fiction.wikisort.org - Screenwriter

Kevin Burns (June 18, 1955 – September 27, 2020), was an American television and film producer, director, and screenwriter. His work can be seen on A&E, National Geographic Channel, E!, Animal Planet, AMC, Bravo, WE tv, Travel Channel, Lifetime, and The History Channel. Burns created and executive-produced more than 800 hours of television programming.

Kevin Burns
Burns in 2013
Born	(1955-06-18)June 18, 1955 Schenectady, New York, U.S.
Died	September 27, 2020(2020-09-27) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Producer, director, screenwriter
Years active	1981–2020

Biography

Early life

Born on June 18, 1955, Burns grew up in Niskayuna, New York.[1] Raised Roman Catholic, he graduated from St. Helen’s School before attending Niskayuna High School. In 1977, he graduated cum laude from Hamilton College. In 1981, he received both a master's degree in film from Boston University's College of Communication and a Student Academy Award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his first film, I Remember Barbra, a humorous documentary short that profiled Barbra Streisand's impact on her former Brooklyn, New York neighborhood. After graduation, Burns taught film production at the university, as well as heading the school's "Film Unit", a group that allowed students to gain real-world experience by producing commercials, public service announcements, documentaries, and other projects for clients. In 1988, he moved to Los Angeles, where he began working as an executive at 20th Century Fox Television.[2]

Career

While at Fox, Burns co-founded Foxstar Productions, the production unit responsible for creating a series of Alien Nation movies for television. In 1994, while serving as senior vice-president of Foxstar, he founded Van Ness Films, a non-fiction and documentary production unit. That same year, he met Jon Jashni, a Fox film executive who shared his interest in the works of legendary Hollywood producer Irwin Allen.[2]

In 1999, Burns officially made a transition from his role as a studio executive to that of a full-time producer. While still under a production deal at Fox Television Studios, Burns and Jon Jashni formed Synthesis Entertainment and began developing and producing remakes and sequels of the Allen properties, most notably a Fox Television pilot for an updated version of The Time Tunnel (2002) and the feature film versions of Poseidon (2006) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.[3]

In 1999, Burns also created Prometheus Entertainment, a company specializing in documentary, reality, and non-fiction programming and specials. Here, Burns continued to produce and direct a wide variety of programming, including the reality show The Girls Next Door on E! (about the adventures of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's three live-in girlfriends[4]), High Maintenance 90210,[5] Hollywood Science for the National Geographic Channel, Food Paradise and Bridget's Sexiest Beaches (both for the Travel Channel) along with Kendra and Holly's World, both spin-offs of The Girls Next Door.

In 2002, Burns received his first of two Emmy Awards as executive producer for A&E's Biography series. That same year, he was selected by George Lucas and Lucasfilm to produce and direct the 150-minute documentary feature Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. Four years later, he was again selected by Lucas to produce and direct Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed,[6] a feature-length documentary that premiered on The History Channel and went on to earn three Emmy Award nominations. Other specials include Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, which Burns co-produced with Superman Returns director Bryan Singer; Spider-Man Tech; Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest; Batman Unmasked; Batman Tech; The Valkyrie Legacy, his second co-production with Bryan Singer; and Angels & Demons: Decoded in 2009.

Since 2010, Burns and his company Prometheus Entertainment have produced The History Channel TV series Ancient Aliens, America's Book of Secrets,[7][8] and The Curse of Oak Island, as well as the reality TV series Kendra on Top for WEtv, and other non-fiction series and specials.

Along with his business partner Jon Jashni, Burns played an integral part in the development and creation of the Lost in Space reboot for Netflix and was serving as executive producer on the show.

Death

Burns died on September 27, 2020, of cardiac arrest at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.[9]

Awards and nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

• Nominated: Outstanding Cultural Music-Dance Program, Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Sound of Movies (1996)
• Won: Outstanding Non-Fiction Series (Informational), Biography (2002)
• Nominated: Outstanding Nonfiction Series, Biography (TV Series) (2006)
• Nominated: Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming, Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed (2007)
• Nominated: Outstanding Nonfiction Special, Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed (2007)
• Nominated: Outstanding Nonfiction Series, Biography (TV Series) (2007)
• Nominated: Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming, Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed (2007)

Daytime Emmy Awards

• Won: Outstanding Special Class Special, Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (2003)

DVD Exclusive Awards

• Nominated: Best New, Enhanced or Reconstructed Movie Scenes, Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001)
• Won: Best Original Retrospective Documentary, *Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood (2001)
• Won: Best Behind the Scenes Program (New for DVD), Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2005)

International Monitor Awards

• Won: Documentaries – Director, Hollywood Aliens & Monsters (1998)

Student Academy Awards, US

• Won: Documentary, I Remember Barbra (1981)

Filmography

Film	Year	Credited as			Notes
		Director	Producer	Writer
"I Remember Barbra"	1981	Yes	Yes	No
"In Our Hands"	1982	No	Yes	No
"Meet Bertice"	1993	No	Yes	No
"Alien Nation: Dark Horizon"	1994	No	Yes	No	uncredited
"Biography"	1995-2005	Yes	Yes	Yes	director 1995-1997 writer 1996-1997
"The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen"	1995	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Alien Nation: Body and Soul"	1995	No	Yes	No	uncredited
"A Hollywood Christmas"	1996	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Alien Nation: Millennium"	1996	No	Yes	No
"Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Sound of Movies"	1996	Yes	Yes	No
"Monster Mania"	1997	Yes	Yes	No
"Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults"	1997	No	Yes	No
"Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults "	1997	Yes	Yes	No
"Twentieth Century-Fox: The First 50 Years"	1997	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Hollywood Aliens & Monsters"	1997	Yes	No	No
"Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood"	1998	No	Yes	No
"Beyond Titanic"	1998	No	Yes	No
"Behind the Planet of the Apes"	1998	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Lost in Space Forever"	1998	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Hugh Hefner: American Playboy Revisited"	1998	Yes	No	No
"TV Guide Looks at Cops"	1998	Yes	No	No
"TV Guide Looks at Christmas"	1998	Yes	No	No
"Famous Families"	1998	No	Yes	No	17 episodes
"The Bunny Years"	1999	No	Yes	No
"Who Knew ?"	1999	No	Yes	No
"Bride of Monster Mania"	1999	No	Yes	No
"Attack of the 50 Foot Monster Mania"	1999	No	Yes	No
"Hollywood's Hot Wheels"	1999	No	Yes	No
"Hollywood Screen Tests"	1999	No	Yes	No
"Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2"	1999	No	Yes	No
"Hollywood at Your Feet: The Story of the Chinese Theatre Footprints"	2000	No	Yes	No
"The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect"	2000	No	Yes	No
"Twentieth Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years"	2000	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years"	2000	Yes	Yes	No
"Backstory"	2000	No	Yes	Yes	producer 55 episodes writer 2 episodes
"Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood"	2001	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days"	2001	No	Yes	No
"The Omen Legacy"	2001	No	Yes	No
"History vs. Hollywood"	2001	No	Yes	No	16 episodes
"The Time Tunnel"	2002	No	Yes	No
"Inside The Playboy Mansion"	2002	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s"	2002	No	Yes	No
"The Alien Saga"	2002	No	Yes	No
"Monsterama"	2003	No	Yes	No	24episodes
"Hell Up in Hollywood: Soul Cinema and the 1970s"	2003	No	Yes	No
"50 Greatest TV Animals"	2003	No	Yes	No
"Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest"	2003	No	Yes	No
"Sex at 24 Frames Per Second: The Ultimate Journey Through Sex in Cinema"	2003	No	Yes	No
"Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration"	2003	No	Yes	No
"Monsterama: Munsters Collectibles"	2003	No	No	Yes
"Monsterama: Aurora Model Kits"	2003	No	No	Yes
"The Robinsons: Lost in Space"	2004	No	Yes	No
"Just the Facts"	2004	No	Yes	Yes
"50 Greatest Movie Animals"	2004	No	Yes	No
"Love Hollywood Style"	2004	No	Yes	No
"Animal Icons"	2004	No	Yes	No	17 episodes
"Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy"	2004	Yes	Yes	No
"Ultimate Super Heroes"	2005	No	Yes	No
"Ultimate Super Villains"	2005	No	Yes	No
"Ultimate Super Vixens"	2005	No	Yes	No
"The Girls Next Door"	2005-2009	No	Yes	No
"Poseidon"	2006	No	Yes	No
"Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman"	2006	Yes	Yes	No
"The Science of Superman"	2006	No	Yes	No
"Hollywood Science"	2006	No	Yes	No	5 episodes
"High Maintenance 90210"	2007	No	Yes	No	6 episodes
"Spider-Man Tech"	2007	No	Yes	No
"Star Wars Tech"	2007	No	Yes	No
"Star Warriors"	2007	Yes	Yes	No
"Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed"	2007	Yes	Yes	Yes
"Food Paradise"	2007-2013	No	Yes	No	52 episodes
"Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest"	2008	Yes	Yes	No
"Batman Unmasked"	2008	No	Yes	No
"Batman Tech"	2008	No	Yes	No
"Vegas Revolution"	2008	No	Yes	No	6 episodes
"The Valkyrie Legacy"	2008	Yes	Yes	No
"Kendra"	2008-2011	No	Yes	No
"Ladies or Gentlemen"	2008	Yes	Yes	No
"The Face is Familiar"	2009	Yes	Yes	No
"Angels & Demons: Decoded"	2009	No	Yes	No
"Bridget's Sexiest Beaches"	2009	No	Yes	No
"Holly's World"	2009-2011	No	Yes	No	19 episodes
"The President's Book of Secrets"	2010	No	Yes	No
"Ancient Aliens"	2010-2020	No	Yes	No
"Hef's Runaway Bride"	2011	No	Yes	No
"Civilization: Lost"	2011	No	Yes	No
"How Playboy Changed the World"	2012	Yes	Yes	No
"The Godfather Legacy"	2012	Yes	Yes	No
"America's Book of Secrets"	2012-2013	No	Yes	No	33 episodes
"Birth/Mothers"	2012	No	Yes	No
"Kendra on Top"	2012-2017	No	Yes	No
"Bible Secrets Revealed"	2013-2014	No	Yes	No	6 episodes
"Target: Earth"	2013	No	Yes	No
"Secret Societies of Hollywood"	2013	No	Yes	No	5 episodes
"In Search of Aliens"	2013	No	Yes	No	10 episodes
"The Curse of Oak Island"	2014-2020	No	Yes	No
"Cesar Millan: Love My Pit Bull"	2014	No	Yes	No
"Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Color"	2015	No	Yes	No
"The Secret Life of: America's Tallest Buildings"	2017	No	Yes	No
"Vanished"	2017	No	Yes	No
"The Tesla Files"	2018	No	Yes	No
"The Curse of Civil War Gold"	2018	No	Yes	No
"Lost in Space"	2018	No	Yes	No

References

External links

• Kevin Burns at IMDb
• Kevin Burns discography at Discogs

---