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Ken Burns

Ken Burns

Actor, Producer, Director

Born July 29, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, USA

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In the Know
BINGE
The Problem with Jon Stewart
Apple iTunes
Back on the Record with Bob Costas
HBO Max
Peacock Presents: The At-Home Variety Show Featuring Seth MacFarlane
Peacock
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Paramount Plus
Difficult People
Hulu
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
HBO Max
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Peacock
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
SBS On Demand
The Mindy Project
Netflix
Morning Joe
Hulu
Real Time with Bill Maher
HBO Max
Clifford's Puppy Days
Amazon Prime Video
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Hulu
The Daily Show
Paramount Plus
The Simpsons
Hotstar
Jeopardy!
BINGE
This Old House
The Roku Channel
Good Morning America
Hulu
60 Minutes
fuboTV

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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 movingly read by seasoned professional actors in a deliberate attempt to get away from a "Great Man" approach to history. Like most non-fiction filmmakers, Burns wears many hats on his projects, often serving as writer, cinematographer, editor and music director in addition to producing and directing. He achieved his apotheosis with The Civil War (1990), a phenomenally popular 11-hour documentary that won two Emmys and broke all previous ratings records for public TV. The series' companion coffee table book--priced at a hefty $50--sold more than 700,000 copies. The audio version, narrated by Burns, was also a major best-seller. In the final accounting, "The Civil War" became the first documentary to gross over $100 million. Not surprisingly, it has become perennial fund-raising programming for public TV stations around the country. Burns arrived upon the scene with the Oscar-nominated Brooklyn Bridge (1981), a nostalgic chronicle of the construction of the fabled edifice. The film was more widely seen when rebroadcast on PBS the following year. Though Burns has made other nonfiction films for theatrical release, notably an acclaimed and ambiguous portrait of Depression-era Louisiana governor Huey Long (1985), PBS would prove to be his true home. He cast a probing eye on such American subjects as The Statue of Liberty (1985), The Congress (1988) (PBS), painter Thomas Hart Benton (1988) (PBS) and early radio with Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991) (PBS). Burns returned to long-form documentary with his most ambitious project to date, an 18-hour history of Baseball (1994), which aired on PBS in the fall of 1994. He approached the national pastime as a template for understanding changes in modern American society. Ironically, this was the only baseball on the air at the time, as the players and owners were embroiled in a bitter strike.

40 wins and 20 nominations

Ken Burns Photos

Ken Burns Videos

KEN BURNS TRAILER - HERE AND THERE

Filmography

Actor

91

Type

Year

In the Know Poster

In the Know TV Series2024

Searching for America Poster

Searching for America Documentary2024

The Unmaking of A College Poster

The Unmaking of A College Feature Film2022

Who's Talking to Chris Wallace Poster

Who's Talking to Chris Wallace TV Series2022

Back on the Record with Bob Costas Poster

Back on the Record with Bob Costas TV Series2021

CBS Mornings Poster

CBS Mornings TV Series2021

Ken Burns: Hemingway TV Special2021

Ken Burns: Here and There Poster

Ken Burns: Here and There TV Special2021

Save Birdland: A Celebration of Music, History, and Community Poster

Save Birdland: A Celebration of Music, History, and Community TV Special2021

The Problem with Jon Stewart Poster

The Problem with Jon Stewart TV Series2021

Here for A Good Time Poster

Here for A Good Time Feature Film2020

Peacock Presents: The At-Home Variety Show Featuring Seth MacFarlane Poster

Peacock Presents: The At-Home Variety Show Featuring Seth MacFarlane TV Series2020

The ReidOut Poster

The ReidOut TV Series2020

Country Music: Live at the Ryman - A Concert Celebrating the Film by Ken Burns Poster

Country Music: Live at the Ryman - A Concert Celebrating the Film by Ken Burns TV Special2019

Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America Poster

Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Uncovering America Documentary2019

Amanpour & Company Poster

Amanpour & Company TV Series2018

Deadline: White House Poster

Deadline: White House TV Series2017

Ken Burns: America's Storyteller Poster

Ken Burns: America's Storyteller Documentary2017

Megyn Kelly Today Poster

Megyn Kelly Today TV Series2017

The Beat with Ari Melber Poster

The Beat with Ari Melber TV Series2017

The Ken Burns Effect Poster

The Ken Burns Effect Short Film2016

Difficult People Poster

Difficult People TV Series2015

Kennedy Live Poster

Kennedy Live TV Series2015

MLB Network Presents Poster

MLB Network Presents TV Series2015

MTP Daily Poster

MTP Daily TV Series2015

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Poster

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert TV Series2015

The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore Poster

The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore TV Series2015

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Poster

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver TV Series2014

Late Night with Seth Meyers Poster

Late Night with Seth Meyers TV Series2014

The Rich Eisen Show Poster

The Rich Eisen Show TV Series2014

Americana Music Honors & Awards TV Special2013

WEDU Arts Plus Poster

WEDU Arts Plus TV Series2013

CBS This Morning Poster

CBS This Morning TV Series2012

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Poster

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. TV Series2012

Glue Man Poster

Glue Man Short Film2012

Katie TV Series2012

Lessons from the Dust Bowl with Ken Burns TV Special2012

On the Dust Bowl with Ken Burns & Timothy Egan TV Movie2012

Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself Poster

Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself Documentary2012

Serious Jibber-Jabber with Conan O'Brien TV Series2012

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences: The Heart of the Matter Short Film2012

The Mindy Project Poster

The Mindy Project TV Series2012

Drinks and Conversation TV Movie2011

A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939 Documentary2010

Overheard Poster

Overheard TV Series2010

Prime 9 TV Series2009

Budapest to Gettysburg Documentary2007

Morning Joe Poster

Morning Joe TV Series2007

Reason TV Poster

Reason TV TV Series2007

Doc Talk Poster

Doc Talk TV Series2006

Wordplay Poster

Wordplay Documentary2006

The Colbert Report Poster

The Colbert Report TV Series2005

The Hour Poster

The Hour TV Series2005

Tavis Smiley Poster

Tavis Smiley TV Series2004

The Tony Danza Show Poster

The Tony Danza Show TV Series2004

100 Years of the World Series Poster

100 Years of the World Series Documentary2003

Clifford's Puppy Days Poster

Clifford's Puppy Days TV Series2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live! Poster

Jimmy Kimmel Live! TV Series2003

Real Time with Bill Maher Poster

Real Time with Bill Maher TV Series2003

The Tim McCarver Show Poster

The Tim McCarver Show TV Series2003

Tribeca Film Festival Presents Documentary2003

Independent View TV Series2002

Last Call with Carson Daly Poster

Last Call with Carson Daly TV Series2002

Boston Red Sox: 100 Years of Baseball History Poster

Boston Red Sox: 100 Years of Baseball History Documentary2001

ESPN SportsCentury Poster

ESPN SportsCentury TV Series1999

Fox and Friends Poster

Fox and Friends TV Series1998

Palisades Amusement Park, a Century of Fond Memories Poster

Palisades Amusement Park, a Century of Fond Memories Documentary1998

The Interviews: An Oral History of Television Poster

The Interviews: An Oral History of Television TV Series1997

The Daily Show Poster

The Daily Show TV Series1996

Gettysburg Poster

Gettysburg Feature Film1993

Good Day L.A. Poster

Good Day L.A. TV Series1993

Late Night with Conan O'Brien Poster

Late Night with Conan O'Brien TV Series1993

Late Show with David Letterman Poster

Late Show with David Letterman TV Series1993

The Making of 'Gettysburg' Documentary1993

Inside Politics Poster

Inside Politics TV Series1992

Reliable Sources Poster

Reliable Sources TV Series1992

Charlie Rose Poster

Charlie Rose TV Series1991

Ken Burns: Imagining America Video1991

The 17th Annual People's Choice Awards TV Special1991

The Simpsons Poster

The Simpsons TV Series1989

Jeopardy! Poster

Jeopardy! TV Series1984

CNN Special Reports Poster

CNN Special Reports TV Series1980

CBS News Sunday Morning Poster

CBS News Sunday Morning TV Series1979

This Old House Poster

This Old House TV Series1979

Live from Lincoln Center Poster

Live from Lincoln Center TV Series1976

Good Morning America Poster

Good Morning America TV Series1975

PBS NewsHour Poster

PBS NewsHour TV Series1975

Great Performances Poster

Great Performances TV Series1971

60 Minutes Poster

60 Minutes TV Series1968

Face the Nation Poster

Face the Nation TV Series1954

Today TV Series1952

Producer

46

Type

Year

Leonardo da Vinci Mini-Series2024

Homecoming Video2023

The American Buffalo Poster

The American Buffalo Mini-Series2023

Benjamin Franklin Poster

Benjamin Franklin TV Series2022

Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness Poster

Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness Mini-Series2022

The U.S. and the Holocaust A Film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein Poster

The U.S. and the Holocaust A Film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein Mini-Series2022

Hemingway Poster

Hemingway Mini-Series2021

Muhammad Ali Poster

Muhammad Ali Documentary2021

East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story Poster

East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story Documentary2020

Ken Burns Presents: The Gene Poster

Ken Burns Presents: The Gene TV Series2020

College Behind Bars Poster

College Behind Bars TV Series2019

Country Music Poster

Country Music Mini-Series2019

Country Music: Live at the Ryman - A Concert Celebrating the Film by Ken Burns Poster

Country Music: Live at the Ryman - A Concert Celebrating the Film by Ken Burns TV Special2019

The Vietnam War Poster

The Vietnam War Mini-Series2017

Walden Short Film2017

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War Poster

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War Documentary2016

Jackie Robinson Poster

Jackie Robinson Mini-Series2016

Krebs: Eine Biografie Mini-Series2016

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies Poster

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies Mini-Series2015

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History Poster

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History Mini-Series2014

The Central Park Five Poster

The Central Park Five Documentary2012

The Dust Bowl Poster

The Dust Bowl Mini-Series2012

Prohibition Poster

Prohibition Mini-Series2011

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Poster

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Mini-Series2009

Medal of Honor Poster

Medal of Honor Documentary2008

The War Mini-Series2007

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Poster

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Documentary2004

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip Poster

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip Documentary2003

Jazz Mini-Series2001

Mark Twain Poster

Mark Twain Documentary2001

Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony Poster

Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony TV Series1999

Frank Lloyd Wright Poster

Frank Lloyd Wright Documentary1998

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Poster

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Documentary1997

Thomas Jefferson Poster

Thomas Jefferson Mini-Series1997

The West Poster

The West Mini-Series1996

Baseball Poster

Baseball Mini-Series1994

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio Poster

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio Documentary1991

The Civil War Poster

The Civil War Mini-Series1990

The Congress Poster

The Congress Documentary1989

Thomas Hart Benton Poster

Thomas Hart Benton Documentary1989

American Experience Poster

American Experience Mini-Series1988

Biography Poster

Biography TV Series1987

Huey Long Poster

Huey Long Documentary1985

The Statue of Liberty Poster

The Statue of Liberty Documentary1985

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God Poster

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God Documentary1984

Brooklyn Bridge Poster

Brooklyn Bridge Documentary1981

Director

36

Type

Year

Leonardo da Vinci Mini-Series2024

The American Buffalo Poster

The American Buffalo Mini-Series2023

Benjamin Franklin Poster

Benjamin Franklin TV Series2022

The U.S. and the Holocaust A Film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein Poster

The U.S. and the Holocaust A Film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein Mini-Series2022

Hemingway Poster

Hemingway Mini-Series2021

Muhammad Ali Poster

Muhammad Ali Documentary2021

Country Music Poster

Country Music Mini-Series2019

The Mayo Clinic, Faith, Hope and Science Poster

The Mayo Clinic, Faith, Hope and Science Documentary2018

The Vietnam War Poster

The Vietnam War Mini-Series2017

Vietnam Mini-Series2017

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War Poster

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War Documentary2016

Jackie Robinson Poster

Jackie Robinson Mini-Series2016

The Address Poster

The Address Documentary2014

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History Poster

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History Mini-Series2014

The Central Park Five Poster

The Central Park Five Documentary2012

The Dust Bowl Poster

The Dust Bowl Mini-Series2012

Prohibition Poster

Prohibition Mini-Series2011

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Poster

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Mini-Series2009

The War Mini-Series2007

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Poster

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Documentary2004

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip Poster

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip Documentary2003

Jazz Mini-Series2001

Mark Twain Poster

Mark Twain Documentary2001

Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony Poster

Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony TV Series1999

Frank Lloyd Wright Poster

Frank Lloyd Wright Documentary1998

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Poster

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Documentary1997

Thomas Jefferson Poster

Thomas Jefferson Mini-Series1997

Baseball Poster

Baseball Mini-Series1994

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio Poster

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio Documentary1991

The Civil War Poster

The Civil War Mini-Series1990

The Congress Poster

The Congress Documentary1989

Thomas Hart Benton Poster

Thomas Hart Benton Documentary1989

Huey Long Poster

Huey Long Documentary1985

The Statue of Liberty Poster

The Statue of Liberty Documentary1985

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God Poster

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God Documentary1984

Brooklyn Bridge Poster

Brooklyn Bridge Documentary1981

Cinematographer

16

Type

Year

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Poster

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Mini-Series2009

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip Poster

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip Documentary2003

Jazz Mini-Series2001

Mark Twain Poster

Mark Twain Documentary2001

Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony Poster

Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony TV Series1999

Frank Lloyd Wright Poster

Frank Lloyd Wright Documentary1998

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Poster

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Documentary1997

Thomas Jefferson Poster

Thomas Jefferson Mini-Series1997

Baseball Poster

Baseball Mini-Series1994

The Civil War Poster

The Civil War Mini-Series1990

The Congress Poster

The Congress Documentary1989

Thomas Hart Benton Poster

Thomas Hart Benton Documentary1989

Huey Long Poster

Huey Long Documentary1985

The Statue of Liberty Poster

The Statue of Liberty Documentary1985

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God Poster

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God Documentary1984

Brooklyn Bridge Poster

Brooklyn Bridge Documentary1981

Writer

10

Type

Year

The American Buffalo Poster

The American Buffalo Mini-Series2023

Muhammad Ali Poster

Muhammad Ali Documentary2021

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies Poster

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies Mini-Series2015

The Address Poster

The Address Documentary2014

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History Poster

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History Mini-Series2014

The Central Park Five Poster

The Central Park Five Documentary2012

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Poster

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Documentary1997

Baseball Poster

Baseball Mini-Series1994

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio Poster

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio Documentary1991

The Civil War Poster

The Civil War Mini-Series1990

Music Department

4

Type

Year

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Poster

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Documentary2004

Baseball Poster

Baseball Mini-Series1994

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio Poster

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio Documentary1991

The Civil War Poster

The Civil War Mini-Series1990

Other Crew

6

Type

Year

College Behind Bars Poster

College Behind Bars TV Series2019

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies Poster

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies Mini-Series2015

The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo Poster

The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo Documentary2005

Thomas Jefferson Poster

Thomas Jefferson Mini-Series1997

The Making of 'Gettysburg' Documentary1993

American Experience Poster

American Experience Mini-Series1988

Camera and Electrical Department

4

Type

Year

The Address Poster

The Address Documentary2014

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Poster

The National Parks: America's Best Idea Mini-Series2009

The West Poster

The West Mini-Series1996

American Experience Poster

American Experience Mini-Series1988

Thanks

11

Type

Year

Mr. Soul! Poster

Mr. Soul! Documentary2018

Sirocco: Prophecy of Wind Poster

Sirocco: Prophecy of Wind Short Film2017

A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House Poster

A Celebration of American Creativity: In Performance at the White House TV Series2016

Wear Feature Film2015

Interstellar Poster

Interstellar Feature Film2014

Wired Short Film2014

Mary & Bill Poster

Mary & Bill Documentary2010

Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey Poster

Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey Documentary2006

The Making of 'the Devil's Den' Documentary2003

The Cat's Meow Poster

The Cat's Meow Feature Film2001

Eternal Memory: Voices from the Great Terror Poster

Eternal Memory: Voices from the Great Terror Documentary1998

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