Kirk Douglas is an American actor, writer and director whose career spans over seven decades. He has starred in such films as Spartacus, Paths of Glory, In Harms Way, Ulysses and Lust for Life, and has guest starred in such television shows as Touched By An Angel, Tales From the Crypt and The Simpsons'. Douglas has also written two children's books, three novels and four memoirs.
Notable Roles
- 1960: Spartacus in Spartacus
- 1957: Col. Dax in Paths of Glory
- 1956: Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life
- 1949: Michael "Midge" Kelly in Champion
Quotes
"When you have a stroke, you must speak slowly to be understood. And I discovered that, when I speak slowly, people listen. They think I'm going to say something important."—October 6, 2008 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA): Kirk Douglas Talks the Talk... (October 6, 2008)
"I was always very active through the McCarthy era, when, I tell you, we were losing our freedom. And I helped break the blacklist because...I hired Dalton Trumbo to write Spartacus. Everybody said don't do it, but I used his name on the screen. At that time, no one used a blacklisted writer."—August 15, 2008 NPR: Kirk Douglas Fighting Online For Slavery Apology (August 15, 2008)
"Yes, Van Gogh. For the first time in my acting career, the part took me over. He took over. You know, I slept in the room where he committed suicide."—April 27, 2007, on his favorite film role.newcritics: Meeting Kirk Douglas (April 27, 2007)
Kirk Douglas Timeline
Note: The IMDb links in this timeline have pop-ups.
1916: Born on December 9 in Amsterdam, New York
1946: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1949: Champion - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1952: The Bad and the Beautiful - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1954: Ulysses - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1954: 20000 Leagues Under the Sea - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1956: Lust for Life - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1957: Gunfight at the O.K. Corral - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1957: Paths of Glory - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1960: Spartacus - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1964: Seven Days in May - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1975: Posse - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1978: The Fury - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1991: Tales From the Crypt - IMDb Listing | Wikipedia
1994: Greedy - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
1996: The Simpsons - IMDb Listing | Wikipedia
2000: Touched By an Angel - IMDb Listing | Wikipedia
2003: It Runs in the Family - IMDb Listing | Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
References
Fast Facts
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Birth name
Issur Danielovitch Demsky
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Born
December 9, 1916
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Birthplace
Amsterdam, New York
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Fact:
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Spouse
Anne Buydens
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Fact:
First acting role was playing a shoemaker in his kindergarten playPress-Telegram (Long Beach, CA): Kirk Douglas Talks the Talk... (October 6, 2008)
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Debut movie
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
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Fact:
Secured the film rights for Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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Fact:
Suffered a stroke in 1996
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Fact:
Uses his MySpace blog to encourage young people to get 'informed' The Hollywood Reporter: Q&A: Kirk Douglas (October 7, 2008)
