![]() ![]() Rather than reup with Wallis for another seven years at Paramount, Douglas decided to freelance, appearing in Fox’s sophisticated Joseph Mankiewicz comedy “A Letter to Three Wives,” among other films. According to the actor, “This was the beginning of my reputation for being difficult.” Wallis loaned him out for “Mourning Becomes Electra” and the film noir “Out of the Past.” On “I Walk Alone,” co-starring Lancaster, Douglas clashed with Wallis. He made his film bow opposite Barbara Stanwyck in “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers,” after which he returned briefly to Broadway to appear in Sam and Bella Spewack’s farce “Woman Bites Dog.” On the recommendation of a classmate, Lauren Bacall, he was auditioned and signed by producer Hal Wallis at $500 a week. He returned to Broadway - he’d had a walk-on role before the war - replacing Richard Widmark in the comedy “Kiss and Tell” and the drama “Trio.” He had to drop out of the original production of the musical “On the Town,” citing “psychosomatic laryngitis.” It was at AADA that he met Diana Dill, who became his first wife and the mother of sons Michael and Joel.Īfter working in summer stock, Douglas made his Broadway debut in 1941 as a singing Western Union messenger in “Spring Again.”ĭuring his WWII stint in the Navy, Douglas was hit with amoebic dysentery and honorably discharged in June 1944. He worked odd jobs after college - usher, professional wrestler, soda jerk - to pay his way through the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Lawrence U., where, between wrestling matches, he took an interest in dramatics. With help from loans and scholarships, Douglas attended St. “Even on Eagle Street, the poorest section of town … the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder. ![]() In his autobiography “The Ragman’s Son,” he described the abject poverty in which he was raised. Douglas insisted on WGA arbitration to get Trumbo credit in 1960, while earlier that year, Otto Preminger announced that Trumbo had scripted “Exodus.”) Douglas was honored by the ACLU with a Bill of Rights Award “for having the courage and conviction to break the infamous Hollywood blacklist and forcing the full recognition of one of its victims.”īorn Issur Danielovitch (later changed to Demsky) in Amsterdam, N.Y., Douglas was the only son of Russian Jewish immigrants. But his big, macho persona sometimes made people forget his subtle sensitivity in films like “Lust for Life,” “Paths of Glory” and “Lonely Are the Brave.”ĭouglas is credited with helping break the 1950s blacklist when he insisted that Dalton Trumbo (one of the Hollywood 10) be credited for his screenplay on the film “Spartacus.” (Trumbo had written a number of scripts during the ’50s, but always under pseudonyms. With his clenched throat and intense volatility, he was an easy target for comic impressionists. Oscar-nommed three times, he was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1996. #KirkDouglasĪ post shared by Michael Douglas on at 3:33pm PSTĪs an actor, Douglas excelled in playing men fighting for their honor (“Spartacus,” “Seven Days in May”) and cocky protagonists who were sometimes likable (“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”) and sometimes hateful (“Champion,” “The Bad and the Beautiful”). Dad- I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son. Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Kirk's life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet. But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband. To the world he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to. It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103. ![]()
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