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Kirk Douglas

Known for: Acting

Biography: 1916-12-09

Deathday: 2020-02-05 (103 years old)

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.

Filmography

all 203

Movies 155

self 93

TV Shows 48

Producer 21

Voice 1

Director 1

Self (archive footage)

Kirk Douglas

Biography

Filmography

all 203

Movies 155

self 93

TV Shows 48

Producer 21

Voice 1

Director 1

From Roger Moore with Love (2024)

Lynch/Oz (2023)

Kubrick by Kubrick (2020)

La Folle Aventure de Louis de Funès (2020)

Vincent van Gogh Superstar (2019)

Mike Wallace Is Here (2019)

Kino Wien Film (2018)

Basketball: A Love Story (2018)

Robert Mitchum, le mauvais garçon d'Hollywood (2018)

Lauren Bacall, ombre et lumière (2017)

The Untameable Kirk Douglas (2017)

If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast (2017)

Chris Olsen: The Boy Who Cried (2016)

I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas (2015)

Hollywood au pied du terril (2014)

And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)

Cooper and Hemingway: The True Gen (2013)

Stanley Kubrick in Focus (2012)

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012)

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)

Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget (2009)

Making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (2009)

Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices (2008)

Empire State Building Murders (2008)

Trumbo (2007)

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies (2006)

A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2005)

Private Screenings: Lauren Bacall (2005)

Illusion (2004)

Barbra Streisand: The Concert - Live at the MGM Grand (2004)

The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway (2003)

The Making of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (2003)

It Runs in the Family (2003)

Real Time with Bill Maher (2003)

AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains (2003)

Darkness at High Noon: The Carl Foreman Documents (2002)

Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir (2001)

FBI contre Hollywood (2001)

Pulp Cinema (2001)

Diamonds (1999)

Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection (1999)

Parkinson (1998)

Completely Cuckoo (1997)

The View (1997)

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line (1997)

Scene by Scene (1997)

Clive Anderson All Talk (1996)

The Universal Story (1996)

The Lies Boys Tell (1994)

Touched by an Angel (1994)

Greedy (1994)

Brisant (1994)

A Century of Cinema (1994)

Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993)

Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

The Secret (1992)

Two-Fisted Tales (1992)

Welcome to Veraz (1991)

Oscar (1991)

Movie Tough Guys (1991)

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

Star Life (1990)

The Simpsons (1989)

Tales from the Crypt (1989)

LIVE with Kelly and Mark (1988)

The Racing Experience (1988)

Inherit the Wind (1988)

Queenie (1987)

Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick (1986)

Tough Guys (1986)