Kirk Douglas (1916-2020)
Hollywood acting legend Kirk Douglas passed away from natural causes on 5 February 2020 at the ripe old age of 103 years. His legendary screen presence and indomitable spirit of acting were iconic, and he has starred in over a dozen feature films that maintained his charisma and celebrity status. Kirk was one of Hollywood's leading men but one of the last surviving actors that lived through the Golden Age. He was also the father of Michael Douglas, who still followed in his acting footsteps.
Born Izzy Demsky to Russian parents who emigrated to America, Kirk legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before enlisting in the United States Navy during World War II. Before his acting career had begun, Kirk had worked on radio, theatre and commercials. He made his breakthrough on stage with "Kiss and Tell" when he took over a role originally portrayed by Richard Widmark. It led to other offers for Douglas, and his career blossomed and later transitioned to movie roles, starting with his debut in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" with Barbara Stanwyck.
Kirk's leading man persona and tough-guy image were established in 1949 when producer Stanley Kramer chose him to play the boxer in "Champion". This part brought him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Other early films soon followed, including "Young Man with a Horn", "Ace in the Hole" with Lauren Bacall, and "Detective Story", which brought him a Golden Globe nomination. Kirk then starred in "The Bad and the Beautiful" and received an Oscar nomination for his role as a movie producer. In 1954, the same year he played the titular character in "Ulysses", Douglas proved that he could handle parts with a comic edge in Walt Disney's big-budgeted adaptation of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in which he starred as the sailor Ned Land. In addition to starring in his movies, Kirk founded his own production company, Byrna Productions, which he named after his mother.
Kirk played Vincent Van Gogh in "Lust for Life", which grabbed him his third Oscar nomination and has collaborated with a young unknown film director named Stanley Kubrick for the two films, "Paths of Glory" and famously "Spartacus". The latter featured Kirk in a role that defined his career as the title character who leads a slave rebellion. He was also the executive producer of that movie and was the producer of "Lonely Are the Brave", in which he also starred. Throughout the decades, Kirk has continued to appear in more films like "Gunfight at the O.K. Caroll", "The Devil's Disciple", "Seven Days in May", "In Harm's Way", "Saturn 3", "The Final Countdown" (which was produced by his son Peter), "The Man from Snowy River", "Tough Guys", etc.
In 1963, Kirk starred in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", a stage version after buying the rights to the novel from its author, and was later made into a movie by his son Michael, who produced it and starred Jack Nicholson in Kirk's stead when he was considered too old for the part.
Before retiring from acting in 2004, Kirk survived a helicopter crash that nearly killed him in 1991 and suffered a stroke in 1996, which affected his speech. He received an Honorary Award for his lifetime achievement over 50 years in that same year. Kirk became a centenarian when he celebrated his 100th birthday and appeared in the 2018 Golden Globes at age 101 with his daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta-Jones to help present the Best Screenplay award while receiving a standing ovation.
I never saw many of Kirk Douglas' movies and would have respected him as an actor, and my condolences to his family and friends.
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