Kirk Douglas

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Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas in The Bad and the Beautiful 1952
Born Issur Danielovitch
December 9, 1916 (1916-12-09) (age 91)
Amsterdam, New York
Other name(s) Izzy Demsky
Spouse(s) Diana Dill (1943-1951)
Anne Buydens (1954-)

Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch;[1] December 9, 1916) is an 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 the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Douglas was born in Amsterdam, New York, the son of Bryna (née Sanglel) and Herschel "Harry" Danielovitch, who worked in business.[2] Douglas's parents were illiterate Russian Jewish immigrants from Gomel, now in Belarus.[3][4] His father's brother, who had emigrated earlier, was going by the surname of Demsky, a name which Douglas's family adopted.[1] For a time, Douglas was known as Izzy Demsky, although his name was never legally changed to that.[1] 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.[1]

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 United States 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.

[edit] Career

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.[1] The film had been directed by Stanley Kubrick who three years earlier had collaborated closely with Douglas 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.

Jimmy Carter greets Kirk Douglas and Mrs. Douglas, March 16, 1978
Jimmy Carter greets Kirk Douglas and Mrs. Douglas, March 16, 1978

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. Douglas is one of the few personalities (along with Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, and Gene Autry) whose star has been stolen and later replaced.[5] 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.

[edit] 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. The article said "For years, this energetic performer could be seen jogging several miles to get his morning paper, playing tennis with locals or posing for snapshots and signing autographs for star-struck out-of-towners. He has been a veritable one-man tourist promotion over the past four decades, extolling the virtue of the city he loves to virtually anyone who'll listen".

[edit] Family tree

 
 
 
 
 Diana Dill
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kirk Douglas
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Anne Buydens
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Diandra Luker
 
 Michael Douglas
 
 Catherine Zeta-Jones
 
 Joel Douglas
 
 Peter Douglas
 
 Eric Douglas
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cameron Douglas
 
 Dylan Michael Douglas
 
 Carys Zeta Douglas
 
 

[edit] Filmography

Kirk Douglas in The Big Trees (1952)
Kirk Douglas in The Big Trees (1952)

[edit] Features

[edit] Short subjects

  • Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light (1956)
  • Rowan & Martin at the Movies (1968)

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] See also

United States Navy Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Douglas, Kirk. Let's Face It. John Wiley & Sons, 2007. ISBN 0470084693.
  2. ^ Kirk Douglas Biography (1916-)
  3. ^ Kirk Douglas returns to Judaism
  4. ^ Tugend, Tom. "Lucky number 90", The Jerusalem Post, 2006-12-12. Retrieved on 2006-12-12. 
  5. ^ Hollywood Walk of Fame. Guide to and locations of the stars on Hollywood Boulevard.. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Awards
Preceded by
Ernest Borgnine
for Marty		 NYFCC Award for Best Actor
1956
for Lust for Life		 Succeeded by
Alec Guinness
for The Bridge on the River Kwai
Preceded by
Ernest Borgnine
for Marty		 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1956
for Lust for Life		 Succeeded by
Alec Guinness
for The Bridge on the River Kwai


Persondata
NAME Douglas, Kirk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Issur Danielovitch Demsky
SHORT DESCRIPTION American actor and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Amsterdam, New York
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH