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Biography

Tripp Burton began his lifelong obsession with the Academy Awards when his parents let him stay up to watch enough of the 1990 ceremony to see Madonna sing “Sooner or Later” from Dick Tracy (at the time, the favorite film of his 8 year old self). The next year he forced his family to participate in an Oscar pool and dress up as characters from nominated films; that year, he dressed up as a gangster from Bugsy.

Throughout his junior high and high school career, he continued to pursue his love of film, while also getting involved in school and community theatre. In 1998, with the release of the American Film Institute’s 100 Years, 100 Films list, Tripp took on the three year challenge of watching all 100 of the “greatest American films.” While he quickly learned that many films on this list were not worthy of the classification, he also embarked on a journey through classic Hollywood and world cinema that helped him understand the power and possibilities of the film medium.

Tripp’s love of the Oscars led to a love of theatre and film, which led him to get a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts. During college, he also spent a summer studying film direction at the New York Film Academy. After graduation, Tripp worked as an actor, director and one time playwright in Chicago while discovering his love of teaching. He recently received his master’s degree in Secondary Education and works in the Chicagoland area as an English and Drama teacher. He lives in Chicago with is wife, also a teacher.