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“It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce
that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” Michael
Douglas said in a statement to People magazine and on his
Facebook page.
“To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of
movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian
whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a
standard for all of us to aspire to,” Douglas added.
“Kirk’s life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that
will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned
philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to
the planet,” Michael added, saying he was "so proud" to be his
father's son.
Douglas made more than 90 movies in a career that stretched
across seven decades and films such as "Spartacus" and "The
Vikings" made him one of the biggest box-office stars of the
1950s and '60s.
He also played a major role in breaking the Hollywood blacklist
- actors, directors and writers who were shunned professionally
because of links to the communist movement in the 1950s. Douglas
said he was more proud of that than any film he made.
Tributes poured in from Hollywood. Actor and director Rob Reiner
said on Twitter that Douglas "will always be an icon in the
pantheon of Hollywood. He put himself on the line to break the
blacklist."
Mitzi Gaynor, who appeared with Douglas in the 1963 movie "For
Love or Money," said the film would "always hold a special place
in my heart."
"Thank you for so generously sharing your amazing talent with
all of us," Gaynor tweeted.
Danny DeVito called him an "inspirational Scallywag," while Ed
Asner tweeted "I will always be in your awe."
A stroke in 1996 at age 80 left Douglas with slurred speech and
damaged facial nerves. But two weeks later he showed his spirit
by attending the Academy Awards ceremony to receive a Lifetime
Achievement Award. He also continued to take small acting roles
through 2008 but said the stroke left him suicidal.
"Humor saved me," Douglas told Parade magazine in 2014. "At
first, I thought my life was at an end. But when I put the gun
in my mouth, it hit a tooth. Ow! And that struck me funny. A
toothache was stopping me from committing suicide?"
In one of his last public appearances, Douglas was frail and
barely audible in a wheelchair as he helped daughter-in-law
Catherine Zeta-Jones present the Oscar for best screenplay in
January 2018. In November of that year he joined his son Michael
as the younger Douglas was honored with a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame.
Douglas had a distinctive chin, razor-sharp cheekbones and a
jutting jaw - looks that he passed along to Michael - and that
made him a natural for playing all manner of rugged characters.
He also had a demanding nature that earned him a reputation in
his prime as the actor who directed directors. Long-time friend
and sometime co-star Burt Lancaster loved to introduce him by
saying, "Kirk would be the first to admit he is a difficult
person. (Pause) I would be the second."
"I make my own way," Douglas once told an interviewer. "Nobody's
my boss. Nobody's ever been my boss ... I've been a maverick."
Douglas said playing Vincent van Gogh in "Lust for Life" (1956)
was his favorite role but "Spartacus" (1960) was his favorite
film because, as producer, he took a big step toward breaking
the Hollywood blacklist.
The lifetime Oscar was Douglas' only Academy Award even though
he was nominated for playing ruthless boxer Midge Kelly in
"Champion" (1949), a movie executive in "The Bad and the
Beautiful" (1952) and van Gogh in "Lust for Life."
Douglas' first movie was "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers," in
1946 after being suggested for the part by acting school
classmate Betty Joan Perske, who became famous after changing
her name to Lauren Bacall.
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Douglas was known for powerful performances as characters who had to
endure intense on-screen pain. He was stabbed in "Ace in the Hole,"
crucified in "Spartacus," lost an eye in "The Vikings," an ear in
"Lust for Life," and a finger in "The Big Sky."
His other notable movies were "Lonely Are the Brave," "The Devil's
Disciple," "Victory at Entebbe" and "Tough Guys," which he made with
Lancaster in 1986.
Douglas' independent streak led him to set up Bryna Production Co,
which he named after his mother, in 1955, snubbing big studio bosses
and helping break their monopoly on the industry.
Born Issur Danielovich on Dec. 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York,
Douglas was the only son of seven children born to illiterate
Russian immigrants.
After graduating from high school, he hitch-hiked to St. Lawrence
University in Canton, New York, where he became a wrestling
champion. He also staged and starred in theatrical productions and
changed his name to Izzy Demsy.
After St. Lawrence, he graduated from New York's American Academy of
Dramatic Arts in 1941 and changed his name to Kirk Douglas. He
joined the Navy following two small Broadway roles.
Born Issur Danielovich on Dec. 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York,
Douglas was the only son of seven children born to illiterate
Russian immigrants.
After graduating from high school, he hitch-hiked to St. Lawrence
University in Canton, New York, where he became a wrestling
champion. He also staged and starred in theatrical productions and
changed his name to Izzy Demsy.
After St. Lawrence, he graduated from New York's American Academy of
Dramatic Arts in 1941 and changed his name to Kirk Douglas. He
joined the Navy following two small Broadway roles.
While in the Navy he married British actress Diana Dill and they had
two sons, Michael and Joel, before the marriage ended after eight
years.
Douglas had a reputation as a Hollywood ladies' man. Among the
lovers listed in the 1988 book "The Ragman's Son," one of several
books he wrote about his life, were Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich,
Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Maxwell, Patricia Neal and Gene Tierney.
While making "Act of Love," Douglas met and Anne Buydens, the film's
publicist, and they married in 1954. Their marriage became one of
Hollywood's most enduring despite his affairs. They had two sons,
Peter and Eric.
Douglas, who survived a 1991 helicopter crash that killed two
people, tried to discourage his children from following him into
acting. Still, Michael became a superstar and a successful producer,
Joel and Peter also were producers and Eric was an actor until his
2004 death from a drug overdose.
"You see how they listened to me," Douglas once said.
Douglas, who grew a long white ponytail in his later years,
published several books, including a book of poetry, prose and
photographs in 2014 and “Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter
and a Lifetime in Hollywood," in 2017 with his wife.
He established the Douglas Foundation for making charitable
donations and in 2015 he and Anne announced plans to give away his
$80 million fortune to a variety of causes. The beneficiaries
included a shelter for homeless women named after Anne, the Los
Angeles public school district, St. Lawrence University and
hospitals.
To mark his 99th birthday in 2015 he donated $15 million to the
Motion Picture and Television Fund to help build a facility for
entertainment industry figures with Alzheimer’s disease.
(Reporting by Bill Trott; Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant and
Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Diane Craft and Lisa
Shumaker)
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