Burt Lancaster Overview:

Legendary actor, Burt Lancaster, was born Burton Stephen Lancaster on Nov 2, 1913 in New York City, NY. Lancaster died at the age of 81 on Oct 20, 1994 in Century City, CA and was laid to rest in Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, CA.

MINI BIO:

Muscular, fair-haired American actor with flashing smile tinged with menace. A former circus acrobat - and remarkably nimble for such a big man - he developed a taste for acting in wartime troop shows. Although he started in black thrillers, he became best known in swashbucklers, swinging spectacularly around on ropes. Some regret the drift into excessive seriousness that followed, although he did win an Oscar in 1960 for his fire-eating preacher in Elmer Gantry and was also nominated for From Here to Eternity, Birdman of Alcatraz, and, many years later, Atlantic City USA. Died from a heart attack.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Burt Lancaster was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning one for Best Actor for Elmer Gantry (as Elmer Gantry) in 1960.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1953Best ActorFrom Here to Eternity (1953)Sgt. Milton WardenNominated
1960Best ActorElmer Gantry (1960)Elmer GantryWon
1962Best ActorBirdman of Alcatraz (1962)Robert StroudNominated
1981Best ActorAtlantic City (1980)LouNominated
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He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Motion Pictures.

BlogHub Articles:

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By Stephen Reginald on Nov 18, 2025 From Classic Movie Man

and Yvonne De Carlo can’t seem to catch a break in “Criss Cross” Criss Cross (1948) is an American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak that plunges the audience into a dark, fatalistic world of obsessive love and impending disaster. The story centers on Steve T... Read full article


The Alternate Movie Title Game ( Edition)

By Rick29 on Apr 16, 2023 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

Here are the rules: We will provide an "alternate title" for a film that starred and ask you to name the actual film. Most of these are pretty easy. Please answer no more than three questions per day so others can play. You may have an answer other than the intended one--just be able ... Read full article


and Ava Gardner in director Robert Siodmak's "The Killers"

By Stephen Reginald on Aug 16, 2022 From Classic Movie Man

and Ava Gardner in director Robert Siodmak's "The Killers" The Killers (1946) is an American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring in his movie debut and Ava Gardner. The film co-stars Edmond O'Brien, Sam Levine, and Charles McGraw. The film is based on... Read full article


leads with "Brute Force"

By Stephen Reginald on Mar 16, 2022 From Classic Movie Man

leads with "Brute Force" Brute Force (1947) is an American film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring , Hume Cronyn, and Charles Bickford. The film also stars Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, and Ella Raines. The screenplay was by Richard Brooks, the cinematography ... Read full article


Edward G. Robinson and star in "All My Sons"

By Stephen Reginald on Feb 1, 2022 From Classic Movie Man

Edward G. Robinson and star in "All My Sons" All My Sons (1948) is based on the play by Arthur Miller which ran on Broadway from January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and ran for 328 performances. The film was directed by Irving Reis and starred Edward G. Robinson and Bur... Read full article


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Burt Lancaster Quotes:

Hewie: You always stand up for him, don't you, Owen?
Owen Daybright: When you're loyal to a man, Hewie, you're loyal to everything about him... even his faults.


Prince Don Fabrizio Salina: Things will have to change in order that they remain the same.


Lost Bird: We come in peace.
Ben Zachary: My land. My sky. You are welcome.
Lost Bird: Young horses. Good for fighting. Good for hunting. You take.
Ben Zachary: I am ashamed. I have nothing to offer you.
Lost Bird: In house. You have woman. One our women.
Ben Zachary: Who told you this.
Lost Bird: Old man. One your tribe. Carry long knife. He say you have one our women.
Ben Zachary: He is crazy.
Lost Bird: Sun speak through him. Talk to dead people. He say woman your house my sister.
Ben Zachary: He lies. Woman my house white. Dahkoi. Father white, mother white. Burned to death by you; by Kiowa.
Lost Bird: How many horses for woman?
Ben Zachary: There are not enough horses in the world. Not as many as you can catch. Not as many as you can steal.


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Burt Lancaster Facts
Started out as a circus performer.

Suffered a severe stroke while visiting actor Dana Andrews, who was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Lancaster remained hospitalized until February 1991, and incapacitated and unable to speak until his death in October, 1994. [November 1990]

According to Kate Buford in her biography "Burt Lancaster: An American Life," he felt competitive with Marlon Brando, who achieved stardom playing Stanley Kowalski on Broadway, a role Lancaster turned down. A Top 10 box-office success in the early 1960s, it was this sense of competition with Brando, who was known as both an actor's actor and a major movie star, that led Lancaster to plunge into art films and riskier fare such as Luchino Visconti's The Leopard (1963), in order to prove himself as an actor and be known as an artist rather than just a movie star. After this refocusing of his career, he slipped out of the Top 10 and never again was a major box office attraction.

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