{"id":76138,"date":"2020-02-07T17:05:41","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T15:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=76138"},"modified":"2020-02-07T11:54:10","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T09:54:10","slug":"12-00-44","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=76138","title":{"rendered":"Jewish Actor Kirk Douglas, Hollywood\u2019s Tough Guy on Screen and Off, Dead at 103"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Jewish Actor Kirk Douglas, Hollywood\u2019s Tough Guy on Screen and Off, Dead at 103<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Reuters and Algemeiner Staff<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The late actor Kirk Douglas. Photo: Reuters \/ Phil Klein \/ File.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Kirk Douglas, the cleft-chinned movie star who fought gladiators, cowboys and boxers on the screen and the Hollywood establishment, died on Wednesday at the age of 103, his son Michael Douglas said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,\u201d Michael Douglas said in a statement to People magazine and on his Facebook page.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to,\u201d Douglas added.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKirk\u2019s life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet,\u201d Michael added, saying he was \u201cso proud\u201d to be his father\u2019s son.<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas made more than 90 movies in a career that stretched across seven decades and films such as \u201cSpartacus\u201d and \u201cThe Vikings\u201d made him one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1950s and \u201960s.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also played a major role in breaking the Hollywood blacklist \u2014 actors, directors and writers who were shunned professionally because of links to the communist movement in the 1950s. Douglas said he was more proud of that than any film he made.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tributes poured in from Hollywood. Actor and director Rob Reiner said on Twitter that Douglas \u201cwill always be an icon in the pantheon of Hollywood. He put himself on the line to break the blacklist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mitzi Gaynor, who appeared with Douglas in the 1963 movie \u201cFor Love or Money,\u201d said the film would \u201calways hold a special place in my heart.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for so generously sharing your amazing talent with all of us,\u201d Gaynor tweeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Danny DeVito called him an \u201cinspirational Scallywag,\u201d while Ed Asner tweeted \u201cI will always be in your awe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A stroke in 1996 at age 80 left Douglas with slurred speech and damaged facial nerves. But two weeks later he showed his spirit by attending the Academy Awards ceremony to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. He also continued to take small acting roles through 2008 but said the stroke left him suicidal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHumor saved me,\u201d Douglas told Parade magazine in 2014. \u201cAt first, I thought my life was at an end. But when I put the gun in my mouth, it hit a tooth. Ow! And that struck me funny. A toothache was stopping me from committing suicide?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In one of his last public appearances, Douglas was frail and barely audible in a wheelchair as he helped daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta-Jones present the Oscar for best screenplay in January 2018. In November of that year he joined his son Michael as the younger Douglas was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas had a distinctive chin, razor-sharp cheekbones and a jutting jaw \u2014 looks that he passed along to Michael \u2014 and that made him a natural for playing all manner of rugged characters.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also had a demanding nature that earned him a reputation in his prime as the actor who directed directors. Long-time friend and sometime co-star Burt Lancaster loved to introduce him by saying, \u201cKirk would be the first to admit he is a difficult person. (Pause) I would be the second.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI make my own way,\u201d Douglas once told an interviewer. \u201cNobody\u2019s my boss. Nobody\u2019s ever been my boss \u2026 I\u2019ve been a maverick.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas said playing Vincent van Gogh in \u201cLust for Life\u201d (1956) was his favorite role but \u201cSpartacus\u201d (1960) was his favorite film because, as producer, he took a big step toward breaking the Hollywood blacklist.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lifetime Oscar was Douglas\u2019 only Academy Award even though he was nominated for playing ruthless boxer Midge Kelly in \u201cChampion\u201d (1949), a movie executive in \u201cThe Bad and the Beautiful\u201d (1952) and van Gogh in \u201cLust for Life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas\u2019 first movie was \u201cThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers,\u201d in 1946 after being suggested for the part by acting school classmate Betty Joan Perske, who became famous after changing her name to Lauren Bacall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas was known for powerful performances as characters who had to endure intense on-screen pain. He was stabbed in \u201cAce in the Hole,\u201d crucified in \u201cSpartacus,\u201d lost an eye in \u201cThe Vikings,\u201d an ear in \u201cLust for Life,\u201d and a finger in \u201cThe Big Sky.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His other notable movies were \u201cLonely Are the Brave,\u201d \u201cThe Devil\u2019s Disciple,\u201d \u201cVictory at Entebbe\u201d and \u201cTough Guys,\u201d which he made with Lancaster in 1986.<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas\u2019 independent streak led him to set up Bryna Production Co, which he named after his mother, in 1955, snubbing big studio bosses and helping break their monopoly on the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born Issur Danielovich on Dec. 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York, Douglas was the only son of seven children born to illiterate Russian-Jewish immigrants.<\/span><\/p>\n

After graduating from high school, he hitchhiked to St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, where he became a wrestling champion. He also staged and starred in theatrical productions and changed his name to Izzy Demsy.<\/span><\/p>\n

After St. Lawrence, he graduated from New York\u2019s American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1941 and changed his name to Kirk Douglas. He joined the Navy following two small Broadway roles.<\/span><\/p>\n

While in the Navy he married British actress Diana Dill and they had two sons, Michael and Joel, before the marriage ended after eight years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas had a reputation as a Hollywood ladies\u2019 man. Among the lovers listed in the 1988 book \u201cThe Ragman\u2019s Son,\u201d one of several books he wrote about his life, were Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Maxwell, Patricia Neal and Gene Tierney.<\/span><\/p>\n

While making \u201cAct of Love,\u201d Douglas met and Anne Buydens, the film\u2019s publicist, and they married in 1954. Their marriage became one of Hollywood\u2019s most enduring despite his affairs. They had two sons, Peter and Eric.<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas, who survived a 1991 helicopter crash that killed two people, tried to discourage his children from following him into acting. Still, Michael became a superstar and a successful producer, Joel and Peter also were producers and Eric was an actor until his 2004 death from a drug overdose.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou see how they listened to me,\u201d Douglas once said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas, who grew a long white ponytail in his later years, published several books, including a book of poetry, prose and photographs in 2014 and \u201cKirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood,\u201d in 2017 with his wife.<\/span><\/p>\n

He established the Douglas Foundation for making charitable donations and in 2015 he and Anne announced plans to give away his $80 million fortune to a variety of causes. The beneficiaries included a shelter for homeless women named after Anne, the Los Angeles public school district, St. Lawrence University and hospitals.<\/span><\/p>\n

To mark his 99th birthday in 2015 he donated $15 million to the Motion Picture and Television Fund to help build a facility for entertainment industry figures with Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jewish Actor Kirk Douglas, Hollywood\u2019s Tough Guy on Screen and Off, Dead at 103 Reuters and Algemeiner Staff The late actor Kirk Douglas. Photo: Reuters \/ Phil Klein \/ File. Kirk Douglas, the cleft-chinned movie star who fought gladiators, cowboys and boxers on the screen and the Hollywood establishment, died on Wednesday at the age […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76138"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76138"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76149,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76138\/revisions\/76149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}