Kirk Douglas
Recently I watched the movie Spartacus. The film was produced by the Kirk Douglas owned company Bryna Productions. Kirk Douglas, the actor, led the all-star cast in this epic, on-screen, drama of 1960. The movie, Spartacus, was nominated for several Academy Awards and won four Academy Awards.
Kirk Douglas is a very famous
American stage and film actor, and also producer and author. He was especially
popular during the 1950s and the 1960s. Kirk has starred in several movies
throughout the years including Spartacus, Champion, Leagues Under The Sea,
20,000, and Lust For Life just
among others.
Born on December 9, 1916 in
Amsterdam, New York, Kirk was born under the real name Issur Danielovitch. His
parents were Harry and Bertha Danielovitch, who were both Jewish immigrants
from Russia.
When Kirk was still young,
he would often sell snacks to workers in the mill in order to help out his
father. He would also deliver newspapers then he worked at many more other jobs
before he finally became an actor. During
World War II, before entering the navy, Kirk “Issur Danielovitch” changed his
name legally to Kirk Douglas.
In New York City, the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts noticed Kirk’s talent and granted him a
scholarship. He met Diana Dill, whom he would later marry. After graduating
from drama school, Kirk debuted as an actor in Broadway in Spring Again. Then,
Kirk went to war in 1941 and in 1944 he came back to New York after being
discharged medically for war injuries. He then spent a lot of time working in
theatre, as well as radio and commercials. Kirk’s big break on stage came in Kiss
and Tell, which helped him land many other roles.
A famous actress/model
named Lauren Bacall–who was also Kirk’s former classmate in drama school–helped
Kirk get a role in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. In the drama, Kirk
portrayed a weak man whom a ruthless woman controlled and dominated. After
that, Kirk began working on films more than he did on theatre plays. Later,
Kirk would leave theatre for the meantime to focus his talents on movies.
Unlike Kirk’s first
starring role in The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, Kirk’s film roles
established an image of him being “the tough guy”. The image started in 1949 when
Kirk played a selfish boxer in the film Champion. After his role in Champion, Kirk would always play
"sons of bitches" roles.
Kirk knew that in order to
properly succeed as a stage or film actor, he first had to overcome his shyness
and also to choose stronger roles. Later, Kirk formed Byrna Productions, his
own movie company even if it meant bringing his studio contracts to a halt so
that he could more freely choose his projects. In 1949, after many years, Kirk
came back to theater in the play called Three Sisters.
Through the 1950s and the 1960s,
Kirk was a major big box office star playing alongside the most popular
actresses of that time. After his role in Along The Great Divide (as a
frontier peace officer), Kirk became especially in to western films. He also loved playing military men.
Kirk was nominated for 3
Academy Awards for his exceptional acting roles in Bad and Beautiful, Lust
for Life, and Champion. Although he might not have won in these
nominations, Kirk was nonetheless awarded by the Academy in 1996 with the ever
prestigious “Honorary Award”.
People knew Kirk for his
great artistic talents and movies, but only very few people know other significant
things about him:
• Kirk was a
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970 and President of jury at
the Cannes Film Festival in 1980.
• President Jimmy Carter awarded him the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981.
• Kirk speaks French and German.
• He had celebrated his Bar Mitzvah twice—the
first time when he was 13, and then again seventy years later.
• In 1991 Kirk survived a helicopter crash, leaving
him with a back injury.
• He underwent speech therapy after suffering from
a stroke in 1995 as the illness made it difficult for him to articulate.
• In many of his films he wore lifts in order
to make him look taller than he is.
• He had turned down 2 Oscar-winning roles in
the films Stalag 17 and Cat Ballou.
• He earned $50,000 dollars
just for saying "Coffee", the only English word at the end of an 80s
Japanese television commercial.
• He is father-in-law to Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Also, Kirk Dougles is at
the same time a writer who has written myriads of books throughout his lifetime.
In 1986 he published Wisdom Of The Elders, his first book, and then after
its release, he wrote even more books.
His other books include I
Am Spartacus! Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist (2012), Let's Face
It: 90 Years of Living (2012), Loving and Learning (2012), My
Stroke Of Luck (2003), Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning
(2001), Young Heroes of the Bible (1999), The Broken Mirror: A
Novella (1997), Last Tango In Brooklyn (1994), The Gift (1992),
Dance With The Devil (1990), and The Ragman's Son (1988).
Kirk had two sons–Joel and Michael—to
Diane Dill, but though Kirk and Diane were happily married for 8 years, in
1951they separated and filed for divorce. Three years later, Kirk married Anne
Buydens, with whom he also had two sons—Eric and Peter. His son Eric died in year
2004.
Kirk is father-in-law to actress
Catherine Zeta-Jones through Kirk’s son Michael Douglas, who married Catherine in
2000.
For a few years Kirk lived
in Palm Springs, the famous celebrity-packed neighborhood in California. Kirk’s
first Palm Springs home was known as the
“Tachevah Vista”, and to be exact, its address is 1069 East Marshall Way in the
legendary neighborhood, Movie Colony. He had lived in this home since 1955 when
it was still brand new but after 2 years he moved to Las Palmas. The 2,095 square
feet home sat on a 11,326 square feet lot and has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a
pool.
Kirk Douglas’ second Palm
Springs home is located at 515 Via Lola in Old Las Palmas. He had lived here
for over 40 years now. The house was 3,790 square foot, and sat on a 3/4 acres of
land. It has 5 bedrooms and 5 baths. Richard Harrison and Donald Wexler, widely
renowned architects in Palm Springs, had designed it in 1954.
Kirk has exhibited his
great charismatic personality and immense talent all his years in the many
movies of his that people still watch and enjoy today. As of date the Empire State Building
Murders was his last movie which premiered in year 2008.
Kirk Douglas had said this
several times over the span of years: “I love Palm Springs!” He has lived in
Palm Springs for quite a long time.
Kirk Douglas Way near Palm
Springs International Airport was dedicated to Kirk Douglas in 2004 as a way
for Palm Springs to remember and honor Kirk, the talented charismatic Hollywood
writer and actor.
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