Burt Lancaster Net Worth

Burt Lancaster Net Worth is
$40 Million

Burt Lancaster Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique, blue eyes, and distinctive smile. 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 ...

Full NameBurt Lancaster
Net Worth$40 Million
Date Of BirthNovember 2, 1913, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
DiedOctober 20, 1994, Century City, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place Of BirthManhattan
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
ProfessionActor, Film Producer, Film director, Circus Performer, Salesman, Soldier, Voice Actor
EducationDeWitt Clinton High School, New York University
NationalityUnited States of America
SpouseSusan Martin (m. 1990–1994), Norma Anderson (m. 1946–1969), June Ernst (m. 1935–1946)
ChildrenBill Lancaster, Joanna Lancaster, Sighle Lancaster, Jimmy Lancaster, Susan Lancaster
ParentsJames Henry Lancaster, Elizabeth Lancaster
SiblingsBill Lancaster, Jane Lancaster
NicknamesBurton Stephen Lancaster , Lancaster , Mr Muscles and Teeth , The Grin
AwardsAcademy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture – Drama, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor, Volpi Cup for Best Actor, National So...
NominationsBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor
MoviesFrom Here to Eternity, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Sweet Smell of Success, The Killers, Elmer Gantry, The Crimson Pirate, The Leopard, The Swimmer, The Professionals, Birdman of Alcatraz, Field of Dreams, Seven Days in May, Local Hero, The Unforgiven, The Kentuckian, Vera Cruz, Lawman, Criss Cross,...
TV ShowsMarco Polo, On Wings of Eagles, The Betrothed
Star SignScorpio
#Trademark
1Very distinctive, clipped manner of speaking
2Roles in westerns
3His movies often reflected his very liberal political beliefs
4A great physique, of which director John Frankenheimer said, "Nobody ever looked like Burt Lancaster in The Crimson Pirate (1952) ."
5A killer smile, which he called "The Grin"
TitleSalary
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)$750,000
The Hallelujah Trail (1965)$150,000
The Train (1964)$150,000
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)$150,000
The Young Savages (1961)$150,000
From Here to Eternity (1953)$120,000
Desert Fury (1947)$1,250 /week
Brute Force (1947)$45,000
The Killers (1946)$20,000
#Quote
1[In 1984 about his career] When I think of my least favorite, I think of Rope of Sand (1949). I did that thing under great duress. I hated it.
2[on Go Tell the Spartans (1978)] One of the best scripts I've read and certainly the best I've had for myself in a few years.
3Genius is a pretty dangerous thing to have. Genius is too erratic. It's better just to be talented.
4[on working with Montgomery Clift on From Here to Eternity (1953)] The only time I was ever really afraid as an actor was that first scene with Clift. It was my scene, understand: I was the sergeant, I gave the orders, he was just a private under me. Well, when we started, I couldn't stop my knees from shaking. I thought they might have to stop because my trembling would show. I was afraid he was going to blow me right off the screen.
5In my opinion, Shirley Booth is the finest actress I have ever worked with.
6[on Kirk Douglas] We both came from, sort of, well, shall we say, humble beginnings. We were both young, brash, cocky, arrogant. We knew everything, were highly opinionated. We were invincible. Nobody liked us.
7[on Montgomery Clift] He had so much power, so much concentration. Clift was a complicated man, there's no question about it. He was a very sweet man, Monty, very emotional.
8[in 1985] If anyone should have gotten AIDS from an active sex life, it is me.
9[in 1976] Whether you like it or not, when you're 62 you are fulfilled.
10[on Kirk Douglas] Kirk would be the first to admit that he's difficult to work with - and I would be the second.
11If I'm working with frightened people, I do tend to dominate them. I'm no doll, that's for sure.
12[upon being offered Ben-Hur (1959)] I don't want to make this film. It's a piece of crap.
13[advice to actor Bruce Davison, on the set of Ulzana's Raid (1972)] You try to please the director, and the cameraman and the soundman, and you're acting and acting and acting and by the time you come to your close-up, you've shot your wad. It's like making love to a woman: you can't try to come all at once, son. A bit of a tit here, a bit of an inner thigh there, and you have a performance!
14I woke up one day a star. It was terrifying. Then I worked hard toward becoming a good actor.
15We're all forgotten sooner or later. But not films. That's all the memorial we should need or hope for.
16I don't know why Airport (1970) was nominated for any Oscars - it's the biggest piece of junk ever.
17[speaking in 1983] Tits and sand - that's what we used to call sex and violence in Hollywood.
18Life is to be lived within the limits of your knowledge and within the concept of what you would like to see yourself to be.
19[on being a director] It's the best job in the picture business because when you're a director, you're God. And you know that's the best job in town.
20Most people seem to think I'm the kind of guy who shaves with a blowtorch. Actually I'm bookish and worrisome.
#Fact
1Lancaster told Bernardo Bertolucci on the set of 1900 (1976) he had undergone so much plastic surgery over the years that his eye were his only real facial feature. He wore a hairpiece in later films but left it off for artistic films.
2Sidney Pollack says that up until 1975, when he was in his sixties, Burt Lancaster was still doing giant swings at the bar, smoked cigarettes, drank Martinis every night and jogged three times a week.
3According to his will, after his death, there was no funeral nor memorial service.
4A very strong and agile man - despite chain smoking - due to his years as a circus acrobat, Lancaster unfortunately lost two roles in the films of Cecil B. DeMille due to politics, the films in question being Samson and Delilah (1949) and The Greatest Show On Earth (1952). Lancaster was a liberal Democrat while DeMille was a conservative Republican.
5He was reported to have gone into a coma on his 80th birthday.
6He appeared in eight films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: From Here to Eternity (1953), The Rose Tattoo (1955), Separate Tables (1958), Elmer Gantry (1960), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Airport (1970), Atlantic City (1980) and Field of Dreams (1989). Of those, only From Here to Eternity (1953) is a winner in the category.
7Despite his reputation for physical strength and agility, Lancaster was a chain smoker.
8He sought the role of Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972) before Marlon Brando was cast but was never considered for it.
9Turned down the lead role in Dark City (1950) which went to Charlton Heston as his film debut.
10Was considered for Gregory Peck's role in Twelve O'Clock High (1949).
11Did not start acting until he was 31 years old.
12Release of the book, "Against Type: The Biography of Burt Lancaster" by Gary Fishgall. [1995]
13New York City: In the year that marks the centennial of his birth in 1913, Lancaster is being honored with a 12-film tribute at Lincoln Center ranging from 1946's The Killers (1946) to _Atlantic City (1981)_ in 1981. [May 2013]
14Release of the book, "Burt Lancaster: An American Life" by Kate Buford. [2000]
15Release of the book, "Burt Lancaster" by Minty Clinch. [1985]
16In the late 1940s, he was in negotiation to appear as the male lead in a film entitled "A Sinner Kissed An Angel" opposite Laraine Day but the project never materialized because Lancaster hated the storyline and refused to do it, making the studio call the whole thing off.
17During the Great Depression, he supported himself working as a nude artists model by day and a singing waiter by night.
18He was wanted for The Wild Geese (1978), but thought it inferior, and Ashanti (1979), which he was interested in, but terms couldn't be agreed.
19In honor of his 100th birthday, Turner Classic Movies honored Lancaster as their Star of the Month for November 2013.
20He was offered the Montgomery Clift role in Red River (1948) by agent Charles K. Feldman, who was trying to sign the former acrobat, but Lancaster had just signed with agent Harold Hecht and so turned down the role to star in The Killers (1946), his film debut.
21According to his wishes, he was buried without any memorial or funeral service. His grave in Westwood Memorial Park has a headstone that simply reads, ""Burt Lancaster, 1913-1994".
22Ironically, he was not a very good swimmer despite being an extremely versatile athlete from his days as a circus acrobat, and had to train with a professional swimming coach for his role in The Swimmer (1968), a role he took after asking his daughter Joanna what she thought of the script.
23Irish-American.
24His house burned down (as did many others) in the famous Bel Air - Brentwood fire of November 6, 1961.
25One of his first acting roles, if not his first professional role, was a part in the non-musical Broadway play "A Sound of Hunting" (1945) playing character "Sgt. Joseph Mooney". He co-starred in his first movie the next year (The Killers (1946)).
26He has a step-son, John Scherer, from his widow, Susie.
27Son Billy was named after Lancaster's dead brother. His daughter Susan Elizabeth was named after his mother, Lizzie.
28His son Jimmy was born with a foot deformity and as a baby had to wear a cast that had to be constantly changed. When daughter Joanna was born with the same deformity, they decided not to use a cast but to see if she would outgrow the deformity.
29His daughter Sighle's name is pronounced Sheila.
30Daughter Sighle worked as a model then became a social worker.
31His son, Bill Lancaster, wrote the screenplay for The Bad News Bears (1976).
32He has only one grandchild, granddaughter Keigh, born in 1966 to his son, Bill Lancaster.
33In order to get his passport renewed in January 1954, he was forced to send a letter to the State Department in which he wrote, "I am not now a Communist. I never been a Communist and I am not in sympathy with the Communist movement.".
34In 1957 he requested a meeting with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who responded, "I will not greet Lancaster in view of his subversive associations.".
35Starred in five films directed by John Frankenheimer.
36He was originally cast in Victor Mature's role in The Robe (1953), but backed out due to the Christian theme.
37Voted "Man of the Year" by Aid for AIDS in 1987 for his extensive work on their behalf, including allowing his photograph to be used on their annual Christmas card.
38Was ill with hepatitis while filming Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981).
39Turned down Clint Eastwood's role as Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971). The plot some called fascist of the lawman who goes beyond the limits of the law to kill a marginalized criminal contradicted his belief in a collective responsibility for criminal and social justice and the protection of individual rights.
40Took a pay cut to make Castle Keep (1969), which he intended to be the ultimate anti-war film and an allegory for the Vietnam conflict.
41Teamed up with director John Huston to make The Unforgiven (1960) as a left-wing response to John Ford's epic western The Searchers (1956).
42In 1965 he turned down Charlton Heston's role as Major General Charles Gordon in Khartoum (1966), and Richard Burton's role in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965).
43In 1961 he announced his intention to produce a biopic of Michelangelo, in which he would play the title role and possibly portray the painter as a homosexual. However, he was forced to shelve this project due to the five-month filming schedule on The Leopard (1963). Later, Charlton Heston starred as Michelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). Heston denied that the painter was gay in his autobiography.
44He was prevented from playing William Hurt's Oscar-winning role as a flamboyant gay hairdresser in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) when forced to undergo quadruple bypass surgery on 26 August 1983 following a heart attack. He believed his vocal chords were damaged after tubes were inserted down his throat during the operation.
45Attended Elizabeth Taylor's "Commitment to Life" fundraiser on 19 September 1985, despite being warned his appearance would resurrect the longtime rumors about his sexuality. At the event Lancaster read out Rock Hudson's letter admitting that he had AIDS.
46A self-described "Kennedy man", Lancaster dined with President John F. Kennedy at the White House. He delayed the release of Seven Days in May (1964) when the President was assassinated, and later joined fellow liberal activists Robert Ryan and Will Geer in starring in Executive Action (1973), the first Kennedy assassination conspiracy movie. Its "real purpose", Lancaster stated, was "to make people skeptical.".
47Jane Fonda admitted she was devastated to lose Lancaster from Old Gringo (1989), because she admired him very greatly.
48Replaced Sir Laurence Olivier as Dr Ernst Janning in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Lancaster had not been impressed when Olivier kept confusing him with Kirk Douglas while filming The Devil's Disciple (1959).
49Supported Tom Bradley's unsuccessful campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1969.
50During the late 1950s John Wayne approached Lancaster, suggesting they make a western together. Lancaster laughed off the idea, suggesting they would need Kirk Douglas in the film as well. In reality, Lancaster would not work with Wayne, Hollywood's most prominent Republican supporter who had been actively involved in the McCarthy witch hunts as a founding member and later President of the right-wing Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. Lancaster had only agreed to co-star opposite Gary Cooper, a moderate Republican who gave a vague testimony to the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947, after Cooper had starred in the anti-McCarthyism western High Noon (1952). Despite this, Lancaster joined a minute's silence for Wayne on 11 June 1979 while filming Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981) after Wayne died in Los Angeles.
51Joined Gregory Peck, James Stewart, Liza Minnelli, and Orson Welles in testifying against the colorization of old movies by Ted Turner in the mid 1980s.
52He was nearly 33 when he appeared in his first movie, The Killers (1946), having worked as a circus acrobat since his late teens and following war service and acting on Broadway.
53On the set of Ulzana's Raid (1972) Lancaster told actor Bruce Davison that he had undergone so much plastic surgery over the years that at the age of 58 the most real thing about him were his eyes. He also advised Davison not to become too publicly involved in the anti-Vietnam movement until he was more established in Hollywood.
54Claimed that he learned a great deal from Gary Cooper's laid back acting style and behavior on the set of Vera Cruz (1954).
55He would frequently turn down lifetime achievement awards during the 1980s, saying half-jokingly, "Give them to my good friend Kirk", since he knew Douglas would be happier in the limelight.
56In 1987 he joined Gregory Peck, Martin Sheen and Lloyd Bridges in narrating a television advertisement by People for the American Way, a liberal action group founded by Norman Lear, in opposition to President Ronald Reagan's appointment of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.
57Participated in the March on Washington for Civil Rights on 28 August 1963, along with Charlton Heston, Marlon Brando and Bob Dylan.
58Signed a letter in 1947 deploring the anti-communist witch hunts in Hollywood.
59Eagerly sought the role of a dying composer who discovers his homosexuality in Luchino Visconti's masterpiece Death in Venice (1971). Although the role went to Dirk Bogarde, Lancaster later played a reclusive professor who is brought face to face with his latent homosexuality in Visconti's Conversation Piece (1974).
60Was a close, longtime friend of Telly Savalas.
61He could not attend the funeral of close friend Telly Savalas as he was so ill.
62A self-described atheist, Lancaster agreed to play a corrupt evangelist in Elmer Gantry (1960) because he wanted to make an anti-Billy Graham statement. His performance won him the Best Actor Oscar.
63Shortly before his massive stroke in November 1990 Lancaster had discussed starring in a sequel to The Leopard (1963). Some of his friends had told him he would be making a big mistake.
64Go Tell the Spartans (1978), though little seen at the time of its release, is widely considered the greatest anti-war movie about Vietnam.
65Campaigned for Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election.
66He was nearly blacklisted in the late 1940s due to his liberal political beliefs, and the FBI kept a file detailing his activities.
67A lifelong Democrat and liberal activist, Lancaster appeared prominently on President Richard Nixon's "List of Enemies" due to his support for Senator George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election.
68When Republican candidate George Bush referred to the American Civil Liberties Union as "un-American" during the 1988 presidential election, Lancaster responded by appearing in a television advertisement in which he said, "My name is Burt Lancaster and I've a confession to make. I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU.".
69Gave two of his revolvers to Ringo Starr when The Beatles stayed in Hollywood in August 1964.
70Was the original choice to play Sam Flusky in Under Capricorn (1949), but the part went to Joseph Cotten instead because Lancaster was deemed too expensive.
71Lancaster stood 6' 1" at his peak, as can be seen in Vera Cruz (1954) where he is clearly two inches shorter than his 6' 3" co-star Gary Cooper.
72His performance as J.J. Hunsecker in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is ranked #61 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
73Attended Visconti's funeral in Rome in March 1976.
74Frequently compared with the English actor Sir Dirk Bogarde. Both achieved stardom in purely commercial films, then deliberately broke away from their images to star in artistic films and in so doing lost their box office popularity. Both actors were directed twice to great effect by Luchino Visconti - Lancaster in The Leopard (1963) and Conversation Piece (1974), Bogarde in The Damned (1969) and Death in Venice (1971).
75His performance as J.J. Hunsecker in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is ranked #76 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
76Died the very same year as his long-time friend, circus acrobat partner and frequent co-star Nick Cravat.
77Shared a birthday with Luchino Visconti, who directed him in The Leopard (1963) and Conversation Piece (1974).
78Luchino Visconti wanted to cast Laurence Olivier in the title role of the Italian prince in "The Leopard" (1963), but his producer overruled him. The producer insisted on a box office star to justify the lavish production's high budget and essentially forced Visconti to accept Burt Lancaster. A decade later, the two Oscar-winning actors competed again for the role of another Italian prince, Mafia chieftain Don Corleone, in "The Godfather" (1972), ultimately losing out to Marlon Brando.
79Was considered for the role of Jason Colby in The Colbys (1985).
80One of the very few humanitarian causes he publicly associated himself with was AIDS research. In 1985 he read out a letter from Rock Hudson announcing he was dying of AIDS, although there was later some controversy as to whether the letter had been written by Rock or his secretary (in a 2010 Paley Center for Media documentary about gay visibility on TV, writer Bruce Vilanch said that he had written the letter at Hudson's request). This was at a Hollywood dinner to raise awareness, which only a very few stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Burt Reynolds dared attend. In 1988 there was a poster of Lancaster holding a rose and a caption urging people to be careful.
81He was not close friends with Kirk Douglas as was often perceived. The closeness of their friendship was largely fabricated by the publicity-wise Douglas, while, in reality, they were very competitive with each other and sometimes privately expressed a mutual personal disdain despite a mutual respect for their acting talents.
82Lancaster lost out on two roles he lobbied for to Marlon Brando (roles that helped make Brando a legend): that of Stanley Kowalski in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1951) and that of Don Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather' (1972).
83He and Kirk Douglas acted together in 7 movies: Victory at Entebbe (1976), Tough Guys (1986), Seven Days in May (1964), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), I Walk Alone (1948), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) and The Devil's Disciple (1959)
84Suffered his first heart attack during the making of Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981) in 1979.
85He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.
86During World War II, he served as a member of the Special Services branch, entertaining troops. He was stationed in Italy for much of the war.
87Was named the #19 greatest actor on the 50 Greatest Screen Legends by the American Film Institute
88In July 1965, United Artists made a settlement with Lancaster to end is association with his production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, which had financially floundered in the late 1950s due to a few flops and exorbitant spending, and wound up operations in 1959. The payoff amount was $920,954.85, approximately $5,223,000 in 2003 dollars. In 1964, part of the proposed settlement with UA had been for Lancaster to star in Khartoum (1966) but that role eventually was played by Charlton Heston.
89Turned down a $1-million offer to appear in the remake of Ben-Hur (1959). If he had accepted the offer, he would have beaten both Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra (1963)) as the first female star and Marlon Brando (The Fugitive Kind (1960)) as the first male star, to breach that million-dollar threshold.
90Had tried to raise financing for four years for Hector Babenco's film of Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), based on the novel by Manuel Puig, after Babenco gave him the novel in 1981 at the NY Film Critics Society Ceremony. Lancaster was to have played the role of Molina, the gay hairdresser who shares a cell with Valentin, a political prisoner. However, Lancaster had a heart attack in June 1983, and subsequently a quadruple-bypass operation, and at the age of 70, he was essentially uninsurable. He had to withdraw from roles in Maria's Lovers (1984), Gorky Park (1983), Firestarter (1984) and the TV mini-series A.D. (1985). The film was later made for less than $1 million with William Hurt in the role Lancaster wanted to play. Hurt won a Best Actor Oscar as Molina.
91Was cast in Old Gringo (1989) but was informed by Columbia when he arrived in Mexico City for rehearsals in December 1987 that he was being replaced with Gregory Peck, as the insurance for him was too high. He sued Columbia for his $1.5-million fee, and made an out-of-court settlement.
92Helped pay for the defense of Private Billy Dean Smith, an African American soldier accused of 'fragging' two officers in Vietnam in 1971. Lancaster gave $3,000 to his defense attorneys to hire ballistics experts to testify at his court-martial. Smith was acquitted.
93An unabashed political liberal, chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California and an active campaigner for George McGovern in the 1972 Presidential election, Lancaster was one of the 575 people named on President Richard Nixon's 1973 "Enemies List," along with fellow actors Gene Hackman and Paul Newman, "Playboy" magazine publisher Hugh M. Hefner and TV producer Norman Lear.
94Turned down the lead in Patton (1970) due to his anti-Vietnam War sympathies, but actively campaigned for the title role in "Patton" screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola's next movie, The Godfather (1972). He offered to do a screen test for the role of Don Corleone, and even though Paramount brass was interested in casting him, Coppola wanted Marlon Brando, and got him after Brando made his own "screen-test" (actually a video Coppola shot of him improvising a makeup for the old Don). Both George C. Scott and Brando won, and refused, Oscars for the roles.
95A self-described atheist, Lancaster had turned down the role in the remake of Ben-Hur (1959) played by Charlton Heston, but followed in Heston's footsteps when he played the title role in Moses the Lawgiver (1974), the $5-million TV epic produced by Britain's ATV-ITC and Italy's RAI Television. When a reporter asked him if he was following in Heston's sandal-clad steps, Lancaster replied, "If Charlton was trapped in Biblical films, it was his own fault - he accepted the limitation." Though Lancaster claimed he was an atheist, some of his friends doubted him.
96His first TV role was a guest appearance on Sesame Street (1969) in 1969, reciting the alphabet.
97Told Bruce Davison, his co-star in Ulzana's Raid (1972), of a practical joke he played on Kirk Douglas, who was several inches shorter than Lancaster: "I'll never forget the time we were getting ready for our big two-shot and I hid his lifts on him. He was so pissed!"
98He made a great deal of money from Airport (1970), which was a huge hit, due to a 10% profit participation once the movie hit $50 million. (the film grossed $45.3 million in North America alone). Lancaster said that the movie was "the worst piece of junk ever made."
99In January 1980, he almost died during a routine operation to remove his gallbladder, when the operation, which should have lasted five hours, turned into an 11-hour ordeal. After the organ was removed, a team of doctors worked to repair an unusually small channel from the gallbladder to the intestines, although Lancaster later told a friend that a doctor had accidentally cut into a valve. A doctor reportedly got down on the floor to pray for the actor's life. Lancaster was in intensive care for 48-hours after the operation.
100Was forced by United Artists to make four films for $150,000 a picture in the 1960s: The Young Savages (1961), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Train (1964) and The Hallelujah Trail (1965) rather than his normal fee of $750,000, because of cost overruns at his production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, for which he was personally responsible.
101Allegedly showed up at a Hollywood Oscar party in the late 1950s wearing a G-string and spray-painted gold, resembling an Academy Award statuette after a similar stunt had been done by Rock Hudson and Vera-Ellen.
102After placing tenth place in the Motion Picture Herald poll of most popular box-office stars in 1962, he dropped to 18th place in 1963 and never again appeared on the list.
103Came up with $150,000 of his own money to complete Go Tell the Spartans (1978) after the production ran out of money with five days left to shoot. The shooting schedule already had been pared from 40 to 31 days to save money.
104His son Bill Lancaster's screenplay for The Bad News Bears (1976) was based on his experience being coached by his father. Bill had been disabled by polio as a child, and according to friend Joel Douglas - the son of Kirk Douglas - the Tatum O'Neal character in the film, the odd kid out, was Bill. The coach played by Walter Matthau was based on Burt, who was known for his grumpiness.
105Robert Altman wanted Lancaster for the role of Ned Buntline in Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) because he had the "stature" of a great movie star but was "able to play that as a kind of bullshitter", which was what Altman conceived the character to be: "He understood totally the bullshit factor and what he was playing." Buntline, a real-life writer of nickel Westerns, had invented Buffalo Bill Cody as a western hero; Altman knew that Lancaster had invented himself as a star, a new kind of star that had revolutionized the movies in the 1950s.
106Despite his enduring stardom, he surprisingly only placed in Quigley Publications' Top 10 Poll of Money-Making Stars twice: #4 in 1956 and #10 in 1963. The annual poll of movie exhibitors ranks the top stars in terms of box-office drawing power. Even more surprisingly, his friend and co-star Kirk Douglas never made the list during his career.
107Felt intimidated by co-star Montgomery Clift on the set of From Here to Eternity (1953) due to Clift's great talent.
108Until undergoing emergency quadruple heart bypass surgery in 1983, he maintained the fantastic physical health he attained as an acrobat in his youth. He impressed many who knew him with his apparently enormous strength.
109He was an infamous ladies man in Hollywood, which eventually irritated his wife, Norma, enough for her to leave him.
110He admitted that an odd thing always happened to him on a movie set. He would complain about everything, sometimes very loudly. By the end of the shoot however, the crews loved him and hated to see him go, despite his complaints. He never understood why that happened.
111One of his demands was that he have a high bar set up on sets and locations so he could perform acrobatics and stay in shape.
112He was voted the 39th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
113In 1947 he was offered the role of Stanley Kowalski in the original Broadway production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" after first choice John Garfield was rejected due to his demands for a ownership percentage of the play. He turned down the role that went to Marlon Brando and made him a legend.
114Known for his liberal political sympathies, he was one of the Hollywood movie stars, along with Marlon Brando, Sammy Davis Jr., Charlton Heston, Judy Garland, Eartha Kitt, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman, who participated in Martin Luther King's March on Washington in August 1963. He flew home from Europe, where he was making a film, to participate. He was a financial supporter of King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
115Descended from Irish Protestants from Ulster who emigrated to the United States in the 1880s.
116According 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.
117Son Jimmy was diagnosed as schizophrenic.
1185 children: James Stephen "Jimmy" (born June 30, 1946), William "Billy" (born in November, 1947), Susan Elizabeth (born July 5, 1949), Joanna Mari (born in July, 1951) and Sighle (born in 1954).
119Was Cecil B. DeMille's first choice to play "Samson" in Samson and Delilah (1949).
120Suffered 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]
121Was a big fan of the silent film The Unknown (1927), probably partially because the movie took place in a circus, and Burt himself spent a lot of time early in his life in a circus. He once said that no scene in any movie affected him as emotionally as the one in this movie in which Lon Chaney learns that Joan Crawford does not love him.
122Father of actor/writer Bill Lancaster.
123Started out as a circus performer.
124Ranked #85 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
125Graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in New York [1930]
126Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#100). [1995]

Actor

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Go Tell the Spartans1978Maj. Asa Barker
The Island of Dr. Moreau1977Dr. Paul Moreau
Twilight's Last Gleaming1977Gen. Lawrence Dell
The Cassandra Crossing1976Colonel Stephen Mackenzie
Victory at Entebbe1976TV MovieShimon Peres
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson1976The Legend Maker (Ned Buntline)
19001976Alfredo Berlinghieri the Elder
Ali the Fighter1975Narrator
Moses the Lawgiver1974-1975TV Mini-SeriesMoses
Conversation Piece1974Il Professore
The Midnight Man1974Jim Slade
Executive Action1973James Farrington
Scorpio1973Cross
Ulzana's Raid1972McIntosh
Valdez Is Coming1971Valdez
Lawman1971Bannock Marshal Jared Maddox
Airport1970Mel Bakersfeld
The Gypsy Moths1969Mike Rettig
Castle Keep1969Maj. Abraham Falconer
The Swimmer1968Ned Merrill
The Scalphunters1968Joe Bass
The Professionals1966Dolworth
The Hallelujah Trail1965Col. Thaddeus Gearhart
The Train1964Labiche
Seven Days in May1964Gen. James Mattoon Scott
The List of Adrian Messenger1963Cameo ((as animal rights protester)
The Leopard1963Prince Don Fabrizio Salina
A Child Is Waiting1963Dr. Matthew Clark
Birdman of Alcatraz1962Robert Franklin Stroud
Judgment at Nuremberg1961Dr. Ernst Janning
The Young Savages1961Hank Bell
Elmer Gantry1960Elmer Gantry
The Unforgiven1960Ben Zachary
The Devil's Disciple1959The Rev. Anthony Anderson
Separate Tables1958John Malcolm
Run Silent Run Deep1958Lt. Jim Bledsoe
Sweet Smell of Success1957J.J. Hunsecker
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral1957Wyatt Earp
The Rainmaker1956Bill Starbuck
Trapeze1956Mike Ribble
The Rose Tattoo1955Alvaro Mangiacavallo
The Kentuckian1955Elias Wakefield (Big Eli)
Vera Cruz1954Joe Erin
Apache1954Massai
His Majesty O'Keefe1954Capt. David Dion O'Keefe / Narrator
Three Sailors and a Girl1953Marine (uncredited)
From Here to Eternity1953Sgt. Milton Warden
South Sea Woman1953Master Gunnery Sgt. James O'Hearn
Come Back, Little Sheba1952Doc Delaney
The Crimson Pirate1952Capt. Vallo (The Crimson Pirate)
Ten Tall Men1951Sergeant Mike Kincaid
Jim Thorpe -- All-American1951Jim Thorpe
Vengeance Valley1951Owen Daybright
Mister 8801950Steve Buchanan
The Flame and the Arrow1950Dardo Bartoli
Rope of Sand1949Mike Davis
Criss Cross1949Steve Thompson
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands1948William Earle 'Bill' Saunders
Sorry, Wrong Number1948Henry J. Stevenson
All My Sons1948Chris Keller
I Walk Alone1947Frankie Madison
Desert Fury1947Tom Hanson
Brute Force1947Joe Collins
The Killers1946Ole 'Swede' Anderson
Separate But Equal1991TV Mini-SeriesJohn W. Davis
Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair1990TV MovieLeon Klinghoffer
The Phantom of the Opera1990TV Mini-SeriesGérard Carrière
Field of Dreams1989Dr. Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham
Cops1989TV SeriesAnnouncer
I promessi sposi1989TV Mini-SeriesCardinal Federigo Borromeo
The Jeweller's Shop1988The Jeweller
Rocket Gibraltar1988Levi Rockwell
Il giorno prima1987Dr. Herbert Monroe
Väter und Söhne - Eine deutsche Tragödie1986TV Mini-SeriesGeheimrat Carl Julius Deutz
Tough Guys1986Harry Doyle
Barnum1986TV MoviePhineas Taylor 'P.T.' Barnum
On Wings of Eagles1986TV Mini-SeriesLieutenant Colonel Arthur E. 'Bull' Simons
Little Treasure1985Delbert Teschemacher
Scandal Sheet1985TV MovieHarold Fallen
The Osterman Weekend1983Maxwell Danforth
Local Hero1983Felix Happer
Marco Polo1982TV Mini-SeriesTeobaldo Visconti - Pope Gregory X
Verdi1982TV Mini-SeriesNarrator in American version / Narrator
La pelle1981Gen. Mark Clark
Cattle Annie and Little Britches1981Bill Doolin
Atlantic City1980Lou
Zulu Dawn1979Col. Durnford

Producer

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The Midnight Man1974producer
Ulzana's Raid1972producer - uncredited
Valdez Is Coming1971executive producer - uncredited
The Scalphunters1968producer - uncredited
The Unforgiven1960co-producer - uncredited
Take a Giant Step1959executive producer
The Devil's Disciple1959co-executive producer - uncredited
Sweet Smell of Success1957executive producer - uncredited
The Bachelor Party1957producer - uncredited
Trapeze1956producer - uncredited
Marty1955producer - uncredited
Vera Cruz1954co-producer - uncredited
Apache1954producer - uncredited
The Crimson Pirate1952producer - uncredited

Miscellaneous

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The Unforgiven1960presents - as Hecht Hill and Lancaster
Separate Tables1958presenter - as Lancaster
Sweet Smell of Success1957presenter - as Lancaster
Trapeze1956presenter

Director

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The Midnight Man1974
The Kentuckian1955
His Majesty O'Keefe1954uncredited

Soundtrack

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The 43rd Annual Academy Awards1971TV Special performer: "Thank You Very Much"
The 30th Annual Academy Awards1958TV Special performer: "It's Great Not To Be Nominated"
The Rainmaker1956performer: "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" - uncredited

Writer

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The Midnight Man1974

Thanks

TitleYearStatusCharacter
The New Bike2009Short acknowledgment
Kiss of the Spider Woman1985special thanks
Race to Oblivion1982Video documentary short very special thanks
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis1970Documentary particular thanks for contributing their talents

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
L'inganno2013Documentary shortHimself
Luchino Visconti1999DocumentaryHimself
Our Century1993TV Series documentaryHimself - Narrator
Benny Carter: Symphony in Riffs1989DocumentaryHimself - Narrator
5th Annual TV Academy Hall of Fame1989TV SpecialHimself
A Conversation with Dinah1989TV SeriesHimself (1990)
The Princess Grace Foundation Special Gala Tribute to Cary Grant1988TV MovieHimself
Dawn's Early Light: Ralph McGill and the Segregated South1988TV Movie documentaryHimself
Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist1987TV Movie documentaryHost / Narrator
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood1987TV Special documentaryHimself
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts Annual Tribute: A Salute to Kirk Douglas1987TV MovieHimself - Host
Enkel1986TV Movie documentaryHimself
Fame, Fortune and Romance1986TV SeriesHimself
Circus of the Stars #101985TV Special documentaryHimself - Host
The 1st Annual Commitment to Life Awards1985TV SpecialHimself
The 57th Annual Academy Awards1985TV Special documentaryHimself - Presenter: Best Original Screenplay & Best Adapted Screenplay
Sherrill Milnes: An All Star Gala1985TV SpecialHost
Olympic Gala1984TV Special documentaryHimself - Guest
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts1983TV Special documentaryHimself
James Bond: The First 21 Years1983TV Movie documentaryHimself
The South Bank Show1983TV Series documentary
The 54th Annual Academy Awards1982TV Special documentaryHimself - Nominee: Best Actor in a Leading Role
I Love Liberty1982TV SpecialHimself
Night of 100 Stars1982TV SpecialHimself
The 7th Los Angeles Film Critics Awards1982TV SpecialHimself
Race to Oblivion1982Video documentary shortHimself, host, narrator
The Bafta Awards1982TV SpecialHimself - Winner: Best Actor in a Motion Picture and Presenter: Best Film
Arthur Miller on Home Ground1979TV Movie documentaryHimself
America 2-Night1978TV SeriesHimself
The Unknown War1978TV Mini-Series documentaryHimself - Host and Narrator
Exploring the Unknown1977DocumentaryNarrator
The 19th Annual TV Week Logie Awards1977TV SpecialHimself
Twilight's Last Gleaming: The Dynamics of Controversy1977Documentary shortHimself
Bertolucci secondo il cinema1976TV Movie documentary
The 2nd Annual People's Choice Awards1976TV SpecialHimself - Presenter
The Mike Douglas Show1971-1975TV SeriesHimself - Actor
The Fighters1974DocumentaryHimself
November 22, 1963: In Search of an Answer1973Documentary shortHimself
Cinema1972TV Series documentaryHimself
Salute to Oscar Hammerstein II1972TV SpecialHimself
The 43rd Annual Academy Awards1971TV SpecialHimself - Performer & Presenter: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
Fight of the Century1971TV MovieHimself - Commentator
The David Frost Show1969-1971TV SeriesHimself
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1966-1971TV SeriesHimself / Himself - Guest
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis1970DocumentaryHimself
Sesame Street1969-1970TV SeriesHimself
Jenny Is a Good Thing1969Documentary shortNarrator
The Joey Bishop Show1969TV SeriesHimself
The 41st Annual Academy Awards1969TV SpecialHimself - Presenter & Performer
The Sky Divers1969Documentary shortHimself
U.S. Water Polo1968DocumentaryHost / Narrator
The Merv Griffin Show1968TV SeriesHimself
The City of Gods1968DocumentaryNarrator (English version, voice)
All About People1967Documentary shortNarrator (voice)
The 38th Annual Academy Awards1966TV SpecialHimself - Recalling His Award: Pre-Recorded
Handle with Care1965Short documentaryNarrator
The Ed Sullivan Show1953-1965TV SeriesHimself / Himself - Actor
Freedom Spectacular1964TV MovieHimself
Pariser Journal1963TV Series documentaryHimself
The March in Washington1963ShortHimself
The Jack Paar Tonight Show1962TV SeriesHimself
The Tonight Show1962TV SeriesHimself - Actor
The 34th Annual Academy Awards1962TV SpecialHimself - Presenter
At This Very Moment1962TV SpecialHimself - Host
The 33rd Annual Academy Awards1961TV SpecialHimself - Winner
The 31st Annual Academy Awards1959TV SpecialHimself - Performer: 'It's Alright With Us'
The 30th Annual Academy Awards1958TV SpecialHimself - Performer: 'It's Great Not to Be Nominated'
The Heart of Show Business1957ShortHimself, Narrator
The Jackie Gleason Show1957TV SeriesHimself
Lux Video Theatre1956TV SeriesHimself - Intermission Guest
The 28th Annual Academy Awards1956TV SpecialHimself - Audience Member
Screen Snapshots: Playtime in Hollywood1956Documentary shortHimself
Red Skelton Revue1954TV SeriesHimself
The Colgate Comedy Hour1953TV SeriesHimself
The Name's the Same1953TV SeriesHimself - Contestant
The Screen Director1951ShortHimself (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
Variety Girl1947Himself

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Muhammad Ali: The Greatest2016TV Movie documentaryHimself
Ochéntame... otra vez2015TV Series documentaryHimself
Sinatra: All or Nothing at All2015TV Mini-Series documentaryHimself
And the Oscar Goes To...2014TV Movie documentaryHimself
Welcome to the Basement2014TV SeriesSteve Thompson
Dai nostri inviati: La Rai racconta la Mostra del cinema di Venezia 1980-19892013TV Movie documentaryHimself
The March2013TV Movie documentaryHimself
A Night at the Movies: Hollywood Goes to Washington2012TV Movie documentaryFarrington
L'ultimo gattopardo: Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo2010DocumentaryHimself
Rock Hudson: Dark and Handsome Stranger2010DocumentaryHimself (uncredited)
House of Boys2009Himself - Actor / Activist
Hollywood sul Tevere2009DocumentaryHimself
L'enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot2009DocumentaryHimself (uncredited)
John le Carré2008Video documentary short
Thrilla in Manila2008TV Movie documentaryHimself - Ring Announcer
Spisok korabley2008DocumentaryLt. Jim Bledsoe
Oscar, que empiece el espectáculo2008TV Movie documentaryHimself (uncredited)
20 to 12007TV Series documentarySgt. Milton Warden
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project2007DocumentaryLt. Jim Bledsoe
Chris & Don. A Love Story2007DocumentaryHimself
Luchino Visconti, le chemin de la recherche2006TV Movie documentaryHimself
Corazón de...2006TV Series
Cineastas contra magnates2005DocumentaryHimself
Getaway2005TV Series1st Sgt. Milton Warden
... A Father... A Son... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood2005TV Movie documentaryHimself / Harry Doyle
Visconti2002TV Movie documentaryHimself
The Definitive Elvis: The Hollywood Years - Part I: 1956-19612002Video documentaryHimself
Pulp Cinema2001Video documentaryHimself
Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible2000TV Movie documentaryHimself (uncredited)
Biography1996-2000TV Series documentarySteve Thompson / Elmer Gantry / Himself
American Masters2000TV Series documentaryHimself
The Lady with the Torch1999DocumentaryHimself
Classified X1998TV Movie documentaryHimself
... y otras mujeres de armas tomar1998TV Movie documentaryHimself
Mahalia Jackson: The Power and the Glory1997Himself
A Century of Science Fiction1996Video documentaryHimself
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies1995TV Movie documentaryFrankie Madison, 'I Walk Alone' (uncredited)
The 67th Annual Academy Awards1995TV SpecialHimself (Memorial Tribute)
100 Years at the Movies1994TV Short documentaryHimself
Kirk Douglas: Video Scrapbook1994Video documentaryHimself
The Best of the Don Lane Show1994TV MovieHimself
La classe américaine1993TV MovieJosé
Oscar's Greatest Moments1992Video documentaryHimself
Ca détourne1992TV MovieCaptain Flirt
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire1991TV Movie documentaryHimself
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid1982Swede Anderson
Michael Schanze: Sonne, Wind und weiße Segel1979TV MovieDer rote Korsar
America at the Movies1976DocumentarySgt. Milton Warden
Un sorriso, uno schiaffo, un bacio in bocca1975
The Lords of Flatbush1974Himself - Actor in From Here to Eternity (uncredited)
The Dick Cavett Show1971TV SeriesHimself
Hollywood My Home Town1965DocumentaryHimself
Hollywood and the Stars1964TV SeriesHimself
The Ed Sullivan Show1954-1963TV SeriesHimself / On Set from Trapeze 1955
Hollywood: The Great Stars1963TV Movie documentaryHimself (uncredited)
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story1951Documentary

Won Awards

YearAwardCeremonyNominationMovie
1995In Memoriam AwardGolden Boot Awards
1992Life Achievement AwardScreen Actors Guild Awards
1982BAFTA Film AwardBAFTA AwardsBest ActorAtlantic City (1980)
1982BSFC AwardBoston Society of Film Critics AwardsBest ActorAtlantic City (1980)
1982Fotogramas de PlataFotogramas de PlataBest Foreign Movie Performer (Mejor intérprete extranjero)Atlantic City (1980)
1982NSFC AwardNational Society of Film Critics Awards, USABest ActorAtlantic City (1980)
1981DavidDavid di Donatello AwardsBest Foreign Actor (Migliore Attore Straniero)Atlantic City (1980)
1981KCFCC AwardKansas City Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActorAtlantic City (1980)
1981LAFCA AwardLos Angeles Film Critics Association AwardsBest ActorAtlantic City (1980)
1981NYFCC AwardNew York Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActorAtlantic City (1980)
1976Fotogramas de PlataFotogramas de PlataBest Foreign Movie Performer (Mejor intérprete extranjero)Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (1974)
1975DavidDavid di Donatello AwardsBest Foreign Actor (Migliore Attore Straniero)Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (1974)
1974Career DavidDavid di Donatello Awards
1963BAFTA Film AwardBAFTA AwardsBest Foreign ActorBirdman of Alcatraz (1962)
1962Volpi CupVenice Film FestivalBest ActorBirdman of Alcatraz (1962)
1961OscarAcademy Awards, USABest Actor in a Leading RoleElmer Gantry (1960)
1961Golden GlobeGolden Globes, USABest Motion Picture Actor - DramaElmer Gantry (1960)
1961Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Star
1961Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Dramatic PerformanceElmer Gantry (1960)
1960NYFCC AwardNew York Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActorElmer Gantry (1960)
1958Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Action StarGunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
1958Star on the Walk of FameWalk of FameMotion PictureOn 15 August 1958. At 6801 Hollywood Blvd.
1956Silver Berlin BearBerlin International Film FestivalBest ActorTrapeze (1956)
1953NYFCC AwardNew York Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActorFrom Here to Eternity (1953)

Nominated Awards

YearAwardCeremonyNominationMovie
1991Golden GlobeGolden Globes, USABest Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TVThe Phantom of the Opera (1990)
1984BAFTA Film AwardBAFTA AwardsBest Supporting ActorLocal Hero (1983)
1982OscarAcademy Awards, USABest Actor in a Leading RoleAtlantic City (1980)
1982Golden GlobeGolden Globes, USABest Motion Picture Actor - DramaAtlantic City (1980)
1981GenieGenie AwardsBest Performance by a Foreign ActorAtlantic City (1980)
1968Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsAction PerformanceThe Scalphunters (1968)
1965Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsMale Star13th place.
1964Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Star15th place.
1964Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Dramatic PerformanceSeven Days in May (1964)
1963OscarAcademy Awards, USABest Actor in a Leading RoleBirdman of Alcatraz (1962)
1963Golden GlobeGolden Globes, USABest Motion Picture Actor - DramaBirdman of Alcatraz (1962)
1963Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Star7th place.
1962Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Star7th place.
1961BAFTA Film AwardBAFTA AwardsBest Foreign ActorElmer Gantry (1960)
1958Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Star8th place.
1957Golden GlobeGolden Globes, USABest Motion Picture Actor - DramaThe Rainmaker (1956)
1955Golden LionVenice Film FestivalThe Kentuckian (1955)
1954OscarAcademy Awards, USABest Actor in a Leading RoleFrom Here to Eternity (1953)

2nd Place Awards

YearAwardCeremonyNominationMovie
1965Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsAction PerformanceThe Train (1964)

3rd Place Awards

YearAwardCeremonyNominationMovie
1963Golden LaurelLaurel AwardsTop Male Dramatic PerformanceBirdman of Alcatraz (1962)

Known for movies

Source
IMDB Wikipedia

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