Burt Lancaster random trivia

His first TV role was a guest appearance on "Sesame Street" (1969) in 1969, reciting the alphabet. In January 1980, he almost died during a routine operation to remove his gallbladder, when the operation, which should have lasted five hours, turned into an 11-hour ordeal. After the organ was removed, a team of doctors worked to repair an unusually small channel from the gallbladder to the intestines, although Lancaster later told a friend that a doctor had accidentally cut into a valve. A doctor reportedly got down on the floor to pray for the actor's life. Lancaster was in intensive care for 48-hours after the operation. His son Bill Lancaster's screenplay for The Bad News Bears (1976) was based on his experience being coached by his father. Bill had been disabled by polio as a child, and according to friend Joel Douglas--the son of Kirk Douglas--the Tatum O'Neal character in the film, the odd kid out, was Bill. The coach played by Walter Matthau was based on Burt, who was known for his grumpiness.