Legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns received a massive honor in Philadelphia Tuesday night. Burns, 71, got the 36th annual Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center in Old City.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Burns began his career as a cinematographer before working on documentaries for both film and television. Burns’ most well-known documentaries include “The Civil War,” “Baseball,” “Jazz,” “Prohibition,” “The Vietnam War,” and “Country Music.” He is known for covering American history and culture throughout his work as well as his signature technique of rapidly and fluidly cutting from one still image to another.
Burns was nominated for two Academy Awards for Documentary Feature for “Brooklyn Bridge” in 1982 and “The Statue of Liberty” in 1986, respectively. He also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series in 1995 for his iconic 1994 documentary “Baseball” and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Non-fiction series in 2010 for his 2009 documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”
His documentary miniseries “The Civil War,” released in 1990, won more than 40 film and television awards, including two Emmy Awards and two Grammy Awards. Burns also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 2008.
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A National Constitution Center spokesperson referred to Burns as “America’s storyteller” known for “illuminating the nation’s greatest triumphs and tragedies and inspiring all of us to learn about the principles at the heart of the American idea.”
The Liberty Medal was established in 1988 to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.
“Given annually, the medal honors individuals and organizations of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe,” a National Constitution Center spokesperson wrote.
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