Burt Lancaster

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American film actor. Initially known for playing "tough guys", Lancaster went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles. He was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980). During the 1950s his production company Hecht-Hill-Lancaster was highly successful, making films such as Marty (1955), Trapeze (1956), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), and Separate Tables (1958). The American Film Institute ranks Lancaster as #19 of the greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema. 2Biography 3Youth Lancaster was born in Manhattan, New York City, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, today the site of Benjamin Franklin Plaza. Lancaster was the son of Elizabeth (née Roberts) and James Henry Lancaster, who was a mailman. Both of his parents were Protestants of working class origin. All of Lancaster's grandparents were Ulster immigrants to the United States; his maternal grandparents were from Belfast and were descendants of English immigrants to Irelan