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Burt Lancaster
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Burt Lancaster was an American film actor. He was born Burton Stephen Lancaster in New York City to James Henry Lancaster (a postman) and Elizabeth Roberts, both of whom were the children of Irish Protestant immigrants. Burt Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets, where he developed great interest and skill in gymnastics. Later, he worked as a circus acrobat until an injury forced him to give up the profession. During WWII, Lancaster joined the United States Army and performed with the USO. Though initially unenthusiastic about acting, he returned from service, auditioned for a Broadway play and was offered a role.
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Burt Lancaster was an acrobat in the circus, and served in the U.S. Army in North Africa and Italy. He didn't get into the movie business until he was 32, quickly establishing himself as a tough guy in such movies as The Killers (1946, with Ava Gardner). His natural athleticism helped him in adventure movies such as The Crimson Pirate (1952), and in the 1950s and 1960s he proved his acting ability in From Here to Eternity (1953, with Frank Sinatra), The Sweet Smell of Success (1957) and Elmer Gantry (1960, co-starring Shirley Jones). Lancaster continued acting in his later years, earning his fourth Oscar nomination for his role opposite Susan Sarandon in 1980's Atlantic City and appearing with fellow movie icon Kirk Douglas in Tough Guys (1986).
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Burt Lancaster had the U.S. Army to thank for launching his acting career. This video tells the story of how Lancaster got his start that led to his long and illustrious film career. He knew he liked the limelight, from his early days as a circus performer. In Hollywood, he went on to make film history, as a leading man in films such as Elmer Gantry and The Birdman of Alcatraz. In later years, he portrayed interesting older characters, in movies such as Atlantic City.
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Rugged, athletic, and handsome, Burt Lancaster enjoyed phenomenal success from his first film, The Killers, to his last, Field of Dreams -- over a career spanning more than four decades. Boasting an impressively wide range, he delivered thoughtful, sensitive performances across a spectrum of genres: from film noir to Westerns to melodrama, he commanded the screen with a presence and power matched by only a handful of stars. Lancaster was born November 2, 1913, in New York City. As a child, he exhibited considerable athletic and acrobatic prowess, and at the age of 17 joined a circus troupe, forming a duo with the diminutive performer Nick Cravat (later to frequently serve as his onscreen sidekick). He eventually joined the army, and, after acting and dancing in a number of armed forces revues, he decided to pursue a dramatic career. Upon hiring an agent, Harold Hecht, Lancaster made his Broadway debut in A Sound of Hunting, a role which led to a contract with Paramount.
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Burt Lancaster did not enter the film world until his mid-thirties, having developed a taste for acting in Army shows but lacking any formal dramatic training. A former circus performer, his strong personality and presence, athletic physique and winning smile made him a popular Hollywood star from the 1940s into the 70s, and kept him prominent in star character roles thereafter. Lancaster's first film role, as an ex-prizefighter on the lam in Robert Siodmak's splendid film noir, "The Killers" (1946), turned out to be one of Hollywood's most impressive star debuts and one of his finest performances ever. It was ... the first in a series of noir thrillers to which he brought a streetwise toughness, a sense of menace and, at times, a surprising tenderness.
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Actor Burt Lancaster is born in East Harlem, New York. Lancaster won an athletic scholarship to NYU but dropped out to perform as an acrobat with circuses and vaudeville troupes. Lancaster served in World War II, then returned to New York, where a stage producer spotted him in an elevator and cast him in a Broadway play. He quickly moved to Hollywood, where his first film, The Killers (1946), propelled him to instant stardom. He was nominated for Academy Awards throughout his long career, for films including From Here to Eternity (1953), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), and Atlantic City (1981). He continued to appear in films until he was hospitalized for complications from a stroke in 1990.
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Burt Lancaster