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Mark Burnett
Burnett in July 2009
Born	July 17, 1960 (1960-07-17) (age 49) London, United Kingdom
Occupation	Television producer
Spouse(s)	Roma Downey (m. 2007–present) «start: (2007)»"Marriage: Roma Downey to Mark Burnett" Location: (linkback:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Burnett)
Children	James, Reilly, and Cameron Burnett

Mark Burnett (born July 17, 1960) is a British television producer. He is known for introducing competition based reality television as a genre to the United States.

Career

Mark Burnett has produced the U.S. version of the series Survivor and the Eco-Challenge. Survivor is the most watched summer series since Sonny and Cher and in June 2009, was featured in Entertainment Weekly as the Number 1 reality series of all time.¹ He has also produced both the U.S. and UK versions of The Apprentice, and helped produce the Irish version of The Apprentice, The Restaurant, The Casino, Rock Star, Combat Missions, The Contender, Martha Stewart, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, and Pirate Master. He collaborated with Steven Spielberg on a Fox show titled On the Lot, which granted one out of 18 contestants an exclusive Hollywood deal with DreamWorks and Spielberg.² The show premiered in May 2007. In 2008, new series for Mark Burnett included Amne$ia and My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad on NBC and Jingles on CBS. For the past three years, Burnett has also served as the executive producer for the 2007, 2008, and 2009, MTV Movie Awards.

New series for Burnett in 2009 include Shark Tank on ABC, Bully Beatdown and Starmaker on MTV, How'd You Get So Rich? on TV Land, Expedition Africa on The History Channel, Toughest Cowboy on Spike, and Wedding Day on TNT. Burnett is also currently in production on new pilots for both Fox and CBS.

Since 2001, Burnett has been nominated for 51 Emmy Awards and has won 2, along with 4 People’s Choice Awards.

Time included Burnett in their April 26, 2004 list "100: Our List of the Most Influential People in the World Today".³ In the same year, Burnett was also named “Philanthropist of the Year” by the Reality Cares Foundation. Furthermore, Burnett has won both Brandweeks’s Marketer of the Year Award and the prestigious Rose d’Or Frapa Format Award.

Burnett with his wife, Roma Downey, and their family in July 2009

In November 2007, Burnett was elected into the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame and in 2008, it was announced that he would be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On July 8, 2009 Burnett received a star at 6664 Hollywood Blvd.⁴

He is currently producing a Reality Television series for The Hills Star and Actress Audrina Patridge which will premiere on MTV in 2010.

He is also ambassador for Operation Smile

Awards and accolades

2008 Young Artist Awards Won:Best Family Television Reality Show, Game Show or Documentary: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader

2008 Teen Choice Awards Nominated: Choice TV Game Show: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader

2008 Peoples Choice Awards Nominated: Favorite Game Show: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader

2008 Kids Choice Awards Nominated: Favorite Reality Show: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader

2007 Daytime Emmy Nominated: Outstanding Lifestyle Program: Martha

2007 Family Television Award Win: Reality Show: Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader

2006 Daytime Emmy Nominated: Outstanding Service Show: Martha

2006 Emmy Nominated: Outstanding Reality-Competition Program: Survivor

2005 Emmy Nominated: Outstanding Reality-Competition Program: Survivor

2004 P.G.A. Awards Nominated: Television Producer of the Year Award in Reality/Game/Informational Series: Survivor

2004 Television Critic’s Association Nomination: Program of the Year: The Apprentice

2004 Teen Choice Awards Nomination: Best Actor, Donald Trump Nomination: Best Actor, Bill Rancic Nomination: Best Jackass, Omarosa Stallworth Nomination: Breakout TV Show: The Apprentice

2004 30th Annual People’s Choice Awards Winner: Favorite Reality Based Television Program: Survivor

2003 Emmy Awards - 4 Nominations: Survivor: Thailand & Survivor: The Amazon (judged as one show)

2003 29th Annual People’s Choice Awards Winner: Favorite Reality Based Television Program: Survivor: Thailand

2003 TV Week’s Annual Critics Poll Winner: Number 1 Reality Show” & “Number 7 Favorite Show: Survivor

2002 Emmy Awards – 4 Nominations: Survivor: Africa & Survivor: Marquesas (judged as one show)

2002 28th Annual People’s Choice Awards Winner: Favorite Reality Based Television Program: Survivor: The Australian Outback

2001 9th Annual Diversity Awards Winner: Most Diverse Television Ensemble Cast: Survivor: The Australian Outback

2001 Emmy Awards – 6 Nominations Winner: Outstanding Non-Fiction Programming, Special Class Winner: Outstanding Sound Mixing for Non-Fiction Programming (single or multi-camera): Survivor: The Australian Outback

2001 27th Annual People’s Choice Awards Winner: Favorite Reality Based Television Program: Survivor

2001 Family Television Awards given by the Family Friendly Programming Forum (3rd Annual) Winner: Reality/Alternative Programming: Survivor: The Australian Outback

2001 Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Recognition Award: Survivor

2001 18th Annual Reggie Awards Gold, Multi-Channel Integrated Promotion Involving Consumer and Trade Special Super Reggie: Survivor

2001 The Publicist Guild of America Maxwell Weinberg Publicists Showmanship Award for Television:Survivor

2000 Sports Emmy Awards Won: Best Program Achievement: Eco-Challenge Morocco

PERSONAL AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

2004 Reality Cares Foundation “Philanthropist of the Year”

2004 Time Magazine: “Time 100: 100 Most Influential People in the World Today”

2009 Hollywood Walk of Fame Star: “Excellence in Television”

Early life

Mark Burnett was born in London, United Kingdom, and was an only child. From 1978-1982 he served with the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland and the Falklands War⁵. In 1982, Burnett moved to Los Angeles, U.S., and for the next decade held a variety of jobs, including a nanny in Beverly Hills and selling t-shirts in Venice Beach.

TV career

International productions

Mark Burnett shows have aired in almost every country in the world. As well as producing award winning television programs stateside, Mark Burnett has also sold several formats internationally to various media outlets around the world.

His international productions include: Amne$ia ³⁵, Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?, which has been produced in over 55 foreign countries ³⁶, The Contender-Asia ³⁷ (a Thai kick boxing version of the American Boxing-Competition show), and The Apprentice which has been produced in over 21 foreign countries.³⁸

Mark Burnett is pacting with casino and resorts giant Genting Intl. to launch a $20 million joint production venture. Mark Burnett Prods. Asia will produce original content for Asian broadcasters and license those formats in markets around the world, including the U.S. The TV venture, the first for Genting, marks the latest overseas expansion for Burnett.

The new company will be based at Resorts World at Sentosa, a $5 billion mega-resort being built by Genting in Singapore and set to open in 2010. Complex will house a Singapore outpost of the Universal Studios theme park, Universal Studios Singapore which houses a marine park and film production studios—all of which will be utilized by Mark Burnett Prods. Asia.

Partnership has been constructed as a 10-year agreement, with both parties holding equal equity in the venture and agreeing to invest up to $20 million in the project over its life. It covers all parts of Asia save for Japan and the Middle East. ³⁹

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mark Burnett

• Mark Burnett at the Internet Movie Database
• SWINDLE Magazine Interview with Mark Burnett