Post by teleadm on Nov 2, 2018 12:31:35 GMT
105 years ago little Burton Stephen Lancaster was born on Manhattan in New York, by parents of Irish decent, Ulster area, he would grow up to be one of the biggest movie stars of the classic era and continue into character star parts up until it ended after he suffered a stroke on November 30, 1990, which left him partly paralyzed and largely unable to speak. Burt left us in October 1994. His good looks, charm and atheltics made him a popular star and idol loved by both men and women.
Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets, where he developed a great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was a basketball star. Lancaster was accepted by New York University with an athletic scholarship, but subsequently dropped out.
At 19, Lancaster met Nick Cravat, with whom he developed a lifelong partnership. Together they learned to act in local theatre productions and circus arts at Union Settlement, one of the city's oldest settlement houses. They formed the acrobat duo Lang and Cravat in the 1930s, 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, first as a salesman for Marshall Fields and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants.
With the United States having then entered World War II, Lancaster joined the United States Army in 1942 and performed with the Army's 21st 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 to 1945.
Although initially unenthusiastic about acting, Lancaster auditioned for a Broadway play after returning to New York from his Army service, and was offered a role. Although Harry Brown's A Sound of Hunting had a run of only three weeks, Lancaster's performance attracted the interest of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht and, through him, Lancaster was brought to the attention of producer Hal B. Wallis, who signed him to an eight-movie contract. Lancaster's first filmed movie was Desert Fury. But producer Mark Hellinger approached him to star in The Killers, in 1946, which was completed and released prior to Desert Fury and to great critical success.
With Hecht he would later start his own production company.
Burt would sometimes work for lower wages if he though the movies were interesting, and sometimes help economically if to him important movies lacked funding.
A true star in all senses, back when stars where stars.
An uncomplete trip down memory lane:
The Killers 1946, with Ava Gardner
Desert Fury 1947, Lizabeth Scott
Brute Force 1947
All My Sons 1948, with Edward G. Robinson
Sorry, Wrong Number 1948, with Barbra Stanwyck
Criss Cross 1949, with Yvonne de Carlo
The Flame and the Arrow 1950, with Aline MacMahon, and Francis Pierlot. Warner Bros. most popular movie of 1950
Jim Thorpe – All-American 1951
The Crimson Pirate 1952, with Nick Cravat
Come Back, Little Sheba 1952, with Shirley Booth
From Here to Eternity 1953, with Deborah Kerr, this gave Burt his first out of four Oscar Nominations.
Apache 1954
Vera Cruz 1954
The Kentuckian 1955, the one he directed himself.
The Rose Tattoo 1955, with Anna Magnani
Trapeze 1956, with Gina Lollobrigida and Tony Curtis. This earned Burt a Silver Bear Award at Berlin Film Festival
The Rainmaker 1956, with Wendell Corey and Katherine Hepburn
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 1957, with Kirk Douglas
Sweet Smell of Success 1957, with Tony Curtis
Run Silent, Run Deep 1958, with Clark Gable
Separate Tables 1958, with Rita Hayworth
The Devil's Disciple 1959, with Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier.
The Unforgiven 1960, with Audrey Hepburn
Elmer Gantry 1960, winning the Actor Oscar.
The Young Savages 1961, with Telly Savalas
Judgment at Nuremberg 1961
Birdman of Alcatraz 1962, Oscar nominated and winning a BAFTA Award.
A Child Is Waiting 1963, with Judy Garland
Il Gattopardo aka The Leopard 1963
Seven Days in May 1964, with Fredric March
The Train 1964
The Hallelujah Trail 1965, with Lee Remick
The Professionals 1966, with Claudia Cardinale and Lee Marvin
The Scalphunters 1968, with Ossie Davis
The Swimmer 1968
Castle Keep 1969, with Patrick O'Neal
The Gyspy Moths 1969, with Gene Hackman in the background
Airport 1970, with Jean Seberg and Helen Hayes.
Sesame Street, Burt appeared five times between 1969 and 1970
Lawman 1971
Ulzana's Raid 1972
Scorpio 1973, with Alain Delon
Gruppo di famiglia in un interno aka Conversation Piece 1974, with Helmut Berger
Moses the Lawgiver 1974, a 6-part TV mini-series
Novecento aka 1900 1976, with Sterling Hayden
The Island of Dr. Moreau 1977
Zulu Dawn 1979, with Peter O'Toole
Atlantic City 1980, with Susan Sarandon. Earning an Oscar nomination, and winning a BAFTA award.
La Pelle aka The Skin 1981, with Ken Marshall and Marcello Mastroianni.
Local Hero 1983, with Fulton Mackay, Peter Capaldi, Peter Riegert and Christopher Rozycki
The Osterman Weekend 1983
Tough Guys 1986, with Kirk Douglas
Rocket Gibraltar 1988, with Macaulay Culkin
La bottega dell'orefice aka The Jeweler's Shop 1988, with Daniel Olbryschski
Field of Dreams 1989, with Kevin Costner. This was Burt's farewell role in a cinema movie.
Separate But Equal 1991 TV 2-parter. This was Burt's acting farewell, released after his paralysing stroke.
Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed!
Comments, thought and opinions are welcome!
The speach is free!
Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets, where he developed a great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was a basketball star. Lancaster was accepted by New York University with an athletic scholarship, but subsequently dropped out.
At 19, Lancaster met Nick Cravat, with whom he developed a lifelong partnership. Together they learned to act in local theatre productions and circus arts at Union Settlement, one of the city's oldest settlement houses. They formed the acrobat duo Lang and Cravat in the 1930s, 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, first as a salesman for Marshall Fields and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants.
With the United States having then entered World War II, Lancaster joined the United States Army in 1942 and performed with the Army's 21st 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 to 1945.
Although initially unenthusiastic about acting, Lancaster auditioned for a Broadway play after returning to New York from his Army service, and was offered a role. Although Harry Brown's A Sound of Hunting had a run of only three weeks, Lancaster's performance attracted the interest of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht and, through him, Lancaster was brought to the attention of producer Hal B. Wallis, who signed him to an eight-movie contract. Lancaster's first filmed movie was Desert Fury. But producer Mark Hellinger approached him to star in The Killers, in 1946, which was completed and released prior to Desert Fury and to great critical success.
With Hecht he would later start his own production company.
Burt would sometimes work for lower wages if he though the movies were interesting, and sometimes help economically if to him important movies lacked funding.
A true star in all senses, back when stars where stars.
An uncomplete trip down memory lane:
The Killers 1946, with Ava Gardner
Desert Fury 1947, Lizabeth Scott
Brute Force 1947
All My Sons 1948, with Edward G. Robinson
Sorry, Wrong Number 1948, with Barbra Stanwyck
Criss Cross 1949, with Yvonne de Carlo
The Flame and the Arrow 1950, with Aline MacMahon, and Francis Pierlot. Warner Bros. most popular movie of 1950
Jim Thorpe – All-American 1951
The Crimson Pirate 1952, with Nick Cravat
Come Back, Little Sheba 1952, with Shirley Booth
From Here to Eternity 1953, with Deborah Kerr, this gave Burt his first out of four Oscar Nominations.
Apache 1954
Vera Cruz 1954
The Kentuckian 1955, the one he directed himself.
The Rose Tattoo 1955, with Anna Magnani
Trapeze 1956, with Gina Lollobrigida and Tony Curtis. This earned Burt a Silver Bear Award at Berlin Film Festival
The Rainmaker 1956, with Wendell Corey and Katherine Hepburn
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 1957, with Kirk Douglas
Sweet Smell of Success 1957, with Tony Curtis
Run Silent, Run Deep 1958, with Clark Gable
Separate Tables 1958, with Rita Hayworth
The Devil's Disciple 1959, with Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier.
The Unforgiven 1960, with Audrey Hepburn
Elmer Gantry 1960, winning the Actor Oscar.
The Young Savages 1961, with Telly Savalas
Judgment at Nuremberg 1961
Birdman of Alcatraz 1962, Oscar nominated and winning a BAFTA Award.
A Child Is Waiting 1963, with Judy Garland
Il Gattopardo aka The Leopard 1963
Seven Days in May 1964, with Fredric March
The Train 1964
The Hallelujah Trail 1965, with Lee Remick
The Professionals 1966, with Claudia Cardinale and Lee Marvin
The Scalphunters 1968, with Ossie Davis
The Swimmer 1968
Castle Keep 1969, with Patrick O'Neal
The Gyspy Moths 1969, with Gene Hackman in the background
Airport 1970, with Jean Seberg and Helen Hayes.
Sesame Street, Burt appeared five times between 1969 and 1970
Lawman 1971
Ulzana's Raid 1972
Scorpio 1973, with Alain Delon
Gruppo di famiglia in un interno aka Conversation Piece 1974, with Helmut Berger
Moses the Lawgiver 1974, a 6-part TV mini-series
Novecento aka 1900 1976, with Sterling Hayden
The Island of Dr. Moreau 1977
Zulu Dawn 1979, with Peter O'Toole
Atlantic City 1980, with Susan Sarandon. Earning an Oscar nomination, and winning a BAFTA award.
La Pelle aka The Skin 1981, with Ken Marshall and Marcello Mastroianni.
Local Hero 1983, with Fulton Mackay, Peter Capaldi, Peter Riegert and Christopher Rozycki
The Osterman Weekend 1983
Tough Guys 1986, with Kirk Douglas
Rocket Gibraltar 1988, with Macaulay Culkin
La bottega dell'orefice aka The Jeweler's Shop 1988, with Daniel Olbryschski
Field of Dreams 1989, with Kevin Costner. This was Burt's farewell role in a cinema movie.
Separate But Equal 1991 TV 2-parter. This was Burt's acting farewell, released after his paralysing stroke.
Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed!
Comments, thought and opinions are welcome!
The speach is free!
