Actor Burt Lancaster Dies

LOS ANGELES - Burt Lancaster, the rugged one-time circus acrobat who became a movie star in physical, intelligent roles that earned him the description "thinking man's tough guy," has died. He was two weeks away from his 81st birthday.

He died last night, his wife, Susan Lancaster, said today.

Lancaster had suffered a stroke four years ago that left him partially paralyzed.

In a career that included more than 70 motion pictures, Lancaster was frequently cast in strong, angry roles but excelled in sensitive roles, too.

He won an Oscar for the 1960 film "Elmer Gantry." Among other memorable films: "From Here to Eternity," "The Birdman of Alcatraz," "The Swimmer" and "Sweet Smell of Success."

Lancaster remained active well into his 70s and appeared in 1989's "Field of Dreams" and 1990's television miniseries "Voyage of Terror."

He drew wide praise for his skilled depiction of a hard-luck petty criminal in 1980's "Atlantic City" and also starred in the acclaimed 1983 comedy "Local Hero."

The actor supported a variety of political causes and was the former president of the American Civil Liberties Union.

A lifelong liberal, he often chose to play in films with social significance: "Buffalo Bill and the Indians," about the myths of Western history, and "A Child Is Waiting," about a school for mentally children.

He made two anti-war films, "Twilight's Last Gleaming" and "Go Tell the Spartans."

Lancaster arrived in Hollywood after serving in World War II with brief acting experience and three weeks on Broadway. His first film role, as a doomed Swede in 1946's explosive crime drama "The Killers," brought him instant stardom.

He collected the first of four Academy Award nominations in 1953 as 1st Sgt. Milt Warden in "From Here to Eternity," based on James Jones' passionate novel about the passionate lives of servicemen in pre-war Pearl Harbor. His surf-drenched love scene with Deborah Kerr still stands as a symbol of screen romance.

As the studio star system waned, Lancaster formed his own production company with filmmaker Harold Hecht. The company produced 1955's "Marty," which won the best-picture Oscar, and "Elmer Gantry," in which he starred as a salesman turned evangelist.

Burton Stephen Lancaster was born the son of a postal clerk on Nov. 2, 1913, and grew up in the tough East Harlem neighborhood of New York. He said he might have become a juvenile delinquent had it not been for a local library.

He attended New York University on a basketball scholarship. In his second year of school, he traded in his high-tops for a pair of second-hand acrobatic shorts and left school soon thereafter.

With a friend, Nick Cravat (who went on to collect bit parts in several Lancaster films), he formed the acrobatic team Lang and Cravat. For several years they toured with circuses, vaudeville and nightclubs.

In 1935, he married another circus performer, June Ernst, but the marriage broke up a year later. He left the circus in 1939 following a serious hand injury.

Drafted during World War II, he spent much of his tour of duty entertaining troops in North Africa, Austria and Italy, often turning pages for a soldier pianist.

While in Italy he met a USO worker named Norma Marie Anderson, who became his second wife. They had five children before their 1969 divorce: James, William, Susan, Joanna and Sighle.

He wed Susan Scherer in September 1990.

Lancaster also received an Oscar nomination for 1962's "The Birdman of Alcatraz."