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Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Birthday: 1916-12-09 | Place of Birth: Amsterdam, New York, USA

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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2020
Kubrick by Kubrick

as    Self (archive footage)

2015
2012
Stanley Kubrick in Focus

as    Self

2010
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

as    Self – Interviewee

2009
Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget

as    Himself

2008
Empire State Building Murders

as    Jim Kovalski

2004
Illusion

as    Donald Baines

2003
It Runs in the Family

as    Mitchell Gromberg

1999
Diamonds

as    Harry Agensky

1997
Completely Cuckoo

as    Self

1997
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

as    Self (archive footage)

1996
The Universal Story

as    Self (archive footage)

1994
The Lies Boys Tell

as    Ed Reese

1994
Greedy

as    Uncle Joe

1992
Two-Fisted Tales

as    General Calthrop

1992
The Secret

as    Grandpa Mike Dunmore

1991
Oscar

as    Eduardo Provolone

1991
Welcome to Veraz

as    Quentin

1991
Movie Tough Guys

as    Self (archive footage)

1990
Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Under the Sea

as    Ned Land (archive footage)

1988
Inherit the Wind

as    Matthew Harrison Brady