Burt Lancaster
Biography
Burt Lancaster was an American actor who first worked as a circus acrobat in the 1930s, then turned to acting after a Broadway role in his early thirties brought him an agent and a Hollywood contract. Born in New York City and raised in East Harlem, he came to prominence in the film noir The Killers (1946) opposite Ava Gardner, a critical success that launched his career. He was initially known for playing tough men with a tender side, later taking on more complex parts, and his 45 years on screen brought four Best Actor Academy Award nominations, with a win for the revivalist con man he played in Elmer Gantry (1960). He starred with Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity (1953), a military drama that won Best Picture, and earned a BAFTA for the crime romance Atlantic City (1980). He also acted in television miniseries and produced films.
80years old at death
- Born New York City
- Died Los Angeles
- Star sign: ScorpioThe sign runs October 23 to November 21
- Burton Stephen Lancaster (birth name)Also credited as Burton Lancaster
Movie Career
- Films
- 66
- Career span
- 77 years1946 to 2023
Genres
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Behind the camera
Lancaster directed The Kentuckian in 1955, his directorial debut, and also played a lead role. He did not enjoy directing and took the job only one more time, on The Midnight Man in 1974.
Own stunts
In 1952's The Crimson Pirate, directed by Siodmak and co-starring Nick Cravat, Lancaster and Cravat performed their own circus skills-based stunts, relying less on stuntmen than most Hollywood stars did.
Burt Lancaster movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
John Frankenheimer directed five of these films, Robert Aldrich four and Robert Siodmak three. Kirk Douglas appears in eight of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Kirk Douglas's page
Nick Cravat's page
Tony Curtis's page
Whit Bissell's page
Ava Gardner's page
Wendell Corey's page
All films by John Frankenheimer
All films by Robert Aldrich
All films by Robert Siodmak
Box office
What Burt Lancaster's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$365 million
20 of the 66 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 66 films: 20 worldwide figure; 13 us gross only; 3 never in cinemas; 30 figure not found.
- 20Worldwide figure
- 13US gross only
- 3Never in cinemas
- 30Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 82% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$100M27.5% of the total
- 2$84M23.1% of the total
- 3$31M8.4% of the total
- 4$21M5.9% of the total
- 5$18M5.0% of the total
- 6$15M4.2% of the total
- 7$14M3.9% of the total
- 8$13M3.5% of the total
$67.5 millionfrom the other 12 films with a worldwide figure, 18% of the total
Awards
Twelve awards and honors from 1946 to 1995, six of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 1961 | Best Actor | Elmer Gantry | Won |
| Golden Globes | |||
| Awards | Won | ||
| BAFTA | |||
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Won | ||
| SAG Awards | |||
| Life Achievement Award | Won | ||
| Berlin Film Festival | |||
| Silver Bear for Best Actor | Won | ||
| Venice Film Festival | |||
| Volpi Cup for Best Actor | Won | ||
| Other honors | |||
| 1995 | Golden Boot Awards (posthumous) | Won | |
| 1946 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
| David di Donatello Award for Lifetime Achievement | Won | ||
| David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor | Won | ||
| European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal | Won | ||
| Good Conduct Medal | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.