Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing "tough guys", he 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 Award for that performance and BAFTA Awards for Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City

Personal life Marriages and relationships Lancaster vigorously guarded his private life. He was married three times. His first two marriages, to June Ernst from 1935 to 1946 and Norma Anderson from 1946 to 1969, ended in divorce. His third marriage, to Susan Martin, lasted from September 1990 until his death in 1994. All five of his children were with Anderson: Bill (who became an actor and screenwriter), James, Susan, Joanna, and Sighle (pronounced "Sheila"). Friends say he claimed he was romantically involved with Deborah Kerr during the filming of From Here to Eternity in 1953. However, Kerr stated that while there was a spark of attraction, nothing ever happened. He reportedly had an affair with Joan Blondell.

In her 1980 autobiography, Shelley Winters claimed to have had a long affair with him. Recent biographers and others suggest that Lancaster was bisexual, and that he had intimate relationships with men as well as women. According to testimony in Kate Buford's Burt Lancaster: An American Life, Lancaster was devotedly loyal to his friends and family. Old friends from his childhood remained his friends for life.