Burt Stephen Lancaster
Born: November 2, 1913
Died: October 20, 1994
Place of Birth: New York, New York
Major Notes:
Burt Lancaster is ranked as one of the best performing actors in the history of film-making.
He was of Irish descent and, as a youth, loved reading and watching movies.
A movie director saw Lancaster acting in a local play and, meeting with Lancaster's mother, encouraged him to study drama.
Lancaster declined as he was not interested in acting at this point in his life
He developed excellent athletic abilities in high school and after graduation joined a circus as an acrobat.
An injury cut short his acrobat career and he then joined the army USO during World War II.
After the war, Burt Lancaster came away with a renewed interest in acting and he successfully auditioned for a part in a Broadway play.
In 1946, the self-taught actor appeared in his first movie role, The Killers.
After appearing in several movies, Lancaster and his manager formed their own movie production company.
This move came about as Lancaster wanted more variety in his acting roles.
Over the next decade, Burt Lancaster starred in several films for both his own studio and for other Hollywood studios.
In 1960, he captured an Academy Award as Best Actor in his now signature film, Elmer Gantry.
Over the next twenty years, Lancaster continued to be an outstanding actor performing in several top box office films.
In his personal life, he developed a reputation as an activist for minority groups.
Burt Lancaster was nominated or won numerous Best Actor awards during his career including four Academy Awards.
For detailed research and more information, check out the following:
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MSN Movies
BNET
Wikipedia
Biography Base
Brian W. Fairbanks Writer
Fandango
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Last Updated: February 15, 2009
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