Trapeze artists, in lithograph by Calvert Litho. Co., 1890.

A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, swinging or flying, and may be performed solo, double, triple or as a group act.^[1]

Types of trapeze[link]

• Static trapeze refers to a trapeze act in which the performer moves around the bar and ropes, performing a wide range of movements including balances, drops, hangs while the bar itself stays mostly in place. The difficulty on a static trapeze is making every move look effortless. It is like dance, in that most people of a reasonable level of strength can get onto the bar for the first time and do the tricks but an experienced artist will do them with much more grace and style.

• Swinging trapeze (or swinging single trapeze) refers to an act performed while the trapeze swings. For an example of this discipline, watch the trapeze act in Alegría. The performer builds up swing from a still position, and uses the momentum of the swing to execute the tricks. Usually tricks on a swinging trapeze are thrown on the peaks of the swing and involve dynamic movements that require precise timing. Most of the tricks begin with the performer sitting or standing on the bar and end with the performer catching the bar in his/her hands or in an ankle hang (hanging by the ankles by bracing them between the rope and the bar). This act requires a great deal of strength, grace, and flexibility.^[1] The trapeze bar is weighted and often has cable inside the supporting ropes for extra strength to withstand the dynamic forces of the swing.

• Flying trapeze refers to a trapeze act where a performer, or "flyer," grabs the trapeze bar and jumps off a high platform, or pedestal board, so that gravity creates the swing. The swing's parts are the cast out at the far end of the first swing, the beat back and rise as the performer swings back above the pedestal board, and then the trick is thrown at the far end of the second swing. The performer often releases the bar and is caught by another performer, the "catcher," who hangs by his or her knees on another trapeze, or sometimes on a cradle, which can be either stationary or also swinging. People of any size are able to execute basic trapeze maneuvers. Flying trapeze is generally done over a net, or occasionally over water. The flying trapeze was invented in the mid 19th century in France by Jules Léotard.

• Washington trapeze (also known as head trapeze or heavy trapeze) refers to a variation on static and swinging trapeze where the aerialist performs various headstand skills on the bar, which is typically much heavier than a normal trapeze bar and has a small (about 4-inch round) headstand platform on it. The trapeze is supported by wire cables rather than ropes, and the apparatus will often be lifted and lowered during the act.^[1]

• Dance trapeze (also known as single-point trapeze) refers to a trapeze used by many modern dance companies in aerial dance. The ropes of the trapeze are often both attached to a single swivel, allowing the trapeze to spin.

• Double trapeze (also known as the French trapeze) is a variation on the static trapeze, and features two performers working together on the same trapeze to perform figures and bear each other's weight. It can also be performed swinging, in which case the act is called "swinging double trapeze."^[1]

• Multiple trapeze
  

  

  Triple trapeze
  refers to a number of different shapes and sizes of trapeze, including double trapeze, triple trapeze and larger multiples designed for use by multiple simultaneous flyers. Shaped trapezes are apparatuses that can take virtually any shape imaginable.

Footnotes[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Circus Dictionary". National Institute of Circus Arts. http://www.nica.com.au/dictionary. Retrieved 10-1-09. 

References[link]

• European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC)
• Desiree Belmarez. "Trapeze Tests Grace and Style." Denver Post. August 24, 2007.
• The physics of the flying trapeze
• Sharon McCutcheon, Geoff Perrem. Circus in Schools Handbook. Tarook Publishing, 2004. (ISBN 0975687409)
• Hovey Burgess, Judy Finelli. Circus Techniques. Brian Dube, 1989. (ISBN 0917643003)
• Carrie Heller. Aerial Circus Training and Safety Manual. National Writers Press, 2004. (ISBN 0881001368)
• Shana Kennedy. Aerial Skills Illustrated 2007. Project 630570 at Lulu.com, 2007.
• Jayne C. Bernasconi and Nancy E. Smith. Aerial Dance. United States: Human Kinetics, 2008. (ISBN 0736073965) View at Google Books
• Elena Zanzu, M.A. Il Trapezio Oscillante: Storie di Circo nell'Aria. (The Swinging Trapeze: Histories of the Circus in the Air.) Bologna University, Italy, 2004-2005. Language: Italian.

Burt Lancaster
in Desert Fury (1947)
Born	Burton Stephen Lancaster (1913-11-02)November 2, 1913 New York, U.S.A.
Died	October 20, 1994(1994-10-20) (aged 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Education	DeWitt Clinton High School
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	Actor, director, producer
Years active	1945–91
Spouse	June Ernst (1935–46; divorced) Norma Anderson (1946–69; divorced) 5 children Susan Martin (1990–94; his death)

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile (which he called "The Grin"). After initially building his career on "tough guy" roles Lancaster abandoned his "all-American" image in the late 1950s in favor of more complex and challenging roles, and came to be regarded as one of the best actors of his generation as a result.

Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once — for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980). His production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, was the most successful and innovative star-driven independent production company in Hollywood of the 1950s, making movies such as Marty (1955), Trapeze (1956), and Sweet Smell of Success (1957).

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Lancaster 19th among the greatest male stars of all time.^[1]

Early life[link]

Lancaster was born in Manhattan, New York City, at his parents' home at 209 East 106th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, today the site of Benjamin Franklin Plaza. Lancaster was the son of Elizabeth (née Roberts) and James Henry Lancaster, who was a postman.^[2] Both of his parents were Protestants of working-class northern Irish origin. Lancaster's grandparents were immigrants to the U.S. from Belfast and descendants of English immigrants to Ireland.^[2] Lancaster's family believed themselves to be related to Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts.^{[citation needed]} Lancaster grew up in East Harlem and spent much of his time on the streets, where he developed great interest and skill in gymnastics while attending the 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 into New York University with an athletics scholarship but subsequently dropped out.^[3]

Circus career and military[link]

At the age of nine, Lancaster met Nick Cravat, with whom he continued to work throughout his life. Together they learned to act in local theater productions and circus arts at Union Settlement, one of the city's oldest settlement houses.^[4] 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 until 1942 — first as a salesman for Marshall Fields, and then as a singing waiter in various restaurants.^[5]

The United States having then entered World War II, Lancaster joined the United States Army and performed with the Army's Twenty-First 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 1943–1945.^[6]

Film career[link]

Acting[link]

With Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946)

Though initially unenthusiastic about acting, he returned from service, auditioned for a Broadway play, and was offered a role. Although Harry Brown's A Sound of Hunting was not successful, Lancaster's performance drew the attention of a Hollywood agent, Harold Hecht, who introduced him to Hal Wallis, who cast Lancaster in The Killers (1946). (Hecht and Lancaster later formed several production companies in the 1950s to give Lancaster greater creative control.) The tall, muscular actor won significant acclaim and appeared in two more films the following year. Subsequently, he played in a variety of films, especially in dramas, thrillers, and military and adventure films. In two, The Flame and the Arrow and The Crimson Pirate, a friend from his circus years, Nick Cravat, played a key supporting role, and both actors impressed audiences with their acrobatic prowess.

With Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity (1953)

In 1953, Lancaster played one of his best remembered roles with Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity. The American Film Institute acknowledged the iconic status of the scene from that film in which he and Deborah Kerr make love on a Hawaiian beach amid the crashing waves. The organization named it one of "AFI's top 100 Most Romantic Films" of all time.

Lancaster won the 1960 Academy Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award, and the New York Film Critics Award for his performance in Elmer Gantry.

In 1966, at the age of 52, Lancaster appeared nude in director Frank Perry's film, The Swimmer.

During the latter part of his career, Lancaster left adventure and acrobatic movies behind and portrayed more distinguished characters. This period brought him work on several European productions, with directors such as Luchino Visconti and Bernardo Bertolucci. Lancaster sought demanding roles, and if he liked a part or a director, he was prepared to work for much lower pay than he might have earned elsewhere. He even helped to finance movies whose artistic value he believed in. He also mentored directors such as Sydney Pollack and John Frankenheimer and appeared in several television films.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Lancaster has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

[edit] Directing and producing

Lancaster in 1951

Lancaster was an early and successful actor/producer. In 1952, Lancaster co-produced Crimson Pirate, TheThe Crimson Pirate with producer Harold Hecht (who had previously produced three Lancaster films under his own production company Norma Productions; Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948), The Flame and the Arrow (1950), and Ten Tall Men (1951)). In 1954, they collaborated again on His Majesty O'Keefe, with Lancaster acting and Hecht producing. The writer for this film was James Hill. The trio started a production company, originally with Hill as a silent partner, under the name "Hecht-Lancaster". The name was later extended to include all three with "Hecht-Hill-Lancaster".

The "H-H-L" 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.)"^[7] Together they produced the films Apache (1954), Vera Cruz (1954), Marty (1955) (which won both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival), The Kentuckian (1955), Trapeze (1956), The Bachelor Party (1956), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Separate Tables (1958), Devil's Disciple, TheThe Devil's Disciple (1959), Take a Giant Step (1959), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1960), and Unforgiven, TheThe Unforgiven (1960). The company dissolved in 1960, but Hecht would produce two more films in which Lancaster acted, under Norma Productions, Young Savages, TheThe Young Savages (1961) and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). Twelve years later, Hecht and Lancaster produced Ulzana's Raid (1972) together.

In the late 1960s, Lancaster teamed with Roland Kibbee to form "Norlan Productions" and produce Scalphunters, TheThe Scalphunters (1968), Valdez Is Coming (1971), and The Midnight Man (1974).

In addition, Lancaster directed two films, The Kentuckian (1955) and The Midnight Man (1974).^[8] The Midnight Man was in fact starred in, co-written, produced, and directed by Lancaster.

Frequent collaborations[link]

Apart from acting in a total of seventeen films produced by Harold Hecht, Lancaster also appeared in eight films produced by Hal B. Wallis.

Lancaster made six films over the years with Kirk Douglas, including 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), and Tough Guys (1986) which fixed the notion of the pair as something of a team in the public imagination. The connection was firmly cemented by the time Lancaster and Douglas reteamed for their final movie, Tough Guys. Although Douglas was always second billed under Lancaster in these films, their roles were usually more or less the same size with the exceptions of I Walk Alone, in which Douglas played a villain, and in Seven Days in May, where Douglas' part was larger than Lancaster's but not as dramatic.

in Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)

Lancaster also often asked his close friend Nick Cravat to appear in his films. They co-starred together in nine films: The Flame and the Arrow (1952), Ten Tall Men (1951), Crimson Pirate, TheThe Crimson Pirate (1952), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958), Scalphunters, TheThe Scalphunters (1968), Airport (1970), Valdez Is Coming (1971), Ulzana's Raid (1972), The Midnight Man (1974), and Island of Dr. Moreau , TheThe Island of Dr. Moreau (1977).

Lancaster starred in three films with Deborah Kerr; From Here to Eternity, Separate Tables, and The Gypsy Moths.

In addition, John Frankenheimer directed five films with Lancaster: The Young Savages (1961), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), Seven Days in May (1964), The Train (1964), and The Gypsy Moths (1969).

Lancaster used make-up veteran Robert Schiffer in 20 credited films. Lancaster hired Schiffer on nearly all the films he produced.

Personal life[link]

Marriages and relationships[link]

Lancaster vigorously guarded his private life. He was married three times. His first two marriages ended in divorce — to June Ernst from 1935 to 1946, and to Norma Anderson from 1946 to 1969. His third marriage, to Susan Martin, was from September 1990 until his death in 1994. All five of his children were with Norma Anderson: Bill, who became a screenwriter; James; Susan; Joanna; and Sighle (pronounced Sheila). He claims he was romantically involved with Deborah Kerr during the filming of From Here to Eternity in 1953.^[9] However, Ms. Kerr had stated that while there was a spark of attraction, nothing ever happened. He also had an affair with Joan Blondell. In her 1980 autobiography, actress Shelley Winters claimed to have had a long affair with him.

Political views[link]

Lancaster was a vocal supporter of liberal political causes, and frequently spoke out in support of racial minorities, including at the March on Washington in 1963. He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War and political movements such as McCarthyism, and he helped pay for the successful defense of a soldier accused of "fragging" (murdering) another soldier during the war.^[10] In 1968, Lancaster actively supported the presidential candidacy of antiwar Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, and frequently spoke on his behalf during the Democratic primaries. He heavily campaigned for George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. In 1985, Lancaster, a longtime supporter of gay rights, joined the fight against AIDS after his close friend, Rock Hudson, contracted the disease. He campaigned for Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election.

Health problems and death[link]

Burt Lancaster's grave

As Lancaster grew older, he became increasingly plagued by atherosclerosis, barely surviving a routine gall bladder operation in January 1980. Following two minor heart attacks he had to undergo an emergency quadruple heart bypass in 1983, after which he was extremely weak, but he still managed to attend a 1988 Congressional hearing with old colleagues such as Jimmy Stewart and Ginger Rogers to protest media magnate Ted Turner's plan to colorize various black-and-white films from the 1930s and '40s. A severe stroke in November 1990 left him partly paralyzed and largely unable to speak. He died in his Century City apartment in Los Angeles from a third heart attack at 4:50 A.M. on October 20, 1994 at the age of 80.

Lancaster was cremated and his ashes were buried under a large oak tree in Westwood Memorial Park located in Westwood Village, Los Angeles County, California. A small square ground plaque inscribed only with "BURT LANCASTER 1913-1994" marks his final resting place. Upon his death, as he requested, he had no memorial or funeral service.^[11]

Filmography and awards[link]

Films[link]

TV[link]

In other media[link]

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

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Burt Lancaster

• Burt Lancaster at the Internet Movie Database
• Burt Lancaster at the TCM Movie Database
• Burt Lancaster at AllRovi
• Burt Lancaster at the Internet Broadway Database
• Works by or about Burt Lancaster in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Literature on Burt Lancaster