AGAINST TYPE: The Biography of Burt Lancaster [Hardcover]

Gary Fishgall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 1995

Burt Lancaster's Hollywood career extended from the final days of the Golden Age to the advent of the mini-series, and he co-starred with leading personalities of several eras, such as Gary Cooper and Kevin Costner, Barbara Stanwyck and Susan Sarandon. This biography tells of Lancaster's early years, from his childhood in seedy East Harlem to his first job as a circus acrobat, his three marriages, his numerous affairs, and the progress of his career after he had arrived in Hollywood at the age of 33, with no formal training as an actor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lancaster (1913-1994) won an Oscar in 1960 for his role in Elmer Gantry, but the most remarkable achievement of his career was the sheer volume and diversity of his performances. In more than 70 films, the range and scope of his acting were broader than those of any other major star, according to the author. Fishgall supports this with critical comment on each of the star's leading and supporting roles, and does a good job of fleshing out the 30-odd years of Lancaster's life before he became a star with his film debut in The Killers (1946). Fishgall discusses the actor's three marriages, innumerable affairs, possible bisexuality (no evidence presented, plenty of rumors) and his involvement in the production end of moviemaking. With partners Harold Hecht and James Hill, Lancaster produced several financially and critically successful films, including Marty and Sweet Smell of Success. On the personal level, Lancaster comes across here as distinctly less interesting than his work: an insensitive, humorless, unsociable man with a volatile temper and a mean streak. Fishgall has worked as an actor, a director and a drama critic.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

For over four decades Lancaster exuded the rare commodity of screen charisma. He alternated crowd-pleasing parts like the lead in Elmer Gantry with offbeat roles in The Leopard and Atlantic City. In later years he took character turns in films like Local Hero. Fishgall reviews the actor's complete career, from his early days as a carnival acrobat (put to good use in Crimson Pirate and Trapeze) to the later years of stardom, during which he displayed a gritty determination, on screen and off. Also covered is Lancaster's early, unusual effort to run his own production company. As expected, Fishgall portrays Lancaster's troubled marriages, womanizing, and bouts of egotism and halfheartedly hints of possible bisexuality. Still, this book isn't analytical enough for film buffs or gossipy enough for the tabloid audience, despite the publicity's promise of "shocking" revelations. Furthermore, though many Lancaster associates are interviewed, the tone is rather impersonal, and the total man never comes into focus. While this is not wholly satifying, so little has been written on Lancaster that public libraries should consider.?Stephen Rees, Bucks Cty. Free Lib., Levittown, Pa.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; First Printing edition (September 18, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068480705X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684807058
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Increases appreciation of one of Hollywood's Greats, September 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: AGAINST TYPE: The Biography of Burt Lancaster (Hardcover)

Chronicles the professional life and accomplishments of one of Hollywood's most loved stars, Burt Lancaster. I was disappointed with the lack of insight into the personal life of Lancaster, but as a biography of his professional life it was excellent. It was fascinating to read of the diametrically opposite views that co-stars and directors had for him, ranging from ardour to hate. This is an unbiased portrait of a great star

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Professional Job, August 8, 2003

By 

Judith C. Kinney (Westerville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: AGAINST TYPE: The Biography of Burt Lancaster (Hardcover)

Gary Fishgall is very good on the professional life of actors. He's written about James Stewart, Burt Lancaster, and Gregory Peck. Fishgall seems not very much interested in [physical activity] and social name-dropping, which is fine with me. He gives the bare facts of the actor's social life without the juicy and sordid detail for which many people read star biographies.

On the actor's professional life and accomplishments, Fishgall is excellent. He covers childhood and youth thoroughly as it relates to the future career. He discusses every professional job the actor ever had. You learn not only about the big successes, with which you may already be familiar, but also the small successes and the failures. Nothing relating to the professional life is left out. You learn what the subject thought about his coworkers and what they thought about him.

I have now read two of Fishgall's bios and plan to read the third. This is just the kind of information I find fascinating. If you enjoy any of Fishgall's bios, you may also enjoy Vincente Minnelli's "I Remember It Well." Minnelli's story-telling mode is very similar to Fishgall's. He dwells on his professional life and downplays the personal.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid research but lacks poetry, November 23, 2008

By 

Danny C. Johnson "Eye of Harmony" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: AGAINST TYPE: The Biography of Burt Lancaster (Hardcover)

I enjoyed reading Against Type, but wish the author had been more expressive and inspired. Gives good overview of Lancaster's career.
Fishgall covers most of the bases but I would have liked more of Burt's impact on pop culture.