On February 5, local time, American actor Michael Douglas announced the death of his father, the legendary Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas, on his personal social media account: "My brother and I have a very sad heart to inform you that Kirk Douglas has left us today at the age of 103. His life was very fulfilling, and the film legacy he left behind is bound to continue to influence future generations. ”
Screenshot of Michael Douglas' personal social media account, son of Kirk Douglas.
Three times passed by the Oscars
Kirk Douglas, who has been acting for more than 60 years, has starred in many classic films in film history, including "Spartacus" and "Paths of Glory", and has also been nominated for an Oscar three times, and was awarded the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1996. Michael Douglas said in his post: "For the world, he is a legend, an actor from the golden age of cinema, a humanitarian who is committed to justice and his own cause, and an example for all to follow." But for me and my brothers Joel and Peter, he was just a father. He is also Catherine's good father-in-law, a good grandfather and elder of the third and fourth generations of our family. For his wife, Anna, he was also an excellent husband. Finally, allow me to conclude with the words I told him on his last birthday: Dad, I love you so much. It is my pride to be your son. ”
On November 6, 2018, local time, Michael Douglas left his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, father Kirk Douglas, and son Cameron Douglas were present to congratulate him. IC Infographic
Kirk Douglas was born in New York City on December 9, 1916, under the name Issur Danielovitch Demsky. His parents, both Jewish immigrants from Russia who couldn't read a single word, survived in the United States by odd jobs and garbage, but supported seven children (including Douglas and his six sisters). Hence Kirk Douglas's 1988 autobiography, titled The Ragman's Son.
As a child, because of his family's poverty, Kirk Douglas worked all kinds of odd jobs, from selling newspapers to working as a street vendor, and he experienced all kinds of worldly sufferings early on. In high school, he began to participate in school dramas and fell in love with acting. After graduating from high school, he was admitted to the University of St. Lawrence, but his family could not make up for his tuition. So Douglas persuaded the principal to lend him a bursary to repay it by working as a cleaner and gardener on campus.
At the age of 23, Kirk Douglas graduated from college and was admitted to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan on a scholarship. Among his classmates at the time was Lauren Bacall, who later became a hit in Hollywood. Two years later, world war II broke out, Douglas joined the U.S. Navy, retiring in 1944 due to injury.
After returning to New York, he successfully starred in his screen debut ,The Strange Love of Martha Ivers," on the recommendation of Lauren Becky, earning recognition from Hollywood studios for his outstanding looks and appearance. "Champion" (1949) was his first major starring title, and for it he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, allowing him to compete with Gregory Pike, John Wayne and other actors who had become famous at that time, but that year won by Broadrick Crawford of "All the King's Men". In 1953, Kirk Douglas was nominated for another Oscar for Best Actor for "The Bad and the Beautiful," this time losing to Gary Cooper of Hign Noon. In 1957, he played the great painter Van Gogh in the film Lust for Life, and won his third Oscar nomination for Best Actor, but unfortunately lost to Yubrenner of The King and Me.
Stills from Van Gogh
Filming "Spartacus" boldly used the "blacklist" screenwriter
In 1955, Douglas, hoping to gain more influence in the film industry, bid farewell to Warner Bros. Pictures, with whom he had originally signed a long contract, and created the Brina Film Company himself, which was named in honor of his mother, Bryna Demsky. As a child, his father, who was busy making a living, did not care much about the seven children in the family, which often made little Douglas quite frustrated. Therefore, he has always been closest to his mother, and at the same time, he also secretly swore that when he grows up to be a parent, he must care more for his children and spend more time with them to grow up.
The most famous works of the Bulina Film Company are undoubtedly two films directed by the great director Stanley Kubrick. Released in December 1957, "The Glorious Road" was not very good at the box office - the film was released on Christmas Day, which is hardly a good choice for a war film, but to this day, it has long been regarded as one of the best anti-war films in film history. Three years later, Spartacus is arguably the most iconic work of Kirk Douglas's film career.
Stills from Spartacus
Originally, Kirk Douglas was very eager to star in the MGM blockbuster "Bingxu", but director William Wheeler eventually chose Charlton Heston, which disappointed Douglas. So he simply sought out Kubrick and prepared to bring the legend of the Thracian gladiator Spartacus to the screen. It is worth mentioning that the film was written by Dalton Trumbo, who at that time was influenced by McCarthyism and was on the "Hollywood blacklist", and Hollywood blockbusters were afraid to avoid it, even with his works, the cast list was listed under pseudonyms. But here in Spartacus, Douglas, who was the lead actor and executive producer, decided to make Dalton Trumbu famous on the big screen. The extraordinary courage behind this move has been talked about by the American film industry for more than half a century.
Stills from "The Glorious Road"
In his later years, he devoted himself to public welfare undertakings
Kirk Douglas starred in 75 films in his lifetime. In 1996, he suffered a stroke and although he recovered quickly, he basically quit the film industry. In March 2009, Douglas, 93, looked back on his long life by doing four talk shows called "Before I Forget" at kirk Douglas Theater, which bears his name in Culver City, Los Angeles. The entire performance was made into a documentary of the same name and was Douglas's last screen work.
In his later years, Kirk Douglas, who was so passionate about public welfare, funded the construction of more than 400 small children's parks throughout California. In addition, he donated money to the local Children's Hospital in Los Angeles and donated $40 million to the American Film and Television Foundation Home for the Elderly on Mulholland Road in Los Angeles, specifically for serving those film and television colleagues who are plagued by Alzheimer's disease, which is particularly praised by his Hollywood colleagues.
Kirk Douglas married American Academy classmate Diana Dill in 1943, and the two had two sons, Michael Douglas and Joel Douglas, but announced their divorce in 1951. Three years later, while filming Van Gogh in Paris, he met the Belgian Anne Buydens. The two entered into marriage in 1954 and later raised two sons, Peter Douglas and Eric Douglas. Sadly, the youngest son, Eric, died of drug addiction in 2004 at the age of 46, much to the sadness of Kirk Douglas, who was sent by the white-haired man to the brunette.
With the death of Kirk Douglas, the only Hollywood Golden Age star who is still alive today is Olivia de Havilland, who was also born in 1916 and starred in Gone with the Wind.