Dayton Duncan (born September 3, 1949) is an American screenwriter, producer and former political aide. He is best known for his collaborations with documentary maker

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV and/or th ...

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Indianola, Iowa Indianola is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States, located south of downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The population was 15,833 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. Indianola is home to the National Balloo ...

, Duncan graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

in 1971 with a degree in German literature and was also a fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics and Public Policy.

Political career

Duncan served as Chief of Staff to New Hampshire governor Hugh Gallen until the latter's death in 1982. In 1984, he served as deputy national press secretary for

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

's presidential campaign, and in 1988, as national press secretary for

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history ...

's presidential campaign. In 1998, President Clinton appointed him chair of the American Heritage Rivers Advisory Committee and Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt appointed him as a director of the National Park Foundation.

Screenwriting

Dayton wrote and co-produced the Ken Burns-directed documentaries '' Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery'', ''

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

'', '' Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip'', ''

Country Music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

'' and '' The National Parks: America's Best Idea''. He was also involved in Burns' series '' The Civil War'', ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

'' and ''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

''. Dayton co-wrote Stephen Ives's Erik Barnouw Award-winning documentary series '' The West''.

Personal life

Duncan is a resident of Walpole,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. He and his wife Dianne have two children.

References

* https://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/about/qa-dayton-duncan/

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Dayton American television writers American male television writers Living people 1949 births People from Indianola, Iowa People from Walpole, New Hampshire University of Pennsylvania alumni Franklin Pierce University alumni Drake University alumni Screenwriters from Iowa Screenwriters from New Hampshire