101 Facts About Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and he won two BAFTA Awards and one Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor.

Burt Lancaster's appearance in film noir The Killers in 1946 alongside Ava Gardner was a critical success and launched both of their careers.

In 1948, Burt Lancaster starred alongside Barbara Stanwyck in the commercially and critically acclaimed film Sorry, Wrong Number, where he portrayed the husband to her bedridden invalid character.

In 1953, Burt Lancaster played the illicit lover of Deborah Kerr in the military drama From Here to Eternity.

Burt Lancaster played a Nazi war criminal in 1961 in the all-star, war-crime-trial film, Judgment at Nuremberg.

In 1963, Burt Lancaster traveled to Italy to star as an Italian prince in Visconti's epic period drama The Leopard.

In 1970, Burt Lancaster starred in the box-office hit, air-disaster drama Airport.

Burt Lancaster experienced a career resurgence in 1980 with the crime-romance Atlantic City, winning the BAFTA for Best Actor and landing his fourth Oscar nomination.

Burt Lancaster continued acting into his late 70s, until a stroke in 1990 forced him to retire; four years later he died from a heart attack.

Burt Lancaster was born on November 2,1913, in New York City, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, the son of Elizabeth and mailman James Burt Lancaster.

Burt Lancaster developed a great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was a basketball star.

Burt Lancaster was accepted by New York University with an athletic scholarship, but dropped out.

At the age of 9, Burt Lancaster met Nick Cravat with whom he developed a lifelong partnership.

However, in 1939, an injury forced Burt Lancaster to give up the profession, with great regret.

Burt Lancaster then found temporary work, first as a salesman for Marshall Fields and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants.

Burt Lancaster served in the Fifth Army in Italy under General Mark Clark from 1943 to 1945.

Burt Lancaster was discharged October 1945 and was an entertainment specialist with the rank of technician fifth grade.

The audition was successful and Burt Lancaster was cast in Harry Brown's A Sound of Hunting.

Burt Lancaster had other offers but Hecht promised him the opportunity to produce their own movies within five years of hitting Hollywood.

Burt Lancaster's first filmed movie was Desert Fury for Wallis in 1947, where Burt Lancaster was billed after John Hodiak and Lizabeth Scott.

Burt Lancaster's next film was a thriller for Wallis in 1947, I Walk Alone, co-starring Lizabeth Scott and a young Kirk Douglas, who was under contract to Wallis.

In 1948, Lancaster had a change of pace with the film adaptation of Arthur Miller's All My Sons, made at Universal Pictures with Edward G Robinson.

Burt Lancaster's third film for Wallis was an adaptation of Sorry, Wrong Number in 1948, with Barbara Stanwyck.

Hecht kept to his promise to Burt Lancaster to turn producer.

Back in Hollywood, Burt Lancaster made another film noir with Siodmak, Criss Cross, in 1949.

Burt Lancaster appeared in a fourth picture for Wallis, Rope of Sand, in 1949.

The first was 1950's The Flame and the Arrow, a swashbuckler movie, in which Burt Lancaster drew on his circus skills.

Burt Lancaster was borrowed by 20th Century Fox for Mister 880 in 1950, a comedy crime romance film with Edmund Gwenn.

The first film was 1951's Ten Tall Men, where Burt Lancaster was a member of the French Foreign Legion.

Burt Lancaster changed pace once more by doing a straight dramatic part in 1952's Come Back, Little Sheba, based on a Broadway hit, with Shirley Booth, produced by Wallis and directed by Daniel Mann.

Part of the Norma-Warners contract was that Burt Lancaster had to appear in some non-Norma films, of which this was one.

In 1954, for his own company, Burt Lancaster produced and starred in His Majesty O'Keefe, a South Sea island tale shot in Fiji.

Hecht and Burt Lancaster left Warners for United Artists, for what began as a two-picture deal, the first of which was to be 1954's Apache, starring Burt Lancaster as a Native American.

Marty star Borgnine was under contract to Hecht-Burt Lancaster and was unhappy about his lack of upcoming roles, especially after only receiving some seven lines in 1957's Sweet Smell of Success and half of his normal pay for Marty.

Burt Lancaster eventually sued for breach of contract to gain back some of this money in 1957.

Burt Lancaster disliked directing and only did it once more, on 1974's The Midnight Man.

Burt Lancaster still had commitments with Wallis, and made The Rose Tattoo for him in 1955, starring with Anna Magnani and Daniel Mann directing.

Burt Lancaster made two films for Wallis to complete his eight-film commitment for that contract: The Rainmaker with Katharine Hepburn, which earned Burt Lancaster a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor; and Gunfight at the OK.

Burt Lancaster re-teamed with Tony Curtis in 1957 for Sweet Smell of Success, a co-production between Hecht-Hill-Burt Lancaster and Curtis' own company with wife Janet Leigh, Curtleigh Productions.

Burt Lancaster was originally announced as the lead for Doll but did not appear in the final film.

Burt Lancaster played the title role in Elmer Gantry, written and directed by Richard Brooks for United Artists.

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

Hecht and Burt Lancaster worked together on The Young Savages, directed by John Frankenheimer and produced by Hecht.

Burt Lancaster starred in Judgment at Nuremberg for Stanley Kramer, alongside Spencer Tracy, Richard Widmark and a number of other stars.

Burt Lancaster then did another film with Hecht and Frankenheimer, Birdman of Alcatraz, a largely fictionalized biography.

Burt Lancaster made A Child Is Waiting with Judy Garland.

Burt Lancaster went to Italy to star in The Leopard for Luchino Visconti, co-starring Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale.

Burt Lancaster starred in The Hallelujah Trail, a comic Western produced and directed by John Sturges which failed to recoup its large cost.

Burt Lancaster had a big hit with The Professionals, a Western directed by Brooks and starring Lee Marvin.

In 1966, at the age of 52, Burt Lancaster appeared nude in director Frank Perry's film The Swimmer, in what the critic Roger Ebert called "his finest performance".

The film was not released until 1968, when it proved to be a commercial failure, though Burt Lancaster remained proud of the movie and his performance.

In 1967, Burt Lancaster formed a new partnership with Roland Kibbee, who had already worked as a writer on five Burt Lancaster projects: Ten Tall Men, The Crimson Pirate, Three Sailors and a Girl, Vera Cruz, and The Devil's Disciple.

Burt Lancaster followed it with another film from Pollack, Castle Keep in 1969, which was a big flop.

Burt Lancaster had one of the biggest successes of his career with Airport in 1970, starring alongside Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Van Heflin, Helen Hayes, Maureen Stapleton, Barbara Hale, Jean Seberg, and Jacqueline Bisset.

Burt Lancaster then went into a series of Westerns: Lawman in 1971, directed by Michael Winner; Valdez Is Coming in 1971, for Norlan; and Ulzana's Raid in 1972, directed by Aldrich and produced by himself and Hecht.

Burt Lancaster did two thrillers, both 1973: Scorpio with Winner and Executive Action.

Burt Lancaster returned to directing in 1974 with The Midnight Man, which he wrote and produced with Kibee.

Burt Lancaster made a second film with Visconti, Conversation Piece in 1974 and played the title role in the TV series Moses the Lawgiver, in 1974.

Burt Lancaster was one of many names in 1975's 1900, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, and he had a cameo in 1976's Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson for Robert Altman.

Burt Lancaster played Shimon Peres in the TV movie Victory at Entebbe in 1977 and had a supporting role in The Cassandra Crossing in 1976.

Burt Lancaster made a fourth and final film with Aldrich, Twilight's Last Gleaming in 1977, and had the title role in 1977's The Island of Dr Moreau.

Burt Lancaster was top-billed in Go Tell the Spartans in 1978, a Vietnam War film; Burt Lancaster admired the script so much that he took a reduced fee and donated money to help the movie to be completed.

Burt Lancaster began the 1980s with a highly acclaimed performance alongside Susan Sarandon in Atlantic City in 1980, directed by Louis Malle.

Burt Lancaster had key roles in Cattle Annie and Little Britches in 1981, The Skin in 1982 with Cardinale, Marco Polo, in 1982, and Local Hero in 1983.

Burt Lancaster was in Little Treasure in 1985, directed by Alan Sharp, who had written Ulzana's Raid; On Wings of Eagles for TV in 1986, as Bull Simons; 1986's made for TV Barnum starred him in the title role; Tough Guys reunited him on the big screen with Kirk Douglas in 1986; Fathers and Sons: A German Tragedy in 1986 for German TV; 1987's Control made in Italy; Rocket Gibraltar in 1988, and The Jeweller's Shop in 1989.

Burt Lancaster was in the miniseries The Betrothed in 1989.

Burt Lancaster appeared in a total of seventeen films produced by his agent, Harold Hecht.

Burt Lancaster appeared in eight films produced by Hal B Wallis and two with producer Mark Hellinger.

Kirk Douglas starred in seven films across the decades with Burt Lancaster: I Walk Alone, Gunfight at the OK.

Burt Lancaster was directed four times by Robert Aldrich, three times each by Robert Siodmak and Sydney Pollack, and twice each by Byron Haskin, Daniel Mann, John Sturges, John Huston, Richard Brooks, Alexander Mackendrick, Luchino Visconti, and Michael Winner.

Burt Lancaster used makeup veteran Robert Schiffer in twenty credited films, hiring Schiffer on nearly all of the films he produced.

Burt Lancaster was a vocal supporter of progressive and liberal political causes.

Burt Lancaster frequently spoke out in support of racial and other minorities.

Burt Lancaster was named in President Richard Nixon's 1973 "Enemies List".

In 1968, Burt Lancaster actively supported the presidential candidacy of anti-war Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and frequently spoke on his behalf during the Democratic primaries.

Burt Lancaster campaigned heavily for George McGovern in the 1972 United States presidential election.

In 1985, Burt Lancaster joined the fight against AIDS after fellow movie star Rock Hudson contracted the disease.

Burt Lancaster delivered Hudson's last words at the Commitment to Life fundraiser at a time when the stigma surrounding AIDS was at its height.

Burt Lancaster was a Greek philosopher with a sense that everybody was equal.

In 1947, Burt Lancaster reportedly signed a statement release by the National Council of Arts, Sciences and Professions asking Congress to abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Burt Lancaster was a member of the short-lived Committee for the First Amendment, formed in support of the Hollywood Ten.

Burt Lancaster was one of 26 movie stars who flew to Washington in October 1947 to protest against the HUAC hearings.

Burt Lancaster was listed in anti-communist literature as a fellow traveler.

Burt Lancaster flew in from France for the event, where he was shooting The Train, and flew back again the next day, despite a reported fear of flying.

In 1968, Burt Lancaster was elected to serve as chairman of the Roger Baldwin Foundation, a newly formed fund-raising arm of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

Burt Lancaster's co-chairs were Frank Sinatra and Irving L Lichtenstein.

Burt Lancaster had a scotch or two and finally he said, 'I think she should be executive director.

Burt Lancaster guarded his personal life and attempted to keep it private despite his stardom.

Burt Lancaster was married three times and had five children.

Burt Lancaster met second wife Norma Anderson when the stenographer substituted for an ill actress in a USO production for the troops in Italy.

In 1966, Burt Lancaster began a long-term relationship with hairdresser Jackie Bone, who worked on The Professionals.

Reportedly, they eventually split up after her religious conversion, which Burt Lancaster believed he could not share with her.

Some media outlets and authors have written that Burt Lancaster was bisexual, and had relationships with both men and women.

Burt Lancaster broke up with him for "cheating on her with his wife" after she heard reports of his wife's third or fourth pregnancy.

Burt Lancaster continued to act and to engage in public activism.

Burt Lancaster died at his apartment in Century City, Los Angeles, after having a third heart attack at 4:50 am on October 20,1994.

Burt Lancaster's body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered under a large oak tree in Westwood Memorial Park, which is located in Westwood Village, California.

The centennial of Burt Lancaster's birth was honored at New York City's Film Society of Lincoln Center in May 2013 with the screening of 12 of the actor's best-known films, from The Killers to Atlantic City.

Burt Lancaster has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

Burt Lancaster was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1954 for From Here to Eternity, in 1961 for Elmer Gantry, in 1964 for Birdman of Alcatraz, and in 1982 for Atlantic City.

Burt Lancaster's leading role in Luchino Visconti's 1963 canonical The Leopard began a series of roles with important European art film directors that included roles in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 and Louis Malle's Atlantic City as well as Visconti's Conversation Piece.