Burt Lancaster Biography

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster (November 2, 1913 " October 20, 1994) was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique, blue eyes, and distinctive smile (which he called "The Grin"). After initially building his career on "tough guy" roles Lancaster abandoned his "all-American" image in the late 1950s in favor of more complex and challenging roles, and came to be regarded as one of the best actors of his generation as a result.

Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once"?for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980). His production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, was the most successful and innovative star-driven independent production company in Hollywood in the 1950s, making movies such as Marty (1955), Trapeze (1956), and Sweet Smell of Success (1957).

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Lancaster 19th among the greatest male stars of all time.

Early life

Lancaster was born in Manhattan, New York City, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, today the site of Benjamin Franklin Plaza. Lancaster was the son of Elizabeth (née Roberts) and James Henry Lancaster, who was a postman. Both of his parents were Protestants of working-class origin. Lancaster's grandparents were Northern Irish immigrants to the U.S.; his maternal grandparents were from Belfast, and were descendants of English immigrants to Ireland. The family believed themselves to be related to Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts. Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets, where he developed great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending the DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was a basketball star. Before he graduated from DeWitt Clinton, his mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Lancaster was accepted into New York University with an athletic scholarship but subsequently dropped out.

Circus career and military

At the age of 19, Lancaster met Nick Cravat, with whom he continued to work throughout his life. Together they learned to act in local theatre productions and circus arts at Union Settlement, one of the city's oldest settlement houses. They formed the acrobat duo "Lang and Cravat" in the 1930s and soon joined the Kay Brothers circus. However, in 1939, an injury forced Lancaster to give up the profession, with great regret. He then found temporary work until 1942"?first as a salesman for Marshall Fields, and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants.

The United States having then entered World War II, Lancaster joined the US Army and performed with the Army's Twenty-First Special Services Division, one of the military groups organized to follow the troops on the ground and provide USO entertainment to keep up morale. He served with General Mark Clark's Fifth Army in Italy from 1943"1945.

Film career

Acting

Though initially unenthusiastic about acting, he returned from service, auditioned for a Broadway play, and was offered a role. Although Harry Brown's A Sound of Hunting had a run of only three weeks, Lancaster's performance drew the attention of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht, and through him to Hal Wallis, who cast Lancaster in The Killers (1946). (Hecht and Lancaster later formed several production companies in the 1950s to give Lancaster greater creative control.) The tall, muscular actor won significant acclaim and appeared in two more films the following year. Subsequently, he played in a variety of films, especially in dramas, thrillers, and military and adventure films. In two, The Flame and the Arrow and The Crimson Pirate, a friend from his circus years, Nick Cravat, played a key supporting role, and both actors impressed audiences with their acrobatic prowess.

In 1953, Lancaster played one of his best remembered roles with Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity. The American Film Institute acknowledged the iconic status of the scene from that film in which he and Deborah Kerr make love on a Hawaiian beach amid the crashing waves. The organization named it one of "AFI's top 100 Most Romantic Films" of all time.

Lancaster won the 1960 Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award, and the New York Film Critics Award for his performance in Elmer Gantry.

In 1966, at the age of 52, Lancaster appeared nude in director Frank Perry's film, The Swimmer.

During the latter part of his career, Lancaster left adventure and acrobatic films behind and portrayed more distinguished characters. This period brought him work on several European productions, with directors such as Luchino Visconti and Bernardo Bertolucci. Lancaster sought demanding roles, and if he liked a part or a director, he was prepared to work for much lower pay than he might have earned elsewhere. He even helped to finance movies whose artistic value he believed in. He also mentored directors such as Sydney Pollack and John Frankenheimer and appeared in several television films. Lancaster's last film was Field of Dreams (1989).

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Lancaster has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

Directing and producing

Lancaster was an early and successful actor/producer. In 1952, Lancaster co-produced ' with producer Harold Hecht (who had previously produced three Lancaster films under his own production company Norma Productions; Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948), The Flame and the Arrow (1950), and Ten Tall Men (1951)). In 1954, they collaborated again on His Majesty O'Keefe, with Lancaster acting and Hecht producing. The writer for this film was James Hill. The trio started a production company, originally with Hill as a silent partner, under the name "Hecht-Lancaster." The name was later extended to include all three with "Hecht-Hill-Lancaster."

The "H-H-L" team impressed Hollywood with its success; as Life wrote in 1957, "[a]fter the independent production of a baker's dozen of pictures it has yet to have its first flop ... (They were also good pictures.)." Together they produced the films Apache (1954), Vera Cruz (1954), Marty (1955) (which won both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival), The Kentuckian (1955), Trapeze (1956), The Bachelor Party (1956), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Separate Tables (1958), ' (1959), Take a Giant Step (1959), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1960), and ' (1960). The company dissolved in 1960, but Hecht would produce two more films in which Lancaster acted, under Norma Productions, ' (1961) and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). Twelve years later, Hecht and Lancaster produced Ulzana's Raid (1972) together.

In the late 1960s, Lancaster teamed with Roland Kibbee to form "Norlan Productions" and along with "Bristol Films" produce ' (1968), Valdez Is Coming (1971), and The Midnight Man (1974).

In addition, Lancaster directed two films, The Kentuckian (1955) and The Midnight Man (1974). The Midnight Man was in fact starred in, co-written, produced, and directed by Lancaster.

Frequent collaborations

Apart from acting in a total of seventeen films produced by Harold Hecht, Lancaster also appeared in eight films produced by Hal B. Wallis.

Lancaster made seven films over the years with Kirk Douglas, including I Walk Alone (1948), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Devil's Disciple (1959), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Seven Days in May (1964), Victory at Entebbe (1976) and Tough Guys (1986).

Lancaster also often asked his close friend Nick Cravat to appear in his films. They co-starred together in nine films: The Flame and the Arrow (1952), Ten Tall Men (1951), '' (1952), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), ' (1968), 'Valdez Is Coming (1971), Ulzana's Raid (1972), The Midnight Man (1974), and ' (1977).

Lancaster starred in three films with Deborah Kerr; From Here to Eternity, Separate Tables, and The Gypsy Moths.

In addition, John Frankenheimer directed five films with Lancaster: The Young Savages (1961), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Seven Days in May (1964), The Train (1964), and The Gypsy Moths (1969).

Lancaster used make-up veteran Robert Schiffer in 20 credited films. Lancaster hired Schiffer on nearly all the films he produced.

Legacy

The centennial of Lancaster's birth was honored at New York City's Film Society of Lincoln Center in May 2013 with the screening of twelve of the actor's finest films, from The Killers of 1946 to Atlantic City in 1980.

Personal life

Marriages and relationships

Lancaster vigorously guarded his private life. He was married three times. His first two marriages ended in divorce"?to June Ernst from 1935 to 1946, and to Norma Anderson from 1946 to 1969. His third marriage, to Susan Martin, was from September 1990 until his death in 1994. All five of his children were with Norma Anderson: Bill, who became a screenwriter; James; Susan; Joanna; and Sighle (pronounced Sheila). He claimed he was romantically involved with Deborah Kerr during the filming of From Here to Eternity in 1953. However, Kerr stated that while there was a spark of attraction, nothing ever happened. He also had an affair with Joan Blondell. In her 1980 autobiography, Shelley Winters claimed to have had a long affair with him.

Political views

Lancaster was a vocal supporter of liberal political causes, and frequently spoke out in support of racial minorities, including at the March on Washington in 1963. He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War and political movements such as McCarthyism, and he helped pay for the successful defense of a soldier accused of "fragging" (murdering) another soldier during the war. In 1968, Lancaster actively supported the presidential candidacy of antiwar Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and frequently spoke on his behalf during the Democratic primaries. He heavily campaigned for George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. In 1985, Lancaster, a longtime supporter of gay rights, joined the fight against AIDS after his close friend, Rock Hudson, contracted the disease. He campaigned for Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election.

Health problems and death

As Lancaster grew older, he became increasingly plagued by atherosclerosis, barely surviving a routine gall bladder operation in January 1980. Following two minor heart attacks he had to undergo an emergency quadruple heart bypass in 1983, after which he was extremely weak, but he still managed to attend a 1988 Congressional hearing with old colleagues such as Jimmy Stewart and Ginger Rogers to protest media magnate Ted Turner's plan to colorize various black-and-white films from the 1930s and 1940s. A severe stroke in November 1990 left him partly paralyzed and largely unable to speak. He died in his Century City apartment in Los Angeles from a third heart attack at 4:50 A.M. on October 20, 1994 at the age of 80.

Lancaster was cremated and his ashes were buried under a large oak tree in Westwood Memorial Park located in Westwood Village, Los Angeles County, California. A small square ground plaque inscribed only with "BURT LANCASTER 1913"1994" marks his final resting place. Upon his death, as he requested, he had no memorial or funeral service.

Filmography and awards

Films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1946	The Killers	'Swede' Andersen	With Ava Gardner
1947	Brute Force	Joe Collins	With Hume Cronyn
1947	Desert Fury	Tom Hanson	With Lizabeth Scott
1948	I Walk Alone	Frankie Madison	With Kirk Douglas
1948	All My Sons	Chris Keller	With Edward G. Robinson
1948	Sorry, Wrong Number	Henry Stevenson	With Barbara Stanwyck
1948	Kiss the Blood Off My Hands	William Earle 'Bill' Saunders	With Joan Fontaine
1949	Criss Cross	Steve Thompson, narrator	With Yvonne de Carlo
1949	Rope of Sand	Michael (Mike) Davis	With Paul Henreid
1950	The Flame and the Arrow	Dardo Bartoli	With Virginia Mayo
1950	Mister 880	Steve Buchanan	With Dorothy McGuire
1951	Vengeance Valley	Owen Daybright	With Robert Walker
1951	Jim Thorpe " All-American	Jim Thorpe	With Charles Bickford
1951	Ten Tall Men	Sgt Mike Kincaid	With Jody Lawrance
1952	'	Capitan Vallo	With Nick Cravat
1952	Come Back, Little Sheba	Doc Delaney	With Shirley Booth
1953	South Sea Woman	Master Gunnery Sgt. James O'Hearn	With Virginia Mayo
1953	From Here to Eternity	1st Sgt. Milton Warden	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Actor
1953	Three Sailors and a Girl	Marine (uncredited)	With Jane Powell
1954	His Majesty O'Keefe	Captain David Dion O'Keefe, narrator	With Joan Rice
1954	Apache	Massai	With Jean Peters
1954	Vera Cruz	Joe Erin	With Gary Cooper
1955	'	Elias Wakefield (Big Eli)	Director Nominated"?Golden Lion
1955	The Rose Tattoo	Alvaro Mangiacavallo	With Anna Magnani
1956	Trapeze	Mike Ribble	Silver Bear for Best Actor at Berlin
1956	'	Bill Starbuck, aka Bill Smith, Bill Harley, Tornado Johnson	Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama
1957	Gunfight at the O.K. Corral	Marshal Wyatt Earp	With Kirk Douglas
1957	Sweet Smell of Success	J.J. Hunsecker	Written by Ernest Lehman
1958	Run Silent, Run Deep	Lt. Commander Jim Bledsoe	With Clark Gable
1958	Separate Tables	John Malcolm	With David Niven
1959	'	The Rev. Anthony Anderson	With Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier
1960	'	Ben Zachary	With Audrey Hepburn
1960	Elmer Gantry	Elmer Gantry	Academy Award for Best Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated"?BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1961	'	ADA Hank Bell	With Dina Merrill
1961	Judgment at Nuremberg	Dr. Ernst Janning	With Spencer Tracy
1962	Birdman of Alcatraz	Robert Stroud	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Volpi Cup Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama
1963	'	Dr. Ben Clark	With Judy Garland
1963	'	Prince Don Fabrizio Salina	With Claudia Cardinale
1963	'	Cameo	With George C. Scott
1964	Seven Days in May	Gen. James Mattoon Scott	With Kirk Douglas
1964	'	Paul Labiche	With Jeanne Moreau
1965	'	Col. Thaddeus Gearhart	With Lee Remick
1966	'	Bill Dolworth	With Lee Marvin
1967	All About People	Narrator
1968	'	Joe Bass	With Shelley Winters
1968	'	Ned Merrill	With Janice Rule
1969	Castle Keep	Maj. Abraham Falconer	With Peter Falk
1969	'	Mike Rettig	With Deborah Kerr
1970	Airport	Mel Bakersfeld	With Dean Martin
1971	Lawman	Bannock Town Marshal Jered Maddox	With Robert Ryan
1971	Valdez Is Coming	Marshal Bob Valdez	With Susan Clark
1972	Ulzana's Raid	U.S. Cavalry Scout McIntosh	With Bruce Davison
1973	Scorpio	Cross	With Alain Delon
1973	Executive Action	James Farrington	With Robert Ryan
1974	'	Jim Slade	Co-Director
1974	Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (Conversation Piece)	The Professor	David di Donatello for Best Actor
1976	Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson	Ned Buntline	With Paul Newman
1976	1900 (Novecento)	Alfredo's Grandfather	With Robert De Niro
1976	'	Col. Stephen Mackenzie	With Sophia Loren
1977	Twilight's Last Gleaming	Gen. Lawrence Dell	With Richard Widmark
1977	'	Dr. Paul Moreau	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Actor
1978	Go Tell the Spartans	Maj. Asa Barker	With Craig Wasson
1978	The Unknown War	Burt Lancaster(Narrator)
1979	Zulu Dawn	Col. Anthony Durnford	With Peter O'Toole
1980	Atlantic City	Lou Pascal	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor David di Donatello for Best Actor Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama
1981	Cattle Annie and Little Britches	Bill Doolin, the Oklahoma outlaw	With Amanda Plummer and Diane Lane
1981	La pelle	Gen. Mark Clark	With Marcello Mastroianni
1983	Local Hero	Felix Happer	Nominated"?BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1983	'	CIA Director Maxwell Danforth	With Rutger Hauer
1985	Little Treasure	Delbert Teschemacher	With Margot Kidder
1986	Tough Guys	Harry Doyle	With Kirk Douglas
1987	Il Giorno prima	Dr. Herbert Monroe	With Ben Gazzara
1988	Rocket Gibraltar	Levi Rockwell	With Patricia Clarkson
1989	Field of Dreams	Dr. Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham	With Kevin Costner
1989	La Bottega dell'orefice	The Jeweller	With Olivia Hussey

TV

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1974	Moses the Lawgiver	Moses	mini-series
1976	Victory at Entebbe	Shimon Peres	with Anthony Hopkins
1978	'	As himself, narrator	20 episode USA-USSR archival documentary series on WWII
1982	Marco Polo	Teobaldo Visconti / Pope Gregory X	mini-series
1982	Verdi	Narrator in American version	mini-series
1985	Scandal Sheet	Harold Fallen
1986	Väter und Söhne " Eine deutsche Tragödie	Geheimrat Carl Julius Deutz	mini-series
1986	On Wings of Eagles	Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons	mini-series
1989	I Promessi sposi	Cardinal Federigo Borromeo	mini-series
1990	'	Gerard Carriere	mini-series
1990	Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair	Leon Klinghoffer
1991	Separate But Equal	John W. Davis

In other media

Spanish music group Hombres G released an album named La cagaste, Burt Lancaster (You messed up, Burt Lancaster) in 1986.