Kirk Douglas

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

178

Gender

Male

Birthday

1916-12-09

Day of death

2020-02-05 (103 years old)

Place of Birth

Amsterdam, New York, USA

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.

Known For

  • The Simpsons

    The Simpsons

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • The View

    The View

  • Real Time with Bill Maher

    Real Time with Bill Maher

  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien

    Late Night with Conan O'Brien

  • LIVE with Kelly and Mark

    LIVE with Kelly and Mark

  • The Dick Cavett Show

    The Dick Cavett Show

  • What's My Line?

    What's My Line?

  • Wogan

    Wogan

  • Champs-Elysées

    Champs-Elysées

  • Champs-Elysées

    Champs-Elysées

  • The Merv Griffin Show

    The Merv Griffin Show

  • Touched by an Angel

    Touched by an Angel

  • The Steve Allen Show

    The Steve Allen Show

  • The Steve Allen Show

    The Steve Allen Show

  • Parkinson

    Parkinson

  • The Oscars

    The Oscars

  • The Lucy Show

    The Lucy Show

  • The Colgate Comedy Hour

    The Colgate Comedy Hour

  • The Colgate Comedy Hour

    The Colgate Comedy Hour

  • Spécial cinéma

    Spécial cinéma

  • Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

    Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

  • Tales from the Crypt

    Tales from the Crypt

  • People's Choice Awards

    People's Choice Awards

  • Champion

    Champion

  • Tonight Starring Jack Paar

    Tonight Starring Jack Paar

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • Ulysses

    Ulysses

  • Goldene Kamera

    Goldene Kamera

  • The Fury

    The Fury

  • Apostrophes

    Apostrophes

  • Basketball: A Love Story

    Basketball: A Love Story

  • Cinépanorama

    Cinépanorama

  • Scalawag

    Scalawag

  • Draw!

    Draw!

  • Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

    Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

  • The Kennedy Center Honors

    The Kennedy Center Honors

  • Posse

    Posse

  • Spartacus

    Spartacus

  • I Walk Alone

    I Walk Alone

  • Kirk Douglas

    Kirk Douglas

  • Diamonds

    Diamonds

  • This Is Your Life

    This Is Your Life

  • The Story of Three Loves

    The Story of Three Loves

  • Greedy

    Greedy

  • The George Gobel Show

    The George Gobel Show

  • Kirk Douglas

    Kirk Douglas

  • Is Paris Burning?

    Is Paris Burning?

  • From Roger Moore with Love

    From Roger Moore with Love

  • V.I.P. Schaukel

    V.I.P. Schaukel

  • The War Wagon

    The War Wagon

  • Verstehen Sie Spaß?

    Verstehen Sie Spaß?

  • The Villain

    The Villain

  • The American Film Institute Salute to ...

    The American Film Institute Salute to ...

  • Mousey

    Mousey

  • Brisant

    Brisant

  • Illusion

    Illusion

  • Inherit the Wind

    Inherit the Wind

  • For Love or Money

    For Love or Money

  • Paths of Glory

    Paths of Glory

  • Scene by Scene

    Scene by Scene

  • Kubrick by Kubrick

    Kubrick by Kubrick

  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

  • The Final Countdown

    The Final Countdown

  • Der große Preis

    Der große Preis

  • A Gunfight

    A Gunfight

  • The Devil's Disciple

    The Devil's Disciple

  • Amos

    Amos

  • The Vikings

    The Vikings

  • Top Secret Affair

    Top Secret Affair

  • Seven Days in May

    Seven Days in May

  • Saturn 3

    Saturn 3

  • In Harm's Way

    In Harm's Way

  • Catch Me a Spy

    Catch Me a Spy

  • The Johnny Cash Show

    The Johnny Cash Show

  • Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

    Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line

  • Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

    Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

  • Act of Love

    Act of Love

  • Ace in the Hole

    Ace in the Hole

  • Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

    Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

  • Oscar

    Oscar

  • Out of the Past

    Out of the Past

  • Clive Anderson All Talk

    Clive Anderson All Talk

  • The Way West

    The Way West

  • Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

    Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

  • Home Movies

    Home Movies

  • The Big Trees

    The Big Trees

  • Lust for Life

    Lust for Life

  • Last Train from Gun Hill

    Last Train from Gun Hill

  • The Bad and the Beautiful

    The Bad and the Beautiful

  • Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget

    Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget

  • Welcome to Veraz

    Welcome to Veraz

  • My Dear Secretary

    My Dear Secretary

  • The Last Sunset

    The Last Sunset

  • Tough Guys

    Tough Guys

  • Two-Fisted Tales

    Two-Fisted Tales

  • The Man from Snowy River

    The Man from Snowy River

  • Lonely are the Brave

    Lonely are the Brave

  • The Brotherhood

    The Brotherhood

  • The Heroes of Telemark

    The Heroes of Telemark

  • Cast a Giant Shadow

    Cast a Giant Shadow

  • Queenie

    Queenie

  • There Was a Crooked Man...

    There Was a Crooked Man...

  • Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers

    Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers

  • Man Without a Star

    Man Without a Star

  • The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

    The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

  • Clive James' Postcard from

    Clive James' Postcard from

  • Completely Cuckoo

    Completely Cuckoo

  • A Letter to Three Wives

    A Letter to Three Wives

  • The Light at the Edge of the World

    The Light at the Edge of the World

  • Along the Great Divide

    Along the Great Divide

  • The Arrangement

    The Arrangement

  • Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary

    Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary

  • Detective Story

    Detective Story

  • It Runs in the Family

    It Runs in the Family

  • The Indian Fighter

    The Indian Fighter

  • Rowan & Martin at the Movies

    Rowan & Martin at the Movies

  • Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection

    Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection

  • The Special London Bridge Special

    The Special London Bridge Special

  • James Bond: The First 21 Years

    James Bond: The First 21 Years

  • The List of Adrian Messenger

    The List of Adrian Messenger

  • Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir

    Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir

  • A Lovely Way to Die

    A Lovely Way to Die

  • The Juggler

    The Juggler

  • The Untameable Kirk Douglas

    The Untameable Kirk Douglas

  • Two Weeks in Another Town

    Two Weeks in Another Town

  • Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

    Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

  • Town Without Pity

    Town Without Pity

  • The Big Sky

    The Big Sky

  • Young Man with a Horn

    Young Man with a Horn

  • The Disneyland Story

    The Disneyland Story

  • Once Is Not Enough

    Once Is Not Enough

  • Making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    Making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

  • A Century of Cinema

    A Century of Cinema

  • Trumbo

    Trumbo

  • Eddie Macon's Run

    Eddie Macon's Run

  • Holocaust 2000

    Holocaust 2000

  • The Master Touch

    The Master Touch

  • Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

    Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

  • Victory at Entebbe

    Victory at Entebbe

  • The Universal Story

    The Universal Story

  • Strangers When We Meet

    Strangers When We Meet

  • Mike Wallace Is Here

    Mike Wallace Is Here

  • Once Upon a Wheel

    Once Upon a Wheel

  • Remembrance Of Love

    Remembrance Of Love

  • The Hook

    The Hook

  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

  • The Glass Menagerie

    The Glass Menagerie

  • Stanley Kubrick in Focus

    Stanley Kubrick in Focus

  • The Walls of Jericho

    The Walls of Jericho

  • The Lies Boys Tell

    The Lies Boys Tell

  • Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices

    Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices

  • Mourning Becomes Electra

    Mourning Becomes Electra

  • The Secret

    The Secret

  • Vincent van Gogh Superstar

    Vincent van Gogh Superstar

  • The Racers

    The Racers

  • Operation Undersea

    Operation Undersea

  • Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick

    Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick

  • Empire State Building Murders

    Empire State Building Murders

  • J'ai tout donné

    J'ai tout donné

  • Let Poland Be Poland

    Let Poland Be Poland

  • A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

    A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

  • The Racing Experience

    The Racing Experience

  • Walt Disney's Where Do the Stories Come From?

    Walt Disney's Where Do the Stories Come From?

  • Van Gogh: Darkness into Light

    Van Gogh: Darkness into Light

  • The Making of A Movie

    The Making of A Movie

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

    Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Under the Sea

  • If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast

    If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast

  • FBI contre Hollywood

    FBI contre Hollywood

  • The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway

    The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway

  • Movie Tough Guys

    Movie Tough Guys

  • Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France

    Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France

  • My Life As Roger Moore

    My Life As Roger Moore

  • I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas

    I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas

  • Hollywood au pied du terril

    Hollywood au pied du terril