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Ken Burns

Ken Burns

America's storyteller

For decades, Walpole's Ken Burns has been helping Americans learn more about their history - from wars to music, from national pasttimes to national landmarks - in his documentaries. And he's grown his company, Florentine Films, into a bustling team of writers, producers, editors and interns, still based in the Granite State. We talk with Ken Burns about his life, his work and how his state has changed over the last quarter century.

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NHPR Stories and Programs: Ken Burns

 
Timeline



1953: Born in Brooklyn, New York

1975: Graduates from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts

1976: Co-founds Florentine Films

1981: Releases Brooklyn Bridge, his first film for PBS, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

1984-88: Directs and produces several films for PBS, including The Shakers, Statue of Liberty, Huey Long, The Congress, and Thomas Hart Benton

1990: The Civil War premieres on PBS, becoming the highest rated series in public television history and winning massive acclaim; in 2002, Real Screen Magazine named it the second most influential documentary ever made.

1994: Releases Baseball, a second epic documentary, which becomes the most-watched series in PBS history.

1996-99: Releases several more series for PBS, including The West, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Not For Ourselves Alone and Frank Lloyd Wright. Wins two Peabody Awards, among many other accolades.

2001: Releases Jazz, a ten part, 19-hour film on PBS.

2002-4: Releases a series of two-part films, including Horatio's Drive, Mark Twain, and Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

2007: Newest series, The War, focusing on World War II, to premiere on PBS in September

 
 
On New Hampshire



What are the most significant ways that New Hampshire has changed over the past 25 years?

Too much development that looks like everywhere else.

What are the most significant ways that filmmaking has changed over the past 25 years?

Digital

What Granite Stater(s) would you say inspired you? In what way?

Jeanne Shaheen, Dayton Duncan and Paul Hodes... [for] leadership and friendship.

What would you consider your favorite spot in New Hampshire and why?

My home of Walpole.

What would you like to see accomplished in New Hampshire over the next 25 years?

Health care for everyone, cleaner environment, greener lifestyle

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