KURTIS, Bill 1940–

PERSONAL

Full name, William Horton Kurtis; born September 21, 1940, in Pensacola, FL; raised in Independence, KS; son of William A. and Wilma Mary (maiden name, Horton) Kurtis; married Helen M., July 7, 1963 (died, 1977); children: Mary Kristin, Scott Erik. Education: University of Kansas, B.S., journalism, 1962; Washburn University, J.D., 1966.

Addresses: Office— Kurtis Productions, 400 West Erie St., Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60610.

Career: Television anchor, broadcast journalist, producer, and executive. WIBW–Radio, Topeka, KS, broadcast journalist; WBBM–TV, Chicago, IL, news reporter, 1966–70; CBS News, Los Angeles, reporter and producer, 1970–71, correspondent, 1971–73; WBBM–TV, coanchor, 1973–82, anchor, beginning 1985; Kurtis Productions, Chicago, IL, principal, 1987—. Arts and Entertainment (cable television network), host of prime–time documentary programming, beginning 1998. Admitted to the Bar of Kansas, 1966. Military service: U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, active duty, 1962–63.

Member: American Bar Association, Scientific Research Society (Washington, DC), Sigma Xi, Sigma Delta Chi.

Awards, Honors: Local Emmy Award, 1970, for reporting on Chicago conspiracy trial; Overseas Press Club of America Award, 1975, for documentary on Saigon war orphans; Local Emmy awards, 1976, for reporting on the fall of Saigon, reporting on Belfast, Northern Ireland, and individual excellence; Madeline Dane Ross Award, Overseas Press Club of America, 1981, for "American Faces"; George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award, Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Georgia, 1983, for a documentary; CAMPI Award, male media personality of the decade, Make–a–Wish Foundation, 1990; Excellence in Journalism Award, International Press Center, Chicago, IL, 1995; Peter Lisagor Award for Public Service, Society of Professional Journalists; UNICEF World of Children Award, 1995; Silver Circle Award, Chicago/Midwest chapter, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1995; two Emmy awards, 1996, for Investigative Reports; Gideon Award, California Public Defenders, 1996, for American Justice; citation, William Allen White Foundation, University of Kansas, 1997; George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award, National Education Association Award for the advancement of learning through broadcasting, Westinghouse American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Television, San Francisco State Journalism Award, and Parent's Choice Award, all for The New Explorers; Annual CableACE awards, National Cable Television Association, for "Halcion Nightmare," "Thalidomide: The Drug That Came Back," "Plague Monkeys," and "Seized by the Law," Investigative Reports; Overseas Press Club of America Award for international reporting demonstrating concern for humanity; more than twenty other local Emmy awards.

CREDITS

Television Appearances; Series:

Coanchor, CBS Morning News (also known as Morning ), 1982–1985.

Correspondent, The American Parade (also known as Crossroads ), CBS, 1984.

Host, World in Action, Arts and Entertainment, 1990.

Host and narrator, The New Explorers (series of specials; also known as The New Explorers with Bill Kurtis ), PBS, 1991–1997, then Arts and Entertainment, beginning 1997.

Host and narrator, Investigative Reports (series of specials), Arts and Entertainment, beginning 1991.

Host, DEA, Arts and Entertainment, 1992.

Host and narrator, American Justice (series of specials), Arts and Entertainment, beginning 1993.

Host and narrator, L.A. Detectives, Arts and Entertainment, 1997–1999.

Host and narrator, Inside Story (series of specials), Arts and Entertainment, beginning 1998.

Host and narrator, Unexplained (series of specials), Arts and Entertainment, beginning 1998.

Host, The Real Story, Arts and Entertainment, 2002.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Host and narrator, The Miracle Planet, PBS, 1990.

Host, "The Men Who Killed Kennedy," Investigative Reports, Arts and Entertainment, 1991.

Host, "Target Mafia," American Justice, Arts and Entertainment, 1993.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Host, Fighting Terrorism: A National Security View, PBS, 1986.

Host, On Trial: Lee Harvey Oswald, Showtime, 1986.

Dilemmas of Disarmament, PBS, 1988.

Inside Television, PBS, 1988.

Host, Secret Intelligence, PBS, 1989.

Narrator, Fire on the Rim, PBS, 1990.

Narrator, The Rain Forest Imperative, Arts and Entertainment, 1990.

Host and narrator, Ozone: The Hole Story, PBS, 1992.

The American Revolution, Arts and Entertainment, 1994.

Host, In the Footsteps of Dr. Livingstone, PBS, 1994.

Host, On the Trail of a Killer Virus, PBS, 1994.

Host, Secrets of Underwater Volcanoes, PBS, 1994.

Host, Skeletons in the Sand, PBS, 1994.

Host, "The Million Dollar Spy," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1995.

Host, The Science of Star Trek, PBS, 1995.

Host, The Crystal Laboratory, PBS, 1995.

Host, Environmental S.W.A.T. Team, PBS, 1995.

Host, Expedition Inspiration, PBS, 1995.

Host, Secrets of an Ancient Culture, PBS, 1995.

Host, The Sounds of Discovery, PBS, 1995.

Host, Taxbreak '96, PBS, 1996.

Host, Police, Arts and Entertainment, 1997.

Host, Empire of Crime: A Century of the New York Mob, Arts and Entertainment, 1997.

Narrator, UFOs vs. the Government, Arts and Entertainment, 1997.

Host, Polluting the Fountain of Youth, 1998.

Host, Endeavor, Arts and Entertainment, 1998.

Host and narrator, The Real Full Monty, Arts and Entertainment, 1998.

Host, Road Warriors: The Biker Brotherhood, Arts and Entertainment, 1998.

Narrator, 666, the Sign of Evil, 1999.

Host, Buried Alive, Arts and Entertainment, 1999.

Host, The Real Cowboy: Portrait of an American Icon, History Channel, 2000.

Host and narrator, Lessons of a Forgotten War, History Channel, 2000.

The 2001 Genesis Awards, Animal Planet, 2001.

Narrator, Medicine on the Kansas Prairie, PBS, 2002.

Narrator, UFOs: Testing the Evidence, History Channel, 2002.

Television Executive Producer; Series:

The New Explorers (series of specials; also known as The New Explorers with Bill Kurtis ), PBS, 1991–1997, then Arts and Entertainment, beginning 1997.

Investigative Reports (series of specials), Arts and Entertainment, beginning 1992.

American Justice (series of specials), Arts and Entertainment, beginning 1993.

Television Executive Producer; Miniseries:

"Target Mafia," American Justice, Arts and Entertainment, 1993.

Television Executive Producer; Specials:

The Rain Forest Imperative, Arts and Entertainment, 1990.

The River of Doubt, PBS, 1992.

Ozone: The Hole Story, PBS, 1992.

Co–executive producer, Declassified: U.S. Navy Dolphins, PBS, 1993.

Skeletons in the Sand, PBS, 1994.

Secrets of Underwater Volcanoes, PBS, 1994.

On the Trail of a Killer Virus, PBS, 1994.

In the Footsteps of Dr. Livingstone, PBS, 1994.

The Sounds of Discovery, PBS, 1995.

Secrets of an Ancient Culture, PBS, 1995.

The Science of Star Trek, PBS, 1995.

Expedition Inspiration, PBS, 1995.

Environmental S.W.A.T. Team, PBS, 1995.

The Crystal Laboratory, PBS, 1995.

Empire of Crime: A Century of the New York Mob, Arts and Entertainment, 1997.

The Real Cowboy: Portrait of an American Icon, History Channel, 2000.

Film Appearances:

Narrator, Eyewitness, 1999.

Film Executive Producer:

The Farm: Angola, USA (documentary; also known as The Farm ), Seventh Art Releasing, 1998.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

Host, The Best of American Justice: The Mob, Arts and Entertainment Home Video, 1996.

WRITINGS

Films:

(With George Casey) The Great Barrier Reef (documentary), 1990.

Television Specials:

The Rain Forest Imperative, Arts and Entertainment, 1990.

Other:

(And photographer) Bill Kurtis on Assignment (memoir), Rand McNally, 1983.

Contributor to numerous periodicals, including New York Times Magazine.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Authors, Volume 133, Gale, 1991, pp. 218–21.

Periodicals:

Booklist, November 1, 1994, p. 515.

Entertainment Weekly, January 20, 1995, p. 41.