Ken Burns

Ken Burns
Burns in 2025
Born
Kenneth Lauren Burns

(1953-07-29) July 29, 1953
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materHampshire College
Years active1981–present
Spouse(s)
Amy Stechler
​
(m. 1982⁠–⁠1993)​

Julie Deborah Brown
​
(m. 2003)​

Kenneth Lauren Burns [1] (born July 29, 1953)[1] is an American director and producer of documentary movies. He is known for his style of using archive footage and photographs. Burns is also a historian and writer.[1]

His most widely known documentaries include The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), Jazz (2001), The War (2007), The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009), Prohibition (2011) and The Central Park Five (2012). His movies have been nominated for two Academy Awards, and have won Emmy Awards, among other honors.[1]

Burns was born on July 29, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York[1] His ancestors owned slaves, and one was a Confederate soldier.[2][3] He is also related to one of his heroes, Abraham Lincoln.[4] He studied at Hampshire College.[1] Burns was married to Amy Stechler from 1982 until they divorced in 1993.[1] He married Julie Deborah Brown in 2003, and in 2017 they were still married.[1] Burns said that he is influenced by Shelby Foote and Errol Morris.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Ken Burns Biography (1953-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  2. ↑ "Finding Your Roots: Documentary Filmmaker Ken Burns Uncovers Lincoln Connection". Ancestry Blog. 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  3. ↑ "Ben Affleck Requested His Slave-Owner Ancestor Be Censored From PBS' 'Finding Your Roots'". Hollywood Reporter. 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  4. ↑ Press, By David Bauder, Associated. "Ken Burns researches his distant relatives". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved 2025-04-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ Bragg, Meredith; Gillespie, Nick (October 3, 2011). "Ken Burns on PBS Funding, Being a 'Yellow-Dog Democrat,' & Missing Walter Cronkite". Reason. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012.

Other websites

Media related to Ken Burns at Wikimedia Commons


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