Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas, born Issur Danielovitch on December 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York, was an American actor, filmmaker, and author whose career spanned more than six decades. The fourth of seven children and the only son of Russian-Jewish immigrants Herschel and Bryna Danielovitch, he grew up in the poorest section of Amsterdam, where his father worked as a ragman collecting scrap metal and old rags. The family spoke Yiddish at home and endured severe financial hardship, compounded by his father's alcoholism and physical abuse. To help support his mother and six sisters, Douglas sold snacks to mill workers, delivered newspapers, and held more than forty jobs during his youth. His family adopted the surname Demsky from an uncle, and Douglas grew up as Izzy Demsky before legally changing his name prior to enlisting in the United States Navy.

His interest in acting began in kindergarten, when he recited a poem before an audience and received applause. After performing in plays at Amsterdam High School, from which he graduated in 1934, he pursued admission to St. Lawrence University by presenting his academic honors directly to the dean, ultimately earning a bachelor's degree in 1939 while working part-time as a gardener and janitor to repay a loan. He also wrestled on the university's team and spent one summer wrestling in a carnival to earn money. He subsequently received a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where his classmates included Betty Joan Perske — later known as Lauren Bacall — and Diana Dill, who would become his first wife.

Douglas joined the United States Navy in 1941 and served as a communications officer in anti-submarine warfare aboard USS PC-1139. He was medically discharged in 1944, having reached the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade), after sustaining injuries from the premature explosion of a depth charge. His Broadway career ran from 1941 to 1963 and included appearances in the comedy Spring Again, the comedy Alice in Arms, the play Man Bites Dog, the play The Wind Is Ninety, and the play The Three Sisters, among other productions. In 1963, he starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, having purchased the rights to the story; he later gave those rights to his son Michael Douglas, whose film adaptation won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Following his discharge, Douglas returned to New York and worked in radio, theater, and commercials, finding the experience of performing in network soap operas particularly valuable for developing his vocal skills. His stage work led to his taking over a role from Richard Widmark in Kiss and Tell in 1943, which generated further offers. His transition to film came when Bacall recommended him to producer Hal B. Wallis, resulting in his screen debut opposite Barbara Stanwyck in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers in 1946. He had originally intended to remain a stage actor.

Douglas quickly established himself as a leading film presence throughout the late 1940s and 1950s. His portrayal of an unscrupulous boxing champion in Champion in 1949 earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He followed that with roles in Out of the Past in 1947, Young Man with a Horn in 1950 alongside Lauren Bacall and Doris Day, Ace in the Hole in 1951, and Detective Story in 1951, the last of which brought him a Golden Globe nomination. A second Oscar nomination came for The Bad and the Beautiful in 1952, opposite Lana Turner, and a third for his portrayal of Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life in 1956, a role that also earned him the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama. He co-starred with James Mason in the adventure film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1954, which became a major box-office success.

In September 1949, at the age of 32, Douglas founded Bryna Productions, through which he produced films including Paths of Glory in 1957 and Spartacus in 1960, both directed by Stanley Kubrick. On Spartacus, Douglas hired screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and insisted on giving him an official on-screen credit, a decision widely credited with helping to break the Hollywood blacklist. He produced and starred in Lonely Are the Brave in 1962 and Seven Days in May in 1964, the latter alongside Burt Lancaster, with whom he made seven films in total. During the 1980s he appeared in Saturn 3 in 1980, The Man from Snowy River in 1982, and Tough Guys in 1986, the last of which reunited him with Lancaster. He also appeared in the television film Inherit the Wind in 1988 and in an episode of Touched by an Angel in 2000, earning his third Emmy nomination for the latter.

Douglas survived a helicopter crash in 1991 and suffered a stroke in 1996, after which he focused on renewing his spiritual and religious life and reconnected with Judaism. He wrote ten novels and memoirs, including his 1988 autobiography The Ragman's Son. Among his honors were an Academy Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and recognition by the American Film Institute as the 17th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood cinema. He lived with his second wife, producer Anne Buydens, until his death on February 5, 2020, at the age of 103.