Ken Burns

Ken Burns
Burns in 2025
Born
Kenneth Lauren Burns

(1953-07-29) July 29, 1953 (age 73)
Alma materHampshire College
Years active1981–present
Spouse(s)
Amy Stechler
​
(m. 1982⁠–⁠1993)​

Julie Deborah Brown
​
(m. 2003)​

Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) 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.

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.

Burns was born on July 29, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York His ancestors owned slaves, and one was a Confederate soldier. He is also related to one of his heroes, Abraham Lincoln. He studied at Hampshire College.

Burns was married to Amy Stechler from 1982 until they divorced in 1993. He married Julie Deborah Brown in 2003, and in 2017 they were still married. Burns said that he is influenced by Shelby Foote and Errol Morris.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "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