BURT LANCASTER BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
 
Burt Lancaster was born with the birth name, Burton Stephen Lancaster on November 2nd, 1913 in New York, New York.  He was one of five children born to a New York City postal worker.  As a child, Lancaster was very athletic and after high school he joined the circus and performed in an acrobatic act. 

During World War II, Lancaster served in the army and as a result of performing in USO shows, he began to have an interest in the filed of acting.  He did not pursue an acting career until the age of 32.  After the War ended he landed his first professional acting job in the Broadway play, "A Sound of Hunting" (1945).  A talent scout noticed Lancaster and offered him a job in Hollywood.

His film debut was on, "Desert Fury" (1947), however this film was delayed releasing and the public actually noticed him from another film, "The Killers" (1946).  

After starring as Barbara Stanwyck's cheating husband in, "Sorry, Wrong Number" (1948), Lancaster and his manager formed their own production company and he quickly gained control over his career and thus avoided Hollywood typecasting. Together they co founded Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, one of the first star-owned production companies.  He signed a non exclusive contract with Warner brothers and together with Hecht produced the 1950's film, "Flame and the Arrow".

Due to his athletic nature he was easily capable of working on adventure films such as, "The Crimson Pirate" (1952).  His acting talents were not lacking either as he proved on the following films, "From Here to Eternity" (1953), "The Rainmaker" (1956) starring alongside Katharine Hepburn, "The Sweet Smell of Success" (1957) and "Elmer Gantry" (1960) in which he won an Academy Award for.  He also gained great exposure for a memorable performance in, "Judgment at Nuremburg" (1961) and received another Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Robert Stroud in director John Frankenheimer's, "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962).  Some of his other amazing performances were in, "Il Gattopardo" (1963), "Seven Days in May" (1964), "The Train" (1965), "The Professionals" (1966) and, "The Swimmer"(1968).

His first film of the 1970's was the blockbuster disaster epic, "Airport" (1970) he did however appear in a few films that were decent during that decade such as, "Bertolucci's 1900" (1976).  Lancaster also dabbled in a number of Television projects and then appeared in," Go Tell the Spartans" (1978) which failed to catch on. However he did earn his fourth Oscar nomination for, "Atlantic City" (1980) which also earned him best actor honors from the New York critics.  

The 80's were good to him with roles on, "Local Hero" (1983), "Tough Guys" (1986) starring alongside an old friend Kirk Douglas and "Field of Dreams" (1989) starring Kevin Costner.  His final performance was in "Separate But Equal" (1991), and soon after health problems forced his retirement.
 
Lancaster was married three times, in which his first two marriages ended in divorce.  His third marriage to Susan Martin was in 1990 and ended in 1994 due to his death.  He had five children, all from his 2nd wife, Norma Anderson married from 1946 to 1969. 

Burt Lancaster was also a vocal supporter of liberal political causes, specifically speaking out with support groups for racial minorities.  He was also a long time supporter of gay rights and joined the fight against AIDS after he lost a close friend, Rock Hudson to the disease.  

Burt Lancaster passed away on October 20th, 1994 in Century City, California in his apartment from a third heart attack.  He is buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Westwood Village in Los Angeles.
 

Filmography

1991    Separate But Equal 
1990    The Jeweller's Shop 
1990    The Phantom of the Opera 
1990    Voyage of Terror - The Achille Lauro Affair 
1989    Field of Dreams 
1988    Rocket Gibraltar 
1987    Control 
1986    Barnum 
1986    Tough Guys 
1985    Little Treasure 
1985    Scandal Sheet 
1983    Local Hero 
1983    The Osterman Weekend 
1980    Atlantic City 
1979    Zulu Dawn 
1978    Go Tell the Spartans 
1977    The Island of Dr. Moreau 
1977    Twilight's Last Gleaming 
1976    Bertolucci's 1900
1976    Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Sitting Bull's History Lesson 
1976    The Cassandra Crossing 
1965    Moses 
1974    Conversation Piece 
1973    Executive Action  
1973    Scorpio 
1972    Ulzana's Raid 
1971    Lawman 
1971    Valdez is Coming 
1970    Airport 
1969    Castle Keep 
1969    The Gypsy Moths 
1968    The Scalphunters 
1968    The Swimmer 
1966    The Professionals 
1965    The Hallelujah Trail 
1965    The Train 
1964    Seven Days in May 
1963    A Child is Waiting 
1963    The Leopard  
1963    The List of Adrian Messenger 
1962    Birdman of Alcatraz 
1961    Judgment at Nuremburg 
1961    The Young Savages 
1960    Elmer Gantry  
1960    The Unforgiven 
1959    The Devil's Disciple 
1958    Run Silent, Run Deep 
1958    Separate Tables 
1957    Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 
1957    Sweet Smell of Success 
1956    The Rainmaker 
1956    Trapeze 
1955    The Kentuckian 
1955    The Rose Tattoo 
1954    Apache 
1954    Vera Cruz 
1953    From Here to Eternity 
1953    His Majesty O'Keefe 
1952    Come Back, Little Sheba 
1952    The Crimson Pirate 
1951    Jim Thorpe - All American 
1951    Vengeance Valley 
1950    The Flame and the Arrow 
1949    Criss Cross 
1948    All My Sons 
1948    Sorry, Wrong Number 
1947    Brute Force 
1947    Variety Girl 
1946    The Killers