6 hours Ago By BreakingNews.ie
Mark Burnett was awarded the 2,387th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame but credits his time in the British army for forming him as a person. Burnett (64) has been named special envoy to the UK by US president-elect Donald Trump. Advertisement He is married to Derry-born actress Roma Downey, who is best known for her role as Monica the angel in the American television series Touched by an Angel.
Among Burnett's many achievements in television is producing the hit US reality show The Apprentice hosted by Trump, who in 2016 called Burnett his “special, special friend”. Advertisement London-born Burnett has won 13 Emmy Awards, was the chairman of MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) and was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world in 2004. But his beginnings were far from the glittering scenes of Hollywood.
Burnett was born on July 17th, 1960, to Archibald and Jean Burnett. Advertisement He grew up in Dagenham in Essex, where his father worked on the production line for the Ford motor company and his mother worked at a car battery factory. An only child, Burnett attended a comprehensive school and then college before enlisting in the British army aged 18.
Advertisement He was part of the Parachute Regiment, and served in the Falklands War and in Northern Ireland. “My army experience formed me as a person,” he said in an interview with the Television Academy. He named the two biggest things he’d taken from the army was learning how to “do everything you need to do with way less” and “a sense of adventure”.
Advertisement He left the military and England when he was 22 to become “a manny” – a male nanny – for a family in Beverley Hills, Los Angeles. He worked in childcare, insurance and spent time selling T-shirts on the beach, before his television breakthrough in the 1990s. Burnett competed in French adventure show Raid Gauloise and launched an American version, Eco-Challenge, in 1995.
Donald Trump was the host of The Apprentice for years (Brian Lawless/PA) He went on to create the hit reality TV shows Survivor, The Apprentice and Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?. Burnett told the Television Academy his idea for The Apprentice came after his son called him and complained he could not remember what he looked like, which made him think about doing a Survivor-like show set in a city. “Donald Trump came to mind,” he said.
“I met Donald, he told me how much he loved Survivor and were I to ever have any ideas for him he’d love to hear it and he’d love to work with me. “I’m thinking about a job interview show with the reward, the winner getting a big job in big time American business and Trump was the obvious choice. “Having the ability to meet Donald directly, having the credibility of Survivor behind me, and the rest is history.
“It became a total hit show.” The British producer helped build Trump’s profile, but distanced himself from the tycoon during the 2016 presidential contest. In October 2016, Burnett and his wife, Irish actress Roma Downey, criticised the “hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign”.
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Read More But he went on to introduce Trump at his first National Prayer Breakfast. The then-president said at the event: “I also want to thank my great friends, though, Roma. Where’s Roma? Beautiful Roma Downey.
The voice of an angel. “Everything is so beautiful about Roma, including her husband because he’s a special, special friend, Mark Burnett — for the wonderful introduction.”.
