title: CSS

text: CSS has a simple syntax and uses a number of English keywords to specify the names of various style properties.


title: CSS

text: A style sheet consists of a list of "rules". Each rule or rule-set consists of one or more "selectors", and a "declaration block".


title: CSS

text: In CSS, "selectors" declare which part of the markup a style applies to by matching tags and attributes in the markup itself.


title: CSS

text: Classes and IDs are case-sensitive, start with letters, and can include alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores. A class may apply to any number of instances of any element. An ID may only be applied to a single element.


title: CSS

text: "Pseudo-classes" are used in CSS selectors to permit formatting based on information that is not contained in the document tree. One example of a widely used pseudo-class is , which identifies content only when the user "points to" the visible element, usually by holding the mouse cursor over it. It is appended to a selector as in or . A pseudo-class classifies document elements, such as or , whereas a "pseudo-element" makes a selection that may consist of partial elements, such as or . Note the double-colon notation for pseudo-elements versus single-colon notation for pseudo-class.


title: CSS

text: Selectors may be combined in many ways to achieve great specificity and flexibility. Multiple selectors may be joined in a spaced list to specify elements by location, element type, id, class, or any combination thereof. The order of the selectors is important. For example,


title: CSS

text: div .myClass {color: red;} applies to all elements of class myClass that are inside div elements, whereas .myClass div {color: red;} applies to all div elements that are inside elements of class myClass. This is not to be confused with concatenated identifiers such as


title: CSS

text: The following table provides a summary of selector syntax indicating usage and the version of CSS that introduced it.


title: CSS

text: A declaration block consists of a list of "declarations" in braces. Each declaration itself consists of a "property", a colon (codice_2), and a "value". If there are multiple declarations in a block, a semi-colon (codice_3) must be inserted to separate each declaration. An "optional" semi-colon after the last (or single) declaration may be used.


title: CSS

text: Properties are specified in the CSS standard. Each property has a set of possible values. Some properties can affect any type of element, and others apply only to particular groups of elements.


title: CSS

text: Values may be keywords, such as "center" or "inherit", or numerical values, such as (200 pixels), (50 percent of the viewport width) or (80 percent of the parent element's width). Color values can be specified with keywords (e.g. ""), hexadecimal values (e.g. , also abbreviated as ), RGB values on a 0 to 255 scale (e.g. codice_4), RGBA values that specify both color and alpha transparency (e.g. ), or HSL or HSLA values (e.g. , ).


title: CSS

text: Non-zero numeric values representing linear measures must include a length unit, which is either an alphabetic code or abbreviation, as in codice_5 or codice_6; or a percentage sign, as in codice_7. Some units – codice_8 (centimetre); codice_9 (inch); codice_10 (millimetre); codice_11 (pica); and codice_12 (point) – are "absolute", which means that the rendered dimension does not depend upon the structure of the page; others – codice_13 (em); codice_14 (ex) and codice_15 (pixel) – are "relative", which means that factors such as the font size of a parent element can affect the rendered measurement. These eight units were a feature of CSS 1 and retained in all subsequent revisions. The proposed CSS Values and Units Module Level 3 will, if adopted as a W3C Recommendation, provide seven further length units: codice_16; codice_17; codice_18; codice_19; codice_20; codice_21; and codice_22.


title: CSS

text: Before CSS, nearly all presentational attributes of HTML documents were contained within the HTML markup. All font colors, background styles, element alignments, borders, and sizes had to be explicitly described, often repeatedly, within the HTML. CSS lets authors move much of that information to another file, the style sheet, resulting in considerably simpler HTML.


title: CSS

text: For example, headings (codice_23 elements), sub-headings (codice_24), sub-sub-headings (codice_25), etc., are defined structurally using HTML. In print and on the screen, choice of font, size, color and emphasis for these elements is "presentational".


title: CSS

text: Before CSS, document authors who wanted to assign such typographic characteristics to, say, all codice_24 headings had to repeat HTML presentational markup for each occurrence of that heading type. This made documents more complex, larger, and more error-prone and difficult to maintain. CSS allows the separation of presentation from structure. CSS can define color, font, text alignment, size, borders, spacing, layout and many other typographic characteristics, and can do so independently for on-screen and printed views. CSS also defines non-visual styles, such as reading speed and emphasis for aural text readers. The W3C has now deprecated the use of all presentational HTML markup.


title: CSS

text: Using CSS, the same element can be coded using style properties instead of HTML presentational attributes:


title: CSS

text: The advantages of this may not be immediately clear but the power of CSS becomes more apparent when the style properties are placed in an internal style element or, even better, an external CSS file. For example, suppose the document contains the style element:


title: CSS

text: All codice_23 elements in the document will then automatically become red without requiring any explicit code. If the author later wanted to make codice_23 elements blue instead, this could be done by changing the style element to:


title: CSS

text: rather than by laboriously going through the document and changing the color for each individual codice_23 element.


title: CSS

text: The styles can also be placed in an external CSS file, as described below, and loaded using syntax similar to:


title: CSS

text: This further decouples the styling from the HTML document and makes it possible to restyle multiple documents by simply editing a shared external CSS file.


title: CSS

text: CSS information can be provided from various sources. These sources can be the web browser, the user, and the author. The information from the author can be further classified into inline, media type, importance, selector specificity, rule order, inheritance, and property definition. CSS style information can be in a separate document, or it can be embedded into an HTML document. Multiple style sheets can be imported. Different styles can be applied depending on the output device being used; for example, the screen version can be quite different from the printed version, so authors can tailor the presentation appropriately for each medium.


title: CSS

text: The style sheet with the highest priority controls the content display. Declarations not set in the highest priority source are passed on to a source of lower priority, such as the user agent style. The process is called "cascading".


title: CSS

text: One of the goals of CSS is to allow users greater control over presentation. Someone who finds red italic headings difficult to read may apply a different style sheet. Depending on the browser and the website, a user may choose from various style sheets provided by the designers, or may remove all added styles, and view the site using the browser's default styling, or may override just the red italic heading style without altering other attributes. Browser extensions like Stylish and Stylus have been created to facilitate the management of such user style sheets.


title: CSS

text: "Specificity" refers to the relative weights of various rules. It determines which styles apply to an element when more than one rule could apply. Based on the specification, a simple selector (e.g. H1) has a specificity of 1, class selectors have a specificity of 1,0, and ID selectors have a specificity of 1,0,0. Because the specificity values do not carry over as in the decimal system, commas are used to separate the "digits" (a CSS rule having 11 elements and 11 classes would have a specificity of 11,11, not 121).


title: CSS

text: In the above example, the declaration in the codice_30 attribute overrides the one in the codice_31 element because it has a higher specificity, and thus, the paragraph appears green:


title: CSS

text: Inheritance is a key feature in CSS; it relies on the ancestor-descendant relationship to operate. Inheritance is the mechanism by which properties are applied not only to a specified element but also to its descendants. Inheritance relies on the document tree, which is the hierarchy of XHTML elements in a page based on nesting. Descendant elements may inherit CSS property values from any ancestor element enclosing them.


title: CSS

text: In general, descendant elements inherit text-related properties, but their box-related properties are not inherited. Properties that can be inherited are color, font, letter spacing, line-height, list-style, text-align, text-indent, text-transform, visibility, white-space, and word-spacing. Properties that cannot be inherited are background, border, display, float and clear, height, and width, margin, min- and max-height and -width, outline, overflow, padding, position, text-decoration, vertical-align, and z-index.


title: CSS

text: Inheritance can be used to avoid declaring certain properties over and over again in a style sheet, allowing for shorter CSS.


title: CSS

text: Inheritance in CSS is not the same as inheritance in class-based programming languages, where it is possible to define class B as "like class A, but with modifications". With CSS, it is possible to style an "element" with "class A, but with modifications". However, it is not possible to define a CSS "class" B like that, which could then be used to style multiple elements without having to repeat the modifications.


title: CSS

text: If no color is assigned to the em element, the emphasized word "illustrate" inherits the color of the parent element, p. The style sheet p has the color pink, hence, the em element is likewise pink:


title: CSS

text: One common way to format CSS for readability is to indent each property and give it its own line. In addition to formatting CSS for readability, shorthand properties can be used to write out the code faster, which also gets processed more quickly when being rendered:


title: CSS

text: There are five possible values of the position property. If an item is positioned in any way other than static, then the further properties top, bottom, left, and right are used to specify offsets and positions.The element having position static is not affected by the top, bottom , left or right properties.


title: CSS

text: The property may have one of three values. "Absolutely" positioned or "fixed" items cannot be floated. Other elements normally flow around floated items, unless they are prevented from doing so by their property.


title: CSS

text: CSS was first proposed by Håkon Wium Lie on 10 October 1994. At the time, Lie was working with Tim Berners-Lee at CERN. Several other style sheet languages for the web were proposed around the same time, and discussions on public mailing lists and inside World Wide Web Consortium resulted in the first W3C CSS Recommendation (CSS1) being released in 1996. In particular, a proposal by Bert Bos was influential; he became co-author of CSS1, and is regarded as co-creator of CSS.


title: CSS

text: Style sheets have existed in one form or another since the beginnings of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) in the 1980s, and CSS was developed to provide style sheets for the web. One requirement for a web style sheet language was for style sheets to come from different sources on the web. Therefore, existing style sheet languages like DSSSL and FOSI were not suitable. CSS, on the other hand, let a document's style be influenced by multiple style sheets by way of "cascading" styles.


title: CSS

text: As HTML grew, it came to encompass a wider variety of stylistic capabilities to meet the demands of web developers. This evolution gave the designer more control over site appearance, at the cost of more complex HTML. Variations in web browser implementations, such as ViolaWWW and WorldWideWeb, made consistent site appearance difficult, and users had less control over how web content was displayed. The browser/editor developed by Tim Berners-Lee had style sheets that were hard-coded into the program. The style sheets could therefore not be linked to documents on the web. Robert Cailliau, also of CERN, wanted to separate the structure from the presentation so that different style sheets could describe different presentation for printing, screen-based presentations, and editors.


title: CSS

text: Improving web presentation capabilities was a topic of interest to many in the web community and nine different style sheet languages were proposed on the www-style mailing list. Of these nine proposals, two were especially influential on what became CSS: Cascading HTML Style Sheets and Stream-based Style Sheet Proposal (SSP). Two browsers served as testbeds for the initial proposals; Lie worked with Yves Lafon to implement CSS in Dave Raggett's Arena browser. Bert Bos implemented his own SSP proposal in the Argo browser. Thereafter, Lie and Bos worked together to develop the CSS standard (the 'H' was removed from the name because these style sheets could also be applied to other markup languages besides HTML).


title: CSS

text: Lie's proposal was presented at the "Mosaic and the Web" conference (later called WWW2) in Chicago, Illinois in 1994, and again with Bert Bos in 1995. Around this time the W3C was already being established and took an interest in the development of CSS. It organized a workshop toward that end chaired by Steven Pemberton. This resulted in W3C adding work on CSS to the deliverables of the HTML editorial review board (ERB). Lie and Bos were the primary technical staff on this aspect of the project, with additional members, including Thomas Reardon of Microsoft, participating as well. In August 1996, Netscape Communication Corporation presented an alternative style sheet language called JavaScript Style Sheets (JSSS). The spec was never finished, and is deprecated. By the end of 1996, CSS was ready to become official, and the CSS level 1 Recommendation was published in December.


title: CSS

text: Development of HTML, CSS, and the DOM had all been taking place in one group, the HTML Editorial Review Board (ERB). Early in 1997, the ERB was split into three working groups: HTML Working group, chaired by Dan Connolly of W3C; DOM Working group, chaired by Lauren Wood of SoftQuad; and CSS Working group, chaired by Chris Lilley of W3C.


title: CSS

text: The CSS Working Group began tackling issues that had not been addressed with CSS level 1, resulting in the creation of CSS level 2 on November 4, 1997. It was published as a W3C Recommendation on May 12, 1998. CSS level 3, which was started in 1998, is still under development as of 2014.


title: CSS

text: In 2005, the CSS Working Groups decided to enforce the requirements for standards more strictly. This meant that already published standards like CSS 2.1, CSS 3 Selectors, and CSS 3 Text were pulled back from Candidate Recommendation to Working Draft level.


title: CSS

text: The CSS 1 specification was completed in 1996. Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3 was released in that year, featuring some limited support for CSS. IE 4 and Netscape 4.x added more support, but it was typically incomplete and had many bugs that prevented CSS from being usefully adopted. It was more than three years before any web browser achieved near-full implementation of the specification. Internet Explorer 5.0 for the Macintosh, shipped in March 2000, was the first browser to have full (better than 99 percent) CSS 1 support, surpassing Opera, which had been the leader since its introduction of CSS support fifteen months earlier. Other browsers followed soon afterward, and many of them additionally implemented parts of CSS 2.


title: CSS

text: However, even when later "version 5" web browsers began to offer a fairly full implementation of CSS, they were still incorrect in certain areas and were fraught with inconsistencies, bugs and other quirks. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. x for Windows, as opposed to the very different IE for Macintosh, had a flawed implementation of the CSS box model, as compared with the CSS standards. Such inconsistencies and variation in feature support made it difficult for designers to achieve a consistent appearance across browsers and platforms without the use of workarounds termed CSS hacks and filters. The IE Windows box model bugs were so serious that, when Internet Explorer 6 was released, Microsoft introduced a backward-compatible mode of CSS interpretation ("quirks mode") alongside an alternative, corrected "standards mode". Other non-Microsoft browsers also provided mode-switch capabilities. It, therefore, became necessary for authors of HTML files to ensure they contained special distinctive "standards-compliant CSS intended" marker to show that the authors intended CSS to be interpreted correctly, in compliance with standards, as opposed to being intended for the now long-obsolete IE5/Windows browser. Without this marker, web browsers that have the "quirks mode"-switching capability will size objects in web pages as IE 5 on Windows would, rather than following CSS standards.


title: CSS

text: Problems with patchy adoption of CSS, along with errata in the original specification, led the W3C to revise the CSS 2 standards into CSS 2.1, which moved nearer to a working snapshot of current CSS support in HTML browsers. Some CSS 2 properties that no browser successfully implemented were dropped, and in a few cases, defined behaviors were changed to bring the standard into line with the predominant existing implementations. CSS 2.1 became a Candidate Recommendation on February 25, 2004, but CSS 2.1 was pulled back to Working Draft status on June 13, 2005, and only returned to Candidate Recommendation status on July 19, 2007.


title: CSS

text: In addition to these problems, the codice_32 extension was used by a software product used to convert PowerPoint files into Compact Slide Show files,


title: CSS

text: Individual browser vendors occasionally introduced new parameters ahead of standardization and universalization. To prevent interfering with future implementations, vendors prepended unique names to the parameters, such as codice_36 for Mozilla Firefox, codice_37 named after the browsing engine of Apple Safari, codice_38 for Opera Browser and codice_39 for Microsoft Internet Explorer and early versions of Microsoft Edge that use EdgeHTML.


title: CSS

text: Occasionally, the parameters with vendor prefixes such as codice_40 and codice_41 have slightly different syntax as compared to their non-vendor-prefix counterparts.


title: CSS

text: Prefixed properties are rendered obsolete by the time of standardization. Programs are available to automatically add prefixes for older browsers and to point out standardized versions of prefixed parameters. Since prefixes are limited to a small subset of browsers, removing the prefix allows other browsers to see the functionality. An exception is certain obsolete codice_37 prefixed properties, which are so common and persistent on the web that other families of browsers have decided to support them for compatibility.


title: CSS

text: CSS has various levels and profiles. Each level of CSS builds upon the last, typically adding new features and typically denoted as CSS 1, CSS 2, CSS 3, and CSS 4. Profiles are typically a subset of one or more levels of CSS built for a particular device or user interface. Currently, there are profiles for mobile devices, printers, and television sets. Profiles should not be confused with media types, which were added in CSS 2.


title: CSS

text: The first CSS specification to become an official W3C Recommendation is CSS level 1, published on 17 December 1996. Håkon Wium Lie and Bert Bos are credited as the original developers. Among its capabilities are support for


title: CSS

text: CSS level 2 specification was developed by the W3C and published as a recommendation in May 1998. A superset of CSS 1, CSS 2 includes a number of new capabilities like absolute, relative, and fixed positioning of elements and z-index, the concept of media types, support for aural style sheets (which were later replaced by the CSS 3 speech modules) and bidirectional text, and new font properties such as shadows.


title: CSS

text: CSS level 2 revision 1, often referred to as "CSS 2.1", fixes errors in CSS 2, removes poorly supported or not fully interoperable features and adds already implemented browser extensions to the specification. To comply with the W3C Process for standardizing technical specifications, CSS 2.1 went back and forth between Working Draft status and Candidate Recommendation status for many years. CSS 2.1 first became a Candidate Recommendation on 25 February 2004, but it was reverted to a Working Draft on 13 June 2005 for further review. It returned to Candidate Recommendation on 19 July 2007 and then updated twice in 2009. However, because changes and clarifications were made, it again went back to Last Call Working Draft on 7 December 2010.


title: CSS

text: CSS 2.1 went to Proposed Recommendation on 12 April 2011. After being reviewed by the W3C Advisory Committee, it was finally published as a W3C Recommendation on 7 June 2011.


title: CSS

text: CSS 2.1 was planned as the first and final revision of level 2—but low-priority work on CSS 2.2 began in 2015.


title: CSS

text: Unlike CSS 2, which is a large single specification defining various features, CSS 3 is divided into several separate documents called "modules". Each module adds new capabilities or extends features defined in CSS 2, preserving backward compatibility. Work on CSS level 3 started around the time of publication of the original CSS 2 recommendation. The earliest CSS 3 drafts were published in June 1999.


title: CSS

text: Some modules have "Candidate Recommendation" ("CR") status and are considered moderately stable. At "CR" stage, implementations are advised to drop vendor prefixes.


title: CSS

text: There is no single, integrated CSS4 specification, because the specification has been split into many separate modules which level independently.


title: CSS

text: Modules that build on things from CSS Level 2 started at Level 3. Some of them have already reached Level 4 or are already approaching Level 5. Other modules that define entirely new functionality, such as Flexbox, have been designated as Level 1 and some of them are approaching Level 2.


title: CSS

text: The CSS Working Group sometimes publishes "Snapshots", a collection of whole modules and parts of other drafts that are considered stable enough to be implemented by browser developers. So far, five such "best current practices" documents have been published as Notes, in 2007, 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2018.


title: CSS

text: Since these specification snapshots are primarily intended for developers, there has been a growing demand for a similar versioned reference document targeted at authors, which would present the state of interoperable implementations as meanwhile documented by sites like Can I Use... and the MDN Web Docs. A W3C Community Group has been established in early 2020 in order to discuss and define such a resource. The actual kind of versioning is also up to debate, which means that the document once produced might not be called "CSS4".


title: CSS

text: Each web browser uses a layout engine to render web pages, and support for CSS functionality is not consistent between them. Because browsers do not parse CSS perfectly, multiple coding techniques have been developed to target specific browsers with workarounds (commonly known as CSS hacks or CSS filters). The adoption of new functionality in CSS can be hindered by a lack of support in major browsers. For example, Internet Explorer was slow to add support for many CSS 3 features, which slowed the adoption of those features and damaged the browser's reputation among developers. Additionally, a proprietary syntax for the non-vendor-prefixed codice_43 property was used in some versions. In order to ensure a consistent experience for their users, web developers often test their sites across multiple operating systems, browsers, and browser versions, increasing development time and complexity. Tools such as BrowserStack have been built to reduce the complexity of maintaining these environments.


title: CSS

text: In addition to these testing tools, many sites maintain lists of browser support for specific CSS properties, including CanIUse and the MDN Web Docs. Additionally, CSS 3 defines feature queries, which provide an codice_44 directive that will allow developers to target browsers with support for certain functionality directly within their CSS. CSS that is not supported by older browsers can also sometimes be patched in using JavaScript polyfills, which are pieces of JavaScript code designed to make browsers behave consistently. These workarounds—and the need to support fallback functionality—can add complexity to development projects, and consequently, companies frequently define a list of browser versions that they will and will not support.


title: CSS

text: As websites adopt newer code standards that are incompatible with older browsers, these browsers can be cut off from accessing many of the resources on the web (sometimes intentionally). Many of the most popular sites on the internet are not just visually degraded on older browsers due to poor CSS support but do not work at all, in large part due to the evolution of JavaScript and other web technologies.


title: CSS

text: CSS frameworks are pre-prepared libraries that are meant to allow for easier, more standards-compliant styling of web pages using the Cascading Style Sheets language. CSS frameworks include Blueprint, Bootstrap, Foundation and Materialize. Like programming and scripting language libraries, CSS frameworks are usually incorporated as external .css sheets referenced in the HTML . They provide a number of ready-made options for designing and laying out the web page. Although many of these frameworks have been published, some authors use them mostly for rapid prototyping, or for learning from, and prefer to 'handcraft' CSS that is appropriate to each published site without the design, maintenance and download overhead of having many unused features in the site's styling.


title: CSS

text: As the size of CSS resources used in a project increases, a development team often needs to decide on a common design methodology to keep them organized. The goals are ease of development, ease of collaboration during development, and performance of the deployed stylesheets in the browser. Popular methodologies include OOCSS (object-oriented CSS), ACSS (atomic CSS), CSS (organic Cascade Style Sheet), SMACSS (scalable and modular architecture for CSS), and BEM (block, element, modifier).


title: Eric Esch

text: Eric Scott Esch (born August 3, 1966), better known by his nickname "Butterbean", is an American retired professional boxer, kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler who competed in the heavyweight division. He is also a television personality, having appeared in several programs and been referenced by many others. Esch became a professional boxer in 1994 after a successful stint on the Toughman Contest scene and went on to capture the World Athletic Association (WAA) heavyweight and IBA super heavyweight championships. From 2003, he regularly fought as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist, notably in K-1 and the Pride Fighting Championships. Butterbean's combined fight record is 97–24–5 with 65 knockouts and 9 submissions.


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch, who is of German descent, was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but at age four he and his family moved to St. Johns, Michigan, only to move again at 11 years old to Jasper, Alabama, with his family. He had a difficult childhood; his mother died when he was eight, and he was frequently bullied at school for being overweight.


title: Eric Esch

text: While decking floors for manufactured homes at the Southern Energy Homes plant in Addison, Alabama, his colleagues dared him to enter a local Toughman Contest, with training in Bay City, Michigan. He won the tournament and began his career in fight sports.


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch began his fighting career on the Toughman Contest scene in Texarkana, Arkansas, in the early 1990s and went on to become a five-time World Toughman Heavyweight Champion with a record of 56–5 with 36 knockouts. He received the nickname "Butterbean" when he was forced to go on a diet (consisting mostly of chicken and butterbeans) in order to meet the Toughman 400 pound (181 kg) weight limit under the new age trainer Prozay Buell “the better Buell”.


title: Eric Esch

text: He made his professional boxing debut on October 15, 1994, beating Tim Daniels by decision in Birmingham, Alabama. He soon developed a cult following and became known as "King of the 4 Rounders". Speaking of his popularity in a 2008 interview with "BoxingInsider", Esch stated:


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch ran up a string of wins, mostly by knockout, before being stopped in two rounds by Mitchell Rose on December 15, 1995. He went on the road, around the United States, winning 51 consecutive matches, including against Peter McNeeley. While the majority of his opponents were technically limited club-level fighters early in his career, he did move up the ranks to win the IBA Super Heavyweight Championship on April 12, 1997, with a second round technical knockout of Ed White at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. He made five successful title defences before relinquishing his championship in 2000.


title: Eric Esch

text: After his five-year winning streak was brought to an end with a majority decision defeat by heavyweight Billy Zumbrun in August 2001, he fought his first ten rounder against fifty-two-year-old former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia, on July 27, 2002. While Holmes won a unanimous decision, Esch was credited with a controversial knockdown in the final round, which was later shown in filmed replays as not being a knockdown, no punch having landed, and it was a slip; and Holmes only reeled against the ropes. This was one of only three fights in a 109-fight career that was scheduled for more than four rounds.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean ventured into the sport of kickboxing in 2003 when he was recruited by K-1 and debuted with a first-round knockout of Yusuke Fujimoto at "K-1 Beast II 2003" in Saitama, Japan on June 29, 2003. K-1 was then keen to match him up with Ernesto Hoost, but he declined to take the fight on the advice of a friend who warned him of the Dutchman's kickboxing prowess. He instead faced Mike Bernardo in a non-tournament bout at the "K-1 Survival 2003 Japan Grand Prix Final" in Yokohama, Japan on September 21, 2003. He was floored twice with low kicks in the first round before being finished with a high kick in the second.


title: Eric Esch

text: In his first mixed martial arts bout, Esch took on Genki Sudo in an openweight affair at "K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!" in Nagoya, Japan, on December 31, 2003. Despite having a weight advantage over his foe, Butterbean was unable to capitalize as Sudo was unwilling to exchange strikes. "The Neo-Samurai" took Butterbean to the mat with a low, single-leg takedown at the end of round one and attempted a leglock only to be halted by the bell signaling the end of the round, which had been a stalemate up until then. Early in round two, the fighters tumbled to the ground after Sudo attempted a dropkick on Esch, and the Japanese grappling ace took full advantage of the American boxer's lack of grappling skill by securing a heel hook submission at the 0:41 mark.


title: Eric Esch

text: Returning to the kickboxing ring at "K-1 Beast 2004 in Niigata" on March 14, 2004, Butterbean lost a unanimous decision to Hiromi Amada as Amada peppered him with low kicks while Esch did little more than taunt his opponent throughout the match. He was scheduled to fight Bob Sapp soon afterwards, but claims that Sapp's management withdrew their fighter after discovering that Amada had needed hospital treatment after his bout with Esch. Butterbean lost his third consecutive K-1 match at "K-1 Beast 2004 in Shizuoka" on June 26, 2004, losing to giant Montanha Silva by unanimous decision.


title: Eric Esch

text: Competing in the eight-man tournament at the "K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii" in Honolulu on July 29, 2005, Esch put an end to his losing streak when he scored a third round standing eight count en route to a unanimous decision victory over brawler Marcus Royster in the quarterfinals. Despite the win, Butterbean sustained an injury to his left leg during the fight and could not continue and so Royster was entered back into the tournament in his place.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean appeared twice in World Wrestling Federation professional wrestling events, competing in boxing matches both times. On December 7, 1997, at the "" pay-per-view event, he defeated former Golden Gloves champion Marc Mero via disqualification in a worked match. 15 months later, Butterbean defeated WWF Brawl For All champion Bart Gunn in a legitimate shootfight at "WrestleMania XV" on March 28, 1999, knocking his opponent out in 34 seconds.


title: Eric Esch

text: In 2009 he returned to professional wrestling on the independent circuit. He defeated Trent Acid for the Pro Wrestling Syndicate Heavyweight title on May 29, 2009, in Garfield, New Jersey. On June 10, 2009, Butterbean defeated One Man Kru at OmegaCon at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama, at a wrestling event for charity. Nearly a year later he dropped to the title to Kevin Matthews on May 9, 2010. Also, he wrestled for Juggalo Championship Wrestling. On April 1, 2011, Butterbean teamed with Officer Adam Hadder in a tag-team match against One Man Kru and WWE Hall of Famer Brutus The Barber" Beefcake in a charity wrestling event taped for an episode of Big Law: Deputy Butterbean, a reality show which aired on Investigation Discovery. On March 31, 2012, he defeated Cliff Compton at the event WrestleRama Guyana in Georgetown, Guyana.


title: Eric Esch

text: Having lost his MMA debut to Genki Sudo, Esch stuck with the sport and regrouped, going 6–0–1 in appearances in King of the Cage, Gracie Fightfest, and Rumble on the Rock which included a TKO stoppage of Wesley "Cabbage" Correira at "Rumble on the Rock 8" in Honolulu on January 20, 2006, in a fight which took place under special rules, ground fighting being limited to fifteen seconds per instance regardless of the situation. He returned to Japan with the Pride Fighting Championships on August 26, 2006, to compete at "Pride Bushido 12" in Nagoya against Ikuhisa Minowa, a shoot wrestler known for his willingness to face much larger opponents, to whom he lost via armbar submission at 4:25 of round one.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean was set to fight Mark Hunt at the promotion's first North American show, "Pride 32" in Las Vegas on October 21, 2006, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission would not allow the match-up as they argued that Hunt's wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović gave him an unfair mat advantage. Pride had stated that "visa issues" were preventing Hunt from competing in the bout, but it was later confirmed that Hunt could not compete due to the NSAC's ruling. Pro wrestler Sean O'Haire stepped in as Hunt's replacement and Esch TKO'd him in under thirty seconds.


title: Eric Esch

text: Departing Pride briefly to compete in Cage Rage, Esch submitted to strikes from Rob Broughton in the second round of their contest at "Cage Rage 19" in London, England, on December 9, 2006. He then rebounded with a forty-three second knockout of James Thompson at "Cage Rage 20" on February 10, 2007.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean returned to Pride for the promotion's last event, "Pride 34" in Saitama on April 8, 2007, where he faced Zuluzinho in a bout where both men weighed in at (although the Brazilian was taller). Both fighters came out swinging before Zuluzinho scored a takedown. Esch reversed him, landing several hammer shots before finally submitting Zuluzinho with a key lock at 2:35 of the opening round.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean's next fight was on July 14, 2007, against reigning Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion Tengiz Tedoradze in a non-title bout at "Cage Rage 25", losing via TKO. Global Fighting Championships had scheduled a main event bout between Esch and Ruben Villareal for their inaugural event, but the event was canceled when half the scheduled matchups could not take place due to medical issues (Esch vs. Villareal was the only viable main event). He was then set to fight Jimmy Ambriz as the main event of Xcess Fighting's debut card, but was a no show for the weigh-in citing scheduling conflicts.


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch made a brief return to K-1 to fight at the "K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii" on August 9, 2008, rematching Wesley Correira in the quarterfinals and losing via a second-round high kick KO.


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch lost via first-round KO for the EBF title against Mark Potter at the Syndicate Nightclub in Blackpool, England on September 14, 2008. This fight has not been recorded on boxrec.com or any other site of the same nature, as Potter was not licensed at the time.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean made his independent professional wrestling debut at the Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama on March 28, 2009, at the ImagiCon horror movie, sci-fi movie, and comic book convention and was victorious against rapper/professional wrestler/film maker/actor Anthony "One Man Kru" Sanners via pinfall after smashing him with a vicious 400 lb. elbow drop. Butterbean won the Pro Wrestling Syndicate Heavyweight Championship on May 29, 2009, after defeating Trent Acid. Butterbean lost in a first round tko (submission) to Jeff Kugel on March 6, 2010, in Mount Clemens, Michigan in an MMA bout for Xtreme Cagefighting Championship 46: Beatdown at the Ballroom 9 in a devastating :40 second pummeling.


title: Eric Esch

text: In his final kickboxing match at "Moosin II" in Seoul, South Korea on July 29, 2009, Esch KO'd Moon-Bi Lam forty-six seconds into round one.


title: Eric Esch

text: On October 3, 2009, Esch lost a four-round split decision to Harry Funmaker whom he earlier beat on two occasions. After the bout he announced his retirement. He seemingly changed his mind, however, and soon returned to competition.


title: Eric Esch

text: On September 18, 2010, Esch was defeated by Mariusz Pudzianowski by submission due to strikes at "KSW XIV" in Łódź, Poland. After several exchanges of strikes on the feet, Pudzianowski attacked and took Esch down, proceeding to throw numerous punches from side control in a ground-and-pound attack. Esch, unable to get to his feet, submitted at just 1:15 into the first round.


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch next took on up-and-coming super heavyweight Deon West at the "LFC 43: Wild Thang"MMA internet pay-per-view on October 12, 2010. After a heated contest, Deon did not rise for the third round. Butterbean humbled Deon West via TKO at 5:00 of round two.


title: Eric Esch

text: On April 1, 2011, Butterbean returned to pro wrestling and teamed with his Walker County Sheriff Deputy partner Adam Hadder to take on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and One Man Kru in a tag-team match at the Battle Against Drugs charity benefit which was taped for Butterbean's reality show "Big Law". He appeared in February 2012 at Wrestlerama in Georgetown, Guyana where on entering the ring he told the crowd Guyana is his second home and was booed off because he mispronounced Guyana.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean defeated Dean Storey at "Elite 1 MMA: High Voltage" on May 7, 2011, in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, to claim the promotions super heavyweight title. He knocked out Storey 24 seconds into the second round.


title: Eric Esch

text: Many people have compared Butterbean to British warrior "Big" Ben Copley, with similar stature and size. The two were scheduled to meet in a 6-round contest, with the British man ultimately stepping down. After this, Butterbean ultimately retired from competition.


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch is a reserve deputy sheriff in his hometown of Jasper, Alabama, and starred in the reality television documentary entitled "Big Law: Deputy Butterbean", which debuted on the Investigation Discovery channel in August 2011. He described the genesis of the show: They came to me wanting to do a reality documentary on my restaurant and I was in the process of closing my restaurant down. I said "If you want something interesting and fun to watch, follow us on our drug busts in the sheriff's department." They agreed people would be interested in this. "They started following us, filming it and documenting us actually making the busts. You arrest somebody and say "Look, if you don't want to go to jail you've got to help us bust a bigger guy." We make a bigger bust from that. The whole goal is to get people on file and lessen the number of criminals on the streets.


title: Eric Esch

text: I think this show is going to prove that people really care about the communities they lived in. There's going to be more people calling (the police station) saying "Hey, this guy is doing this crime. You should look into it." We want people to step forward and help the police clean up our communities.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean appeared in the film "", in a public stunt: an arranged fight with Johnny Knoxville in a department store. After the fight began, Knoxville fell, got up, was asked by Butterbean to hit him at least once. Knoxville did so, was easily knocked to the floor by Esch, and received several stitches in his head after the encounter (the camera appears to show Knoxville snoring, but Knoxville stated in an interview with "Vanity Fair" that he was actually trying to swallow his tongue as a result of being knocked out). After waking up, a groggy Knoxville jokingly asked if Butterbean survived the fight. Knoxville stated that Esch is actually quite friendly outside of the ring, despite his fearsome ringside demeanor.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean also appeared in the film "Chairman of the Board" as the Museum Security Guard with the "chia hair", a fact that is pointed out on the DVD commentary by the film's star Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean appeared on Adult Swim's "Squidbillies", where he sang the national anthem, finally beating up a fan for not taking off his hat.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean appeared on CMT's "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" television show, on Team Beefcake.


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean was referenced on NBC's "Parenthood" (2010). The episode, which aired on October 5, 2010, was titled "Date Night".


title: Eric Esch

text: In June 2013, Butterbean was interviewed in Australia on Fox Sports programme, "Monday Nights with Matty Johns".


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean appeared on TruTV's "Friends of the People" in a sketch as "Dr. Butterbean", using his sweet science boxing skills as an anesthesiologist. The Season 2 Episode 7 was called "Great White Haters"..


title: Eric Esch

text: On September 22, 2022, Butterbean will appear on an episode of Celebrity Family Feud titled "The Cast of Jackass", as part of the Tremaine family, competing against the Knoxville family.


title: Eric Esch

text: On July 16, 2005, Butterbean fought Dieter of "Rover's Morning Glory", in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, in a bout billed as "War on the Shore".


title: Eric Esch

text: Butterbean was featured on the cover of, and was the final boss character in, the EA Sports game "Toughman Contest", released in 1995 for the Sega Genesis and Sega 32X. He also appeared as a playable character in all of the EA Sports boxing video games in the "Knockout Kings" series. In the 2007 PC game "The Witcher", the main character can challenge a tavern fistfighter (with a body structure similar to that of Esch) by the name of Butter Bean during the second chapter of the game. Butterbean is a playable fighter in EA's fifth installment of the "Fight Night" series "Fight Night Champion".


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch is married to Libby Gaskin and has three children: sons Brandon and Caleb, and daughter Grace. Both of his sons used to be mixed martial artists.


title: Eric Esch

text: Esch opened a family-run restaurant in Jasper, Alabama in 2018, called Mr. Bean's BBQ. A previous restaurant was closed due to Esch's traveling commitments at the time.


title: Anoa'i family

text: The Anoaʻi family ( ) is a family of professional wrestlers originating from American Samoa. Family members have comprised several tag teams and stables within a variety of promotions. Famous members of the family include Rosey, WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi, Umaga, WWE Hall of Famer Yokozuna, Roman Reigns, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), Solo Sikoa, and WWE Hall of Fame brothers the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika Anoaʻi). Peter Maivia and his grandson Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson are considered Legend members.


title: Anoa'i family

text: Reverend Amituana'i Anoaʻi and Peter Maivia were blood brothers, a connection that continued with Afa and Sika, who regard Peter as their uncle. Peter married Ofelia "Lia" Fuataga, who already had a daughter named Ata, whom he adopted and raised as his own. Ata married wrestler Rocky Johnson, and the couple became the parents of Dwayne Johnson, who wrestled as "Rocky Maivia" and "The Rock" before establishing himself as an actor. Peter's first cousin Joseph Fanene was the father of Savelina Fanene, who was formerly known in WWE as Nia Jax. Savelina also has a younger brother, Hin Hins Man. Trinity Fatu, known in WWE as Naomi, married into the family by marrying Jimmy Uso.


title: Anoa'i family

text: Hollywood stuntman Tanoai Reed (known as Toa on the new "American Gladiators") is the great nephew of wrestling promoter Lia Maivia (Peter Maivia's wife), while professional wrestler Lina Fanene (Nia Jax) is Dwayne Johnson's second cousin once removed. Johnson's daughter Simone performs in WWE's developmental league NXT as Ava Raine, a member of The Schism, a villainous stable led by Joe Gacy. Sean Maluta, nephew of Afa Anoaʻi, was a participant in WWE's first Cruiserweight Classic tournament. Zilla Fatu, son of the late Eddie “Umaga” Fatu, has begun training at Booker T's Reality of Wrestling.


title: Anoa'i family

text: In WWE from 2002 to 2003 Matt Anoaʻi and Eddie Fatu formed a tag team using the names Rosey and Jamal, respectively. 3-Minute Warning acted as enforcers for Raw brand General Manager Eric Bischoff. The team was used to squash any activity in the ring that Bischoff deemed "boring". Bischoff would often cue the team's surprise entrances by uttering the phrase "three minutes."


title: Anoa'i family

text: Samoan Gangstas was a tag team in the independent promotion World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW). The tag team consisted of members from the Anoaʻi family.


title: Anoa'i family

text: Samoan Gangstas was a tag team made up of brothers from another mothers Matt E. Smalls and Sweet Sammy Silk (Matt and Samu Anoaʻi). Their tag team was formed in 1997 in WXW, the promotion of one half of The Wild Samoans, Samu's father and Matt's uncle Afa Anoaʻi. The duo received success in WXW in the tag team division. On June 24, they won their first WXW Tag Team Championship by beating Love Connection (Sweet Daddy Jay Love and Georgie Love). However, they were temporarily suspended and the title was declared vacant. Matt was repackaged as Matty Smalls. They returned in the summer of 1997 and defeated Siberian Express (The Mad Russian and Russian Eliminator), on September 17 to win their second WXW Tag Team Championship.


title: Anoa'i family

text: Problems began between Smalls and Smooth. The two partners began feuding with each other and could not focus properly on their tag title. On March 27, 1998, Smooth defeated Smalls in a Loser Leaves Town match. As a result of losing this match, Smalls was forced to leave the promotion. He left WXW while Smooth focused on a singles career. After a short while, Smalls returned to WXW and the two partners reunited again as Samoan Gangstas and began teaming in the tag team division. They feuded with several tag teams in WXW and focused to regain the WXW Tag Team Championship. However, due to their family disputes and problems with each other, they did not take part in the tournament for the vacated tag title, and instead feuded with each other. Samoan Gangstas feuded with each other after their splitting until Smalls left WXW and began wrestling as Kimo. He began teaming with Ekmo (Eddie Fatu) as The Island Boyz and the duo worked in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) before signing with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and working in its developmental territories.


title: Anoa'i family

text: The Sons of Samoa are a tag team currently wrestling in the Puerto Rican wrestling promotion World Wrestling Council and WXW. The team consists of Afa Jr. and L.A. Smooth.


title: Anoa'i family

text: The team was formed at WXW in 1998, briefly as a stable with Samu. The team reformed in April 2009 at a WXW show with Afa Jr. and L.A. Smooth. In 2013, they began wrestling at the WWC promotion in Puerto Rico. At Euphoria 2013, they lost to Thunder and Lightning. They won the WWC World Tag Team Championship from Thunder and Lightning on February 9, before losing the titles back to Thunder and Lightning on March 30 at Camino a la Gloria. However, they won the titles on June 29, 2013, at Summer Madness.


title: Anoa'i family

text: The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are a Samoan American professional wrestling tag team consisting of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso, who appear in WWE where they are three-time Raw Tag Team Champions (during their first two reigns, it was called the WWE Tag Team Championship). They are also five-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions—their fifth reign is the longest reign for the title as well as the longest male tag team championship reign in WWE history.. The pair were previously managed by Tamina Snuka and are one-time FCW Florida Tag Team Champions.


title: Anoa'i family

text: The Bloodline is a villainous professional wrestling stable currently performing in WWE. The group is led by Roman Reigns, who currently is recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, as he concurrently holds both the WWE and Universal Championships. Also in the group are Reigns' cousins The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), who are currently recognized as Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, as they concurrently hold both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships. The Usos' younger brother Solo Sikoa joined the group in September 2022 and is a former NXT North American Champion. The group is managed by Paul Heyman while Sami Zayn is an honorary member.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year career in film and, later, television. He was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor (winning once), and he also won two BAFTA Awards and one Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor. The American Film Institute ranks Lancaster as of the greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster performed as a circus acrobat in the 1930s. After serving in World War II, the 33-year-old Lancaster landed a role in a Broadway play and drew the attention of a Hollywood agent. His breakthrough role was in the film noir "The Killers" in 1946 alongside Ava Gardner. A critical success, it launched both of their careers. Not long after in 1948, Lancaster starred alongside Barbara Stanwyck in the commercially and critically acclaimed film "Sorry, Wrong Number" where he portrayed the husband to her bedridden, invalid character. In 1953, Lancaster played the illicit lover of Deborah Kerr in the military drama "From Here to Eternity". A box office smash, it won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and landed a Best Actor nomination for Lancaster.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Later in the 1950s, he starred in "The Rainmaker" (1956), with Katharine Hepburn, earning a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination, and in 1957 he starred in "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957) with frequent co-star Kirk Douglas. During the 1950s, his production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, was highly successful, with Lancaster acting in films such as: "Trapeze" (1956), a box office smash in which he used his acrobatic skills and for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor; "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957), a dark drama today considered a classic; "Run Silent, Run Deep" (1958), a WWII submarine drama with Clark Gable; and "Separate Tables" (1958), a hotel-set drama which received seven Oscar nominations.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In the early 1960s, Lancaster starred in a string of critically successful films, each in very disparate roles. Playing a charismatic biblical con-man in "Elmer Gantry" in 1960 won him the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Actor. He played a Nazi war criminal in 1961 in the all-star, war-crime-trial film, "Judgment at Nuremberg". Playing a bird expert prisoner in "Birdman of Alcatraz" in 1962, he earned the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor and his third Oscar nomination. In 1963, Lancaster traveled to Italy to star as an Italian prince in the epic period drama "The Leopard". In 1964, he played a US Air Force General who, opposed by a Colonel played by Douglas, tries to overthrow the President in "Seven Days in May". Then, in 1966, he played an explosives expert in the western "The Professionals". Although the reception to his 1968 film "The Swimmer" was initially lackluster upon release, in the years after it has grown in stature critically and attained a cult following.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1970, Lancaster starred in the box-office hit, air-disaster drama "Airport". He experienced a career resurgence in 1980 with the crime-romance "Atlantic City", winning the BAFTA for Best Actor and landing his fourth Oscar nomination. Starting in the late 1970s, he also appeared in television mini-series, including the award-winning "Separate but Equal" with Sidney Poitier. He continued acting into his late 70s, until a stroke in 1990 forced him to retire; four years later he died from a heart attack. His final film role was in the Oscar-nominated "Field of Dreams".


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster was born on November 2, 1913, in Manhattan, New York, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, the son of Elizabeth ("née" Roberts) and mailman James Lancaster. Both of his parents were Protestants of working-class origin. All four of his grandparents were emigrants from Ireland to the United States, from the province of Ulster; his maternal grandparents were from Belfast and were descendants of English dissenters who had emigrated to Ireland as part of the Plantation of Ulster.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets. He developed a great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was a basketball star. Before he graduated from DeWitt Clinton, his mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Lancaster was accepted by New York University with an athletic scholarship, but subsequently dropped out.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: At the age of 9, Lancaster met Nick Cravat with whom he developed a lifelong partnership. Together, they learned to act in local theatre productions and circus arts at Union Settlement, one of the city's oldest settlement houses. In the 1930s, they formed the acrobat duo "Lang and Cravat" and soon joined the Kay Brothers circus. However, in 1939, an injury forced Lancaster to give up the profession, with great regret. He then found temporary work, first as a salesman for Marshall Fields and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: After the United States entered World War II, Lancaster joined the United States Army in January 1943 and performed with the Army's 21st Special Services Division, one of the military groups organized to follow the troops on the ground and provide USO entertainment to keep up morale. He served with General Mark Clark's Fifth Army in Italy from 1943 to 1945. He was discharged October 1945 and was an entertainment specialist with the rank of technician fifth grade.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster returned to New York after his Army service. Although initially unenthusiastic about acting, Lancaster was encouraged to audition for a Broadway play by a producer who saw him in an elevator while he was visiting his then-girlfriend at work. The audition was successful and Lancaster was cast in Harry Brown's "A Sound of Hunting" (1945). The show only ran three weeks, but his performance attracted the interest of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht. Lancaster had other offers but Hecht promised him the opportunity to produce their own movies within five years of hitting Hollywood.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Through Hecht, Lancaster was brought to the attention of producer Hal B. Wallis, who signed him to a non-exclusive eight-movie contract.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster's first filmed movie was "Desert Fury" for Wallis in 1947, where Lancaster was billed after John Hodiak and Lizabeth Scott. It was directed by Lewis Allen.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Then producer Mark Hellinger approached him to star in 1946's "The Killers", which was completed and released prior to "Desert Fury". Directed by Robert Siodmak, it was a great commercial and critical success and launched Lancaster and his co-star Ava Gardner to stardom. It has since come to be regarded as a classic.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Hellinger used Lancaster again on "Brute Force" in 1947, a prison drama written by Richard Brooks and directed by Jules Dassin. It was also well received. Wallis released his films through Paramount, and so Lancaster and other Wallis contractees made cameos in "Variety Girl" in 1947.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster's next film was a thriller for Wallis in 1947, "I Walk Alone", co-starring Lizabeth Scott and a young Kirk Douglas, who was also under contract to Wallis. "Variety" listed it as one of the top grossers of the year, taking in more than 2 million dollars.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1948, Lancaster had a change of pace with the film adaptation of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons", made at Universal Pictures with Edward G. Robinson. His third film for Wallis was an adaptation of "Sorry, Wrong Number" in 1948, with Barbara Stanwyck.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Hecht kept to his promise to Lancaster to turn producer. The two of them formed a company, Norma Productions, and did a deal with Universal to make a thriller about a disturbed G.I. in London, "Kiss the Blood Off My Hands" in 1948, with Joan Fontaine and directed by Norman Foster. It made a profit of only $50,000, but was critically acclaimed.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Back in Hollywood, Lancaster made another film noir with Siodmak, "Criss Cross", in 1949. It was originally going to be produced by Hellinger and when Hellinger died, another took over. Tony Curtis made an early appearance.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Norma Productions signed a three-picture deal with Warner Bros. The first was 1950's "The Flame and the Arrow", a swashbuckler movie, in which Lancaster drew on his circus skills. Nick Cravat had a supporting role and the film was a huge commercial success, making $6 million. It was Warners' most popular film of the year and established an entirely new image for Lancaster.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster was borrowed by 20th Century Fox for "Mister 880" in 1950, a comedy with Edmund Gwenn. MGM put him in a popular Western, "Vengeance Valley" in 1951, then he went to Warners to play the title role in the biopic "Jim Thorpe – All-American", also in 1951.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Norma signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to make two films through a Norma subsidiary, Halburt. The first film was 1951's "Ten Tall Men", where Lancaster was a member of the French Foreign Legion. Robert Aldrich worked on the movie as a production manager.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: The second was 1952's "The First Time", a comedy which was the directorial debut of Frank Tashlin. It was meant to star Lancaster but he wound up not appearing in the filmthe first of their productions in which he did not act.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1951, the actor/producer duo changed the company's name to Hecht-Lancaster Productions. The first film under the new name was another swashbuckler: 1952's "The Crimson Pirate", directed by Siodmak. Co-starring Cravat, it was extremely popular.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster changed pace once more by doing a straight dramatic part in 1952's "Come Back, Little Sheba", based on a Broadway hit, with Shirley Booth, produced by Wallis and directed by Daniel Mann.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Alternating with adventure films, he went into "South Sea Woman" in 1952 at Warners. Part of the Norma-Warners contract was that Lancaster had to appear in some non-Norma films, of which this was one.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1954, for his own company, Lancaster produced and starred in "His Majesty O'Keefe", a South Sea island tale shot in Fiji. It was co-written by James Hill, who would soon become a part of the Hecht-Lancaster partnership.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Hecht and Lancaster left Warners for United Artists, for what began as a two-picture deal, the first of which was to be 1954's "Apache", starring Lancaster as a Native American.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: They followed it with another Western in 1954, "Vera Cruz", co-starring Gary Cooper and produced by Hill. Both films were directed by Robert Aldrich and were hugely popular.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: United Artists signed Hecht-Lancaster to a multi-picture contract, to make seven films over two years. These included films in which Lancaster did not act. Their first was "Marty" in 1955, based on Paddy Chayefsky's TV play starring Ernest Borgnine and directed by Delbert Mann. It won both the Best Picture Oscar and the Palme d'Or award at Cannes and Borgnine an Best Actor Oscar. It also earned $2 million on a budget of $350,000. "Vera Cruz" had been a huge success, but "Marty" secured Hecht-Lancaster as one of the most successful independent production companies in Hollywood at the time. "Marty" star Ernest Borgnine was under contract to Hecht-Lancaster and was unhappy about his lack of upcoming roles, especially after only receiving some seven lines in 1957's "Sweet Smell of Success" and half of his pay for "Marty". He eventually sued for breach of contract to gain back some of this money in 1957.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Without Hill, Hecht and Lancaster produced "The Kentuckian" in 1955; it was directed by Lancaster in his directorial debut, and he also played a lead role. Lancaster disliked directing and only did it once more, in the 1970s ("The Midnight Man", 1974).


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster still had commitments with Wallis, and made "The Rose Tattoo" for him in 1955, starring with Anna Magnani and Daniel Mann directing. It was very popular at the box office and critically acclaimed, winning Magnani an Oscar.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1955, Hill was made an equal partner in Hecht-Lancaster, with his name added to the production company. Hecht-Hill-Lancaster (HHL) released their first film "Trapeze" in 1956, with Lancaster performing many of his own stunts. The film, co-starring Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida, went on to become the production company's top box office success, and United Artists expanded its deal with HHL.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1956, Lancaster and Hecht partnered with Loring Buzzell and entered the music industry with the music publishing companies Leigh Music, Hecht-Lancaster & Buzzell Music, Calyork Music and Colby Music and the record labels Calyork Records and Maine Records.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: The HHL team impressed Hollywood with its success; as "Life" wrote in 1957, "[a]fter the independent production of a baker's dozen of pictures, it has yet to have its first flop ... (They were also good pictures.)." In late 1957, they announced they would make ten films worth $14 million in 1958.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster made two films for Wallis to complete his eight film commitment for that contract: "The Rainmaker" (1956) with Katharine Hepburn, which earned Lancaster a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor; and "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957) with Kirk Douglas, which was a huge commercial hit directed by John Sturges.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster re-teamed with Tony Curtis in 1957 for "Sweet Smell of Success", a co-production between Hecht-Hill-Lancaster and Curtis' own company with wife Janet Leigh, Curtleigh Productions. The movie, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, was a critical success but a commercial disappointment. Over the years it has come to be regarded as one of Lancaster's greatest films.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: HHL produced seven additional films in the late 1950s. Four starred Lancaster: "Run Silent, Run Deep" (1958), a Robert Wise directed war film with Clark Gable, which was mildly popular; "Separate Tables" (1958) a hotel-set drama with Kerr and Rita Hayworth (who married James Hill), which received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Oscar awards for lead actor David Niven and supporting actress Wendy Hiller, and was both a critical and commercial success; "The Devil's Disciple" (1959), with Douglas and Laurence Olivier, which lost money (and saw Lancaster fire Mackendrick during shooting); and the Western "The Unforgiven" (1960), with Audrey Hepburn, which was a critical and commercial disappointment.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Three were made without Lancaster, all of which lost money: "The Bachelor Party" (1957), from another TV play by Chayefsky, and directed by Delbert Mann; "Take a Giant Step" (1959), about a black student; and "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" (1960), from an Australian play, shot on location in Australia and Britain.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: The Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions company dissolved in 1960 after Hill ruptured his relationship with both Hecht and Lancaster.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster played the title role in "Elmer Gantry" (1960), written and directed by Richard Brooks for United Artists. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor. Lancaster won the 1960 Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award, and the New York Film Critics Award for his performance.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Hecht and Lancaster worked together on "The Young Savages" (1961), directed by John Frankenheimer and produced by Hecht. Sydney Pollack worked as a dialogue coach.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster starred in "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961) for Stanley Kramer, alongside Spencer Tracy, Richard Widmark and a number of other iconic stars. The film was both a commercial and critical success, receiving 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He then did another film with Hecht and Frankenheimer (replacing Charles Crichton), "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962), a largely fictionalized biography. In it he plays Robert Stroud, a federal prisoner incarcerated for life for two murders, who begins to collect birds and over time becomes an expert in bird diseases, even publishing a book. The film shows Stroud transferred to the maximum security Alcatraz prison where he is not allowed to keep birds and as he ages he gets married, markets bird remedies, helps stop a prison rebellion, and writes a book on the history of the U.S. penal system, but never gets paroled. The sympathetic performance earned Lancaster a Best Actor Oscar nomination, a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Dramatic Role. Hecht went on to produce five films without Lancaster's assistance, through his company Harold Hecht Films Productions between 1961 and 1967, including another Academy Award winner, "Cat Ballou", starring Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster made "A Child Is Waiting" (1963) with Judy Garland. It was produced by Kramer and directed by John Cassavetes.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He went to Italy to star in "The Leopard" (1963) for Luchino Visconti, co-starring Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale. It was one of Lancaster's favourite films and was a big hit in France but failed in the US (though the version released was much truncated).


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He had a small role in "The List of Adrian Messenger" (1963) for producer/star Kirk Douglas, and then did two for Frankenheimer: "Seven Days in May" (1964), a political thriller with Douglas, and "The Train" (1964), a World War Two action film (Lancaster had Frankenheimer replace Arthur Penn several days into filming).


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster starred in "The Hallelujah Trail" (1965), a comic Western produced and directed by John Sturges which failed to recoup its large cost.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He had a big hit with "The Professionals" (1966), a Western directed by Brooks and also starring Lee Marvin.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1966, at the age of 53, Lancaster appeared nude in director Frank Perry's film "The Swimmer" (1968), in what the critic Roger Ebert called "his finest performance". Prior to working on "The Swimmer", Lancaster was terrified of the water because he did not know how to swim. In preparation for the film, he took swimming lessons from UCLA swim coach Bob Horn. Filming was difficult and clashes between Lancaster and Perry led to Sydney Pollack coming in to do some filming. The film was not released until 1968, when it proved to be a commercial failure, though Lancaster remained proud of the movie and his performance.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1967, Lancaster formed a new partnership with Roland Kibbee, who had already worked as a writer on five Lancaster projects:


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Through Norlan Productions, Lancaster and Kibbee produced "The Scalphunters" in 1968, directed by Sydney Pollack.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster followed it with another film from Pollack, "Castle Keep" in 1969, which was a big flop. So was "The Gypsy Moths", for Frankenheimer, also in 1969.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster had one of the biggest successes of his career with "Airport" in 1970, starring alongside Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Van Heflin, Helen Hayes, Maureen Stapleton, Barbara Hale, Jean Seberg and Jacqueline Bisset. The Ross Hunter film received nine Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture. It became one of the biggest box-office hits of 1970 and, at that time, reportedly the highest-grossing film in the history of Universal Pictures.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He then went into a series of Westerns: "Lawman" in 1971, directed by Michael Winner; "Valdez Is Coming" in 1971, for Norlan; and "Ulzana's Raid" in 1972, directed by Aldrich and produced by himself and Hecht. None were particularly popular but "Ulzana's Raid" has become a cult film.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster returned to directing in 1974 with "The Midnight Man", which he also wrote and produced with Kibee.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He made a second film with Visconti, "Conversation Piece" in 1974 and played the title role in the TV series "Moses the Lawgiver", also in 1974.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster was one of many names in 1975's "1900", directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, and he had a cameo in 1976's "Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson" for Robert Altman.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He played Shimon Peres in the TV movie "Victory at Entebbe" in 1977 and had a supporting role in "The Cassandra Crossing" in 1976. He made a fourth and final film with Aldrich, "Twilight's Last Gleaming" in 1977, and had the title role in 1977's "The Island of Dr. Moreau".


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster was top-billed in "Go Tell the Spartans" in 1978, a Vietnam War film; Lancaster admired the script so much that he took a reduced fee and donated money to help the movie to be completed. He was in "Zulu Dawn" in 1979.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster began the 1980s with a highly acclaimed performance alongside Susan Sarandon in "Atlantic City" in 1980, directed by Louis Malle. The film received 5 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and a Best Actor nomination for Lancaster.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He had key roles in "Cattle Annie and Little Britches" in 1981, "The Skin" in 1982 with Cardinale, "Marco Polo", also in 1982, and "Local Hero" in 1983.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: By now, Lancaster was mostly a character actor in features, as in "The Osterman Weekend" in 1983, but he was the lead in the TV movie "Scandal Sheet" in 1985.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He was in "Little Treasure" in 1985, directed by Alan Sharp, who had written "Ulzana's Raid"; "On Wings of Eagles" for TV in 1986, as Bull Simons; 1986's made for TV "Barnum" starred him in the title role; "Tough Guys" reunited him on the big screen with Kirk Douglas in 1986; "" in 1986 for German TV; 1987's "Control" made in Italy; "Rocket Gibraltar" in 1988, and "The Jeweller's Shop" in 1989.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: His first critical success in a while was "Field of Dreams" in 1989, in which he played a supporting role as Moonlight Graham. He was also in the miniseries "The Betrothed" in 1989.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster's final performances included TV miniseries "The Phantom of the Opera" (1990); "" (1990) as Leon Klinghoffer based on the 1985 incident; and "Separate But Equal" (1991) with Sidney Poitier.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster appeared in a total of 17 films produced by his agent, Harold Hecht. Eight of these were co-produced by James Hill. He also appeared in eight films produced by Hal B. Wallis and two with producer Mark Hellinger. Although Lancaster's work alongside Kirk Douglas was mostly known as a successful pair of actors, Douglas, in fact, produced four films for the pair, through his production companies Bryna Productions and Joel Productions. Roland Kibbee also produced three Lancaster films, and Lancaster was also cast in two Stanley Kramer productions.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Kirk Douglas starred in seven films across the decades with Burt Lancaster: "I Walk Alone" (1948), "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (1957), "The Devil's Disciple" (1959), "The List of Adrian Messenger" (1963), "Seven Days in May" (1964), "Victory at Entebbe" (1976) and "Tough Guys" (1986), which fixed the notion of the pair as something of a team in the public imagination. Douglas was always billed under Lancaster in these movies but, with the exception of "I Walk Alone", in which Douglas played a villain, their roles were usually more or less the same size. Both actors arrived in Hollywood at about the same time, and first appeared together in the fourth film for each, albeit with Douglas in a supporting role. They both became actor-producers who sought out independent Hollywood careers.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He was directed four times by Robert Aldrich, three times each by Robert Siodmak and Sydney Pollack, and twice each by Byron Haskin, Daniel Mann, John Sturges, John Huston, Richard Brooks, Alexander Mackendrick, Luchino Visconti, and Michael Winner.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Roland Kibbee wrote for seven Lancaster films. Lancaster used makeup veteran Robert Schiffer in 20 credited films, hiring Schiffer on nearly all of the films he produced.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster was a vocal supporter of progressive and liberal political causes. He frequently spoke out in support of racial and other minorities. As a result, he was often a target of FBI investigations. He was named in President Richard Nixon's 1973 "Enemies List".


title: Burt Lancaster

text: A vocal opponent of the Vietnam War, he helped pay for the successful defense of a soldier accused of "fragging" (i.e., murdering) another soldier during war-time. In 1968, Lancaster actively supported the presidential candidacy of anti-war Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and frequently spoke on his behalf during the Democratic primaries.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster was also active in anti-death penalty activism. He campaigned heavily for George McGovern in the 1972 United States presidential election.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1985, Lancaster joined the fight against AIDS after fellow movie star Rock Hudson contracted the disease. Lancaster delivered Hudson's last words at the Commitment to Life fundraiser at a time when the stigma surrounding AIDS was at its height. He was the only major male star who attended.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Of his political opinions, frequent co-star Tony Curtis said: "Here's this great big aggressive guy that looks like a ding-dong athlete playing these big tough guys and he has the soul of—who were those first philosophers of equality?—Socrates, Plato. He was a Greek philosopher with a sense that everybody was equal."


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Actor and SAG president Ed Asner said he showed everybody in Hollywood "how to be a liberal with balls".


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1947, Lancaster reportedly signed a statement release by the National Council of Arts, Sciences and Professions (NCASP) asking Congress to abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). He was also a member of the short-lived Committee for the First Amendment, formed in support of the Hollywood Ten. He was one of 26 movie stars who flew to Washington in October 1947 to protest against the HUAC hearings. The committee's "Hollywood Fights Back" broadcasts on ABC Radio Network were two 30-minute programs that took place on October 27 and November 2, 1947, during which committee members voiced their opposition to the HUAC hearings. Many members faced blacklisting and backlash due to their involvement in the committee. Lancaster was listed in anti-communist literature as a fellow traveler.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He and his second wife, Norma, hosted a fundraiser for Martin Luther King Jr. and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) ahead of the historic March on Washington in 1963. He attended the march, where he was one of the speakers. He flew in from France for the event, where he was shooting "The Train", and flew back again the next day, despite a reported fear of flying.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1968, Lancaster was elected to serve as chairman of the Roger Baldwin Foundation, a newly formed fund-raising arm of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. His co-chairs were Frank Sinatra and Irving L. Lichtenstein. In October 1968, he hosted a party at his home to raise money for the ACLU to use for the defense of the more than four hundred people at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Throughout the years, he remained an ardent supporter and a fundraiser for the organization.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: While serving as a member of the five-person ACLU Foundation executive committee, he cast the key vote to retain Ramona Ripston as executive director of the Southern California affiliate, a position she would build into a powerful advocacy force in Los Angeles politics. Ripston later recalled: "There was a feeling that a woman couldn't run the ACLU foundation, nor have access to the books. The vote finally came down to two 'yes' and two 'no.' Who had the deciding vote? Burt. He had a scotch or two and finally he said, 'I think she should be executive director.' I always loved him for that."


title: Burt Lancaster

text: When President George H. W. Bush derided Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis as a "card-carrying member of the ACLU", Lancaster was one of the supporters featured in the organization's first television advertising campaign stating: "I'm a card-carrying member of the ACLU" and "No one agrees with every single thing they've done. But no one can disagree with the guiding principle—with liberty and justice for all.'" He also campaigned for Michael Dukakis in the 1988 United States presidential election.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster guarded his personal life and attempted to keep it private despite his stardom. He was married three times and had five children. He also had many affairs, male and female, according to his family.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: His first marriage was to June Ernst, a trapeze acrobat. Ernst was the daughter of a renowned female aerialist and an accomplished acrobat herself. After they were married, he performed with her family and her until their separation in the late 1930s. When they divorced is unclear; contemporary reports listed 1940, but subsequent biographers have suggested dates as late as 1946, thus delaying his marriage to his second wife.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: He met second wife Norma Anderson (1917–1988) when the stenographer substituted for an ill actress in a USO production for the troops in Italy. Reportedly, on seeing Lancaster in the crowd on her way to town from the airport, she turned to an officer and asked, "Who is that good-looking officer and is he married?" The officer set up a blind date between the two for that evening. They married in 1946. Norma was active in political causes with an entire room in their Bel Air home devoted to her major interest, the League of Woman Voters, crammed with printing presses and all the necessary supplies for mass mailings. She was a life-long member of the NAACP. The couple held a fundraiser for Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference ahead of the 1963 March on Washington. All five of his children were with Anderson: Bill (who became an actor and screenwriter), James, Susan, Joanna (who worked as a film producer), and Sighle (pronounced "Sheila"). However, it was a troubled marriage. The pair separated in 1966, and finally divorced in 1969.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In 1966, Lancaster began a long-term relationship with hairdresser Jackie Bone, who worked on "The Professionals". The relationship was tempestuous, with Bone once smashing a wine bottle over Lancaster's head at a dinner with Sydney Pollack and Peter Falk. Reportedly, they eventually split up after her religious conversion, which Lancaster believed he could not share with her.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: According to biographer Kate Buford in "Burt Lancaster: An American Life", Lancaster was devotedly loyal to his friends and family. Old friends from his childhood remained his friends for life.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Friends said 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.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: In her 1980 autobiography, Shelley Winters claimed to have had a two-year affair with him, during which time he was considering separation from his wife. In his Hollywood memoirs, friend Farley Granger recalled an incident when Lancaster and he had to come to Winters' rescue one evening when she had inadvertently overdosed on alcohol and sleeping pills. She broke up with him for "cheating on her with his wife" after she heard reports of his wife's third or fourth pregnancy. Lancaster and Winters performed together in the 1949 radio play adaptation of "The Killers". They appeared in two films together: "The Young Savages", where she played his character's former lover, and "The Scalphunters".


title: Burt Lancaster

text: As Lancaster reached his 60s, he began to be affected by cardiovascular disease. In January 1980, he had complications from a routine gall bladder operation, and in 1983, following two minor heart attacks, he underwent an emergency quadruple coronary bypass. He continued to act, however, and to engage in public activism. In 1988, he attended a congressional hearing in Washington, DC, with former colleagues who included James Stewart and Ginger Rogers to protest against media magnate Ted Turner's plan to colorize various black-and-white films from the 1930s and 1940s. On November 30, 1990, when he was 77, a stroke left him partially paralyzed and largely unable to speak, ending his acting career.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Burt Lancaster died at his apartment in Century City, Los Angeles, after having a third heart attack at 4:50 am on October 20, 1994, about two weeks shy of his 81st birthday. His body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered under a large oak tree in Westwood Memorial Park, which is located in Westwood Village, California. A small, square ground plaque amid several others, inscribed "Burt Lancaster 1913–1994", marks the location. As he had previously requested, upon his death, no memorial or funeral service was held for him.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: The centennial of Lancaster's birth was honored at New York City's Film Society of Lincoln Center in May 2013 with the screening of 12 of the actor's best-known films, from "The Killers" to "Atlantic City".


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Lancaster was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1954 for "From Here to Eternity", in 1961 for "Elmer Gantry", in 1964 for "Birdman of Alcatraz", and in 1982 for "Atlantic City" and won the award in 1961. Lancaster's leading role in Luchino Visconti's 1963 canonical "The Leopard" began a series of roles with important European art film directors that included roles in Bernardo Bertolucci's "1900" and Louis Malle's "Atlantic City" as well as Visconti's "Conversation Piece".


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Spanish music group Hombres G released an album named "La cagaste, Burt Lancaster" ("You messed up, Burt Lancaster") in 1986.


title: Burt Lancaster

text: Thomas Hart Benton painted a scene from "The Kentuckian" as part of the film's marketing. Lancaster posed for the painting, also known as "The Kentuckian".


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. First staged in 2011, the play is a satirical examination of the beliefs and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The musical ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service, according to David Brooks of "The New York Times". Parker and Stone were best known for creating the animated comedy "South Park;" Lopez had co-written the music for the musical "Avenue Q."


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: "The Book of Mormon" follows two Latter-day Saints missionaries as they attempt to preach the faith of the Church to the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village. The earnest young men are challenged by the lack of interest from the locals, who are distracted by more pressing issues such as HIV/AIDS, famine, female genital mutilation, child molestation, and oppression by the local warlord.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: In 2003, after Parker and Stone saw "Avenue Q", they joined forces with Lopez, the musical's co-writer, meeting sporadically for several years. Parker and Stone grew up in Colorado, and references to the Church had been commonplace in their previous works. For research, the trio took a trip to Salt Lake City to meet with current and former Mormon missionaries. Beginning in 2008, developmental workshops were staged. The show's producers, Scott Rudin and Anne Garefino, opted to open the show directly on Broadway.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: The show opened in March 2011, after nearly seven years of development. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints responded indifferently; however, they did purchase advertising space in its playbill in later runs. "The Book of Mormon" garnered overwhelmingly positive critical responses, and set records in ticket sales for the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. The show was awarded nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The original Broadway cast recording became the highest-charting Broadway cast album in over four decades, reaching number three on the "Billboard" charts. In 2013, the musical premiered in the West End, followed by two US national tours. A production in Melbourne and the first non-English version, in Stockholm, both opened in January 2017. Productions in Oslo and Copenhagen followed.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: "The Book of Mormon" has grossed over $500 million, making it one of the most successful musicals of all time. As of October 9, 2022, it is the 13th longest-running Broadway show.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: "The Book of Mormon" was conceived by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez. Parker and Stone grew up in Colorado, and were familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. They became friends at the University of Colorado Boulder and collaborated on a musical film, "Cannibal! The Musical" (1993), their first experience with movie musicals. In 1997, they created the TV series "South Park" for Comedy Central and in 1999, the musical film "". The two had first thought of a fictionalized Joseph Smith, religious leader and founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, while working on an aborted Fox series about historical characters. Their 1997 film, "Orgazmo", and a 2003 episode of "South Park", "All About Mormons", both gave comic treatment to Mormonism. Smith was also included as one of "South Park"s "Super Best Friends", a Justice League parody team of religious figures like Jesus and Buddha.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: During the summer of 2003, Parker and Stone flew to New York City to discuss the script of their new film, "", with friend and producer Scott Rudin (who also produced "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut"). Rudin advised the duo to see the musical "Avenue Q" on Broadway, finding the cast of marionettes in "Team America" similar to the puppets of "Avenue Q". Parker and Stone went to see the production during that summer and the writer-composers of "Avenue Q", Lopez and Jeff Marx, noticed them in the audience and introduced themselves. Lopez revealed that "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" was highly influential in the creation of "Avenue Q". The quartet went for drinks afterwards, and soon found that each camp wanted to write something involving Joseph Smith. The four began working out details nearly immediately, with the idea to create a modern story formulated early on. For research purposes, the quartet took a road trip to Salt Lake City where they "interviewed a bunch of missionaries—or ex-missionaries." They had to work around Parker and Stone's "South Park" schedule.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: In 2006, Parker and Stone flew to London where they spent three weeks with Lopez, who was working on the West End production of "Avenue Q". There, the three wrote "four or five songs" and came up with the basic idea of the story. After an argument between Parker and Marx, who felt he was not getting enough creative control, Marx was separated from the project. For the next few years, the remaining trio met frequently to develop what they initially called "The Book of Mormon: The Musical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". "There was a lot of hopping back and forth between L.A. and New York," Parker recalled.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: Numerous changes were disclosed between the original script and the final production. A song named "Family Home Evening", which was in early workshops of the show, was cut. The warlord in Uganda was called General Kony in previews but this was changed to General Butt Fucking Naked. The song "The Bible Is A Trilogy" went through a major rewrite to become "All-American Prophet". The earlier version was based around how the third movie in movie trilogies is always the best one and sums up everything; which led to a recurring "Matrix" joke where a Ugandan man said "I thought the third "Matrix" was the worst one" which later changed to "I have maggots in my scrotum" in the rewritten version. The song "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" was originally called "H-E Double Hockey Sticks".


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: Lopez pushed to workshop the project, which confused Parker and Stone, clueless about what he meant. Developmental workshops were directed by Jason Moore, and starred Cheyenne Jackson. Other actors in readings included Benjamin Walker and Daniel Reichard. The crew embarked on the first of a half-dozen workshops that would take place during the next four years, ranging from 30-minute mini-performances for family and friends to much larger-scale renderings of the embryonic show. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money, still unconvinced they would take it any further. In February 2008, a fully staged reading starred Walker and Josh Gad as Elders Price and Cunningham, respectively. Moore was originally set to direct, but left the production in June 2010. Other directors, including James Lapine, were optioned to join the creative team, but the producers recruited Casey Nicholaw. A final five-week workshop took place in August 2010, when Nicholaw came on board as choreographer and co-director with Parker.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: Producers Scott Rudin and Anne Garefino originally planned to stage "The Book of Mormon" off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop in summer 2010, but opted to premiere it directly on Broadway, "[s]ince the guys [Parker and Stone] work best when the stakes are highest." Rudin and Garefino booked the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and hired key players while sets were designed and built. The producers expected the production to cost $11 million, but it came in under budget at $9 million. Hundreds of actors auditioned and 28 were cast. The crew did four weeks of rehearsals, with an additional two weeks of technical rehearsals, and then went directly into previews. The producers first watched the finished production six days before the first paying audience.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: "The Book of Mormon" premiered on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on March 24, 2011, following previews since February 24. The production was choreographed by Casey Nicholaw and co-directed by Nicholaw and Parker. Set design was by Scott Pask, with costumes by Ann Roth, lighting by Brian MacDevitt, and sound by Brian Ronan. Orchestrations were co-created by Larry Hochman and the show's musical director and vocal arranger Stephen Oremus. The production was originally headlined by Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells in the two leading roles.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: The New York production of "The Book of Mormon" employed an innovative pricing strategy, similar to the ones used in the airline and hotel industries. The producers charged as much as $477 for the best seats for performances with particularly high demand. The strategy paid off handsomely. During its first year, the show was consistently one of the top five best-selling shows on Broadway and set 22 new weekly sales records for the Eugene O'Neill Theater. For the week of Thanksgiving 2011, the average paid admission was over $170 even though the highest-priced regular seat was listed at $155. High attendance coupled with aggressive pricing allowed the financial backers to recoup their investment of $11.4 million after just nine months of performances.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: After Gad's departure in June 2012, standby Jared Gertner played the role until June 26, when Cale Krise permanently took over the role, as Gertner left to play Elder Cunningham in the First National Tour. Two days after Gad left (June 2012), original star Rannells was replaced by his standby Nic Rouleau. The same day, Samantha Marie Ware played Nabulungi on Broadway as the start of a six-week engagement (James was shooting a film) in preparation for her tour performance. Following Rouleau's departure in November 2012 (to originate the role of Elder Price in Chicago), the role of Elder Price was taken over by Matt Doyle. In December 2012, Jon Bass joined as Elder Cunningham. Original cast member Rory O'Malley was replaced by Matt Loehr in January 2013.


title: The Book of Mormon (musical)

text: In April 2013, Stanley Wayne Mathis joined the cast as Mafala Hatimbi. In May 2013, Jon Bass left the role of Elder Cunningham, and was replaced by Cody Jamison Strand. After Doyle and Strand's contracts finished in January 2014, Rouleau and Ben Platt (who had previously played the role of Elder Cunningham while in Chicago with Rouleau) joined the Broadway cast to reprise their roles as Elder Price and Elder Cunningham. On August 26, 2014, Grey Henson took over for Loehr as Elder McKinley. Henson had previously played the role on the first national tour. Rouleau and Platt left Broadway in January 2015. They were replaced by Gavin Creel and Christopher John O'Neill who played the roles of Price and Cunningham (respectively) on the first national tour. On January 3, 2016, Creel left the show after three and a half years. He was replaced by Kyle Selig, former second national tour Elder Price standby, who was scheduled to play the role through February 21, 2016.