Kirk Douglas

Born Issur Danielovitch, Douglas grew up in Amsterdam, New York, as the only son in a family of seven children. His parents, Herschel and Bryna Danielovitch, were Jewish immigrants, and his father worked as a ragman during the Depression. Douglas held jobs including janitor, waiter, bellhop and newspaper seller to help fund his education.

He attended St. Lawrence University, where he earned a degree in English in 1939 and became an intercollegiate wrestling champion. He later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York on a scholarship and adopted the name Kirk Douglas. His early stage work included the Broadway play Spring Again, but his career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the U.S. Navy as a communications officer.

Douglas made his film debut opposite Barbara Stanwyck in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers in 1946. Supporting roles in Out of the Past, Mourning Becomes Electra and I Walk Alone established him in Hollywood before his breakthrough as the ruthless boxer Midge Kelly in Champion in 1949. The performance earned his first Academy Award nomination and established his recurring screen image as cocky, driven and often deeply flawed.

He received further Oscar nominations for playing the corrupt film executive Jonathan Shields in The Bad and the Beautiful and the tormented painter Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life. Other prominent films included Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole, Detective Story, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Lonely Are the Brave.

Douglas worked frequently with Burt Lancaster, appearing with him in seven films. Their collaborations included I Walk Alone, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Devil’s Disciple, Seven Days in May and Tough Guys, which became their final screen pairing. He also worked with Stanley Kubrick on Paths of Glory and Spartacus, two of the defining films of his career.

Douglas formed the independent production company Bryna Productions in 1955, naming it after his mother. The company’s first film was The Indian Fighter, in which Douglas also starred. Bryna later supported films including Paths of Glory, The Vikings, Spartacus, The List of Adrian Messenger, Seven Days in May, Scalawag and Posse, as well as television projects.

Spartacus marked Douglas’s first film as a producer. He insisted that screenwriter Dalton Trumbo receive on-screen credit despite Trumbo’s blacklisting during the McCarthy era. The decision challenged Hollywood’s blacklist and helped bring its system of exclusion to an end.

Douglas later directed Scalawag in 1973 and Posse in 1975. Although Scalawag was poorly received, Posse eventually developed a cult following.

Douglas remained active in film through the 1970s and 1980s, appearing in The Fury, The Man from Snowy River and Tough Guys. After suffering a serious stroke in the 1990s that affected his speech, he returned to the screen in Diamonds in 1999. He later appeared in It Runs in the Family with his son Michael Douglas and in Illusion.

Writing became an important part of his later career. His best-selling autobiography The Ragman’s Son appeared in 1988, followed by the novels Dance with the Devil, The Gift and Last Tango in Brooklyn. His nonfiction books included Climbing the Mountain, My Stroke of Luck, Let’s Face It and I Am Spartacus!: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist. He also published children’s books and the poetry collection Life Could Be Verse.

In 2009, Douglas presented the one-man stage show Before I Forget, reflecting on his filmmaking career and personal experiences. He also appeared in the 2000 television drama Touched by an Angel, a performance that earned an Emmy nomination.

Douglas and his wife Anne established the Douglas Foundation to support civic and charitable causes. Its work included educational initiatives, medical research, assistance for homeless people and support for people with disabilities. The foundation also supported medical institutions, facilities for older adults and projects benefiting children.

His public service extended beyond philanthropy. Douglas served as a goodwill ambassador for the State Department and the United States Information Agency, traveling through South America, the Far East, Europe, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his public service and was also appointed a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.

Douglas received the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Honors, the Cecil B. DeMille Award and an honorary Academy Award. He was also honored with the National Medal of Arts, the Jefferson Award and career achievement awards from the National Board of Review and the American Cinema Awards.

He was married first to Diana Dill, with whom he had Michael Douglas and Joel Douglas, and later to Anne Buydens, with whom he had Peter Douglas and Eric Douglas. Eric died in 2004. Douglas’s family participated in It Runs in the Family, which also featured Michael and Cameron Douglas.

Kirk Douglas died at his home in Beverly Hills on February 5, 2020, at the age of 103. He was remembered for a career spanning more than six decades, more than eighty films and a body of work that combined acting, filmmaking, writing and social advocacy.