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Kevin Burns

For other people named Kevin Burns, see Kevin Burns (disambiguation).

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.
DiedSeptember 27, 2020(2020-09-27) (aged 65)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationHamilton College
Boston University
Occupation(s)Producer, director, screenwriter
Years active1981–2020

Biography

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Early life

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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

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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

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

Awards and nominations

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Primetime Emmy Awards

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

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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

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  1. ^ Filmreference.com
  2. ^ a b "Kevin Burns Biography". Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  3. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 24, 2004). "'Fox 2000 dives into 'Voyage': Haythe set to sail script on 'Sea'". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  4. ^ "'The Girls Next Door' DVD For Release in January". Buddytv.com. October 17, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  5. ^ "E! gets 'High Maintenance'". Variety. December 13, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  6. ^ Ball, Ryan (May 3, 2007). "History Channel Reveals Star Wars Legacy". animationmagazine.net. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  7. ^ "America's Book of Secrets", IMDb.
  8. ^ Randall Unger (September 18, 2012). "The History Channel Unveils Some of America's "Secrets"". JustPressPlay.
  9. ^ Evan, Greg (September 28, 2020). "Kevin Burns Dies: 'Ancient Aliens' Creator, 'Lost In Space' Reboot Co-Producer Was 65". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
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