— Ch. 1 · The Summer Of Sixty-Two —
Ken Burns.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Kenneth Lauren Burns was born on the 29th of July 1953 in Brooklyn, New York. His mother Lyla Smith Burns worked as a biotechnician while his father Robert Kyle Burns Jr. studied cultural anthropology at Columbia University. The family moved frequently during his childhood to places like Saint-Véran, France and Newark, Delaware. When Ken was three years old doctors diagnosed his mother with breast cancer. She died when he was eleven years old. This loss shaped the core philosophy of his future documentary work.
A specific memory from June 1962 remains vivid for him. He recalls joining a family dinner inside a tract house in Newark on a hot sweltering day. His mother cried after learning she would die within six months. Her tears were not about her illness but about their inadequate health insurance that had nearly bankrupted them. Neighbors who were struggling working people collected money and presented his parents with $120 in total. That sum kept the family solvent for more than a month. Burns later described that evening as a victory where community and courage intersected with constant struggle.
He credits psychologist Gerald Stechler with helping him understand this moment. Stechler told him that his entire body of work represented an attempt to make people long gone come back alive. Burns stated that he spent his professional life trying to resurrect small moments within the larger sweep of American history. He sought to find better angels in difficult circumstances and wake the dead to hear their stories.
Foundations Of Florentine Films
Burns moved from Manhattan to Walpole, New Hampshire in 1979 because rent rose from $275 to $325 per month. The original reason for the move was financial pressure rather than artistic choice. He eventually bought the house he initially rented and still resides there today. This small town jump-started his later success according to his own account.
In 1976 Burns founded Florentine Films alongside college classmate Roger Sherman and photographer Elaine Mayes. They named the company after Mayes's hometown of Florence Massachusetts. Buddy Squires joined them one year later as a founding member. Lawrence Larry Hott became the fourth partner despite not matriculating at Hampshire College. Hott had attended Western New England Law School before working on films there.
Each member works independently but releases content under the shared name of Florentine Films. Their individual subsidiary companies include Ken Burns Media, Sherman Pictures, and Hott Productions. Sarah Burns serves as an employee of the company as of 2020. Burns worked in a record store to help pay tuition while living on as little as $2,500 over two years.