Kirk Douglas
Biography
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor, producer, director and author. He grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II.
During his career, Douglas appeared in more than 90 movies and was known for his explosive acting style. He became an international star for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion (1949), which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other early films include Young Man with a Horn (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), and Detective Story (1951), a film for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor in a Drama. He received a second Oscar nomination for his role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and his third nomination for portraying Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956), which landed him a second Golden Globe nomination.
In 1955, Douglas established Bryna Productions, which produced films as varied as Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). He took the lead roles in both films. Douglas has been praised for helping to break the Hollywood blacklist by having Dalton Trumbo write Spartacus with an official on-screen credit. In 1963 Douglas starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a story that he purchased and later gave to his son Michael Douglas, who turned it into an Oscar-winning film.
As an actor and philanthropist, Douglas received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As an author, he wrote ten novels and memoirs. He is No. 17 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema.
Kirk Douglas died at age 103.
Acting (116 movies)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
Spartacus
1960
Paths of Glory
1957
Out of the Past
1947
Movie Tough Guys
1991
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1973
Is Paris Burning?
1966
Detective Story
1951
Tough Guys
1986
Victory at Entebbe
1976
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957
It Runs in the Family
2003
The List of Adrian Messenger
1963
Seven Days in May
1964
The Man from Snowy River
1982
Home Movies
1980
Oscar
1991
Cast a Giant Shadow
1966
The Final Countdown
1980
Ace in the Hole
1951
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
The Bad and the Beautiful
1952
Greedy
1994
The Fury
1978
Champion
1949
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
1946
I Walk Alone
1947
There Was a Crooked Man...
1970
The War Wagon
1967
Young Man with a Horn
1950
Diamonds
1999
Eddie Macon's Run
1983
Lust for Life
1956
Last Train from Gun Hill
1959
The Vikings
1958
The Way West
1967
Lonely are the Brave
1962
Man Without a Star
1955
The Big Sky
1952
The Big Trees
1952
Ulysses
1954
Along the Great Divide
1951
Two Weeks in Another Town
1962
In Harm's Way
1965
A Letter to Three Wives
1949
Posse
1975
Holocaust 2000
1977
The Heroes of Telemark
1965
The Last Sunset
1961
The Master Touch
1972
My Dear Secretary
1948
The Glass Menagerie
1950
The Arrangement
1969
A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2005
Mourning Becomes Electra
1947
Saturn 3
1980
A Gunfight
1971
The Brotherhood
1968
The Light at the Edge of the World
1971
Catch Me a Spy
1971
Town Without Pity
1961
The Indian Fighter
1955
The Devil's Disciple
1959
Strangers When We Meet
1960
A Lovely Way to Die
1968
Illusion
2004
Once Is Not Enough
1975
Mousey
1974
The Walls of Jericho
1948
Draw!
1984
The Story of Three Loves
1953
Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices
2008
Scalawag
1973
The Lies Boys Tell
1994
Top Secret Affair
1957
The Racers
1955
The Villain
1979
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
1986
Act of Love
1953
The Hook
1963
Remembrance Of Love
1982
Inherit the Wind
1988
For Love or Money
1963
Amos
1985
Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget
2009
The Juggler
1953
Vincent van Gogh Superstar
2019
Operation Undersea
1954
The Special London Bridge Special
1972
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010
Trumbo
2007
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
1997
Mike Wallace Is Here
2019
Welcome to Veraz
1991
J'ai tout donné
1972
Two-Fisted Tales
1992
The Secret
1992
Rowan & Martin at the Movies
1968
If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
2017
Directing (2 movies)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The Indian Fighter | 1955 | Executive Producer |
| Lizzie | 1957 | Executive Producer |
| Paths of Glory | 1957 | Producer |
| Ride Out for Revenge | 1957 | Executive Producer |
| The Vikings | 1958 | Executive Producer |
| Strangers When We Meet | 1960 | Executive Producer |
| Spartacus | 1960 | Executive Producer |
| The Last Sunset | 1961 | Executive Producer |
| Lonely are the Brave | 1962 | Executive Producer |
| The List of Adrian Messenger | 1963 | Executive Producer |
| Grand Prix | 1966 | Executive Producer |
| The Brotherhood | 1968 | Producer |
| Summertree | 1971 | Producer |
| The Light at the Edge of the World | 1971 | Producer |
| A Gunfight | 1971 | Executive Producer |
| Scalawag | 1973 | Writer |
| Posse | 1975 | Producer |
| Something Wicked This Way Comes | 1983 | Executive Producer |
| Amos | 1985 | Executive Producer |