KIRK DOUGLAS
Information from IMDb
Date of birth
9 December 1916
Amsterdam, New York, USA
Sometimes Credited As:
Issur Danielovitch
Birth name
Issur Danielovitch Demsky
Height
5' 9" (1.75 m)
Spouse
Anne Buydens (29 May 1954 - present) two sons
Diana Douglas (2 November 1943 - 1951) (divorced) 2 sons
Trivia
Recipient of American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement award, with screening of 16 his films. [December 1999]
Ranked #53 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Born Issur Danielovitch to father Jacob Danielovitch, and mother Channa, from Russia, who came to America in 1912.
Suffered a stroke. [1995]
Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Carter on 17th January 1981. This is the highest US honor a civilian can receive.
Turned down 2 Oscar winning roles: Lee Marvin's role in Cat Ballou (1965) and William Holden's role in Stalag 17 (1953).
Father of 4 sons: Michael Douglas, Eric Douglas, Joel Douglas and Peter Douglas.
Earned $50,000 for saying the only English word at the end of a 1980s Japanese TV commercial: "Coffee".
Speaks German (fluently, but not accent-free) and also French.
Survived a helicopter crash on 23 February 1991 in which two people were killed. He was left with a debilitating back injury.
Kirk has celebrated his Bar Mitzvah twice. Once, obviously, when he was 13 years old and the other time when he was 83 years old.
President Class Of 1939, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. Graduated with a degree in English.
Received a UCLA Medal of honor 14 June 2002 from the University of California, Los Angeles, during school's graduation ceremony for theater, film and television students. Previous recipients include former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and actors Laurence Olivier and Carol Burnett.
Granddaughter, Carys Zeta born. [21 April 2003]
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1984.
Father-in-law of Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Was originally cast to play Col. Sam Trautman in First Blood (1982), but walked out on the project. Douglas wanted substantial changes made to the script, specifically that John Rambo die at the hands of Trautman, like the character did in the novel. The writers held their ground and refused. Richard Crenna was eventually cast in the role.
He was voted the 36th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Wore lifts in many of his films.
Kirk had a fully Jewish upbringing, but did not practice extensively as an adult. This changed when, in his 80s, he had a second Bar Mitzvah, reaffirming his faith and causing him to practice again.
was named #17 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute
Had a pacemaker fitted following a heart attack in a restaurant in 1989.
President of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970
He and Burt Lancaster acted together in 7 movies: Victory at Entebbe (1976) (TV), Tough Guys (1986), Seven Days in May (1964), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), I Walk Alone (1948), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) and _The Devil's Disciple (1959)_
He was not as good of a friend with Burt Lancaster as was often perceived. The closeness of their friendship was largely fabricated by the publicity-wise Douglas, while, in reality, Lancaster was often cruel and dismissive to Douglas.
He had both knees replaced in 2005, against the advice of his doctors. The operation was a success.
After his son, Michael was fired from the stage production of the play, Summer Tree, Kirk bought the stage and film rights to the story and gave to Michael to star in.
Grandfather of 7 children: Cameron Douglas (b. 13 December 1978), Dylan Michael Douglas (b. 8 August 2000), Carys Zeta Douglas (b. 20 April 2003) (children of his son Michael Douglas), Kelsey (b. 1992), Tyler (b. 1996), Ryan (b. 2000) and Jason (b. 2003) (children of his son Peter Douglas)
Former father-in-law of Diandra Douglas
Appeared in a stage production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He later bought the film rights. This is why his son Michael is credited as a producer of the film.
If he had not heeded wife Anne's advice, Douglas would have been on producer Mike Todd's doomed private plane in 1958, a fated flight that then Todd's wife Elizabeth Taylor actually canceled due to a bad cold
Met his German wife-to-be Anne (Buydens) when she applied for a job as his assistant on the French location shoot for the movie Un acte d'amour (1953)
Mini Biography-1
Cleft-chinned, steely-eyed and virile star of international cinema who rose from being "the ragman's son" (the name give to his best-selling 1988 autobiography) of Russian-Jewish ancestry to become a bona fide superstar, Kirk Douglas was actually born Issur Danielovitch Demsky in Amsterdam, New York, in 1916. Although growing up in a poor ghetto, Douglas was a fine student and a keen athlete and wrestled competitively during his time at St. Lawrence University. However, he soon identified an acting scholarship as a way out of his meager existence, and was sufficiently talented to gain entry into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He only appeared in a handful of minor Broadway productions before joining the US Navy in 1941, and then after the end of hostilities in 1945, returned to the theater and some radio work. On the insistence of ex-classmate Lauren Bacall movie producer Hal B. Wallis screen-tested Douglas and cast him in the lead role in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). His performance received rave reviews and further work quickly followed, including an appearance in the low-key drama I Walk Alone (1948), the first time he worked alongside fellow future screen legend Burt Lancaster. Such was the strong chemistry between the two that they appeared in seven films together, including the dynamic western Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), the John Frankenheimer political thriller Seven Days in May (1964) and their final pairing in the gangster comedy Tough Guys (1986). Douglas once said about his good friend: "I've finally gotten away from Burt Lancaster. My luck has changed for the better. I've got nice-looking girls in my films now".
After appearing in "I Walk Alone", Douglas scored his first Oscar nomination playing the untrustworthy and opportunistic boxer Midge Kelly in the gripping Champion (1949). The quality of his work continued to garner the attention of critics and he was again nominated for Oscars for his role as a film producer in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and as tortured painter Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956), both directed by Vincente Minnelli. In 1955 Douglas launched his own production company, Bryna Productions, the company behind two pivotal film roles in his career. The first was as French army officer Col. Dax in director Stanley Kubrick's brilliant anti-war epic Paths of Glory (1957). Douglas reunited with Kubrick for yet another epic, the magnificent Spartacus (1960). The film also marked a key turning point in the life of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who had been blacklisted during the McCarthy "Red Scare" hysteria in the 1950s. At Douglas' insistence Trumbo was given on-screen credit for his contributions, which began the dissolution of the infamous blacklisting policies begun almost a decade previously that had destroyed so many careers and lives.
Douglas remained busy throughout the 1960s, starring in many films,. He played a rebellious modern-day cowboy in Lonely Are the Brave (1962), acted alongside John Wayne in the World War II story In Harm's Way (1965), again with The Duke in a drama about the Israeli fight for independence, Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), and once more with Wayne in the tongue-in-cheek western The War Wagon (1967). Additionally, in 1963 he starred in an onstage production of Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", but despite his keen interest, no Hollywood studio could be convinced to bring the story to the screen. However, the rights remained with the Douglas clan, and Kirk's talented son Michael Douglas finally filmed the tale in 1975, starring Jack Nicholson. Into the 1970s Douglas wasn't as busy as previous years; however, he starred in some unusual vehicles, including alongside a young Arnold Schwarzenegger in the loopy western comedy The Villain (1979), then with Farrah Fawcett in the sci-fi thriller Saturn 3 (1980) and then he traveled to Australia for the horse opera/drama The Man from Snowy River (1982).
Unknown to many, Kirk has long been involved in humanitarian causes and has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the US State Department since 1963. His efforts were rewarded in 1981 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 1983 with the Jefferson Award. Furthermore, the French honored him with the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. More recognition followed for his work with the American Cinema Award (1987), the German Golden Kamera Award (1987), The National Board of Reviews Career Achievement Award (1989), an honorary Academy Award (1995), Recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999) and the UCLA Medal of Honor (2002). Despite a helicopter crash and a stroke suffered in the 1990s, he remains active and continues to appear in front of the camera.
IMDb mini-biography by firehouse44
Mini Biography-2
from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
His ready grin, granitechisled features, cleft chin, and an approach to acting that made him equally convincing in both sympathetic and unsympathetic roles made Kirk Douglas one of the brightest stars of post-WW 2 Hollywood (and, later, the international arena as well). Born into immigrant poverty, he saw an acting scholarship as his ticket out of the ghetto. He secured small roles on Broadway before entering the Navy in World War 2, and afterward resumed his stage career. His old classmate Lauren Bacall suggested that producer Hal Wallis test him, resulting in his being cast in the lead role in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). Douglas won excellent reviews, which encouraged him to remain in Hollywood, and in 1947 he made the classic noir Out of the Past the film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra (as Peter), and the undernourished drama I Walk Alone (the first of several films with close friend Burt Lancaster). Douglas also had a key role in the multi-Oscared A Letter to Three Wives (1949), then scored a knockout as the venal boxer Midge Kelly in that year's Champion a classic prizefighting drama that cemented his stardom and earned him his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor.
Now acknowledged to be a top leading man, Douglas played a thinly disguised Bix Beiderbecke in Young Man With a Horn the "gentleman caller" in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie (both 1950), a heartlessly ambitious reporter in Ace in the Hole (aka The Big Carnival), a two-fisted cop in Detective Story (both 1951), a frontiersman in The Big Sky a ruthless movie producer in The Bad and the Beautiful (both 1952, the latter Oscarnominated), an intrepid seaman in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954, in which he sang "A Whale of a Tale"), the title role in Ulysses (1955), a sharp-tongued cowpoke in Man Without a Star (1955), artist Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956, again, Oscar-nominated), gambler/gunfighter Doc Holliday in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and a war-sickened colonel in Paths of Glory (both 1957). Douglas infused every role with passion, and his performances were often multilayered ones; he could bring sinister traits to sympathetic characters, and vice versa. Something in his eyes, in his voice, behind that toothy grin, suggested lurking menace in some characters and suppressed mirth in others. But in all cases he kept audiences glued to their seats. He formed his own production company, Bryna, in 1958; its initial venture was a big-scale adventure film, The Vikings (1958), followed by The Devil's Disciple (1959), which was a coproduction with Lancaster's company, and the sexy melodrama Strangers When We Meet (1960). That same year also saw the release of Douglas' most ambitious film, the epic drama of Roman Empire days, Spartacus as its producer, he broke a long-standing Hollywood blacklist by insisting that scripter Dalton Trumbo (a member of the "Hollywood Ten") get proper screen credit for his contribution.
Douglas remained busy throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with a decided emphasis on Westerns and war films; among the more notable were Town Without Pity, The Last Sunset (both 1961), the cult "modern" Western Lonely Are the Brave, Two Weeks in Another Town (both 1962, the latter a semi-sequel to The Bad and the Beautiful), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Seven Days in May (1964), In Harm's Way (1965), Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), The War Wagon (1967), The Brotherhood (1968), The Arrangement (1969), EB> (1970), A Gunfight (1971), and two that he directed: Scalawag (1973) and Posse (1975). Thereafter he concentrated on character roles in such varied fare as Once Is Not Enough (also 1975), The Fury (1978), Home Movies (a hilarious turn as an egocentric star), The Villain (bravely mocking movie-Western villainy in a ham-fisted, cartoonish parody, both 1979), The Final Countdown (1980), The Man From Snowy River (1982, in a dual role for this Down-Under "Western"), and Tough Guys (1986, his last film with Lancaster). And though he abandoned the first Rambo film, First Blood early in its production, he eventually worked with star Sylvester Stallone in Oscar (1991). More recently he was cast as Michael J. Fox's crafty uncle in Greedy (1994).
His autobiography, "The Ragman's Son" (1988), was a best-seller, and in recent years he has expanded his literary career to writing novels as well, most notably "The Gift." Though he has never won an Oscar, Douglas did receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1991. His four sons all followed him into show business: actor Eric, producers Joel and Peter, and actor/producer Michael. Incidentally, it was Michael who pulled off Kirk's greatest dream: making Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest into a film. Kirk had played the lead role on stage and hoped to reprise it on screen, but in the years it took to launch the project he outgrew the role and surrendered it to Jack Nicholson.
Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.
Personal Quotes
"I've finally gotten away from Burt Lancaster. My luck has changed for the better. I've got nice-looking girls in my films now."
"Virtue is not photogenic. What is it to be a nice guy? To be nothing, that's what. A big fat zero with a smile for everybody."
"I've made a career of playing sons of bitches."
"In order to achieve anything you must be brave enough to fail."
"I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up."
"Making movies is a form of narcissism."
"People are always talking about the old days. They say that the old movies were better, that the old actors were so great. But I don't think so. All I can say about the old days is that they have passed."
"I have always told my sons that they didn't have my advantages of being born into abject poverty."
"I think half the success in life comes from first trying to find out what you really want to do. And then going ahead and doing it."
Salary
In Harm's Way (1965) $400,000
Paths of Glory (1957) $350,000
Champion (1949) $15,000
Out of the Past (1947) $25,000
Filmography
Actor
1. Illusion (2004) .... Donal Baines
2. It Runs in the Family (2003) .... Mitchell Gromberg
3. "Touched by an Angel"
- Bar Mitzvah (2000) TV Episode .... Ross Burger
4. Diamonds (1999) .... Harry Agensky
5. "The Simpsons"
- The Day the Violence Died (1996) TV Episode (voice) .... Chester J. Lampwick
6. Take Me Home Again (1994) (TV) .... Ed Reece
7. Greedy (1994) .... Uncle Joe McTeague
8. The Secret (1992) (TV) .... Grandpa Mike Dunmore
9. "Tales from the Crypt"
... aka HBO's Tales from the Crypt
- Yellow (1991) TV Episode .... General Kalthrob
10. Veraz (1991) .... Quentin
... aka Bienvenido a Veraz
... aka Welcome to Veraz (International: English title)
11. Oscar (1991) .... Eduardo Provolone
12. Two-Fisted Tales (1991) (TV) .... General (segment "Yellow")
13. Inherit the Wind (1988) (TV) .... Matthew Harrison Brady
14. Queenie (1987) (TV) .... David Konig
15. Tough Guys (1986) .... Archie Long
16. Amos (1985) (TV) .... Amos Lasher
17. Draw! (1984) (TV) .... Harry H. Holland aka Handsome Harry Holland
18. Eddie Macon's Run (1983) .... Carl 'Buster' Marzack
19. Remembrance of Love (1982) (TV) .... Joe Rabin
... aka Holocaust Survivors... Remembrance of Love
20. The Man from Snowy River (1982) .... Harrison/Spur
21. The Final Countdown (1980) .... Capt. Matthew Yelland
... aka U.S.S. Nimitz: Lost in the Pacific (Europe: English title: DVD box title)
22. "Saturday Night Live"
... aka NBC's Saturday Night (USA: original title)
... aka SNL
... aka SNL 25 (USA: new title)
... aka Saturday Night Live '80 (USA: new title)
- Episode #5.12 (1980) TV Episode .... Host
23. Saturn 3 (1980) .... Adam
24. The Villain (1979) .... Cactus Jack
... aka Cactus Jack (UK)
25. Home Movies (1979) .... Dr. Tuttle 'The Maestro'
... aka The Maestro (USA)
26. The Fury (1978) .... Peter Sandza
27. Holocaust 2000 (1977) .... Robert Caine
... aka Rain of Fire (USA)
... aka The Chosen
28. Victory at Entebbe (1976) (TV) .... Hershel Vilnofsky
29. "Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers" (1976) (mini) TV Series .... Alex Vandervoort
... aka The Moneychangers
30. "Disneyland"
... aka Disney's Wonderful World (USA: new title)
... aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title)
... aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title)
... aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title)
- 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1976) TV Episode .... Ned Land
31. Posse (1975) .... Howard Nightingale
32. Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough (1975) .... Mike Wayne
... aka Once Is Not Enough
33. Mousey (1974) (TV) .... George Anderson
... aka Cat and Mouse
34. Scalawag (1973) .... Peg
... aka Jamie's Treasure Hunt (USA: reissue title)
... aka Magnifico ceffo di galera, Un (Italy)
... aka Protuva (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
35. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1973) (TV) .... Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
36. Uomo da rispettare, Un (1972) .... Steve Wallace
... aka A Man to Respect (USA)
... aka Achtbarer Mann, Ein (West Germany)
... aka Hearts and Minds
... aka The Master Touch (USA)
37. The Special London Bridge Special (1972) .... The Indian Fighter
38. A Gunfight (1971) .... Will Tenneray
... aka Gunfight (USA)
39. The Light at the Edge of the World (1971) .... Will Denton
... aka Luz del fin del mundo, La (Spain)
40. To Catch a Spy (1971) .... Andrej
... aka Catch Me a Spy
... aka Doigts croisés, Les (France)
... aka Keep Your Fingers Crossed (UK)
41. There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) .... Paris Pittman Jr.
42. The Arrangement (1969) .... Eddie Anderson
43. The Brotherhood (1968) .... Frank Ginetta
44. A Lovely Way to Die (1968) .... Jim Schuyler
... aka A Lovely Way to Go
45. The War Wagon (1967) .... Lomax
46. The Way West (1967) .... Sen. William J. Tadlock
47. Paris brûle-t-il? (1966) .... Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
... aka Is Paris Burning? (USA)
48. Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) .... Col. David 'Mickey' Marcus
49. In Harm's Way (1965) .... Eddington
50. The Heroes of Telemark (1965) .... Dr. Rolf Pedersen
51. Seven Days in May (1964) .... Col. Martin 'Jiggs' Casey
52. For Love or Money (1963) .... Donald Kenneth 'Deke' Gentry
... aka The Three-Way Match
... aka Three on a Match
53. The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) .... George Brougham/Vicar Atlee/Mr. Pythian/Arthur Henderson
54. The Hook (1963) .... Sgt. P.J. Briscoe
55. Two Weeks in Another Town (1962) .... Jack Andrus
56. Lonely Are the Brave (1962) .... John W. "Jack" Burns
57. The Last Sunset (1961) .... Brendan O'Malley
58. Town Without Pity (1961) .... Maj. Steve Garrett
... aka Stadt ohne Mitleid (West Germany)
... aka Ville sans pitié (Switzerland: French title: literal title)
59. Spartacus (1960) .... Spartacus
... aka Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome (USA: poster title)
60. Strangers When We Meet (1960) .... Larry Coe
61. The Devil's Disciple (1959) .... Richard 'Dick' Dudgeon
62. Last Train from Gun Hill (1959) .... Marshal Matt Morgan
... aka One Angry Day (USA: alternative title)
63. The Vikings (1958) .... Einar
64. Paths of Glory (1957) .... Col. Dax
65. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) .... Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday
66. Top Secret Affair (1957) .... Maj. Gen. Melville Goodwin
... aka Their Secret Affair (UK)
67. Lust for Life (1956) .... Vincent Van Gogh
68. The Indian Fighter (1955) .... Johnny Hawks
69. Man Without a Star (1955) .... Dempsey Rae
70. Ulisse (1955) .... Ulysses
... aka Ulysses
71. The Racers (1955) .... Gino Borgesa
... aka Such Men Are Dangerous (UK)
72. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) .... Ned Land
... aka Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (USA: reissue title)
73. Un acte d'amour (1953) .... Robert Teller
... aka Act of Love (USA)
... aka Quelque part dans le monde
74. The Juggler (1953) .... Hans Muller
75. The Story of Three Loves (1953) .... Pierre Narval (segment "Equilibrium")
... aka Equilibrium
... aka Three Stories of Love
76. The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) .... Jonathan Shields
77. The Big Sky (1952) .... Jim Deakins
78. The Big Trees (1952) .... Jim Fallon
79. Detective Story (1951) .... Det. James 'Jim' McLeod
80. Ace in the Hole (1951) .... Charles 'Chuck' Tatum
... aka The Big Carnival (USA: new title)
81. Along the Great Divide (1951) .... Marshal Len Merrick
... aka The Travelers (USA)
82. The Glass Menagerie (1950) .... Jim O'Connor
83. Young Man with a Horn (1950) .... Rick Martin
... aka Young Man of Music (UK)
... aka Young Man with a Trumpet (Australia)
84. Champion (1949) .... Michael 'Midge' Kelly
85. A Letter to Three Wives (1949) .... George Phipps
86. My Dear Secretary (1949) .... Owen Waterbury
87. The Walls of Jericho (1948) .... Tucker Wedge
88. I Walk Alone (1948) .... Noll 'Dink' Turner
89. Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) .... Peter Niles
90. Out of the Past (1947) .... Whit Sterling
... aka Build My Gallows High (UK)
91. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) .... Walter O'Neil
Producer
1. Posse (1975) (producer)
2. The Light at the Edge of the World (1971) (producer)
... aka Luz del fin del mundo, La (Spain)
3. Summertree (1971) (producer)
4. The Brotherhood (1968) (producer)
5. Grand Prix (1966) (executive producer)
6. Spartacus (1960) (executive producer)
... aka Spartacus: Rebel Against Rome (USA: poster title)
7. "Tales of the Vikings" (1959) TV Series (producer)
... aka The Vikings
8. Paths of Glory (1957) (producer)
Miscellaneous Crew
1. Drawing First Blood (2002) (V) (special thanks)
2. Tough Guys (1986) (production consultant) (as Issur Danielovitch)
3. The 30th Annual Academy Awards (1958) (TV) (singer: "It's Great Not to Be Nominated")
Director
1. Posse (1975)
2. Scalawag (1973)
... aka Jamie's Treasure Hunt (USA: reissue title)
... aka Magnifico ceffo di galera, Un (Italy)
... aka Protuva (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
).
! BTW, I just learned that I share a birthday with Kirk Douglas - at least the day and the month! Who knew??
