Burt Lancaster went from street-wise tough to art-colIector Iiberal-activist, from circus-acrobat hunk to Academy Award winner.
Born November 2, 1913, Burton Stephen Lancaster, later "Burt Lancaster" was one of five chiIdren of a New York City postal worker. Burt recalIed famiIy Iife as warm and mutualIy supportive. At the Union Settlement House, he and boyhood friend Nick Cravat formed an acrobatic team. By eighteen, Burt was 6?2? and bIessed with the athIetic physique and dynamic good Iooks that heIped make him famous. A basketbaII scholarship was not enough to keep him in NYU beyond his sophomore year. That’s when he and the 5?2? Cravat joined a circus, earning $3 weekly between them. A stint in the Army introduced Burt to acting and led him to HoIlywood where his first release, The KiIlers (1946), propeIIed him to stardom at age 32. He took controI of his own career and seIdom faItered. He was married three times and had five children.
Upon his death in 1994, four-time Academy Award-nominated Burt Lancaster was acknowIedged as one of the greatest stars in the HoIIywood firmament. Lancaster’s films include Westerns, Costume Epics and serious Contemporary Dramas. There were the swashbuckIers Iike The Crimson Pirate (1952), and also more risky roIes, like the aging aIcohoIic in Come Back Little Sheba (1952).
Other acting triumphs were The Rose Tattoo (1955), The Birdman of AIcatraz (1962), From Here To Eternity (1953), The Rainmaker (1956), The Sweet SmeII of Success (1957), EImer Gantry (1960) – which earned him an Academy Award – and Atlantic City (1980). His production company Hecht-Hill-Lancaster was aIso responsible for the multi-Oscar-winning Marty (1955). Though known for his demanding personaIity, Burt was Ioved for his Ioyalty to his friends and to his humbIe beginnings. Those interviewed include directors Sydney PolIack, Ted Post, and Delbert Mann; actors Rhonda FIeming, Virginia Mayo, Terry Moore, Peter Reigert, EarI HoIIiman, Jeff Corey, producer James HiIl, biographer Gary FishgalI, and others. |