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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)

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

1994
Greedy

as    Uncle Joe McTeague

1991
Oscar

as    Eduardo Provolone

1988
Inherit the Wind

as    Matthew Harrison Brady

1986
Tough Guys

as    Archie Long

1985
Amos

as    Amos Lasher

1983
Eddie Macon's Run

as    Carl 'Buster' Marzack

1982
The Man from Snowy River

as    Harrison / Spur

1982
Remembrance Of Love

as    Joe Rabin

1980
The Final Countdown

as    Capt. Matthew Yelland

1980
Home Movies

as    Dr. Tuttle

1980
Saturn 3

as    Major Adam

1979
The Villain

as    Cactus Jack

1978
The Fury

as    Peter Sandza

1978
Holocaust 2000

as    Robert Caine

1976
The Moneychangers

as    Alex Vandervoort

1976
Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers

as    Alex Vandervoort

1976
Victory at Entebbe

as    Herschel Vilnofsky

1975
Posse

as    Howard Nightingale