Bill Lancaster

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

Biography

He was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Burt Lancaster and Norma Anderson. He developed polio at an early age, leaving one of his legs shorter than the other.

Lancaster, a lookalike for his famous father at the time, guest-starred in an episode of the television series The Big Valley 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's The Thing. He also penned the original screenplays for The Bad News Bears films.

He is featured in the documentary The Thing: Terror Takes Shape, found on the collector's edition DVD of The Thing. Lancaster states that he did not think Who Goes There? was a "great" story, but that he responded to the tale's sense of claustrophobia and paranoia. The documentary is dedicated to him because of his death shortly after it was filmed.

Bill Lancaster (aviator)

Captain William Newton Lancaster (14 February 1898 – 20 April 1933, Tanezrouft, Algeria) was a pioneering British aviator.

Early life

Born in Birmingham, England, Lancaster emigrated to Australia prior to World War I. In 1916, he joined first the Australian Arm and later the Australian Flying Corps. He remained in Britain after the war and joined the Royal Air Force, marrying Anne Maude Besant in 1919 and serving in India during the 1920s. He was promoted to flying officer from pilot officer on 30 April 1921.

England to Australia

In 1927, Lancaster transferred to the RAF Reserve (he continued to hold a commission until 30 April 1930), and decided to make a name for himself by flying from England to Australia. He made this flight in the Avro Avian Red Rose, accompanied by Australian Jessie "Chubbie" Miller, who helped finance the flight. It was at the time one of the longest flights made in such a small aircraft—although they were overtaken en route by Bert Hinkler in another Avian—and the first England-Australia flight by a woman. A huge crowd greeted them on arrival in Darwin, and on their subsequent tour around Australia.