Kirk Browning | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1921-03-28)March 28, 1921 New York City, New York, United States |
| Died | February 10, 2008(2008-02-10) (aged 86) New York City, New York, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Television director Television producer |
| Years active | 1952–2006 |
Kirk Browning (March 28, 1921 – February 10, 2008) was an Americantelevision director andproducer who had hundreds of productions to his credit, including 185 broadcasts ofLive from Lincoln Center.
Born in New York City, Browning dropped out ofCornell University after attending for only one month and moved toWaco, Texas, where he was hired as a newspaper reporter. Because of a childhood injury, he was rejected by theUnited States Army when he tried to enlist during World War II, so he worked as an ambulance driver in England and France.[1] In the late 1940s, he was a chicken farmer operating an egg route inRidgefield, Connecticut when one of his customers offered him a job in the music library atNBC. The clerical position led to his directing live televised performances by theNBC Symphony Orchestra conducted byArturo Toscanini. Soon after he was made a stage manager of the network's newly formed opera company, and he later became its director.[2]
Among Browning's many credits are the premiere of the first opera written specifically for television,Gian Carlo Menotti'sAmahl and the Night Visitors in 1951;Frank Sinatra's first special in 1957; numerousHallmark Hall of Fame productions between 1951 and 1958;Live from the Met andGreat Performances forPBS; and television adaptations of plays such asJune Moon,Damn Yankees!,A Touch of the Poet,The Taming of the Shrew,The Time of Your Life,Tartuffe,Fifth of July,You Can't Take it with You,The House of Blue Leaves,Our Town, andDeath of a Salesman, which earned him a nomination for theDirectors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Television Film.
Browning won twoPrimetime Emmy Awards, one for directing a 1987 production ofGian Carlo Menotti'sGoya withPlácido Domingo and the other for his 1988 production ofTurandot, both broadcast by PBS, and twoDaytime Emmy Awards, forThe CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People in 1973 andLa Gioconda in 1979. He also received twoChristopher Awards and aPeabody Award.
Browning died of aheart attack in 2008.[1]
