Born December 9, 1916 in Amsterdam, New York, Issur Danielovitch Demsky grew up poor. He pulled himself up by his own bootstraps to become a fine student and athlete, wrestling competitively while enrolled at St. Lawrence University. He struggled financially and an acting scholarship at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts offered both a reprieve and escape from the poverty of the ghetto. There he learned much about his craft and also made the friendship of a fellow classmate, Lauren Bacall. He was in a few productions before duty called and he joined the US Navy in 1941. In 1945, at the end of the war, he returned to the theater and also performed on the radio.
It was Lauren Bacall who encouraged Hal B. Wallis to screen test Douglas and cast him in the lead role in “The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers” (1946). The critics loved him and more work quickly followed. In 1948 he appeared in the drama, “I Walk Alone,” which is memorable because it was the very first time he worked with Burt Lancaster.
The two actors subsequently appeared in seven films together, including: “Gunfight At the OK Corral” 1957), “Seven Days in May” (1964) and “Tough Guys” (1986) They were rumored to be great friends, but much of that appears to be clever publicity and Douglas once said, “I’ve finally gotten away from Burt Lancaster. My luck has changed for the better. I have nice-looking girls in my films now.”
He received his first Oscar nomination for the role of boxer, Midge Kelly, in “The Champion” (1949). He was again nominated in 1952 for “The Bad And The Beautiful” and in 1956 for “Lust For The Life,” which was the tragic story of tortured artist, Vincent Van Gogh. In 1955, Douglas launched his own production company, Bryna Productions. Although he has starred in many fine films, perhaps the two most important roles of his career were that of French army officer Colonel Dax in Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant anti-war study, “The Paths of Glory” and as a slave in “Spartacus” (1960).
Despite a helicopter crash and a stroke suffered in the 1990s, Kirk Douglas continues to be an actor before the camera. He is also a great humanitarian and has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the US State Department since 1963. His son, Michael, is also a successful actor, although he lacks the cleft in his chin and the steely glint so prominent in his father’s eyes.
What are some of YOUR favorite Kirk Douglas films?