This article will answer every question you have about Ken Burns. Below are some of the frequently asked questions about him.
- What does Ken do for a living?
- Who are Ken’s parents and siblings?
- What are Ken’s interests and hobbies?
- Is Ken married or does he have a girlfriend/ boyfriend?
- Does Ken have any children?
- Where is Ken now?
- How tall is Ken?
- How much money does Ken earn?
- What is Ken’s net worth?
N/B: Please read the entire post to have all your questions answered.
Who is Ken Burns?
Kenneth Luren Burns abbreviated as Ken Burns is an American well-known filmmaker notably known for his documentary films and television series many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV and/or the National Endowment for the Humanities and distributed by PBS.
His 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), and Country Music (2019). Moreover, he was the executive producer of both The West (1996) and Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies (2015). Also, his 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.
How Old Is Ken Burns?
He is 69 years old as of September 2022, having been born on July 29, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Ken shares his birthdate with celebrities such as; Eva Gutowski, Owen Bodnar, Zealand LaBrant, Kade Speiser, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, and many more.
Ken Burns Family
Who are Ken Burns’s Parents?
He was born to Robert Kyle Burns (Father) and Lyla Smith Tupper (Mother).
Does Ken Burns have Siblings?
He has a brother by the name of Ric Burns (born in 1955) an American documentary filmmaker and writer.
Ken Burns Education
He received his high school education at Pioneer High School where he graduated in 1971. After high school, he attended Hampshire College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in film studies and design in 1975.
Ken Burns Marital Status
He is married to the love of his life, Julie Deborah Brown, they married on October 18, 2003. However, he was previously married to Amy Stechler (born on June 23, 1955, but died on August 26, 2022) an American documentary filmmaker, They married in 1982, but divorced in 1993.
Ken Burns Kids
He has four kids. Two kids with his ex-wife Amy, two daughters by the name Lily Burns (an American television producer) and Sarah Burns (born on October 23, 1982) an American author, public speaker, and filmmaker. And two kids with his wife Julie, two daughters by the name Olivia Burns and Willa Burns.
Ken Burns Career
A Career at Florentine Films
Ken, Elaine Mayes, and college classmate Roger Sherman founded a production company called Florentine Films in 1976, in Walpole, New Hampshire. One year later, another Hampshire College student, Buddy Squires was invited to succeed Mayes as a founding member. Later the trio was joined by a fourth member Lawrence “Larry” Hott. Thus each member works independently but releases content under the shared name of Florentine Films.
A Film Career
Initially, he worked as a cinematographer for the BBC Italian television and others. Having completed some documentary short films, in 1977, he began working on adapting David McCullough’s book, The Great Bridge. He went on to make the feature documentary Brooklyn Bridge (1981), which was narrated by David McCullough and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary and ran in the United States on PBS. He followed this with another documentary, The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God (1984). In 1985, he was Oscar-nominated again for The Statue of Liberty.
Frequently, he has collaborated with author and historian Geoffrey C. Ward, notably on documentaries such as The Civil War, Jazz, Baseball, and the 10-part TV series, The Vietnam War (aired September 2017). He has built a long successful career directing and providing well-received television documentaries and documentary miniseries. His artwork covers diverse subjects including art (Thomas Hart Benton, 1988), mass media (Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, 1991), sports (Baseball, 1994, updated with 10th Inning, 2010), and political history (Thomas Jefferson, 1997).
Career Continuation
Music (Jazz, 2001; Country Music, 2019), literature (Mark Twain, 2001), and environmentalism (The National Parks, 2009). And war (the 15-hour World War II documentary The War, 2007; the 11-hour The Civil War, 1990, which All Media Guide says “many consider his ‘chef d’oeuvre'”). In 2007, he made an agreement with PBS to produce work for the network well into the next decade. According to a 2017 piece in The New Yorker, Ken and his company Florentine Films have selected topics for documentaries slated for release by 2030.
The topics include; country music, the Mayo Clinic, Muhammad Ali, Ernest Hemingway, the American Revolution, Lyndon B. Johnson, Barack Obama, Winston Churchill, the American criminal justice system, and African-American history from the Civil War to the Great Migration. Hemingway, a three-episode, six-hour documentary, a recapitulation of Hemingway’s life, labors, and loves, debuted on April 5, 2021. On the Public Broadcasting System, co-produced and directed by Ken and Lynn Novick.
A Politics Career
He has been a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party and has contributed almost $40,000 in political donations. The Democratic National Committee chose Ken in 2008, to produce the introductory video for Senator Ted Kennedy’s August 2008 speech to the Democratic National Convention.
Ken Burns Height and Measurements
Adding up to his well-built body is a height of 5ft 9inches (1.75m) and a weight of 75kg (165lbs).
Ken Burns Salary and Net Worth
He has an annual salary of $125,000 and a net worth of $3.5 million.