Photo: LBJLibraryNow / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ken Burns is, to my mind, the rare documentarian whose style became part of the common language; when your editing technique ships as a default effect in video software, you have changed how people see. Yet his real power comes from patience: spending years on the Civil War, baseball, or jazz, letting old photographs and human voices carry the weight. He treats American history as a conversation rather than a lecture, glory and shame intact. The shelf of Emmys and national honors is deserved, but his deepest legacy may be teaching television, and its audience, how to slow down.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ken Burns
- Name (Japanese)
- ケン・バーンズ
- Reading
- けん・ばーんず
- Born
- July 29, 1953 (age 73)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Snake
- Origin
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Occupation
- film director / manufacturer / actor / screenwriter / film producer
2. Background
- High school
- Pioneer High School
- University
- Hampshire College
Awards & achievements
- 1991 Lincoln Prize
- National Humanities Medal
- Emmy Award
- 1991 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album
- 1991 Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording
- 2017 Lady Bird Johnson Environmental Award
- 1991 Charles Frankel Prize
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Ken Burns born?
Born July 29, 1953 (age 73).
Where is Ken Burns from?
Ken Burns is from Brooklyn, New York, United States.
What does Ken Burns do?
Ken Burns works as film director, manufacturer, actor, screenwriter, film producer.
Film director — see all → · Manufacturer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.