William Henry Lancaster (November 17, 1947 – January 4, 1997) was an American screenwriter and actor.

Early life

He was born November 17, 1947, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the son of

Burt Lancaster 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-yea ...

(1913–1994) and Norma Anderson (1917–1988). He contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

at an early age, leaving one leg shorter than the other.

Career

Lancaster, a

look-alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...

for his famous father at the time, guest-starred in an episode of the television series ''

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour e ...

'' in 1967. In 1973, Lancaster played the role of "King", the boyfriend of a murdered college coed in '' The Midnight Man'', a mystery film starring and co-directed by his father, released in 1974. Lancaster's best-known work is his adapted screenplay for

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

's '' The Thing''. He also penned the original screenplays for ''

The Bad News Bears ''The Bad News Bears'' is a 1976 American sports film, sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie (film director), Michael Ritchie and written by Bill Lancaster. It stars Walter Matthau as an alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher who becomes a coach f ...

'' films. In 1982, he worked on a first-draft script of an adaptation of

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's novel '' Firestarter'' for Carpenter to direct. Months later of the same year, Carpenter hired Bill Phillips to work on a rewrite of Lancaster's draft. When ''The Thing'' did not match the studio's financial expectations, Universal replaced Carpenter with

Mark L. Lester Mark L. Lester (born November 26, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, and Film producer, producer. He is known as a prolific director of cult films, including the disco musical ''Roller Boogie'' (1979), the vigilante thriller fil ...

and both drafts were scrapped in favor of

Stanley Mann Stanley Mann (August 8, 1928 – January 11, 2016) was a Canadian screenwriter. Born in Toronto, Ontario, he began his writing career in 1951 at CBC Radio, and was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the 1965 film '' The Collector'', based on ...

's draft. Lancaster is featured in the documentary '' The Thing: Terror Takes Shape'', found on the collector's edition

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

of ''The Thing''. Lancaster states that he did not think ''

Who Goes There? ''Who Goes There?'' is a 1938 science fiction horror novella by American author John W. Campbell, written under the pen name Don A. Stuart. Its story follows a group of people trapped in a scientific research outpost in Antarctica with shapesh ...

'' was a "great" story, but that he responded to the tale's sense of claustrophobia and paranoia. The documentary is dedicated to him.

Personal life

Lancaster was married to Kippie Kovacs, daughter of the comedian

Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years afte ...

. They had one child, daughter Keigh Kristin.

Death

Lancaster died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 49. His ashes were buried at

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

, where his father's ashes are also interred. The ashes of his daughter Keigh, who died in 2017 at age 51, were buried with her father's in the same plot.

Filmography

Screenplays

*''

'' (1976) *''

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan ''The Bad News Bears Go to Japan'' (also known as ''The Bad News Bears 3'') is a 1978 American sport comedy film released by Paramount Pictures and was the third and last of a series, following ''The Bad News Bears'' and ''The Bad News Bears in Br ...

'' (1978) (Also co-producer) *'' The Thing'' (1982) *'' Firestarter'' (1984) (earlier unused screenplay)

Acting

*''

'' (1967) – Second Boy *''

Moses the Lawgiver ''Moses the Lawgiver'' is a 6-hour Italian/British television miniseries filmed in 1973/74 and starring Burt Lancaster as Moses. It was an ITC/RAI co-production filmed in Rome and on location in Israel and Morocco. Many of the writers, cast ...

'' (1974, TV Mini-Series) – Young Moses *'' The Midnight Man'' (1974) – King

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, William Henry 1947 births 1997 deaths American male screenwriters Writers from Los Angeles Male actors from Greater Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Screenwriters from California 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters