After World War II, Kirk Douglas worked in the movies, making his mark in 1949's The Champion. During the 1950s and '60s Douglas was a savvy and bankable star, varying from intense dramatic roles in Paths of Glory (1957) and Seven Days in May (1964), to playful entertainments such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). He also formed his own production company (later he transferred the rights to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) to his son, Michael Douglas) and tried his hand at directing movies in the 1970s, including Posse (1975). Although his position as a box office draw diminished, he continued to turn in fine performances on television and in films such as The Man From Snowy River (1982) and Tough Guys (1986, co-starring Burt Lancaster). Slowed by a stroke, Douglas nevertheless appeared in the 1999 movie Diamonds. He also starred in 2003's It Runs in the Family, appearing with his ex-wife Diana, his son Michael and his grandson Cameron Douglas.
Career Highlights: Out of the Past, Ace in the Hole, Lonely Are the Brave
First Major Screen Credit: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Biography
Once quoted as saying "I've made a career of playing sons of bitches," Kirk Douglas is considered by many to be the epitome of the Hollywood hard man. In addition to acting in countless films over the course of his long career, Douglas has served as a director and producer, and will forever be associated with his role in helping to put an end to the infamous Hollywood black list.
Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch) was the son Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Amsterdam, NY, on December 9, 1916. He waited tables to finance his education at St. Lawrence University, where he was a top-notch wrestler. While there, he also did a little work in the theater, something that soon gave way to his desire to pursue acting as a career. After some work as a professional wrestler, Douglas held various odd jobs, including a stint as a bellhop, to put himself through the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1941, he debuted on Broadway, but had only two small roles before he enlisting in the Navy and serving in World War II. Following his discharge, Douglas returned to Broadway in 1945, where he began getting more substantial roles; he also did some work on radio.
After being spotted and invited to Hollywood by producer Hal Wallis, Douglas debuted onscreen in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), but he did not emerge as a full-fledged star until he portrayed an unscrupulously ambitious boxer in Champion (1949); with this role (for which he earned his first Oscar nomination), he defined one of his principle character types: a cocky, selfish, intense, and powerful man. Douglas fully established his screen persona during the '50s thanks to strong roles in such classics as Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (1951), William Wyler's Detective Story (1951), and John Sturges' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). He earned Oscar nominations for his work in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Lust for Life (1956), both of which were directed by Vincente Minnelli. In 1955, the actor formed his own company, Bryna Productions, through which he produced both his own films and those of others, including Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960); both of these movies would prove to be two of the most popular and acclaimed of Douglas' career. In 1963, he appeared on Broadway in Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, but was never able to interest Hollywood in a film version of the work; he passed it along to his son Michael Douglas (a popular actor/filmmaker in his own right), who eventually brought it to the screen to great success.
During the '60s, Douglas continued to star in such films as John Huston's The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) and John Frankenheimer's Seven Days in May (1964), both of which he also produced. He began directing some of his films in the early '70s, scoring his greatest success as the director, star, and producer for Posse (1975), a Western in which he played a U.S. marshal eager for political gain. Though he continued to appear in films, by the '80s Douglas began volunteering much of his time to civic duties. Since 1963, he had worked as a Goodwill Ambassador for the State Department and the USIA, and, in 1981, his many contributions earned him the highest civilian award given in the U.S., the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For his public service, Douglas was also given the Jefferson Award in 1983. Two years later, the French government dubbed him Chevalier of the Legion of Honor for his artistic contributions. Other awards included the American Cinema Award (1987), the German Golden Kamera Award (1988), and the National Board of Review's Career Achievement Award (1989). In 1995, the same year he suffered a debilitating stroke, Douglas was presented with an honorary Oscar by the Academy; four years later, he was the recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor that was accompanied by a screening of 16 of his films. In addition to his film work, Douglas has also written two novels: Dance with the Devil (1990) and The Secret (1992). He published his autobiography, The Ragman's Son, in 1988. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
(born Dec. 9, 1916, Amsterdam, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. film actor and producer. He had minor Broadway roles before making his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) and emerged as a major star in Champion (1949). Despite giving sensitive performances in The Glass Menagerie (1950) and Paths of Glory (1957), he became identified with the intense, forceful roles he played in films such as The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Lust for Life (1956), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), and Seven Days in May (1964). He produced and starred in Spartacus (1960). He continued to appear in films into the 21st century.
American actor noted for his portrayal of tough characters in films such as Champion (1949) and The Bad and the Beautiful (1953). He won an honorary Academy Award in 1996.
Douglas was born in Amsterdam, New York
to Herschel Danielovitch and Bryna Sanglel, poor Russian
Jewish[1] parents who immigrated
from Gomel, now in Belarus. 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. In
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 2
November, 1943. After the war, he returned to New York City and started doing radio theater 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 publicly
opposing Stanley Kubrick's intention to take credit for the screenplay of
Spartacus, which had been adapted from Howard
Fast's novel by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo. Douglas had collaborated closely
with Kubrick in the masterpiece 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 ordered to defend three innocent men on trial for their lives.
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.
