Burt Lancaster
Encyclopedia
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster (November 2, 1913 October 20, 1994) was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique 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 of 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
.
s of working-class Irish
origin. Lancaster's grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Belfast
and descendants of English immigrants to Ireland
.Lancaster's 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 athletics scholarship but subsequently dropped out.
, with whom he continued to work throughout his life. Together they learned to act in local theater productions and circus arts at Union Settlement
, one of the city's oldest settlement houses.They formed the acrobat duo "Lang and Cravat" 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 United States 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.
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 was not successful, Lancaster's performance drew the attention of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht
, who introduced 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 1968, at the age of 54, Lancaster appeared nude in director Frank Perry
's film, The Swimmer
.
During the latter part of his career, Lancaster left adventure and acrobatic movies 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.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Lancaster has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.
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". 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 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.
, Lancaster also appeared in eight films produced by Hal B. Wallis
.
Lancaster made six 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), and Tough Guys (1986) which fixed the notion of the pair as something of a team in the public imagination. The connection was firmly cemented by the time Lancaster and Douglas reteamed for their final movie, Tough Guys. Although Douglas was always second billed under Lancaster in these films, their roles were usually more or less the same size with the exceptions of I Walk Alone, in which Douglas played a villain, and in Seven Days in May, where Douglas' part was larger than Lancaster's.
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), Airport (1970), 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.
, who became a screenwriter; James; Susan; Joanna; and Sighle . He claims he was romantically involved with Deborah Kerr
during the filming of From Here to Eternity
in 1953. However, Ms. Kerr had stated that while there was a spark of attraction, nothing ever happened. He also had an affair with Joan Blondell
. In her 1980 autobiography, actress Shelley Winters
claimed to have had a long affair with him.
political causes, and frequently spoke out in support of racial minorities. 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. 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.
, barely surviving a routine gall bladder operation in January 1980. Following two minor heart attack
s 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 '40s. 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 on October 20, 1994 at the age of 80. He 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 - GPS (lat/lon): 34.05856, -118.44061. Upon his death, as he requested, he had no memorial or funeral service.
}
| Dr. Ben Clark
|
|-
| 1963
|
| Prince Don Fabrizio Salina
|
|-
| 1963
|
| Cameo
|
|-
| 1964
| Seven Days in May
| Gen. James Mattoon Scott
|
|-
| 1964
|
| Paul Labiche
|
|-
| 1965
|
| Col. Thaddeus Gearhart
|
|-
| 1966
|
| Bill Dolworth
|
|-
| 1967
| All About People
| Narrator
|
|-
| 1968
|
| Joe Bass
|
|-
| 1968
|
| Ned Merrill
|
|-
| 1969
| Castle Keep
| Maj. Abraham Falconer
|
|-
| 1969
|
| Mike Rettig
|
|-
| 1970
| Airport
| Mel Bakersfeld
|
|-
| 1971
| Lawman
| Bannock Town Marshal Jered Maddox
|
|-
| 1971
| Valdez Is Coming
| Marshal Bob Valdez
|
|-
| 1972
| Ulzana's Raid
| U.S. Cavalry Scout McIntosh
|
|-
| 1973
| Scorpio
| Cross
|
|-
| 1973
| Executive Action
| James Farrington
|
|-
| 1974
|
| Jim Slade
| 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
|
|-
| 1976
| 1900 (Novecento)
| Alfredo's Grandfather
|
|-
| 1976
|
| Col. Stephen Mackenzie
|
|-
| 1977
| Twilight's Last Gleaming
| Gen. Lawrence Dell
|
|-
| 1977
|
| Dr. Paul Moreau
| Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
|-
| 1978
| Go Tell the Spartans
| Maj. Asa Barker
|
|-
| 1979
| Zulu Dawn
| Col. Anthony Durnford
|
|-
| 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
|
|-
| 1981
| La pelle
| Gen. Mark Clark
|
|-
| 1983
| Local Hero
| Felix Happer
| Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
|-
| 1983
|
| CIA Director Maxwell Danforth
|
|-
| 1985
| Little Treasure
| Delbert Teschemacher
|
|-
| 1986
| Tough Guys
| Harry Doyle
|
|-
| 1987
| Il Giorno prima
| Dr. Herbert Monroe
|
|-
| 1988
| Rocket Gibraltar
| Levi Rockwell
|
|-
| 1989
| Field of Dreams
| Dr. Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham
|
|-
| 1989
| La Bottega dell'orefice
| The Jeweller
|
|}
Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once — for his work in Elmer Gantry
Elmer Gantry (film)
Elmer Gantry is a 1960 drama film about a con man and a female evangelist selling religion to small town America. Adapted by director Richard Brooks, the film is based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis and stars Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons.Lancaster won an Academy Award for...
in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz
Birdman of Alcatraz (film)
Birdman of Alcatraz is a 1962 film starring Burt Lancaster and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the title, much of the action is set at...
(1962) and Atlantic City (1980). His production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, was the most successful and innovative star-driven independent production company in Hollywood of the 1950s, making movies such as Marty
Marty (film)
Marty is a 1955 American film directed by Delbert Mann. The screenplay was written by Paddy Chayefsky, expanding upon his 1953 teleplay of the same name. The film stars Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair. The film enjoyed international success, winning the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture and...
(1955), Trapeze
Trapeze (film)
Trapeze is a 1956 circus film directed by Carol Reed and starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida, making her debut in American films....
(1956), and Sweet Smell of Success
Sweet Smell of Success
Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 American film noir made by Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison and Martin Milner. The screenplay was written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman...
(1957).
In 1999, the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
named Lancaster 19th among the greatest male stars of all time
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars
Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars is a list of the top 50 greatest screen legends of American cinema, 25 male and 25 female...
.
Early life
Lancaster was born in 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 ProtestantProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
s of working-class Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
origin. Lancaster's grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and descendants of English immigrants to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.Lancaster's family believed themselves to be related to Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, Bt, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ, PC was a distinguished Indian born British soldier who regarded himself as Anglo-Irish and one of the most successful British commanders of the 19th century.-Early life:Born at Cawnpore, India, on...
. 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
DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...
, 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
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
with an athletics scholarship but subsequently dropped out.
Circus career and military
At the age of nine, Lancaster met Nick CravatNick Cravat
Nick Cravat was an American film actor. His real name was Nicholas Cuccia . "Cravat" was a stage name based on a character in a play he had seen and rather liked....
, with whom he continued to work throughout his life. Together they learned to act in local theater productions and circus arts at Union Settlement
Union Settlement Association
is one of the oldest settlement houses in New York City, providing community-based services and programs that support the immigrant and low-income residents of East Harlem...
, one of the city's oldest settlement houses.They formed the acrobat duo "Lang and Cravat" 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 United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and performed with the Army's Twenty-First Special Services
Special Services (entertainment)
Special Services are the entertainment branch of the American military. The unit was created on 22 July 1940 by the War Department as part of the Army Service Forces. Special Services would not only use their own specially trained and talented troops but would often engage local performers.Special...
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
United States Army North
United States Army North, or the Fifth Army, is an Army Service Component Command of the United States Army. It is responsible for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities as the joint force land component command of United States Northern Command.-History:The Fifth United States...
in Italy from 1943–1945.
Acting
Harry Brown (writer)
Harry Peter McNab Brown, Jr. was an American poet, novelist and screenwriter.-Life:Born in Portland, Maine, he was educated at Harvard University, where he was friends with American poet, Robert Lowell...
's A Sound of Hunting was not successful, Lancaster's performance drew the attention of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht
Harold Hecht
Harold Hecht , born in New York City, was an American film producer.Harold Hecht started his involvement with the New York stage at age 16. He appeared in numerous classical stage productions and later danced with the companies of the Metropolitan Opera and Martha Graham...
, who introduced him to Hal Wallis, who cast Lancaster in The Killers
The Killers (1946 film)
The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based in part on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film features Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene...
(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
The Flame and the Arrow
The Flame and the Arrow is a 1950 American adventure film made by Warner Bros. and starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Nick Cravat. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Harold Hecht and Frank Ross from a screenplay by Waldo Salt. The music score was by Max Steiner and the...
and The Crimson Pirate
The Crimson Pirate
The Crimson Pirate is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Robert Siodmak. It stars Burt Lancaster, who also co-produced the film, as Captain Vallo, the eponymous pirate, and is set in the Caribbean late in the 18th century, on the fictional islands of Cobra and San Pero...
, a friend from his circus years, Nick Cravat
Nick Cravat
Nick Cravat was an American film actor. His real name was Nicholas Cuccia . "Cravat" was a stage name based on a character in a play he had seen and rather liked....
, played a key supporting role, and both actors impressed audiences with their acrobatic prowess.
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
in From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the...
. The American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
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
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
, and the New York Film Critics Award for his performance in Elmer Gantry
Elmer Gantry (film)
Elmer Gantry is a 1960 drama film about a con man and a female evangelist selling religion to small town America. Adapted by director Richard Brooks, the film is based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis and stars Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons.Lancaster won an Academy Award for...
.
In 1968, at the age of 54, Lancaster appeared nude in director Frank Perry
Frank Perry
Frank J. Perry, Jr. was an American stage and film director, producer and screenwriter. His directorial debut, the 1962 film David and Lisa, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director....
's film, The Swimmer
The Swimmer (film)
The Swimmer is a 1968 American film directed by Frank Perry and starring Burt Lancaster. The surreal, allegorical tale is based on the 1964 short story by John Cheever, adapted by Eleanor Perry, the director's wife...
.
During the latter part of his career, Lancaster left adventure and acrobatic movies behind and portrayed more distinguished characters. This period brought him work on several European productions, with directors such as Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
and Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
. 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
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
and John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
and appeared in several television films.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Lancaster has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.
Directing and producing
Harold Hecht
Harold Hecht , born in New York City, was an American film producer.Harold Hecht started his involvement with the New York stage at age 16. He appeared in numerous classical stage productions and later danced with the companies of the Metropolitan Opera and Martha Graham...
(who had previously produced three Lancaster films under his own production company Norma Productions; Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands is a 1948 film noir, directed by Norman Foster. It stars Burt Lancaster, Joan Fontaine and Robert Newton.-Plot:...
(1948), The Flame and the Arrow
The Flame and the Arrow
The Flame and the Arrow is a 1950 American adventure film made by Warner Bros. and starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Nick Cravat. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Harold Hecht and Frank Ross from a screenplay by Waldo Salt. The music score was by Max Steiner and the...
(1950), and Ten Tall Men
Ten Tall Men
Ten Tall Men is a 1951 Technicolor comedy adventure film about the French Foreign Legion. It starred Burt Lancaster, Jody Lawrance and Gerald Mohr. Though co-written and directed by Willis Goldbeck, Goldbeck walked off the film due to disputes with Lancaster with the film being completed by Robert...
(1951)). In 1954, they collaborated again on His Majesty O'Keefe
His Majesty O'Keefe
His Majesty O'Keefe is a 1954 adventure film starring Burt Lancaster. The film was directed by Byron Haskin and Otto Heller and included choreography by Daniel Nagrin...
, 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". Together they produced the films Apache
Apache (film)
-Plot:Following the surrender of Geronimo, Massai, the last Apache warrior is captured and scheduled for transportation to a Florida reservation. On the way he manages to escape and heads for his homeland to win back his girl and settle down to grow crops...
(1954), Vera Cruz
Vera Cruz (film)
Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Technicolor Western starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, and featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, and Cesar Romero. The movie was directed by Robert Aldrich from a story by Borden Chase...
(1954), Marty
Marty (film)
Marty is a 1955 American film directed by Delbert Mann. The screenplay was written by Paddy Chayefsky, expanding upon his 1953 teleplay of the same name. The film stars Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair. The film enjoyed international success, winning the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture and...
(1955) (which won both the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
and the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
award at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
), The Kentuckian
The Kentuckian
The Kentuckian is a 1955 adventure film directed by Burt Lancaster, who also starred. It also marked the feature film debut of Walter Matthau. The picture is an adaptation of the novel The Gabriel Horn by Felix Holt...
(1955), Trapeze
Trapeze (film)
Trapeze is a 1956 circus film directed by Carol Reed and starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida, making her debut in American films....
(1956), The Bachelor Party
The Bachelor Party
The Bachelor Party is a 1953 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky which was adapted by Chayefsky for a 1957 film.-Television:Chayefsky's teleplay was produced by Fred Coe for The Philco Television Playhouse on October 11, 1953...
(1956), Sweet Smell of Success
Sweet Smell of Success
Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 American film noir made by Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison and Martin Milner. The screenplay was written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman...
(1957), Run Silent, Run Deep
Run Silent, Run Deep
Run Silent, Run Deep is a novel published first in 1955 by then-Commander Edward L. Beach, Jr.. The name refers to "silent running", a submarine stealth tactic. It is also the name of a 1958 movie based on the same novel...
(1958), Separate Tables
Separate Tables (film)
Separate Tables is a 1958 American drama film based on two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan that were collectively known by this name. It was directed by Delbert Mann, and adapted by Rattigan, John Gay and an uncredited John Michael Hayes. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes.The film took the...
(1958), (1959), Take a Giant Step
Take a Giant Step
Take a Giant Step is a coming-of-age drama film, directed by Philip Leacock about a black teenager living in a predominantly white environment and having trouble coping as he reaches an age at which the realities of racism are beginning to affect his life more directly and pointedly than they had...
(1959), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is a pioneering Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, on 28 November 1955...
(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
Birdman of Alcatraz (film)
Birdman of Alcatraz is a 1962 film starring Burt Lancaster and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the title, much of the action is set at...
(1962). Twelve years later, Hecht and Lancaster produced Ulzana's Raid
Ulzana's Raid
Ulzana's Raid is a 1972 revisionist Western starring Burt Lancaster, Richard Jaeckel and Bruce Davison. The film, which was filmed on location in Arizona, was directed by Robert Aldrich based on a script by Alan Sharp....
(1972) together.
In the late 1960s, Lancaster teamed with Roland Kibbee
Roland Kibbee
Roland Kibbee was an American screenwriter and producer.- Works :...
to form "Norlan Productions" and produce (1968), Valdez Is Coming
Valdez Is Coming
Valdez Is Coming is a 1971 American western film starring Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Richard Jordan and Jon Cypher. The film is based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name.-Plot:...
(1971), and The Midnight Man
The Midnight Man (1974 film)
The Midnight Man is a 1974 detective film directed by Burt Lancaster, who also starred with Susan Clark.-General information:Burt Lancaster shared directing credit with Roland Kibbee, and shared writing credit with Kibbee and author David Anthony upon whose novel The Midnight Lady and the Morning...
(1974).
In addition, Lancaster directed two films, The Kentuckian
The Kentuckian
The Kentuckian is a 1955 adventure film directed by Burt Lancaster, who also starred. It also marked the feature film debut of Walter Matthau. The picture is an adaptation of the novel The Gabriel Horn by Felix Holt...
(1955) and The Midnight Man
The Midnight Man (1974 film)
The Midnight Man is a 1974 detective film directed by Burt Lancaster, who also starred with Susan Clark.-General information:Burt Lancaster shared directing credit with Roland Kibbee, and shared writing credit with Kibbee and author David Anthony upon whose novel The Midnight Lady and the Morning...
(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 HechtHarold Hecht
Harold Hecht , born in New York City, was an American film producer.Harold Hecht started his involvement with the New York stage at age 16. He appeared in numerous classical stage productions and later danced with the companies of the Metropolitan Opera and Martha Graham...
, Lancaster also appeared in eight films produced by Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis was an American film producer.-Career:Harold Brent Wallis was born in Chicago in 1898. His family moved in 1922 to Los Angeles, California, where he found work as part of the publicity department at Warner Bros...
.
Lancaster made six films over the years with Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, including I Walk Alone
I Walk Alone
I Walk Alone is a 1948 film noir starring Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas. It was the directorial debut of Byron Haskin....
(1948), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Devil's Disciple (1959), The List of Adrian Messenger
The List of Adrian Messenger
The List of Adrian Messenger is a 1963 black and white crime thriller about a retired British intelligence officer investigating a series of apparently unrelated deaths. It is directed by acclaimed film director John Huston...
(1963), Seven Days in May
Seven Days in May
Seven Days in May is an American political thriller novel written by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II and published in 1962. It was made into a motion picture and released in February 1964, with a screenplay by Rod Serling, directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk...
(1964), and Tough Guys (1986) which fixed the notion of the pair as something of a team in the public imagination. The connection was firmly cemented by the time Lancaster and Douglas reteamed for their final movie, Tough Guys. Although Douglas was always second billed under Lancaster in these films, their roles were usually more or less the same size with the exceptions of I Walk Alone, in which Douglas played a villain, and in Seven Days in May, where Douglas' part was larger than Lancaster's.
Lancaster also often asked his close friend Nick Cravat
Nick Cravat
Nick Cravat was an American film actor. His real name was Nicholas Cuccia . "Cravat" was a stage name based on a character in a play he had seen and rather liked....
to appear in his films. They co-starred together in nine films: The Flame and the Arrow
The Flame and the Arrow
The Flame and the Arrow is a 1950 American adventure film made by Warner Bros. and starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Nick Cravat. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Harold Hecht and Frank Ross from a screenplay by Waldo Salt. The music score was by Max Steiner and the...
(1952), Ten Tall Men
Ten Tall Men
Ten Tall Men is a 1951 Technicolor comedy adventure film about the French Foreign Legion. It starred Burt Lancaster, Jody Lawrance and Gerald Mohr. Though co-written and directed by Willis Goldbeck, Goldbeck walked off the film due to disputes with Lancaster with the film being completed by Robert...
(1951), (1952), Run Silent, Run Deep
Run Silent, Run Deep
Run Silent, Run Deep is a novel published first in 1955 by then-Commander Edward L. Beach, Jr.. The name refers to "silent running", a submarine stealth tactic. It is also the name of a 1958 movie based on the same novel...
(1958), (1968), Airport (1970), Valdez Is Coming
Valdez Is Coming
Valdez Is Coming is a 1971 American western film starring Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Richard Jordan and Jon Cypher. The film is based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name.-Plot:...
(1971), Ulzana's Raid
Ulzana's Raid
Ulzana's Raid is a 1972 revisionist Western starring Burt Lancaster, Richard Jaeckel and Bruce Davison. The film, which was filmed on location in Arizona, was directed by Robert Aldrich based on a script by Alan Sharp....
(1972), The Midnight Man
The Midnight Man (1974 film)
The Midnight Man is a 1974 detective film directed by Burt Lancaster, who also starred with Susan Clark.-General information:Burt Lancaster shared directing credit with Roland Kibbee, and shared writing credit with Kibbee and author David Anthony upon whose novel The Midnight Lady and the Morning...
(1974), and (1977).
Lancaster starred in three films with Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
; From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the...
, Separate Tables
Separate Tables
Separate Tables is the collective name of two one-act plays written by Sir Terence Rattigan, both taking place in the Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, a seaside town on the south coast of England. The first play, entitled "Table by the Window", focuses on the troubled relationship between a...
, and The Gypsy Moths
The Gypsy Moths
The Gypsy Moths is a 1969 American film starring Burt Lancaster, based on the novel of the same name by James Drought. It is the story of three barnstorming skydivers and their effect on a midwestern American town. At the time, the sport of skydiving was in its infancy, yet the movie featured an...
.
In addition, John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
directed five films with Lancaster: The Young Savages
The Young Savages
The Young Savages is a 1961 crime drama film directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Burt Lancaster, and written by Edward Anhalt from a novel by Evan Hunter....
(1961), Birdman of Alcatraz
Birdman of Alcatraz
Robert Franklin Stroud , known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz", was a federal American prisoner who reared and sold birds and became an ornithologist...
(1962), Seven Days in May
Seven Days in May
Seven Days in May is an American political thriller novel written by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II and published in 1962. It was made into a motion picture and released in February 1964, with a screenplay by Rod Serling, directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk...
(1964), The Train (1964), and The Gypsy Moths
The Gypsy Moths
The Gypsy Moths is a 1969 American film starring Burt Lancaster, based on the novel of the same name by James Drought. It is the story of three barnstorming skydivers and their effect on a midwestern American town. At the time, the sport of skydiving was in its infancy, yet the movie featured an...
(1969).
Lancaster used make-up veteran Robert Schiffer in 20 credited films. Lancaster hired Schiffer on nearly all the films he produced.
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: BillBill Lancaster
William 'Bill' Henry Lancaster was an American screenwriter. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Burt Lancaster and Norma Anderson...
, who became a screenwriter; James; Susan; Joanna; and Sighle . He claims he was romantically involved with Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
during the filming of From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the...
in 1953. However, Ms. Kerr had stated that while there was a spark of attraction, nothing ever happened. He also had an affair with Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell
Rose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career...
. In her 1980 autobiography, actress Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
claimed to have had a long affair with him.
Political views
Lancaster was a vocal supporter of liberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
political causes, and frequently spoke out in support of racial minorities. He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and political movements such as McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
, 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
Eugene McCarthy
Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and frequently spoke on his behalf during the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primaries. In 1985, Lancaster, a longtime supporter of gay rights, joined the fight against AIDS after his close friend, Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
, contracted the disease. He campaigned for Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
in the 1988 presidential election.
Health problems and death
As Lancaster grew older, he became increasingly plagued by atherosclerosisAtherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
, barely surviving a routine gall bladder operation in January 1980. Following two minor heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
s 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
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
to protest media magnate Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
's plan to colorize various black-and-white films from the 1930s and '40s. A severe stroke in November 1990 left him partly paralyzed
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
and largely unable to speak. He died in his Century City apartment in Los Angeles from a third heart attack on October 20, 1994 at the age of 80. He 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 - GPS (lat/lon): 34.05856, -118.44061. Upon his death, as he requested, he had no memorial or funeral service.
Films
| Year | Film | Role | | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | The Killers The Killers (1946 film) The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based in part on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film features Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene... |
'Swede' Andersen | |
| 1947 | Brute Force Brute Force (1947 film) Brute Force is a brooding, brutal film noir, starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn and Charles Bickford. It was directed by Jules Dassin, with a screenplay by Richard Brooks and the cinematography by William H. Daniels.... |
Joe Collins | |
| 1947 | Desert Fury Desert Fury Desert Fury is a 1947 Paramount Pictures color film noir drama film starring Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak and Burt Lancaster, with Mary Astor and Wendell Corey.... |
Tom Hanson | |
| 1948 | I Walk Alone I Walk Alone I Walk Alone is a 1948 film noir starring Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas. It was the directorial debut of Byron Haskin.... |
Frankie Madison | |
| 1948 | All My Sons All My Sons (film) All My Sons is a 1948 drama film based on Arthur Miller's play of the same name. It stars Edward G. Robinson as a defense contractor whose dark secret is revealed.-Cast:*Edward G... |
Chris Keller | |
| 1948 | Sorry, Wrong Number Sorry, Wrong Number Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American suspense film noir directed by Anatole Litvak. It tells the story of a woman who overhears a plot for murder. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Leif Erickson and William Conrad.The film was adapted by Lucille... |
Henry Stevenson | |
| 1948 | Kiss the Blood Off My Hands Kiss the Blood Off My Hands Kiss the Blood Off My Hands is a 1948 film noir, directed by Norman Foster. It stars Burt Lancaster, Joan Fontaine and Robert Newton.-Plot:... |
William Earle 'Bill' Saunders | |
| 1949 | Criss Cross | Steve Thompson, narrator | |
| 1949 | Rope of Sand Rope of Sand Rope of Sand was a 1949 adventure film directed by William Dieterle, produced by Hal B. Wallis, starringBurt Lancaster, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Corinne Calvet, Sam Jaffe, and John Bromfield.-Plot:... |
Michael (Mike) Davis | |
| 1950 | The Flame and the Arrow The Flame and the Arrow The Flame and the Arrow is a 1950 American adventure film made by Warner Bros. and starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Nick Cravat. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Harold Hecht and Frank Ross from a screenplay by Waldo Salt. The music score was by Max Steiner and the... |
Dardo Bartoli | |
| 1950 | Mister 880 Mister 880 Mister 880 is a 1950 film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Burt Lancaster, Dorothy McGuire, Edmund Gwenn, and Millard Mitchell. It was based on an article by St. Clair McKelway that was first published in The New Yorker and later collected in McKelway's book True Tales from the Annals of... |
Steve Buchanan | |
| 1951 | Vengeance Valley Vengeance Valley Vengeance Valley is a Western film starring Burt Lancaster, based on the novel by Luke Short. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer failed to renew the copyright on this film in 1978, so it is now in the public domain in the United States.-Plot:... |
Owen Daybright | |
| 1951 | Jim Thorpe – All-American | Jim Thorpe Jim Thorpe Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry... |
|
| 1951 | Ten Tall Men Ten Tall Men Ten Tall Men is a 1951 Technicolor comedy adventure film about the French Foreign Legion. It starred Burt Lancaster, Jody Lawrance and Gerald Mohr. Though co-written and directed by Willis Goldbeck, Goldbeck walked off the film due to disputes with Lancaster with the film being completed by Robert... |
Sgt Mike Kincaid | |
| 1952 | Capitan Vallo | ||
| 1952 | Come Back, Little Sheba Come Back, Little Sheba (1952 film) Come Back, Little Sheba is a drama film produced by Paramount Pictures which tells the story of a loveless marriage that is rocked when a young woman rents a room in the couple's house. The film stars Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth with Terry Moore and Richard Jaeckel... |
Doc Delaney | |
| 1953 | South Sea Woman South Sea Woman South Sea Woman is a 1953 action-comedy-drama film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Chuck Connors.Jeanine Basinger's and Jeremy Arnold's book The World War II Combat Film – Anatomy of a Genre calls the film a significant mixture of genres:... |
Master Gunnery Sgt. James O'Hearn | |
| 1953 | From Here to Eternity From Here to Eternity From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the... |
1st Sgt. Milton Warden | New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking.... Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
| 1953 | Three Sailors and a Girl Three Sailors and a Girl Three Sailors and a Girl is a 1953 musical film made by Warner Bros.. It was directed by Roy Del Ruth, and written by Devery Freeman and Roland Kibbee, based on the George S. Kaufman play The Butter and Egg Man... |
Marine (uncredited) | |
| 1954 | His Majesty O'Keefe His Majesty O'Keefe His Majesty O'Keefe is a 1954 adventure film starring Burt Lancaster. The film was directed by Byron Haskin and Otto Heller and included choreography by Daniel Nagrin... |
Captain David Dion O'Keefe, narrator | |
| 1954 | Apache Apache (film) -Plot:Following the surrender of Geronimo, Massai, the last Apache warrior is captured and scheduled for transportation to a Florida reservation. On the way he manages to escape and heads for his homeland to win back his girl and settle down to grow crops... |
Massai | |
| 1954 | Vera Cruz Vera Cruz (film) Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Technicolor Western starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, and featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, and Cesar Romero. The movie was directed by Robert Aldrich from a story by Borden Chase... |
Joe Erin | |
| 1955 | Elias Wakefield (Big Eli) | Director Nominated—Golden Lion Golden Lion Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes... |
|
| 1955 | Alvaro Mangiacavallo | ||
| 1956 | Trapeze Trapeze (film) Trapeze is a 1956 circus film directed by Carol Reed and starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida, making her debut in American films.... |
Mike Ribble | Silver Bear for Best Actor Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for achievement in performance by an actor.- Awards :- External links :*... at Berlin 6th Berlin International Film Festival -Jury:* Marcel Carné* Bill Luckwell* Giuseppe Vittorio Sampieri* Koichi Kawakita* Leo J. Horster* Ilse Urbach* Ludwig Berger-Films in competition:* ...erwachsen sein dagegen sehr by Wolf Hart* Autumn Leaves by Robert Aldrich... |
| 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 Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known... |
|
| 1957 | Sweet Smell of Success Sweet Smell of Success Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 American film noir made by Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison and Martin Milner. The screenplay was written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman... |
J.J. Hunsecker | |
| 1958 | Run Silent, Run Deep Run Silent, Run Deep Run Silent, Run Deep is a novel published first in 1955 by then-Commander Edward L. Beach, Jr.. The name refers to "silent running", a submarine stealth tactic. It is also the name of a 1958 movie based on the same novel... |
Lt. Commander Jim Bledsoe | |
| 1958 | Separate Tables Separate Tables (film) Separate Tables is a 1958 American drama film based on two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan that were collectively known by this name. It was directed by Delbert Mann, and adapted by Rattigan, John Gay and an uncredited John Michael Hayes. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes.The film took the... |
John Malcolm | |
| 1959 | The Rev. Anthony Anderson | ||
| 1960 | Ben Zachary | ||
| 1960 | Elmer Gantry Elmer Gantry (film) Elmer Gantry is a 1960 drama film about a con man and a female evangelist selling religion to small town America. Adapted by director Richard Brooks, the film is based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis and stars Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons.Lancaster won an Academy Award for... |
Elmer Gantry | Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951... New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking.... Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:... |
| 1961 | ADA Hank Bell | ||
| 1961 | Judgment at Nuremberg Judgment at Nuremberg Judgment at Nuremberg is a 1961 American drama film dealing with the Holocaust and the Post-World War II Nuremberg Trials. It was written by Abby Mann, directed by Stanley Kramer, and starred Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietrich, Judy... |
Dr. Ernst Janning | |
| 1962 | Birdman of Alcatraz Birdman of Alcatraz (film) Birdman of Alcatraz is a 1962 film starring Burt Lancaster and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the title, much of the action is set at... |
Robert Stroud | BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:... Volpi Cup Volpi Cup The Volpi Cups are the principal awards given to actors at the Venice Film Festival. Formal acting awards were introduced in the second festival . Initially they were called Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment. The name Volpi Cup was introduced the following year... Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1963 |
| Dr. Ben Clark
|
|-
| 1963
|
| Prince Don Fabrizio Salina
|
|-
| 1963
|
| Cameo
|
|-
| 1964
| Seven Days in May
Seven Days in May
Seven Days in May is an American political thriller novel written by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II and published in 1962. It was made into a motion picture and released in February 1964, with a screenplay by Rod Serling, directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk...
| Gen. James Mattoon Scott
|
|-
| 1964
|
| Paul Labiche
|
|-
| 1965
|
| Col. Thaddeus Gearhart
|
|-
| 1966
|
| Bill Dolworth
|
|-
| 1967
| All About People
| Narrator
|
|-
| 1968
|
| Joe Bass
|
|-
| 1968
|
| Ned Merrill
|
|-
| 1969
| Castle Keep
Castle Keep
Castle Keep is a 'firmly pro- and anti-war' 1969 American war film directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Bruce Dern, and Peter Falk...
| Maj. Abraham Falconer
|
|-
| 1969
|
| Mike Rettig
|
|-
| 1970
| Airport
| Mel Bakersfeld
|
|-
| 1971
| Lawman
Lawman (film)
Lawman is a 1971 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb, and Robert Duvall.The film is about the quest of a lone peace officer, Marshal Jered Maddox , to bring several men to justice...
| Bannock Town Marshal Jered Maddox
|
|-
| 1971
| Valdez Is Coming
Valdez Is Coming
Valdez Is Coming is a 1971 American western film starring Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Richard Jordan and Jon Cypher. The film is based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name.-Plot:...
| Marshal Bob Valdez
|
|-
| 1972
| Ulzana's Raid
Ulzana's Raid
Ulzana's Raid is a 1972 revisionist Western starring Burt Lancaster, Richard Jaeckel and Bruce Davison. The film, which was filmed on location in Arizona, was directed by Robert Aldrich based on a script by Alan Sharp....
| U.S. Cavalry Scout McIntosh
|
|-
| 1973
| Scorpio
Scorpio (film)
Scorpio is a 1973 spy film directed by Michael Winner.It is about a Central Intelligence Agency agent named Cross , a successful but retiring assassin, who is training "Scorpio" to replace him...
| Cross
|
|-
| 1973
| Executive Action
| James Farrington
|
|-
| 1974
|
| Jim Slade
| Director
|-
| 1974
| Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (Conversation Piece)
Conversation Piece (film)
Conversation Piece is an award-winning 1974 film by Italian director Luchino Visconti.The film features an international cast including the American actor Burt Lancaster, the Austrian Helmut Berger and the Italians Silvana Mangano and Claudia Cardinale and the French actress Dominique Sanda in a...
| The Professor
| David di Donatello for Best Actor
David di Donatello for Best Actor
The David di Donatello for Best Actor is a category of the major Italian film award, the David di Donatello, given by La Accademia del Cinema Italiano .-Winners and nominees:...
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| 1976
| Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson is a 1976 revisionist Western directed by Robert Altman and based on the play Indians by Arthur Kopit. It stars Paul Newman as William F...
| Ned Buntline
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| 1976
| 1900 (Novecento)
1900 (film)
1900 is a 1976 Italian epic film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Donald Sutherland, Alida Valli, and Burt Lancaster. Set in Bertolucci's ancestral region of Emilia, the film chronicles the lives of two men during the political turmoils...
| Alfredo's Grandfather
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| 1976
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| Col. Stephen Mackenzie
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| 1977
| Twilight's Last Gleaming
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Twilight's Last Gleaming is a 1977 film directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Burt Lancaster and Richard Widmark.Loosely based on a 1971 novel, Viper Three by Walter Wager, it tells the story of Lawrence Dell, a renegade USAF general, who escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo...
| Gen. Lawrence Dell
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| 1977
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| Dr. Paul Moreau
| Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
Saturn Award for Best Actor
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed, who felt that films within those genres...
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| 1978
| Go Tell the Spartans
Go Tell the Spartans
Go Tell the Spartans is a 1978 American war film based on Daniel Ford's 1967 novel Incident at Muc Wa, about U.S. Army military advisors during the early part of the Vietnam War in 1964, a time when Ford was a correspondent in Vietnam for The Nation.The film's title is from Simonides's epitaph to...
| Maj. Asa Barker
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| 1979
| Zulu Dawn
Zulu Dawn
Zulu Dawn is a 1979 war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Story. The film was directed by Douglas Hickox...
| Col. Anthony Durnford
Anthony Durnford
Colonel Anthony William Durnford was a career British Army officer who served in the Anglo-Zulu War. Breveted colonel, Durnford is mainly known for his presence at the defeat of the British army by the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana.-Background:Durnford was born in to a military family at Manor...
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| 1980
| Atlantic City
| Lou Pascal
| BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
The winners of the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor are listed below:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
David di Donatello for Best Actor
David di Donatello for Best Actor
The David di Donatello for Best Actor is a category of the major Italian film award, the David di Donatello, given by La Accademia del Cinema Italiano .-Winners and nominees:...
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
The Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*...
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:...
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor is an annual award given by the National Society of Film Critics to honor the best leading actor of the year.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking....
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
Nominated—Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
The Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian actor.-1st Genie Awards:* Christopher Plummer, Murder by Decree...
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
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| 1981
| Cattle Annie and Little Britches
Cattle Annie and Little Britches (film)
Cattle Annie and Little Britches is an American film based on the lives of two adolescent girls in the late 19th century who became infatuated with the Western outlaw heroes they had read about in Ned Buntline's stories and left their homes to join them...
| Bill Doolin
Bill Doolin
William "Bill" Doolin was an American bandit and founder of the Wild Bunch, an outlaw gang that specialized in robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas during the 1890s.- Early life :...
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| 1981
| La pelle
| Gen. Mark Clark
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| 1983
| Local Hero
Local Hero
Local Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
| Felix Happer
| Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film...
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| 1983
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| CIA Director Maxwell Danforth
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| 1985
| Little Treasure
Little Treasure
Little Treasure is a 1985 American action drama starring Ted Danson, Margot Kidder and Burt Lancaster. The film, written and directed by Alan Sharp, deals with the strained relationship between a bank robber father and his daughter, a stripper.-Plot:...
| Delbert Teschemacher
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| 1986
| Tough Guys
| Harry Doyle
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| 1987
| Il Giorno prima
Il Giorno prima
----Il Giorno prima is a Drama Italy film, starring Burt Lancaster - Ben Gazzara and directed by Giuliano Montaldo- Plot :This story takes place when they experience the dangerous psychological effects of mental fatigue conditions in a shelter. When carrying a dozen people in a nuclear shelter to...
| Dr. Herbert Monroe
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| 1988
| Rocket Gibraltar
Rocket Gibraltar
Rocket Gibraltar is an American film released in 1988, directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Burt Lancaster and Patricia Clarkson. In the movie, an aging patriarch reunites his entire family for his birthday, but personal and social problems abound.-Cast:...
| Levi Rockwell
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| 1989
| Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
| Dr. Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham
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| 1989
| La Bottega dell'orefice
La Bottega dell'orefice
----La bottega dell'orefice is a 1989 film based on "The Jeweler's Shop" a play written by Karol Wojtyla and scripted by Jeff Andrus, starring Burt Lancaster and directed by Michael Anderson- Plot :...
| The Jeweller
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|}
TV
| Year | Film | Role | | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Moses the Lawgiver Moses the Lawgiver Moses the Lawgiver was a 1974, 6-part TV mini-series directed by Gianfranco De Bosio and James H. Hill, starring Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quayle, Ingrid Thulin and Irene Papas, with screenplay by Vittorio Bonicelli and Anthony Burgess, and music by Ennio Morricone.An ITC/RAI co-production, shooting... |
Moses Moses Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed... |
mini-series |
| 1976 | Victory at Entebbe Victory at Entebbe Victory at Entebbe is a made-for-television film from 1976 based on an actual event: Operation Entebbe and the freeing of Israeli hostages at Entebbe Airport in Uganda... |
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years... |
|
| 1978 | As himself, narrator | 20 episode USA-USSR archival documentary series on WWII | |
| 1982 | Marco Polo | TeobaldoVisconti / Pope Gregory X | mini-series |
| 1982 | Verdi | Narrator in American version | mini-series |
| 1985 | Scandal Sheet Scandal Sheet (TV) ----Scandal Sheet is a Drama TV movie, starring Burt Lancaster and directed by David Lowell Rich----- Plot :Harold Fallen a sleazy tabloid publisher in Scandal Sheet . Interested only in selling papers, Fallen sees an easy target in a recovering alcoholic actor Ben Rowan trying to make a comeback... |
Harold Fallen | |
| 1986 | Väter und Söhne - Eine deutsche Tragödie Väter und Söhne - Eine deutsche Tragödie Väter und Söhne - Eine deutsche Tragödie is a Italy-Germany TV mini-series, starring Burt Lancaster - Julie Christie and directed by Bernhard Sinkel.-Plot:... |
Geheimrat Carl Julius Deutz | mini-series |
| 1986 | On Wings of Eagles On Wings of Eagles (TV mini-series) ----On Wings of Eagles is a NBC TV mini-series, starring Burt Lancaster - Richard Crenna and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen----- Plot :... |
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons Arthur D. Simons Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons was a US Army Special Forces officer, best known for leading the Son Tay raid, an attempted rescue of American prisoners of war from a North Vietnamese prison at Son Tay.-Early life:Arthur David Simons was born in New York City, moving to Missouri in his youth... |
mini-series |
| 1989 | I Promessi sposi I Promessi sposi (TV mini-series) ----I Promessi sposi is a Italy TV mini-series, starring Burt Lancaster - Franco Nero and directed by Salvatore Nocita based on the nineteenth-century historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni.- Cast :... |
Cardinal Federigo Borromeo | mini-series |
| 1990 | Gerard Carriere | mini-series | |
| 1990 | Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair ----Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair is a TV Drama/Action movie based on the Achille Lauro hijacking, starring Burt Lancaster - Eva Marie Saint and directed by Alberto Negrin-----Plot:... |
Leon Klinghoffer Leon Klinghoffer Leon Klinghoffer was a disabled American appliance manufacturer who was murdered and thrown overboard by Palestinian terrorists in the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985.-Hijacking and murder:... |
|
| 1991 | Separate But Equal Separate but equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified systems of segregation. Under this doctrine, services, facilities and public accommodations were allowed to be separated by race, on the condition that the quality of each group's public facilities was to... |
John W. Davis |