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Ken Burns
Sign in to saveAlso known as Kenneth Lauren Burns, Kenneth L. Burns, Ken Lauren Burns
American documentarian and filmmaker (born 1953)
Film & TV
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Ken Burns (born 1953) is a highly celebrated American documentarian 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…
Known for
- Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories2024
- In the Know — Self2024
- Spirit of Golf — Self2023
- The Unmaking of a College — Self2022
- Back on the Record with Bob Costas — Self2021
- The Problem with Jon Stewart — Self2021
- Ken Burns: Here & There — Himself2020
- Here For A Good Time — Self2020
- Very Ralph — Self2019
- Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America — Self - Director and Producer2019
via TMDB
Key facts
- Born
- Kenneth Lauren Burns , ( 1953-07-29 ) July 29, 1953 (age 72) , Brooklyn , New York, U.S.
- Alma mater
- Hampshire College ( BA )
- Occupation
- Filmmaker
- Years active
- 1970–present
- Notable work
- The Civil War (1990) Baseball (1994) Jazz (2001) The National Parks (2009) The Roosevelts (2014) The Vietnam War (2017) Country Music (2019) The American Revolution (2025)
- Spouses
- Amy Stechler Burns ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1982 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1993 ) Julie Deborah Brown ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 2003 )
- Children
- 4, including Sarah and Lilly Burns
- Relatives
- Ric Burns (brother)
- Website
- kenburns .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Ken
- Family name
- Burns
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Brooklyn
- Occupation
- director
- Educated at
- Hampshire College
- Political party
- Democratic Party (United States)
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Genre
- documentary
- Image
- 2025 - Ken Burns (cropped).jpg
- Number of children
- 2
- Work location
- United States
- Residence
- Walpole
Show 10 more facts
- Commons category
- Ken Burns
- date of birth
- 1953-07-29
- birth name
- Kenneth Lauren Burns
- start of work period
- 1981-00-00
- related category
- Category:Films directed by Ken Burns
- name in native language
- Ken Burns
- social media followers
- 220232
- writing language
- English language
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
~21 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the National Endowment for the Humanities and distributed by PBS. Burns lives in the small town of Walpole, New Hampshire.
Burns's widely known documentary series include The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), Jazz (2001), The War (2007), The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009), Prohibition (2011), The Roosevelts (2014), The Vietnam War (2017), Country Music (2019), and The American Revolution (2025). He was also executive producer of both The West (1996), and Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies (2015). Burns's documentaries have earned two Academy Award nominations (for 1981's Brooklyn Bridge and 1985's The Statue of Liberty) and have won several Emmy Awards, among other honors.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ken Burns” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.