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Kirk Douglas

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Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch on December 9, 1916) is an iconic Academy Award-winning American actor and film producer known for his cleft chin, his gravelly voice and his recurring roles as the kinds of characters Douglas himself once described as "sons of bitches". He is also father to Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas. He was #17 on AFI's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time.

Early life

Douglas was born in Amsterdam, New York, USA to Herschel (Harry) Danielovitch and Bryna Sanglel, poor Russian Jewish parents who emigrated from Gomel, now in Belarus. Herschel Danielovitch's brother, who had emigrated earlier, was going by the surname of Demsky, a name which Douglas' family adopted. For a time, Douglas was known as Izzy Demsky, although his name was never legally changed to that. While doing summer stock theater during a college vacation, he began using the name Kirk Douglas, to which he legally changed before entering the Navy in World War II.

He was on the wrestling team at St. Lawrence University. To help make his way through college, he thought getting an acting scholarship might work. His talents got him noticed at the acclaimed American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where he soon received a scholarship, alongside classmate Betty Joan Perske (soon to be better known as Lauren Bacall). Another classmate was aspiring Bermudian actress, Diana Dill. He then served in the U.S. Navy from the entry of the US into World War II in 1941 until it ended in 1945. On 3 May, 1943, his former classmate, Diana Dill, appeared on the cover of Life magazine. Seeing her photograph, Douglas told his fellow sailors that he would marry her, which he did on November 2 1943. After the war, he returned to New York City and started doing radio theatre and commercials, while trying to break in on Broadway.

Douglas was helped by actress Lauren Bacall in obtaining his first screen role in the Hal B. Wallis movie The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), starring Barbara Stanwyck. Wallis was on his way to New York to look for new talent when Bacall suggested he look up her old drama school classmate, who was working in an off-Broadway play at the time.

Career

Kirk Douglas received three Academy Award nominations for his work in Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful and Lust for Life (as Vincent Van Gogh). Douglas did not win any competitive Oscars, but received a special Oscar in 1996 for "50 years as a moral and creative force in the motion picture community".

He also played an important role in breaking the Hollywood blacklist by making sure that Dalton Trumbo`s name was mentioned in the opening and ending credits of 1960's "Spartacus" for the outstanding screenplay he had written for the film. Douglas had collaborated closely with Kubrick in Paths of Glory, where Douglas played one of his most memorable roles, as Colonel Dax, the commander of a French regiment during World War I who volunteers, against harsh criticism, to defend three innocent men on trial for their lives.

Douglas made several films over the decades with Burt Lancaster, including I Walk Alone (1948), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), The Devil's Disciple (1959), Seven Days in May (1964), and Tough Guys (1986), which fixed the notion of the pair as something of a team in the public's imagination. Douglas was always second-billed under Lancaster in these films but, with the exception of I Walk Alone, in which Douglas played a villain, their roles were more or less the same size.

For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Kirk Douglas has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6263 Hollywood Blvd. In 1984, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.

In October 2004, the avenue "Kirk Douglas Way" in Palm Springs, California was named in his honor by the Palm Springs International Film Society and Film Festival.

Popular at home and around the world, Kirk Douglas received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, the French Legion of Honor in 1985, and the National Medal of the Arts in 2001.

Personal life

Douglas married twice, first to Diana Dill (born January 22, 1923; married November 2, 1943; divorced in 1951), with whom he had two sons, actor Michael Douglas and producer Joel Douglas. His second wife is Anne Buydens (married May 29, 1954 to present) with whom he has two sons, producer Peter Douglas born November 23, 1955 and actor Eric Douglas (born June 1958; died July 6, 2004 of an accidental drug overdose).

In 1996, he suffered a stroke, partially impairing his ability to speak. On December 8, 2006, Douglas appeared on Entertainment Tonight, where the entire staff wished him a happy 90th birthday the night before. His son Michael, along with his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, were among the many celebrities who attended his birthday celebration. On the show, he discussed the books he has written, and the death of his son, Eric in 2004.

A portrait of Douglas, titled "The Great and the Beautiful," which encapsulated his film career, art collection, philanthropy and rehabilitation from a deadly helicopter crash and the aftermath of a severe stroke, appeared in Palm Springs Life magazine in 1999. Author Howard Johns spent many hours with the Douglases in their Palm Springs home, where the couple had lived for 45 years. Portions of Douglas's interview were reprinted in Johns' bestselling book

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Last updated on Friday March 07, 2008 at 21:18:51 PST (GMT -0800)
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