Burt Kearns
Encyclopedia
Burt Kearns is an American
television
and film producer
, writer
, director
, journalist
and author
, known for his influential work in reality television and his controversial 1999 tabloid television memoir, Tabloid Baby
.
Graduated from Fairfield University
; became a reporter and editor for newspapers in in southern Connecticut
and Westchester, New York. After John Lennon
's assassination on December 8, 1980, he moved to Manhattan
, where he worked for neighborhood newspapers including the East Side Express and the Chelsea-Clinton News, and later at the assignment desk and as newswriter and show producer at WNEW-TV's Ten O'Clock News. Kearns became a producer and writer for such New York City
news operations as WNBC
-TV's News 4 New York
and CBS News Nightwatch.
Kearns moonlighted as a writer for Spin
magazine, writing articles about Elvis Presley
, k.d. lang
, Steve Miller
and John Hiatt
, among others (hired by editor Legs McNeil
). Joined Rupert Murdoch
's 20th Century Fox
as managing editor of the nightly tabloid television series, A Current Affair
, where he helped develop and expand the tabloid television genre. In 1990, Kearns accompanied executive producer and genre inventor Peter Brennan to Hollywood, where, as managing editor and producer of Hard Copy
(1990–1993) and Premier Story (1994), he was an influential figure in the heyday of tabloid television.
Left tabloid television and began writing Tabloid Baby
in 1996.
A combination memoir, mea culpa
and exposé, the book was published in November 1999 by Hambleton-Hill's Celebrity Books imprint, and became an immediate sensation.
The book was praised by Mike Wallace
of CBS News
' 60 Minutes
as "sad, funny, undeniably authentic" and by tabloid television host Maury Povich
as "the Bible."
Kearns embarked on a cross-country signing tour after network news bosses reacted to his revelations about the television industry by canceling many of his scheduled television appearances.
(later Frozen Pictures
) with veteran producer Brett Hudson
, formerly of the Hudson Brothers
. Kearns has written and produced many television shows and series under the Frozen banner, including the documentary series Adults Only: The Secret History of The Other Hollywood and The Secret History of Rock ‘n’ Roll with Gene Simmons
for Court TV
, All the Presidents' Movies with Martin Sheen
for Bravo, the Showtime late night series My First Time
, and episodes of the Court TV series, Mugshots.
He directed and produced the 2008 Frozen Pictures documentary
musical film
, The Seventh Python
, about the career and influence of Monty Python
collaborator and Bonzo Dog Band member Neil Innes
, and directed and produced Basketball Man, the 2007 Frozen Pictures documentary film
that featured basketball
stars and legends telling the story of the life and legacy of the game's inventor, Dr. James Naismith. He was also executive producer and producer of Frozen Pictures' The Michael Lohan
Reality Project and creator, writer and producer (with Hudson) of American Dunkleman. As of early 2011, he was producing and directing the Frozen Pictures nonfiction feature film, El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story, which was previewed as a work-in-progress August 15, 2009 at the 35th annual Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago and May 14, 2010 at the Pacific Palisades Film Festival.
movie, Cloud 9
(starring Burt Reynolds
), along with Hudson and Academy Award winner Albert S. Ruddy. The film was released on DVD by 20th Century Home Emtertainment on January 3, 2006.
, Cher
, Don Johnson
& Esai Morales
) for Animal Planet
. Co-producer of the HBO documentary Panic, starring Kim Basinger
. Producer of Fox Television special, When Good Pets Go Bad 2 and executive producer of the syndicated series, Strange Universe
.
He made international headlines, including front page stories in The New York Times
and USA Today
, when he created and edited the website, saintmychal.com, chronicling, and inherently promoting, the canonization
of New York City Fire Department
Chaplain and September 11th victim Mychal Judge.
Kearns was credited as co-executive producer of the 2009-2010 truTV reality documentary series, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura
and was executive producer and showrunner of the series' second season, which debuted in October 2010, and third season, set to launch in January 2012.
As of August 2011, he was credited as executive producer of Speed (TV channel) hit series, Dumbest Stuff on Wheels.
.
. Kearns is married to television producer and journalist Alison Holloway
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, known for his influential work in reality television and his controversial 1999 tabloid television memoir, Tabloid Baby
Tabloid Baby
Tabloid Baby is a 1999 memoir by veteran journalist and television news producer Burt Kearns detailing his years as producer on tabloid television shows like A Current Affair and Hard Copy. Regarded as the definitive work on the rise and fall of the tabloid television genre...
.
Early career
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
; became a reporter and editor for newspapers in in southern Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and Westchester, New York. After John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's assassination on December 8, 1980, he moved to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, where he worked for neighborhood newspapers including the East Side Express and the Chelsea-Clinton News, and later at the assignment desk and as newswriter and show producer at WNEW-TV's Ten O'Clock News. Kearns became a producer and writer for such New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
news operations as WNBC
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
-TV's News 4 New York
News 4 New York
News 4 New York is the brand identifier of WNBC-TV in New York City. It began using this for its news broadcasts in 1971 to 1972, again on October 13, 1980, and again in March 2008. Prior to this, WNBC used the NewsCenter 4 brand for their newscasts...
and CBS News Nightwatch.
Kearns moonlighted as a writer for Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine, writing articles about Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Steve Miller
Steve Miller (musician)
Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
and John Hiatt
John Hiatt
John Hiatt is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards - although he has never won- and has been awarded a variety of other...
, among others (hired by editor Legs McNeil
Legs McNeil
Roderick Edward "Legs" McNeil is a writer and rock music historian. He is the co-founder and a writer for Punk Magazine; he is also a former senior editor at Spin Magazine, and the founder and editor of Nerve magazine .- Punk Magazine:At the age of 18, McNeil gathered with two high school...
). Joined Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
as managing editor of the nightly tabloid television series, A Current Affair
A Current Affair (US TV series)
A Current Affair is an American television newsmagazine that aired in syndicated from July 1986 to 1996 before reappearing briefly in March 2005. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox, and long based at Fox's New York flagship WNYW.-Overview:...
, where he helped develop and expand the tabloid television genre. In 1990, Kearns accompanied executive producer and genre inventor Peter Brennan to Hollywood, where, as managing editor and producer of Hard Copy
Hard Copy
Hard Copy is an American tabloid news television show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999. Hard Copy was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence....
(1990–1993) and Premier Story (1994), he was an influential figure in the heyday of tabloid television.
Tabloid Baby
Tabloid Baby
Tabloid Baby is a 1999 memoir by veteran journalist and television news producer Burt Kearns detailing his years as producer on tabloid television shows like A Current Affair and Hard Copy. Regarded as the definitive work on the rise and fall of the tabloid television genre...
in 1996.
A combination memoir, mea culpa
Mea Culpa
Mea culpa is a Latin phrase that translates into English as "my mistake" or "my fault". To emphasize the message, the adjective "maxima" may be inserted, resulting in "mea maxima culpa," which would translate as "my most [grievous] fault."...
and exposé, the book was published in November 1999 by Hambleton-Hill's Celebrity Books imprint, and became an immediate sensation.
The book was praised by Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace
Michael Wallace may refer to:*Mike Wallace , television correspondent**The Mike Wallace Interview, his TV series*Mike Wallace , American historian...
of CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
' 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
as "sad, funny, undeniably authentic" and by tabloid television host Maury Povich
Maury Povich
Maurice Richard "Maury" Povich is an American TV talk show host who currently hosts his self-titled talk show Maury.-Personal background:...
as "the Bible."
Kearns embarked on a cross-country signing tour after network news bosses reacted to his revelations about the television industry by canceling many of his scheduled television appearances.
Frozen Pictures
In 2000, Kearns formed the production company Frozen TelevisionFrozen Television
Frozen Television is a television production company specializing in documentaries and entertainment programming. Frozen Television was founded by Brett Hudson and Burt Kearns and is affiliated with the motion picture production company, Frozen Pictures....
(later Frozen Pictures
Frozen Pictures
Frozen Pictures is a motion picture, television and multimedia production company founded and operated by veteran producers and writers Brett Hudson and Burt Kearns, and is affiliated with Frozen Television....
) with veteran producer Brett Hudson
Brett Hudson
Brett Hudson musician, singer/songwriter, possibly best known as the youngest of the 1970s group the Hudson Brothers, is now a TV producer and writer living in Malibu, California. Hudson formed the production company Frozen Pictures with Burt Kearns...
, formerly of the Hudson Brothers
Hudson Brothers
The Hudson Brothers are an American music group formed in Portland, Oregon in the 1970s and consisting of Bill Hudson, Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson...
. Kearns has written and produced many television shows and series under the Frozen banner, including the documentary series Adults Only: The Secret History of The Other Hollywood and The Secret History of Rock ‘n’ Roll with Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
for Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
, All the Presidents' Movies with Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
for Bravo, the Showtime late night series My First Time
My First Time
My First Time is an album by Look What I Did released December 2003 on Clockrock Recordings. It features the song "Cupid Full of Eros" which was remade and released on their 2005 release Minuteman for the Moment, which also featured the second part to the Zanzibar story...
, and episodes of the Court TV series, Mugshots.
He directed and produced the 2008 Frozen Pictures documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
, The Seventh Python
The Seventh Python
The Seventh Python is a 2008 musical documentary film about the career, music and philosophy of pop satirist and songwriter Neil Innes, who has been known as the "seventh" member of the six-man Monty Python comedy troupe...
, about the career and influence of Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
collaborator and Bonzo Dog Band member Neil Innes
Neil Innes
Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
, and directed and produced Basketball Man, the 2007 Frozen Pictures documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that featured basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
stars and legends telling the story of the life and legacy of the game's inventor, Dr. James Naismith. He was also executive producer and producer of Frozen Pictures' The Michael Lohan
Michael Lohan
Michael Lohan, Sr. is the ex-husband of Dina Lohan and the father of Lindsay, Michael Lohan Jr., Ali, and Cody Lohan.-Early life:...
Reality Project and creator, writer and producer (with Hudson) of American Dunkleman. As of early 2011, he was producing and directing the Frozen Pictures nonfiction feature film, El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story, which was previewed as a work-in-progress August 15, 2009 at the 35th annual Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago and May 14, 2010 at the Pacific Palisades Film Festival.
Cloud 9
Kearns wrote and produced the 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
movie, Cloud 9
Cloud 9 (film)
Cloud 9 is a 2006 American sports comedy film starring Burt Reynolds that was written and produced by Brett Hudson, Burt Kearns and Academy Award-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy...
(starring Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
), along with Hudson and Academy Award winner Albert S. Ruddy. The film was released on DVD by 20th Century Home Emtertainment on January 3, 2006.
Independent work
Kearns produced the documentary films Death of a Beatle (2000) and Bin Laden’s Escape (2005) (with Parco Productions). Directed and produced the documentary, Boxing: A Different Look for Showtime and Hollywood Animal Crusaders (featuring John TravoltaJohn Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
& Esai Morales
Esai Morales
Esai Manuel Morales is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Bob Morales in the 1987 biopic La Bamba. He also appeared in the PBS drama American Family and in the Showtime series Resurrection Blvd.. However, he is best known for his roles as Lt...
) for Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
. Co-producer of the HBO documentary Panic, starring Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
. Producer of Fox Television special, When Good Pets Go Bad 2 and executive producer of the syndicated series, Strange Universe
Strange Universe
Strange Universe was a syndicated daily half-hour program about paranormal phenomena. It was hosted by Emmitt Miller and Dana Adams. In February of 1997 Adams was dropped as co-host and miller became the only host. It was on the air from 1996 to 1998 for a total of 390 episodes.-External links:* ...
.
He made international headlines, including front page stories in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, when he created and edited the website, saintmychal.com, chronicling, and inherently promoting, the canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
of New York City Fire Department
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...
Chaplain and September 11th victim Mychal Judge.
Kearns was credited as co-executive producer of the 2009-2010 truTV reality documentary series, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura
Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura
Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura is an American television series hosted by Jesse Ventura and broadcast on truTV . It premiered on December 2, 2009, and is produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions. A second season premiered on October 15, 2010...
and was executive producer and showrunner of the series' second season, which debuted in October 2010, and third season, set to launch in January 2012.
As of August 2011, he was credited as executive producer of Speed (TV channel) hit series, Dumbest Stuff on Wheels.
Awards
Winner of 2009 Las Vegas Film Festival Golden Ace Award for The Seventh PythonThe Seventh Python
The Seventh Python is a 2008 musical documentary film about the career, music and philosophy of pop satirist and songwriter Neil Innes, who has been known as the "seventh" member of the six-man Monty Python comedy troupe...
.
Personal life
Kearns returned to tabloid journalism in 2005, working once again with mentor Peter Brennan, as consulting producer to short-lived revival of A Current AffairA Current Affair (US TV series)
A Current Affair is an American television newsmagazine that aired in syndicated from July 1986 to 1996 before reappearing briefly in March 2005. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox, and long based at Fox's New York flagship WNYW.-Overview:...
. Kearns is married to television producer and journalist Alison Holloway
Alison Holloway
Alison Holloway is an English journalist and media personality, now living in the United States. She was the original presenter of Sky Television's Sky World News Tonight and is now a television producer and reporter based in Los Angeles.-Career:...
.
Sources
- New York Times
- New York Times article
- "Bad Boy TV," Salon.com
- Tabloid Baby review, L.A. Weekly
- USA Today
- Kearns as guest on Coast-to-Coast AM with Art Bell
- Kearns profile in Fairfield University magazine
- Interview from On The Edge with Paula Zahn
- Elvis After Elvis: The Posthumous Career of a Living Legend (p. 39)