Congress…
TV Shows Prohibition, Baseball: The Tenth Inning, Baseball, The Civil War, The Simpsons
Trademark
1 The slow zoom in or out, and/or pan right or left has been called “The Ken Burns Effect” due to his powerful use of this technique. While not developed by him, it has been included in iMovie and iPhoto by Apple Computers with the name “Ken Burns Effect”
2 Takes a single photograph or painting, and utilizes close ups, music, voice overs and sound effects to make it seem like a lengthy action sequence.
Quote
1 I can look at a still photograph of building the Brooklyn Bridge and hear the workers hammering, the seagulls in the East River, the steam compressors hauling up big blocks of stone. You take an old photograph and you realize it has a past, it has a future. So what would it mean to go inside it?
2 [on the cinematic shooting of still photography] That’s the DNA for everything I’ve done for the past thirty-five years. That attempt to look at a photograph and see time. To hear movement and sound, then search for the close-up, a tilt, a pan, a reveal. To create what the auteurs called ‘mise en scene’. I wanted to be one of those auteurs when I was growing up, and abandoned it for the sheer power of fact.
3 In so many films that I’ve done, short-sightedness is one of the major human themes. We live for the moment. No one’s willing to do the necessary rolling up the sleeves until the catastrophe happens.
4 [on the plowing up of the Great Plains and resultant dust bowl years] The old ranchers were saying ‘Wrong side up’. The Indians knew it was not right, that these buffalo grasses sent their roots five feet down to suck the moisture, but also hold the topsoil evolved over thousands of years. All of a sudden we were turning over that grass in an area larger than Ohio, and this was a marginal area anyway. This was the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history so far.
Fact
1 Grand Marshal, Tournament of Roses Parade. [2016]
2 Burns’ great-great-grandfather Abraham W. Burns (1833-1911) was a private in McClanahan’s Company, Virginia Horse Artillery also known as the Staunton Artillery (Confederate) during the American Civil War. He also served in Company K,52nd Virginia Infantry.
3 Attended Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
4 Biography/bibliography in: “Contemporary Authors”. New Revision Series, vol. 136, pages 59-67. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.
5 Father, Robert Burns, was a cultural anthropologist
6 Graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, MA
7 Brother of fellow producer/director Ric Burns.

Producer

Title Year Status Character
The Vietnam War 2017 TV Series documentary producer – 10 episodes announced
Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War 2016 Documentary executive producer / producer
Jackie Robinson TV Mini-Series documentary executive producer – 2 episodes, 2016 producer – 2 episodes, 2016
Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies 2015 TV Series documentary executive producer – 3 episodes
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History TV Series documentary executive producer – 5 episodes, 2014 producer – 3 episodes, 2014
The Central Park Five 2012 Documentary executive producer: Florentine Films / producer
The Dust Bowl TV Mini-Series documentary executive producer – 4 episodes, 2012 producer – 2 episodes, 2012
Prohibition TV Mini-Series documentary executive producer – 2 episodes, 2011 producer – 1 episode, 2011
Baseball TV Mini-Series documentary executive producer – 9 episodes, 1994 producer – 3 episodes, 1994 – 2010
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea TV Mini-Series documentary executive producer – 6 episodes, 2009 producer – 6 episodes, 2009
Medal of Honor 2008 TV Movie documentary executive producer
The War TV Mini-Series documentary executive producer – 7 episodes, 2007 producer – 7 episodes, 2007
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson 2004 Documentary producer
Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip 2003 TV Movie documentary producer
Mark Twain 2001 TV Movie documentary producer
Jazz 2001 TV Mini-Series documentary producer – 4 episodes
Biography 2000 TV Series documentary executive producer – 1 episode
Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony 1999 TV Series documentary producer – 1 episode
Frank Lloyd Wright 1998 Documentary executive producer / producer
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery 1997 TV Special documentary executive producer / producer
Thomas Jefferson 1997 TV Mini-Series documentary producer – 2 episodes
The West 1996 TV Series documentary executive producer / senior producer
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio 1991 Documentary producer
The Civil War 1990 TV Mini-Series documentary executive producer – 9 episodes
American Experience 1990 TV Series documentary co-producer – 1 episode
The Congress 1988 TV Movie documentary producer
Thomas Hart Benton 1988 TV Movie producer
The Statue of Liberty 1985 Documentary producer
Huey Long 1985 Documentary producer
The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God 1984 Documentary producer
Brooklyn Bridge 1981 Documentary producer

Director

Title Year Status Character
The Vietnam War 2017 TV Series documentary 10 episodes announced
Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War 2016 Documentary
Jackie Robinson 2016 TV Mini-Series documentary 2 episodes
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History 2014 TV Series documentary 7 episodes
The Address 2014 TV Movie documentary attached
The Central Park Five 2012 Documentary
The Dust Bowl 2012 TV Mini-Series documentary 4 episodes
Prohibition 2011 TV Mini-Series documentary 3 episodes
Baseball 1994-2010 TV Mini-Series documentary 11 episodes
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea 2009 TV Mini-Series documentary 6 episodes
The War 2007 TV Mini-Series documentary co-director – 7 episodes
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson 2004 Documentary
Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip 2003 TV Movie documentary
Mark Twain 2001 TV Movie documentary
Jazz 2001 TV Mini-Series documentary 10 episodes
Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony 1999 TV Series documentary 1 episode
Frank Lloyd Wright 1998 Documentary
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery 1997 TV Special documentary
Thomas Jefferson 1997 TV Mini-Series documentary 2 episodes
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio 1991 Documentary
The Civil War 1990 TV Mini-Series documentary 9 episodes
The Congress 1988 TV Movie documentary
Thomas Hart Benton 1988 TV Movie
The Statue of Liberty 1985 Documentary
Huey Long 1985 Documentary
The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God 1984 Documentary
Brooklyn Bridge 1981 Documentary

Cinematographer

Title Year Status Character
Baseball 1994-2010 TV Mini-Series documentary 11 episodes
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea 2009 TV Mini-Series documentary 6 episodes
Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip 2003 TV Movie documentary
Mark Twain 2001 TV Movie documentary
Jazz 2001 TV Mini-Series documentary 4 episodes
Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony 1999 TV Series documentary 1 episode
Frank Lloyd Wright 1998 Documentary
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery 1997 TV Special documentary
Thomas Jefferson 1997 TV Mini-Series documentary 2 episodes
The Civil War 1990 TV Mini-Series documentary 9 episodes
The Congress 1988 TV Movie documentary
The Statue of Liberty 1985 Documentary
Huey Long 1985 Documentary
The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God 1984 Documentary
Brooklyn Bridge 1981 Documentary

Writer

Title Year Status Character
Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies 2015 TV Series documentary written by – 3 episodes
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History 2014 TV Series documentary 5 episodes
The Address 2014 TV Movie documentary
The Central Park Five 2012 Documentary written by
Baseball 1994-2010 TV Mini-Series documentary written by – 11 episodes
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery 1997 TV Special documentary book
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio 1991 Documentary additional
The Civil War 1990 TV Mini-Series documentary written by – 9 episodes

Music Department

Title Year Status Character
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson 2004 Documentary music producer
Baseball 1994 TV Mini-Series documentary musical director – 9 episodes
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio 1991 Documentary musical director
The Civil War TV Mini-Series documentary musical director – 9 episodes, 1990 music direction – 8 episodes, 1990

Miscellaneous

Title Year Status Character
Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies 2015 TV Series documentary senior creative consultant – 3 episodes
The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo 2005 TV Movie documentary consultant
Thomas Jefferson 1997 TV Mini-Series documentary senior creative consultant – 2 episodes
The Making of ‘Gettysburg’ 1993 Video documentary commentary
American Experience 1990 TV Series documentary senior creative consultant – 3 episodes

Actor

Title Year Status Character
Difficult People 2016 TV Series Ken Burns
The Mindy Project 2014 TV Series Ken Burns
The Simpsons 2012 TV Series Ken Burns
Gettysburg 1993 Hancock’s Aide

Camera Department

Title Year Status Character
The Address 2014 TV Movie documentary additional cinematographer
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea 2009 TV Mini-Series documentary camera operator – 1 episode
American Experience 1990 TV Series documentary additional cinematographer – 1 episode

Soundtrack

Title Year Status Character
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson 2004 Documentary arranger: “Levee Low Moan”

Thanks

Title Year Status Character
Wear acknowledgment completed
Interstellar 2014 thanks
Wired 2014/I Short special thanks
Mary & Bill 2010 Documentary special thanks
Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey 2006 Documentary special thanks
The Making of ‘The Devil’s Den’ 2003 Video documentary thanks
The Cat’s Meow 2001 special thanks
Eternal Memory: Voices from the Great Terror 1998 Documentary thanks

Self

Title Year Status Character
CBS This Morning 2012-2016 TV Series Himself / Himself – Guest
MLB Network Presents 2016 TV Series Himself
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore 2016 TV Series Himself – Panelist
Today 1990-2016 TV Series Himself
Overheard 2016 TV Series Himself – interviewee
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 2016 TV Series Himself – Guest
Jeopardy! 2015 TV Series Himself – Clue Giver
Good Morning America 2015 TV Series Himself – Guest
The Colbert Report 2005-2014 TV Series Himself – Guest / Himself – Announcer / Himself
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2014 TV Series documentary Himself
The Daily Show 2007-2014 TV Series Himself
Late Show with David Letterman 2007-2014 TV Series Himself / Himself – Guest
Tavis Smiley 2009-2014 TV Series Himself / Himself – Guest
Katie 2014 TV Series Himself
Americana Music Honors & Awards 2013 TV Special
Good Day L.A. 2013 TV Series Himself
The Hour 2012 TV Series Himself
Charlie Rose 1994-2012 TV Series Himself – Guest
On the Dust Bowl with Ken Burns & Timothy Egan 2012 TV Movie Himself
Lessons from the Dust Bowl with Ken Burns 2012 TV Movie Himself – Guest
Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself 2012 Documentary Himself
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences: The Heart of the Matter 2012 Short Himself
Glue Man 2012 Short Himself
Drinks and Conversation 2011 TV Movie Himself
The Simpsons 2003-2011 TV Series Himself
Doc Talk 2011 TV Series Himself
Prime 9 2010-2011 TV Series Himself
A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939 2010 TV Movie documentary Himself
Budapest to Gettysburg 2007 Documentary
Late Night with Conan O’Brien 2003-2007 TV Series Himself
Real Time with Bill Maher 2007 TV Series Himself
Wordplay 2006 Documentary Himself
Live from Lincoln Center 2005 TV Series Himself
Last Call with Carson Daly 2005 TV Series Himself
The Tony Danza Show 2005 TV Series Himself
The Tim McCarver Show 2003 TV Series Himself – Guest
100 Years of the World Series 2003 Video documentary Himself
ESPN SportsCentury 2002-2003 TV Series documentary Himself
Tribeca Film Festival Presents 2003 TV Movie documentary Himself
Independent View 2002 TV Series documentary Himself
Boston Red Sox: 100 Years of Baseball History 2001 Video documentary Himself – Interviewee
Great Performances 2000 TV Series Himself
Palisades Amusement Park, a Century of Fond Memories 1998 Documentary Narrator
The Making of ‘Gettysburg’ 1993 Video documentary Himself – Filmmaker
The 17th Annual People’s Choice Awards 1991 TV Special Himself – Accepting Award for Favourite Mini-Series

Won Awards

Year Award Ceremony Nomination Movie
2013 Black Reel Black Reel Awards Best Documentary The Central Park Five (2012)
2013 Bronze Wrangler Western Heritage Awards Western Documentary The Dust Bowl (2012)
2012 Audience Choice Award Chicago International Film Festival Best Documentary Feature The Central Park Five (2012)
2010 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Nonfiction Series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (2009)
2008 Lifetime Achievement Award News & Documentary Emmy Awards
2007 Canal+ Award Deauville Film Festival Best Documentary The War (2007)
2005 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Nonfiction Special Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)
2003 CINE Leadership Award CINE Competition
2002 Christopher Award Christopher Awards Television & Cable Jazz (2001)
2002 Career Achievement Award International Documentary Association
2001 Best Documentary Award St. Louis International Film Festival Mark Twain (2001)
2001 Lifetime Achievement Award St. Louis International Film Festival
1998 Vision Award PGA Awards Television Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997)
1998 Golden Space Needle Award Seattle International Film Festival Best Documentary Frank Lloyd Wright (1998)
1998 Bronze Wrangler Western Heritage Awards Western Documentary Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997)
1998 Spur Award Western Writers of America Best Documentary Script Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997)
1995 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Informational Series Baseball (1994)
1994 Silver Medallion Award Telluride Film Festival, US
1991 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Individual – Informational Programming The Civil War (1990)
1991 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Informational Series The Civil War (1990)
1991 Silver FIPA Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programming Documentary and Essay The Civil War (1990)
1991 Humanitas Prize Humanitas Prize Documentaries – Special Awards Category The Civil War (1990)
1991 IDA Award International Documentary Association The Civil War (1990)
1991 PGA Award PGA Awards Outstanding Producer of Television The Civil War (1990)
1986 Erik Barnouw Award Organization of American Historians Huey Long (1985)
1983 Erik Barnouw Award Organization of American Historians Brooklyn Bridge (1981)
1981 CINE Golden Eagle CINE Competition Documentary Brooklyn Bridge (1981)

Nominated Awards

Year Award Ceremony Nomination Movie
2015 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies (2015)
2015 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014)
2015 PGA Award PGA Awards Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014)
2013 Independent Spirit Award Independent Spirit Awards Best Documentary The Central Park Five (2012)
2013 OFTA Film Award Online Film & Television Association Best Documentary Picture The Central Park Five (2012)
2013 PGA Award PGA Awards Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television The Dust Bowl (2012)
2013 WGA Award (Screen) Writers Guild of America, USA Best Documentary Screenplay The Central Park Five (2012)
2012 Gold Hugo Chicago International Film Festival Best Documentary The Central Park Five (2012)
2012 IDA Award International Documentary Association Best Feature The Central Park Five (2012)
2012 Video Source Award International Documentary Association The Central Park Five (2012)
2012 Grierson Award London Film Festival The Central Park Five (2012)
2008 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming The War (2007)
2008 DGA Award Directors Guild of America, USA Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary The War (2007)
2008 IDA Award International Documentary Association Limited Series The War (2007)
2006 Black Reel Black Reel Awards Best Documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)
2005 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)
2001 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming Jazz (2001)
2001 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Non-Fiction Series Jazz (2001)
1998 Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival Documentary Frank Lloyd Wright (1998)
1995 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Individual Achievement – Informational Programming Baseball (1994)
1992 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Informational Special Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991)
1986 Oscar Academy Awards, USA Best Documentary, Features The Statue of Liberty (1985)
1986 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Informational Special The Statue of Liberty (1985)
1986 Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival Documentary Huey Long (1985)
1982 Oscar Academy Awards, USA Best Documentary, Features Brooklyn Bridge (1981)
1981 Gold Hugo Chicago International Film Festival Best Documentary Brooklyn Bridge (1981)

You May Also Like

Gregory Lunceford’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Gregory Lunceford net worth: Gregory Lunceford is an American psychiatrist and reality television personality who has a net worth of $1 million. Gregory Lunceford is probably best known for being the husband of Quad Webb-Lunceford on the hit Bravo reality series, Married to Medicine. The show follows several Atlanta women who are married to doctors or work in the healthcare field. Quad and Dr. Lunceford met in a Kroger grocery store, started dating, and eventually got married.  Dr. Lunceford received his medical degree from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and has been in practice for almost 20 years. He practices at both Cobb Memorial Hospital and WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Lunceford has a reserved demeanor that often clashes with his wife’s unpredictable feistiness on the show. The couple, have two dogs, support the Canine Assistants Foundation, and volunteer their time and efforts with various charities and organizations throughout Atlanta.
Read More