Documentary filmmaker, PBS writer & producer Ric Burns is a profoundly powerful storyteller whose thought-provoking and deeply poetic films have garnered a devoted following over the last two decades.
Burns is best known for his Emmy Award-winning eight-part PBS series, New York: A Documentary Film, which Variety called “a monumental series that raises the bar for this kind of work.” His other films include Ansel Adams, Coney Island, The Way West, The Donner Party and Eugene O’Neill, which The Wall Street Journal called “a superbly told narrative of America’s greatest playwright.”
Burns began his career working alongside his brother Ken as co-producer and co-writer of the landmark PBS series The Civil War. He formed his own company, Steeplechase Films, in 1989 to produce his work for Public Television. His latest film, Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film, was broadcast in 2006. Entertainment Weekly rated it an “A” and it received an Emmy and Peabody Award.
Burns is currently at work on three documentaries: a history of The New York Times; Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World, an exploration of one of America’s first global industries; and We Shall Remain: Tecumseh, part two of a five-part PBS American Experience series on the history of Native America, slated for broadcast in 2009.
“Ric Burns is among the most engaging speakers I have ever heard. He not only charms an audience with entertainment but enlightens. He can translate the most complex subjects and personalities into vivid narrative.”- George Polk Awards for Journalism
