Kirk Browning

Kirk Browning started out his career as a chicken farmer and, in an unusual turn, wound up becoming the director of "Live From Lincoln Center," which first aired in 1976. During his career he broadcasted 185 telecasts from Lincoln Center's opera, orchestra, dance, and theater halls, 10 of which won Emmy Awards. Browning also directed an opera written for television called "Amahl and the Night Visitors" in 1951 and a TV show in 1957 with Frank Sinatra as the host. He won two Emmys for PBS programs including "Goya With Placido Domingo" in 1987 and "Turandot" in 1988. When he died, he was working on a production of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly," which was broadcast on March 20, 2008.