---
name: "Ken Burns"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ken-burns"
fi1m_id: "ken-burns"
imdb_id: "nm0122741"
tmdb_id: 204484
wikidata_id: "Q616886"
roles: ["Director","Producer","Writer"]
born: "29 July 1953"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "director"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-10-07T11:33:21.767875+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ken Burns

## Identity

Ken Burns

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ken-burns
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ken-burns
- **IMDb ID:** nm0122741
- **TMDB ID:** 204484
- **Wikidata ID:** Q616886
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q616886, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122741/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/204484

Director and producer. Born 29 July 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer, Writer
- **Born:** 29 July 1953, Brooklyn, New York, USA
- **Active:** 1990–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Geoffrey C. Ward](https://film.one/person/geoffrey-c-ward.md), [Peter Coyote](https://film.one/person/peter-coyote.md), Sarah Botstein
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q616886, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122741/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/204484

## Coming up

- *Crime and Punishment in America* (2026-11-16), Executive Producer

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Civil War*](https://film.one/tv/the-civil-war.md) (87)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Ken Burns is an American filmmaker and director of historical documentaries, primarily for PBS. He was born on 29 July 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, and studied at Hampshire College.

Burns is known for directing, writing and producing series including *The Civil War* (1990), *The Vietnam War* (2017) and *The American Revolution* (2025). His brother Ric Burns is also a documentary filmmaker.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, pbs.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Civil War* (1990), Fi1m 87, Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-civil-war.md)

## Complete filmography (62)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Crime and Punishment in America* (2026), series, Executive Producer
- *Henry David Thoreau* (2026), Producer
- *Henry David Thoreau* (2026), series, Director, Writer, Producer, Creator
- *The American Revolution* (2025), series, Producer, Director, Creator
- *Leonardo da Vinci* (2024), series, Director, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories* (2024), Actor
- *Homecoming* (2023), Executive Producer
- *The American Buffalo* (2023), series, Director, Producer, Executive Producer
- *The U.S. and the Holocaust* (2022), series, Producer, Director, Creator
- *Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness* (2022), series, Executive Producer
- *Benjamin Franklin* (2022), series, Director, Producer
- *Muhammad Ali* (2021), series, Director, Writer, Executive Producer
- *De la poussière et des hommes* (2021), series, Director
- *Hemingway* (2021), series, Director, Producer
- *The Gene: An Intimate History* (2020), series, Producer
- *East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story* (2020), Producer, Executive Producer
- *College Behind Bars* (2019), series, Executive Producer
- *Country Music* (2019), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *The Mayo Clinic* (2018), Director, Writer, Executive Producer
- *Walden* (2017), Executive Producer
- *The Vietnam War* (2017), series, Producer, Executive Producer, Director
- *Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War* (2016), Executive Producer, Director
- *Jackie Robinson* (2016), series, Director
- *Difficult People* (2015), series, as Ken Burns
- *Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies* (2015), series, Producer
- *Interstellar* (2014), Thanks — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/interstellar.md)
- *The Roosevelts: An Intimate History* (2014), series, Director, Writer, Creator
- *The Address* (2014), Director
- *Yosemite — A Gathering of Spirit* (2013), as Narrator (Voice) · Director, Executive Producer, Cinematography
- *After the Central Park Five* (2013), Director, Writer
- *The Dust Bowl* (2012), series, Director, Producer
- *The Mindy Project* (2012), series, as Ken Burns — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mindy-project.md)
- *The Central Park Five* (2012), Director, Writer, Producer
- *Prohibition* (2011), series, Executive Producer, Producer, Director, Creator
- *Baseball: The Tenth Inning* (2010), Writer, Director
- *Baseball: The Tenth Inning* (2010), series, Director, Writer, Producer, Director of Photography, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Seeing, Searching, Being: William Segal* (2010), Director
- *A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939* (2010), Actor
- *The National Parks: America's Best Idea* (2009), series, Producer, Director
- *The War* (2007), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson* (2005), series, Director, Producer
- *Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson* (2004), Director
- *Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip* (2003), Director
- *Mark Twain* (2002), Producer, Director, Director of Photography
- *Mark Twain* (2002), series, Director
- *Jazz* (2001), series, Producer, Director
- *Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony* (1999), series, Producer, Director
- *Frank Lloyd Wright* (1998), series, Director, Producer
- *Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery* (1997), series, Director, Producer
- *Thomas Jefferson* (1997), series, Director, Creator
- *The West* (1996), series, Executive Producer
- *Baseball* (1994), series, Director, Producer, Executive Producer, Writer, Director of Photography
- *Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio* (1991), Director, Producer, Music Director, Executive Producer, Director of Photography
- *Lindbergh* (1990), Producer
- *The Civil War* (1990), series, Writer, Director, Executive Producer, Director of Photography — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-civil-war.md)
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Ken Burns (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *Thomas Hart Benton* (1989), Director, Producer
- *The Congress* (1989), Director
- *The Statue of Liberty* (1985), Director, Cinematography, Producer
- *Huey Long* (1985), Director, Producer
- *The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God* (1984), Director, Producer, Cinematography
- *Brooklyn Bridge* (1981), Director, Director of Photography, Cinematography

## Gallery

- ![Ken Burns](https://film.one/media/person/3675510/gallery-bf28a1458af7.jpg) Ken Burns — LBJLibraryNow, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/2025_-_Ken_Burns_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Documentary Filmmaker (2007)](https://film.one/media/person/3675510/gallery-ece74b14f8d0.jpg) Documentary Filmmaker (2007) — University of Mount Union, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Ken_Burns_%285547462313%29.jpg/1280px-Ken_Burns_%285547462313%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Filmmaker Ken Burns speaks at the gala ceremony for the inaugural Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, October 17, 2019. Photo by Shawn Miller/L](https://film.one/media/person/3675510/gallery-3d871dcfe927.jpg) Filmmaker Ken Burns speaks at the gala ceremony for the inaugural Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, October 17, 2019. Photo by Shawn Miller/L — Library of Congress Life, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Ken_Burns_%2848980694488%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Ken_Burns_%2848980694488%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![David McMahon and Ken Burns with the Peabody Award for "The Central Park Five" (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/3675510/gallery-489f22712690.jpg) David McMahon and Ken Burns with the Peabody Award for "The Central Park Five" (2014) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/David_McMahon_-_Ken_Burns_%2814098368218%29.jpg/1280px-David_McMahon_-_Ken_Burns_%2814098368218%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ken Burns](https://film.one/media/person/3675510/gallery-fc344f4ca0c1.jpg) Ken Burns — Image via TMDB
- ![Charlie Rose and Ken Burns at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards Reception (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/3675510/gallery-327945ca190f.jpg) Charlie Rose and Ken Burns at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards Reception (2014) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Charlie_Rose_-_Ken_Burns_%2814106320180%29.jpg/1280px-Charlie_Rose_-_Ken_Burns_%2814106320180%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Ken Burns and David McMahon at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/3675510/gallery-2c9602fddb04.jpg) Ken Burns and David McMahon at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards (2014) — Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Ken_Burns_-_David_McMahon_%2814292108854%29.jpg/1280px-Ken_Burns_-_David_McMahon_%2814292108854%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 6 won, 3 nominated

- Lady Bird Johnson Environmental Award 2017: Lady Bird Johnson Environmental Award (won)
- Jefferson Lecture 2016: Jefferson Lecture (won)
- Independent Spirit Awards 2013: Best Documentary Feature (nominated), for *The Central Park Five*
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay 2013: Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay (nominated), for *The Central Park Five*
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Documentaries 2007: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Documentaries (nominated), for *The War*
- Charles Frankel Prize 1991: Charles Frankel Prize (won)
- Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording 1991: Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording (won)
- Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album 1991: Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album (won)
- Lincoln Prize 1991: Lincoln Prize (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ken-burns