Why Burt Lancaster Dropped Out of College and Joined the Circus | The Dick Cavett Show

[@XX-gy7ue]

BURT LANCASTER WAS NOT ONLY A GREAT STAR , HE WAS A BRILLIANT MAN !

[@FIREBRAND38]

Your caps lock seems to be stuck.

[@brucemcclary3260]

Burt Lancaster wasn’t anything like most of todays men,it’s a shame his masculine attitude is now thought of as toxic

[@ianrichardson8990]

It's great that Burt Lancaster interviews are starting to surface at last, and this is the best I've seen. For a long time they were as rare as hen's teeth. Thanks for finding and sharing it.

[@skylinerunner1695]

So true. He didn't do many.

[@herronslegs]

Gorgeous

[@lloydbraun6026]

I can watch The Train over and over.

[@dougarchbold1489]

The best interview that Cavett has ever done. Why are there not more Cavett interviews of Lancaster. Just brilliant!

[@raftfan]

My buddy the late Mickey Knox considered Burt his closest Hollywood friend when he started in the business (check out Mickey as the killer Skinner in I WALK ALONE). As with Kirk Douglas, Mickey said that Burt could be difficult to work with, but was always kind and considerate with his fans, never refusing to sign an autograph. Pure class.

[@johnsometimeswrong8742]

Burt is my hero....what a life to walk thru with that face, physique, and voice and confidence....

[@michaeltootikian4402]

Burt Lancaster one of the all time greats

[@destroygaryfunky7053]

How refreshing is it to hear an entertainer speak without beginning every sentence with"And I'm like,......RIP Burt,.....a gifted actor,.....an icon actually.

[@skylinerunner1695]

or the dreaded 'so...'

[@billycharles]

Lancaster is a legend. He’s always always superb

[@fernmann7]

The biggest

[@bluecolor1600]

One of my alltime favorite actors ever! What screen presence, charisma and brilliance in his acting! Outstanding movie legend and such a great man!!👏👏❤️

[@srvuk]

One of my favourite actors.

[@nibsvkh]

Criss Cross…one of the all time great film noir classics!

[@MsBenlane]

yes and with the great dan duryea.

[@skylinerunner1695]

A brilliant film

[@123abcdef3]

Burt Lancaster was one of those actors like Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum and Clark Gable who just oozed star power.

[@maxpower6765]

Always liked his films. Seems like a normal dude Cheers 🥇🏆

[@Joedirtt]

Eloquence at its finest.. just the fact that he stops and listens carefully to Dicks questions is just amazing. We overlook these small things but how grand they are, when we notice them.

[@paulhoward6165]

The Train is my favorite movie with Burt Lancaster.and

[@francisalanwormald6328]

AT 85 I was always drawn to this real star & man...he was a true ICON!!!

[@DelightLovesMovies]

I will always have the image of him waving goodbye at the end of Field of Dreams, in my mind. He was such a lovely gentleman.

[@airtow6766]

Never knew a thing about Mr Lancaster, but I find him to be one of the most interesting, honest men In the acting profession. Could listen to him for hours.

[@rmarantis2962]

Great to hear his stories about the Circus. 😄

[@worldgonewrong2049]

What a great actor and very engaging man!

[@hildamaine8319]

I love him and his acting.

[@DrTomoculus]

I was actually disappointed when this was over!!! This should be an hour about him talking about the circus!!

[@nevets4ever4]

Wow - what a wonderful interview....Lancaster the master. "The universe is made of stories, not atoms" - Muriel Rukeyzer'

[@iap-ug3oy]

I loved him in Trapeze he did a lot of the Trapeze work his self…well done Mr Lancaster I worked Trapeze for quite a few years and I must say you were good.

[@jeffsilverman6104]

Burt had to the the most gracious, classy gentleman to ever grace a movie screen and a stage. You can see how humble, yet confident he was. He was able to find the balance of modesty, and self assurance. He knew he was good, but not from the standpoint of ego. Burt Lancaster was a gem, a truly beautiful man.

[@mikeferey6709]

He was my favorite actor 👏

[@raynorthedge5722]

the first film I ever saw was at the age of 10 with a friend of mine who lived in our street.that was in 1955 I could go because it was an early evening screening in the days when there was 2 screenings in the evening one early and one later.The film I remember was The Rose Tatoo with Burt Lancaster and Anna Magnani who won a Oscar for her perfomance, wonderful memories

[@ziapsp4167]

some colourful, one of the greats.

[@leelemon3373]

He Had IT.

[@ddburrows988]

I had the absolute pleasure to meet the man at a shoot for a public service announcement. He was a very respectful, kind and gentle man, and when he walked into the room he filled it with a breathtaking charisma I had never experienced from anyone before or since.

[@MrAnthonyVance]

I am not surprised to hear about your brief encounter with Burt and how he kept everyone under a spell. Such wonderful actor!

[@johnstrawb3521]

Incredible actor, as well. The Train is in my Top 100, all-time, all languages. It's a pity he and Yvonne De Carlo had no chemistry in Criss Cross. An otherwise superb film.

[@alvilla9659]

@@johnstrawb3521 they supposedly had charisma off screen if you know what i mean

[@rachelled6763]

Oh my yes...what a stunning looking, eloquent man at any age. You can see and feel his charisma oozing off the screen. How lucky you are to have met him.

[@skylinerunner1695]

That sounds awesome. Tell us more about that day please

[@hyacinthlynch843]

A great actor and a great storyteller. Love Burt Lancaster.

[@GeorgeSmith1066]

I find it absolutely incredible that I can sit here late at night and summon legends like Burt Lancaster to entertain me with stories of their amazing lives.

[@hugh-johnfleming289]

YooToob is a f___ed up mess but it does have its share of graces ...

[@SaundersE5]

Yes it’s pretty great

[@hombre1965]

We can summon the heroes of old and listen to their tales. And no matter how many times we call on them to repeat themselves, they never seem to mind.

[@jackjude]

Yes, there are many great things about modern life :)

[@dgsevenyseven]

Thank you. Legend. The Swimmer brought me here.

[@jamesdrynan]

Thank goodness for Cavett, who had interviews with so many talented people who are gone now. Lancaster was a superb actor and amazing athlete. He and his circus partner, Nick Cravat, were lifelong friends. They starred in nine films together, doing their own stunts. My personal favorite was " The Crimson Pirate. " His portrayal of a cruel and ruthless critic in " Sweet smell of Success " was brilliant.

[@skylinerunner1695]

And thank goodness Cavett had the chance to buy all the tapes of his show back from the network before they disposed of them!

[@seanfaherty]

Ohhh yeah

[@joehopfield]

As an old gymnast, my coach at UCLA new Burt Lancaster around the time of this interview, this is absolutely riveting. I've never heard gymnastics and high bar in particular described more elegantly or perfectly.

[@allanb52]

What a genuine man, full of humility and you can believe every interesting story. I always liked Burt.

[@mcd3379]

He was a great actor and he lived an incredible life. Burt Lancaster deserved all of his success - and earnt it all.

[@geoffjoffy]

A great actor and so modest. A lot of movie actors today could learn a lot from his modesty.

[@diannewallace4829]

It almost breaks my heart see tapes like this one. It reminds me of the way people used to be. The youngsters today have no idea what they have missed..

[@malcolmcurran6248]

I share the same ineffable heartache for the way people used to be and the frustrating impossibility of conveying how people actually were to the younger generation. Burt Lancaster in this remarkable interview somehow captures the essence of what's missing today almost elliptically through the details, tone and manner of his storytelling which has been lost. I've noticed that so many young people struggle to even know how to tell a simple story. Everything begins with " It was like..." I suspect it has much to do with with having gone from an age where words needed to be matched with one's more focused experience and not substituted and supplanted by images alone. And to think that so many of these irreplaceable interviews were lost when ABC reused the video tapes to tape over to save money.

[@lilianarociobutroncordova9610]

​@@malcolmcurran6248What?????😮😮😮😮😮😢😢😢😢😢

[@malcolmcurran6248]

@@lilianarociobutroncordova9610Yes a real pity. But it wasn't an age of as much cheap easy duplication like now. We're either spoiled or very privileged. A single Xerox copy in 1970 cost 10 cents and the minimum wage was about $1.65 an hour. There was an incredible one of three Cavett did with Orson Welles this one in the summer or early Fall of 1970 where he read long passage from Saint Exupery's Wind, Sand and Stars and openly refered to the Nixon administration as taking on 'the incipient airs of the police state"... think it ran two nights...no trace of it to be found. And it wouldn't be because the powers that be got rid of it but more absurdly it was to save a few bucks! And Cavett's programs have become unique touchstones for the history of that time. Yes a pity.

[@nataliacaetano6326]

He was a gorgeous man...that waltz scene in The Leopard was timeless...😎👏🏻😊

[@calcecini]

Yes indeed, and the moment after the waltz, when Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale walk away together , and the camera rests on Lancaster’s face as he watches them and in one glance you can see everything that he is thinking… great actor.

[@nataliacaetano6326]

@@calcecini that's true!!!

[@MsBenlane]

@@calcecini i read the book which is wonderful. the description of the prince fits lancaster to a t. he was perfect casting. he grew up in an italian immigrant neighborhood

[@waynej2608]

I love The Leopard. It wasn't appreciated here in the states, as much as it should have, at the time. Glad that it has been gaining more respect, since then. Claudia Cardinale is gorgeous!

[@ORagnar]

Great actor, as well. He was supremely articulate.

[@somethingyousaid5059]

I saw him recently in a movie called "The Swimmer". It was good. He was good in it.

[@geneobrien8907]

A great film!

[@cliftonwebb3295]

He was more than good. He was excellent and the film was original and fantastically brilliant

[@mikephalen3162]

That film is criminally underrated. A fantastic work of art.

[@nicholasjanke3476]

Interesting film. Burt Lancaster is excellent as the mentally disturbed man who's totally in his own world.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

Based on a John Cheever story. Directed by Frank Perry. It was about a man in mid-life crisis, before that term had come into common use.

[@jamesporter5630]

Burt Lancaster was a force on screen. Most watching this clip would agree whole heartedly with that statement. If you have discovered Dick Cavett and you are cycling through his programs, great. You have made a marvelous discovery. Now, go find 2 or 10 of the Lancaster films mentioned in the introduction. (Rainmaker, Elmer Gantry, Judgement at Nuremberg…) You will not be disappointed. And, you will understand fully what Cavett meant when he promised his viewers a real movie star.

[@JC-bf9zm]

I would at to that list one of Lancaster's lesser known films, The Swimmer. I watched it over a year ago and it still haunts me. So ethereal, so sad but simultaneously beautiful, so well acted, like nothing you see these days.

[@jamesporter5630]

@@JC-bf9zm I agree. The Swimmer enjoyed a large number of airings on broadcast TV throughout the years. Lancaster’s ability (and courage), to portray the main character’s mental struggles is testament to his acting ability.

[@fractuss]

@@JC-bf9zm We watched that movie in junior high school.

[@johnnyangel9163]

People forget he played the tortured alcoholic in Come Back Little Sheba. Brutal!In a way he was the most redeemable character in the film although Shirley Booth was fantastic .

[@gmoke]

Burt Lancaster was not only talented and athletic, he was smart as well. His first Hollywood contract guaranteed he could become a producer as well as an actor. Reportedly, he could do giant swings on the bars into his 60s.

[@skylinerunner1695]

That is correct. You can see him do a move in a movie called Scorpio (1973) where he hoists his body up a wall demonstrating an old trapeze technique and clear upper body strength age 60.

[@christoph404]

every time Lancaster laughs....that very distinctive laugh.....I just think of the brilliant impersonation that Frank Gorshin used to do of him!!!

[@waynej2608]

Gorshin had Burt down, to a tee. "Fine, just fine", and then the laugh. Great stuff.

[@robatsea2009]

A great background into Lancaster's early days. That athleticism and circus training was put to good use in a number of his action-oriented movies, where he didn't need doubling.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

Good thing he made the right call about that lion!

[@johnnyangel9163]

East Harlem boy!

[@salvationbordercountry3800]

Lancaster was such a terrific actor and an amazing person. An excellent interview. Dick Cavett had an exceptional talent which always made for a show that shined above all others.

[@kamuelalee]

Lancaster was all class, all humor, and all legend. Love to see his full interview with Cavett, thanks for posting.

[@calcecini]

Thank you so much! If there is more to this interview I hope you’ll post it in due course. Lancaster was really something special.

[@coerfjoe1]

The 2 Lancaster films I could not do without were two films displaying his athleticism 17 years apart: "The Jim Thorpe-All American," when he was 39 and "The Swimmer," when he was 58. I read a biography of him in the 80s but it fell short of my expectations. This clip is marvelous capturing his mind and almost photographic memory. I believe he was one of the rarest individuals who was able to create his future. He is rather shy here, compared to his achievements. I hope he realized his impact on the young, male underdogs struck by his self-confident physique and inquisitive intellect.

[@johnstrawb3521]

@Pit O'Maley Good lord, Lancaster in The Swimmer is perfect. Btw, if you haven't seen his athleticism to great purpose in The Train (1964), I think you'll enjoy it.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Great choice with those two films, bro. And you're right about his fine example of confidence and mind. He did a lesser film called Scorpio (1973) which shows him grab a bar and hoist himself up a wall with what was clearly an old trapeze move. It was a brief moment but it demonstrated his technique and continued upper body strength at age 60.

[@herronslegs]

The film the swimmer wonderful acting

[@knownpleasures]

He was 55 during The Swimmer

[@lilianarociobutroncordova9610]

​@@skylinerunner1695 Scorpio!!!! Correct.... I'm going to look It Up.

[@pauldurkee4764]

I really like his films, if I had to pick one it would be The Train.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Great choice but I could never manage to pick just one lol

[@Danmark30]

What an elegant and intelligent man. He has charisma and a big presence!

[@johnhanselman6371]

Burt Lancaster is gone but not forgotten.

[@highpsi11]

I never noticed Burt's New York accent before - maybe he altered it in movies. He was a special actor: handsome, fit, and with a gentle, sincere, serious quality that was so attractive.

[@RobinSchoutenRS]

Mr Cavett, do you have preserved your interview with Sam Peckinpah and Stella Stevens (from 1970, promoting The Ballad of Cable Hogue) ? If you have it, please upload it. Thank you.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Wow, I'd love to see that. Such a gem of a film. Love that moment when they sing.

[@matthewmehegan3475]

He always looked like he knew something we didn't.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Well put.

[@elisabethvalade9866]

Am pretty sure he did.

[@DwightStJohn-w1l]

@@elisabethvalade9866 Made "Scorpio" and got permission from the White House to film it. Was nervous it would be interpreted too literally. Time proves him right.

[@elisabethvalade9866]

@@DwightStJohn-w1l You've got me, there...

[@joep8787]

Actors of that generation had real backstories before they got into acting. George Brent had been a member of the IRA and was a wanted man with a price on his head. Sterling Hayden was a member of the OSS and operated behind enemy lines during WW II.

[@skylinerunner1695]

So many served in WWII which puts some steel in your spine.

[@juerv1]

@@skylinerunner1695 Yes, WWII was the "best" acting school for a generation of legendary movie stars. Lancaster, Douglas, Bronson, Steiger, Stewart, Fonda, Marvin, Malden, Matthau, Van Cleef, Savalas, Borgnine, Lee, Newman, Palance, Wallach... the list is endless. These guys had some steel in their personality.

[@tommcconville677]

Burt Lancaster was a true Renaissance man as well as a superb actor. You'll never see anyone in movies today who even comes close to him.

[@mootpointjones8488]

Lancaster looks very relaxed. He often played very intense characters during his film career.

[@johnneilamore6581]

Burt looks very much like a theatrical here , but a likeable and modest demeanour..a charming person , really , unexpectidely so

[@dangelo1369]

Some trivia: Burt Lancaster was related to the comedian Ernie Kovacs by marriage. Kovacs daughter, Kippie (1949-2001) married Burt Lancaster’s son, Bill (1947-1997). They had a daughter, Keigh Lancaster (1966-2017) Trivia: Bill Lancaster became an actor and writer. One of his scripts was “The Bad News Bears” based on his father’s experience as his Little league coach as a child.

[@Sulu-sw3zo]

I loved _'The Swimmer',_ saw it in my teens back in the 1980's. Great film.

[@JohnNiemsMusic]

I can still remember the movie Trapeze which I saw as a kid in 1956! Burt did many of the stunts in it too! He was certainly right for the part.

[@janejohnstone5795]

He sounds like an Irish/American..his looks and personality...

[@alvaropelayo8084]

I don't get tired of watching Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity, Run Silent Run Deep with the King Clark Gable, The Train, The Professionals, Atlantic City. He was really a giant of the screen, God bless him.

[@jadezee6316]

no denying all faults aside....the "studio system"...as it was known produced the greatest actors the greatest films and the greatest era....we will ever see in motion pictures.....

[@janejohnstone5795]

Can understand, Circus people stick together as they are very talented ,creative and artistic....other people...seem ordinary in comparison.

[@zovalentine7305]

My mom was on PTA w/his wife Norma @ Bellagio Road School; went to their home for son's birthday; fond memories of pinata, pony, glee-filled romping w/dozens of children on fairytale estate grounds 🤗❤

[@skylinerunner1695]

That's awesome! Any more you can share?

[@poetcomic1]

He would walk into '21' in New York wearing the same old sport cuoat he always wore and first putting on a ready tied tie he kept in is pocket.... and every woman and man in the place turned to look at him as if he were the real thing and the rest of them were copies.

[@steviemoon4472]

fantastic person and of course a magnificent actor , God bless him !!!!

[@stephengiese7549]

He is exact in his speaking. Seen a lot of his work. He takes time to explain whatever. I love his wry smile with that mustache😀

[@misterE-1989]

Favorite actor of all time.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Good taste

[@stevengriffin7873]

I think my favourite role was in From Here to Eternity.I don't think he really acted much in that more like just being himself in my opinion.Wish he was still here.

[@dontheshark]

I have loved him in that movie and have seen it many times. . I was in the Air Force when I saw it in the 50s.

[@robertcatesby8420]

Really good actor, a great star and a terrific man.

[@shadow-Sun]

Burt lancaster , proper Hollywood Legend .

[@Falconlibrary]

I just watched Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon in "Atlantic City" last night on HBOMax. Burt plays an elderly gangster who falls in love with Susan and seduces her. And you know what? Burt played that scene so well that I believed Susan would fall for him. Some people are born to be stars and Burt Lancaster was one of them.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Absolutely among his finest performances of his latter years, and a poignant study of old age and faded glory. My favourite moment is when he cracks the door and sees young beauty Sarandon taking the money and clearly about to leave him, the close up on his face is heart-wrenching.

[@MsBenlane]

what a wonderful storyteller i wish he had written a book. wonderful actor.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Yes, an account of his life in his own words would have been fantastic.

[@sawyer4427]

I dont know if this comment will get noticed by whoever manages this channel, but if you guys have the footage i NEED to see the episode with Mary Lou Williams and Roman Polanski that supposedly aired December 22, 1971. Love these videos!! thanks for the work you do

[@skylinerunner1695]

That would an interesting watch

[@randysratings]

Yes, something about Mr. Lancaster that draws you in. Watch The Kentuckian and you will see. Thanks for the video.

[@skylinerunner1695]

How about the last line in that movie by Lancaster: 'We're going to Texas. We're gonna live it bold!'

[@fifthbusiness1678]

Fascinating voice. Never knew he was from NY!

[@skylinerunner1695]

New Yawk thru and thru

[@larryleker6366]

Burt Lancaster proves what almost no one knows. Hollywood is all about hard work and grit. No room for quitters. BTW, I've stood next to a full grownlion and seen how big that head is. I felt like an hors d' oeuvre.

[@jimgarrison7340]

If you haven't seen Burt in "Elmer Gantry" you are missing one of the greatest performances of all time. He got the 1960 Academy for it.

[@paulkitt2376]

Burt is one of the best. I have never seen him talk so expansively this is why cavett is the best interviewer ever.

[@Susie_Floozie]

Burt mentions his partner Nick. Nick Cravat appears in two of Lancaster's rollicking early films, THE CRIMSON PIRATE and THE FLAME AND THE ARROW. Nick played a mute character because of his strong Brooklyn accent. Onscreen he and Burt pull off the most breathtaking stunts with flawless timing. Lancaster's stuntwork in the opening of THE CRIMSON PIRATE is absolutely gobsmacking, and when he pauses to break the fourth wall and address the audience, he makes me weak in the knees. What a man.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Their stealth long-pole sequence in Flame and the Arrow is brilliant, not to mention Burt's full out trapeze routine on the castle wall flag poles at the end of the film.

[@juerv1]

Nick Cravat: a legend of his own. He had incredible, supernatural physical strength. Look at what he does in THE FLAME AND THE ARROW.

[@Johnny-ip4mk]

Dick got much pleasure in interviewing himself. It’s a shame none of his guests ever told him to shut up.

[@Baz-Ten]

Interviewers of celebs *all* do this to a lesser degree. It must be a formula to test a stars ego!

[@paulccrimmins]

Wow! What a fascinating life he had

[@brianfischer149]

This is one of the best interviews I've ever seen and I'm 57 years old. I think I could listen to Lancaster's stories all day ! My favorite movie with him in it is " Run Silent Run Deep " !

[@ebonymanley26]

Great actor so handsome one of my favorites.

[@cameron1975williams]

One of the truly great Hollywood movie stars. Watch him in The Professionals, with Lee Marvin and you'll see what I mean.

[@uttaradit2]

good movie

[@waynej2608]

Excellent film. Also, with Robert Ryan, Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale and Woody Strode. Great cast.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

@@waynej2608 Mentioning Robert Ryan reminds me -- the two of them were also in 'Executive Action' together.

[@skylinerunner1695]

@@ronmackinnon9374 Yes, less well known but it sits well alongside Seven Days in May.

[@wildbillharding]

The Professionals is a superb and underrated movie. Burt and Lee are magnificent together. If only Lee had played Pike Bishop in The Wild Bunch. William Holden was fine, but Lee would have taken it to another dimension because of his military background. I could be wrong!

[@nicholasjanke3476]

The Swimmer , Trapeze and From Here To Eternity were his best works

[@chezzer58]

Just recently I bought the Swimmer on DVD, Strange film all round with an ending you have to guess at. Starred a young Joan Rivers.

[@youknow6968]

The greats of modern age, the memories they gave us, we are thankful, stay blessed, wherever you are.

[@malafakka8530]

The first interview with a Lancaster that I have seen on KZbin. Very good. I wish there was more.

[@williamphillips6049]

He does powerful, brave, crazy show off type characters and in real life seems like a big shy kid.

[@bellak1992]

So handsome, smart, charismatic and a great humanitarian and outstanding actor!

[@gregcruse4647]

Now that is what a star should look like

[@thetruth1862]

1900 was great such a beautiful and sad movie

[@nicholasjanke3476]

One of Burt Lancaster's fellow circus performers played the monster on the airplane in the one Twilight Zone episode. He's also in the Crimson Pirate.

[@theironclads]

Yes, that's Nick Cravat. They were boyhood pals in NYC.

[@lynnturman8157]

Don't know about you but I always found interviews that ended with sudden & violent decapitation just so incredibly heartwarming.

[@skylinerunner1695]

Yeah it warms the heart and sets you up for the day like nothing else. 😀

[@wildbillharding]

Ha!

[@skylinerunner1695]

His son, Bill Lancaster, wrote the classic film, The Thing (1982).

[@mikefullwood356]

One of the absolute Greats, always watchable and believable....

[@pauldockree9915]

Quotes Bannock Marshal Jared Maddox: I'm a lawman. Do you know what a lawman is, Crowe? He's a killer of men. That's what the job calls for. There are new ways to put it, but it reads the same. That's the difference between us, and it's all the difference I need.

[@plasticweapon]

love that movie! great script, great burt, and everybody's in it!