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1 | He released this statement for the release of Trumbo (2015): "As actors it is easy for us to play the hero. We get to fight the bad guys and stand up for justice. In real life, the choices are not always so clear. The Hollywood Blacklist, recreated powerfully on screen in Trumbo, was a time I remember well. The choices were hard. The consequences were painful and very real. During the blacklist, I had friends who went into exile when no one would hire them; actors who committed suicide in despair. My young co-star in Detective Story (1951), Lee Grant, was unable to work for twelve years after she refused to testify against her husband before the House Un-American Activities Committee. I was threatened that using a Blacklisted writer for Spartacus (1960) - my friend Dalton Trumbo - would mark me as a "Commie-lover" and end my career. There are times when one has to stand up for principle. I am so proud of my fellow actors who use their public influence to speak out against injustice. At 98 years old, I have learned one lesson from history: It very often repeats itself. I hope that Trumbo, a fine film, will remind all of us that the Blacklist was a terrible time in our country, but that we must learn from it so that it will never happen again.". |
2 | Douglas claimed to be 5'11" at his peak. However he was well known for wearing lifts and many sources say his peak height was 5'8". |
3 | His claim to have broken the blacklist by hiring Dalton Trumbo to write the screenplay for Spartacus (1960) was publicly disputed by Trumbo's son and daughter, as well as the film's producer Edward Lewis and Howard Fast's children. |
4 | Publicly called for more gun control in the United States in June 2013. |
5 | Is portrayed by Dean O'Gorman in Trumbo (2015). |
6 | Cowboy Stan Polson, owner of the Apple Valley Stables, taught Kirk Douglas how to ride a horse for Douglas's role in his first western, "Along the Great Divide". |
7 | Although he played Ernest Borgnine's son in The Vikings (1958), he was six weeks his senior in real life. |
8 | Douglas claims that painter Marc Chagall asked the actor to play him in a filmography, but the actor turned him down after the rigors of playing painter Vincent Van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956). |
9 | After winning a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he found work as a waiter at Schraft's on 86th Treet and Broadway. Among the other aspiring actors working there was John Forsythe. |
10 | When he was contacted by MGM to replace Ricardo Montalban in The Story of Three Loves (1953) because of his box-office power, he refused until he discussed it with Montalban, who was in training for the role. Although Montalban felt appreciative of Douglas' concern for him, he understood Metro's position and surrendered the role. |
11 | Broadway play "Raincheck for Joe" closed during rehearsals. [1945] |
12 | Broadway play. "The Wind Is Ninety" as the Unkown Soldier of World War I. Directed by Ralph Nelson. (6/21/1945). [1945] |
13 | He got out of his contract with Warner Bros. by offering to star in any picture they chose for no salary. The picture was The Big Trees (1952). |
14 | Was signed to play Gabey in On the Town (1949) but had to be replaced because he suffered from a case of psychosomatic laryngitis. |
15 | Douglas wrote his autobiography without the help of a ghostwriter - very unusual for a Hollywood bio. |
16 | Hal B. Wallis tested him for a role in what would be his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) after a recommendation by friend Lauren Bacall. |
17 | Hedda Hopper told him after he became a star with Champion (1949), "Now that you're a big hit, you've become a real S.O.B." Douglas replied," You're wrong. I was always an S.O.B. You just never noticed before.". |
18 | Broadway play. Succeeded Richard Widmark in "Trio.". [1945] |
19 | Douglas' father changed the family name from Danielovich to Demsky. |
20 | According to Burt Lancaster in 1987 at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts tribute to Douglas: "Kirk would be the first person to tell you he's a very difficult man." After a pause he added, " And I would be the second.". |
21 | He rejected a key role in The Great Sinner (1949) to star in Champion (1949). He was replaced by Melvyn Douglas. |
22 | Lonely Are the Brave (1962) is his personal favourite film. |
23 | Release of his book, "Dance with the Devil," published in 1990. [1990] |
24 | Release of his book, "My Stroke of Luck," published in 2002. [2002] |
25 | Release of his book, "Last Tango in Brooklyn," published in 1984. [1994] |
26 | Release of his book, "The Ragman's Son: An Autobiography" published in 1988, and which was also a tribute to his father, who had died in 1950. The book spent many weeks on the New York Times bestseller's list, including several weeks at number one. [1988] |
27 | Release of his book, "Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning", in 1997, at the age of 81. [1997] |
28 | Release of his book, "The Gift" in 1992. [1992] |
29 | Release of his book, "Let's Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving and Learning" in 2007, at the age of 91. [2007] |
30 | His acting mentor was Gary Cooper. |
31 | Co-hosted (with Cass Elliot) the release party for folk-rocker Donovan's 1969 "Barabajagal" album, posing for photos with Donovan and Elliot. He described Donovan as "not just a gentleman, but a gentle man". |
32 | Speaks French. |
33 | He was not close friends with Burt Lancaster as was often perceived. The closeness of their friendship was largely fabricated by the publicity-wise Douglas, while, in reality, they were very competitive with each other and sometimes privately expressed a mutual personal disdain despite a mutual respect for their acting talents. |
34 | Made his stage debut in 1942. |
35 | Best of friends with Karl Malden (who was also very close with his son Michael Douglas, with whom he co-starred on The Streets of San Francisco (1972)). After Malden died in 2009, Douglas remarked that their acquaintance was the longest he had with anyone in his life, lasting 70 years. |
36 | Is an avid user of the Internet and is registered with MySpace. |
37 | His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6263 Hollywood Blvd. |
38 | He was originally cast in John Wayne's role in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), but pulled out in order to make Champion (1949). |
39 | He was a close friend of Jack Valenti. |
40 | In his last book, "Let's Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving and Learning", he expressed regret at turning down William Holden's Oscar-winning role in Stalag 17 (1953), Stephen Boyd's role in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Lee Marvin's Oscar-winning role in Cat Ballou (1965). |
41 | Admitted he made The Big Trees (1952) for nothing just to get out of his contract with Warner Bros. He later said, "It was a terrible movie.". |
42 | While filming The War Wagon (1967) in September 1966, Douglas enraged his co-star John Wayne by recording a television advertisement for Edmund G. Brown, the Democratic Governor of California, after Wayne had recorded an advertisement for Republican challenger Ronald Reagan. |
43 | Confirmed his retirement from acting after making Illusion (2004), although he did act in one more film, Empire State Building Murders (2008), and has had numerous appearances (as himself) on entertainment and gossip programs, and in documentaries. |
44 | His idol was President Harry S. Truman. |
45 | Fell out with his close friend, former President Jimmy Carter, over Carter's 2006 book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid". |
46 | Attended the premiere of Basic Instinct (1992), which starred his son, Michael Douglas. |
47 | Helped break the Hollywood blacklist by hiring Dalton Trumbo, a member of the "Hollywood Ten", to write the screenplay for Spartacus (1960). Despite widespread criticism from many in the industry, including John Wayne and Hedda Hopper, Douglas refused to back down and Trumbo received screen credit under his own name. When presenting Douglas with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement at The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996), Steven Spielberg publicly thanked Douglas for his courage. However, Otto Preminger had already broken the blacklist by hiring Trumbo for Exodus (1960). Trumbo's family publicly said that Douglas greatly exaggerated his role in breaking the blacklist. |
48 | Attended the state funeral of former President Ronald Reagan, with Charlton Heston, Tom Selleck and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, on June 11, 2004. |
49 | He and his wife Anne Douglas renewed their wedding vows in California around the 50th anniversary of their 1954 marriage. They reaffirmed their vows before 300 friends and family members at the famous Greystone Estate in Beverly Hills. Guests included Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Nancy Reagan and Tony Curtis. Douglas walked into the traditional Jewish ceremony to the tune of "I'm In The Mood For Love" and later sang a tune he'd written for the occasion, "Please Stay In Love With Me". |
50 | In 1955 he was among the first actors to set up a personal production company, Bryna Productions, after the first name of his mother. |
51 | Gave up his two- to three-pack-a-day cigarette habit in 1950. His father later died from lung cancer in 1955, at the age of 72. |
52 | He lived in Palm Springs, CA, for more than 40 years. In October 2005 the city honored him by naming a lushly-landscaped drive "Kirk Douglas Way". It winds around part of Palm Springs International Airport. A lavish ceremony and party was given by the Palm Springs International Film Society and International Film Festival and was attended by the actor, his wife Anne Douglas and their three surviving sons. His son Joel, also a Palm Springs resident, was responsible for the campaign. |
53 | He was awarded the American National Medal of Arts in 2001 from the National Endowment of the Arts. |
54 | Met his German wife-to-be, Anne Douglas, when she applied for a job as his assistant on the French location shoot for the movie Act of Love (1953). |
55 | If he had not heeded wife Anne Douglas's advice, he would have been on producer Michael Todd's private plane in 1958 when it crashed and killed all on-board. Todd's wife Elizabeth Taylor was also scheduled to be on the plane but canceled due to a bad cold. |
56 | Appeared in a stage production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and later bought the film rights. He didn't make a movie of it and eventually turned the rights over to his son Michael Douglas, who was able to secure financing and produce the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). |
57 | Former father-in-law of Diandra Douglas. |
58 | Grandfather of 7 children: Cameron Douglas (b. 13 December 1978), Dylan Michael Douglas (b. 8 August 2000), Carys Zeta Douglas (b. 20 April 2003) (children of his son Michael Douglas), Kelsey (b. 1992), Tyler (b. 1996), Ryan (b. 2000) and Jason (b. 2003) (children of his son Peter Douglas) |
59 | After his son Michael Douglas was fired from the stage production of the play "Summer Tree", Kirk bought the stage and film rights to the story and gave it to Michael to star in. |
60 | He had both knees replaced in 2005, against the advice of his doctors. The operation was a success. |
61 | He and Burt Lancaster acted together in 7 movies: Victory at Entebbe (1976), Tough Guys (1986), Seven Days in May (1964), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), I Walk Alone (1948), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) and The Devil's Disciple (1959). |
62 | Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970. |
63 | President of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980. |
64 | Had a pacemaker fitted after collapsing in a restaurant in August 1986. |
65 | Was named #17 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute. |
66 | Douglas had a fully Jewish upbringing, but did not practice extensively as an adult. This changed when, on his 83rd birthday, he had a second Bar Mitzvah, reaffirming his faith and causing him to practice again. |
67 | He wore lifts in many of his films, which made him appear about 5' 11" or 6 feet on screen. Once, as a prank, Burt Lancaster found Douglas's lifts on a film set and hid them from him, which allegedly infuriated the shorter actor. |
68 | He was voted the 36th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. |
69 | Was originally cast to play Col. Sam Trautman in First Blood (1982), but walked out on the project. Douglas wanted substantial changes made to the script, specifically that John Rambo die at the hands of Trautman, like the character did in the novel. The writers held their ground and refused. Richard Crenna was eventually cast in the role. |
70 | Father-in-law of Catherine Zeta-Jones. |
71 | Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1984. |
72 | Granddaughter Carys Zeta Douglas born April 21, 2003. |
73 | Received a UCLA Medal of honor 14 June 2002 from the University of California, Los Angeles, during school's graduation ceremony for theater, film and television students. Previous recipients include former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and actors Laurence Olivier and Carol Burnett. |
74 | President Class Of 1939, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. Graduated with a degree in English. |
75 | Kirk has celebrated his Bar Mitzvah twice. Firstly, the typical 13 years of age, and secondly when he was 83 years old. |
76 | He survived a helicopter crash on February 23, 1991, in which two fellow occupants were killed. He was left with a debilitating back injury. |
77 | Speaks German (fluently, but not accent-free) and also French. |
78 | Earned $50,000 for saying the only English word at the end of a 1980s Japanese TV commercial: "Coffee". |
79 | Father of 4 sons: Michael Douglas, Eric Douglas, Joel Douglas and Peter Douglas. |
80 | Turned down two Oscar-winning roles: Lee Marvin's in Cat Ballou (1965) and William Holden's in Stalag 17 (1953). |
81 | Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter on 17th January 1981. This is the highest US honor a civilian can receive. |
82 | Suffered a stroke in January 1996 that made it very difficult for him to talk. Speech therapy over the years greatly alleviated the problem. |
83 | Born Issur Danielovitch (also reported as Issur Danielovitch Demsky) to father Jacob Danielovitch, and mother Bryna, from Russia, who came to America in 1912. |
84 | Ranked #53 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list, October 1997. |
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