Bill Kurtis

Bill Kurtis (b.1940) is a television journalist and producer best known as the host of numerous A&E crime and news documentary shows, including Investigative Reports , American Justice , and Cold Case Files .

Kurtis, of Croatian descent, was raised in Independence, Kansas, and graduated from the University of Kansas and the Washburn University law school. Despite passing the Kansas bar examination and winning a job with a Wichita law firm, Kurtis decided on a career in journalism, which had been his undergraduate major. He moved to Chicago in 1966 to work at WBBM-TV, first as a reporter and then as an anchorman. In 1982, he moved to New York to anchor the CBS Morning News, but returned to Chicago three years later to produce documentaries for the television show The New Explorers. He started his own production company in 1990 and joined the A&E network the following year.

Kurtis has received numerous awards for his work, including over twenty Emmys, and is also author of the book Bill Kurtis on Assignment. Another book, about the death penalty, is scheduled for publication in late 2004.

External links

• Bill Kurtis
• A&E