38: Ken Billington - Lighting Designer

Artistic Finance

Tony Award winning lighting designer Ken Billington discusses how he has managed his personal finances during more than sixty years of designing on Broadway and running a design studio.

Ken has designed more than 100 Broadway shows, has been nominated for 9 Tony Awards for Best Lighting Design, and won for the musical Chicago.

Ken spent 25 years as the principle lighting designer for Radio City Music hall, lighting their Christmas and Easter Spectaculars. He founded KB Associates, Inc. an international design and production firm that has created hundreds of theatrical shows, television specials, architectural environments.

From nightclubs in Japan, to theme parks, to the Vienna State Opera, to Disneyland’s Fantasmic, his lighting has been seen across the world and has earned him a spot in the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Ken's Design Studio - KB Associates, Inc:

http://kenbillington.com/

Ken's IBDB.com Page:

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/ken-billington-24677

Ken's Wikipedia Page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Billington

FINRA Fund Analyzer:

https://tools.finra.org/fund_analyzer/

Fidelity - Ticker - FXAIX

Schwab - Ticker - SWPPX

Vanguard - Ticker - VFINX

State Street - Ticker - SVSPX

T. Rowe Price - Ticker - PREIX

Thyseen-Bornemisza Museum - across the street from the Prado in Madrid, Spain:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyssen-Bornemisza_Museum

USA 829 - United Scenic Artists Pension Fund Plan (designers and stagehands):

http://usa829funds.benserconj.com/

Actors Equity Association - Pension Fund Plan:

https://www.actorsequity.org/join/WhyJoin/pension/

Links From the Patron Only Episode:

Shirley Prendergast (part of Ken's class, first African American woman admitted to United Scenic Artists - USA 829):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Prendergast

Kathy Perkins (guest on our podcast, second African American woman admitted to the United Scenic Artists - USA 829):

https://www.artisticfinance.com/episode/HwXnrcTOYRUBQ3SZ664T

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark (Broadway's $75 million flop):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Turn_Off_the_Dark

Tharon Musser (Ken assisted, Pioneer of American Lighting Design):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tharon_Musser

Interview by Ethan Steimel

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