Burnett, Mark

Mark Burnett was born July 17, 1960 in London and was the only child of Archie and Gene Burnett, workers of the factory Ford Motors. He grew up in Dagenem , county of Essex . His father was a Catholic , and his mother was a Presbyterian , it is not known in what denomination Mark was raised. ^{[1] [2]} At the age of 17, he joined the British Army and became the squad leader in the paratrooper regiment. Between 1978 and 1982, Burnett served in the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment , in which he took part in the Falkland War .

After retiring from military service, Burnett emigrated to the United States in October 1982, where his friend Nick Hill, who worked as a nanny and driver, had moved several years earlier. With the help of a friend, Mark, despite the lack of experience, got a job as a nanny and, at the same time, as the bodyguard of the child to Yeagers, who lived in the well - known Los Angeles area of Beverly Hills . A year later, Burnett moved to work in another family in Malibu , where he took care of two boys for $ 250 per week. Later, the father of the children took Mark to work in his insurance office. Two years later, Burnett began selling T-shirts in Vinayce Beach Venice in Los Angeles, first on weekends only. He later quit his job in insurance, as the T-shirt trade brought in more money. ^[3] In 1991, Burnett and four of his friends joined the French adventure race Raid Gauloises. After that, Mark came to the conclusion that it was promising from a business point of view to hold such competitions. He acquired the rights to the format and held a similar Eco-Challenge in in America . It was with the Eco-Challenge that Burnett began his career as a television producer.

Burnett's most famous work was the popular reality show Survivor , which premiered in the summer of 2000. It became the most popular summer event in the history of American television of the year along with the series " Sonny and Cher ." ^[4] In 2009, Entertainment Weekly recognized Survivor as the No. 1 reality TV show of all time. ^[five]

In 2004, Burnett presented the new reality show The Apprentice in on NBC whose members competed for the right to work for real estate tycoon Donald Trump . ^[6] The success of Apprentice has spawned numerous licensed versions of the show around the world.

Burnett is also known as the executive producer of The Voice’s television vocal contest and The Celebrity Apprentice game show on NBC ; Shark Tank reality show and Steve Harvey's FunderDome on ABC , the Lucha Underground wrestling show on the El Rey Network , intellectual television game Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? on fox . ^[7] Burnett is also known for producing award ceremonies. Since 2010, he has been doing the CBS awards ceremony for the People's Choice Awards , MTV Movie Awards (2007-2011), the Spike Video Game Awards and the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards .

Burnett has produced over 2,900 hours of television programs that are regularly broadcast in more than 70 countries around the world. ^[8] Among them are Bully Beatdown, Combat Missions, The Contender, The Contender Asia, Expedition Africa, Expedition Impossible, How'd You Get So Rich ?, Martha Stewart, My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad, On the Lot (together with Steven Spielberg ), The Restaurant, Rock Star, Sarah Palin's Alaska, Stars Earn Stripes, Starmaker, Toughest Cowboy and Wedding Day.

Burnett is known as a solid Christian, which is also manifested in his work. So, Mark, along with his wife, actress Roma Downey , produced for the History Channel the 10-hour mini-series The Bible , a drama based on the history of the Bible . ^[9] In 2013, The Bible was recognized No. 1 among the new series of American cable television ^[10] , as well as in Colombia, Spain and Portugal. ^[11] In total, by the beginning of 2013, the Bible was watched by more than 100 million viewers on the History Channel alone. ^[12]

Following the success of The Bible, Burnett and Downey made the new biblical mini-series AD The Bible Continues which premiered on NBC for Easter 2015, and the mini-series The Dovekeepers aired on CBS in spring 2015. In addition, Burnett was the producer of the feature films “ Son of God ,” “Little Boy” and “Woodlon” .

In October 2013, NBC announced it had reached an agreement with Burnett and the Virgin Galactic companies of Richard Branson to produce a television show whose participants would compete to win a space flight aboard SpaceShipTwo . The project will be called Space Race, and it is not yet determined when it will be shown. ^[13]

In September 2014, MGM acquired a 55 percent stake in One Three Media and LightWorkers Media, which were managed by Burnett and his wife. Both companies will be merged into the new film and television company United Artists Media Group (UAMG). Burnett is the CEO of UAMG, Downey is the president of LightWorkers Media. ^[14]

In December 2015, Burnett was appointed president of MGM Television and Digital Group, signing a five-year contract. His appointment occurred simultaneously with the closure of the acquisition by MGM of the remaining 45% stake in United Artists Media Group (UAMG), which would be acquired by MGM Television Group. ^[15]

In 2016, a new film, produced by Burnett, “ Ben-Hur ”, shot by Russian director Timur Bekmambetov based on Lew Wallace ’s novel “ Ben-Hur: The Story of Christ ”, was released . ^[6] The film was unsuccessful and its rental turned into a box office failure. ^[6]

As president of MGM Television, Burnett oversees the filming of the TV series Fargo ( FX ), Wolf Cub ( MTV ), Vikings ( History ).

Burnett is twice married. His first wife was Diane Valentine, who gave birth to Mark two sons, James and Cameron. ^[16] In September 2002, Mark and Diane Burnett filed a lawsuit in the court for legal separation, which was upheld by the court in December 2003. ^{[16] [17]}

In January 2004, Burnett began dating actress Roma Downey. In November 2006, at the time of a joint holiday with children in the Mexican Zihuatanejo, Mark suggested Roma to marry him. ^[18] They married on April 28, 2007 in their home in Malibu. The ceremony was attended by the famous singer, actress and TV presenter Della Reese , previously co-starring with Downey, now a preacher of the New Thinking movement. ^[nineteen]

Burnett and Downey co-produce the miniseries and are co-owners of the United Artists Media Group with MGM and Hearst Corporation . Aara actively collaborates with Operation Smile and Compassion charity organizations. In 2014, they announced a fundraiser to help survive the upcoming winter for Iraqi and Syrian Christians and other minorities forced to flee home due to the onset of ISIS . ^[20]

In 2004, Time magazine included Burnett in the list of 100 most influential people in the world. ^[21] In the same year, the Reality Cares Foundation recognized Burnett as the “Philanthropist of the Year."

Burnett was a member of the Board of Directors of the British Academy of Motion Picture and Television Arts (BAFTA) for two years. ^[22] In November 2007, Burnett was elected Broadcast & Cable Industry Weekly Hall of Fame . Burnett received a star on Hollywood Boulevard 6664 on July 8, 2009. ^[23] In June 2011, Burnett was elected to the Board of Representatives of the Producers Guild of America and is currently a member of the Board of Manufacturers. He is also the ambassador of the non-profit medical organization Operation Smile.

Rewards

• 2004 - Brandweek Marketer of the Year Award
  • Philanthropist of the Year by Reality Cares Foundation ^[24]
  • Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award
  • Time Magazine: “The 100 Most Influential People in the Modern World”
• 2005 - Rose d'Or Frapa Format Award
• 2009 - Norman Lear Award from the Producers Guild of America ^[25]
  • Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ^[26]
• 2010 - Lifetime Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America
• 2013 - “Producer of the Year” by TV Guide Magazine
  • The Dove Foundation Recognition Award for "Son of God"
• 2014 - Entertainment Award from the Anti-Defamation League

Mark Burnett is the author of two books.

• Mark Burnett. Dare to Succeed: How to Survive and Thrive in the Game of Life. - New York: Hyperion, 2001. (English)
• Mark Burnett. Jump In !: Even If You Don't Know How to Swim. - New York: Random House, 2005. (English)

• Mark Burnett on the Internet Movie Database
• Mark Burnett interview video in the Archive of American Television (eng.)
• Mark Burnett biography . Encyclopedia of World Biography. Date of appeal October 26, 2016.
• Anne Keehn. Mark Burnett ( inaccessible link) . SWINDLE Magazine (2011). Date of treatment October 26, 2016. Archived April 29, 2011.