Douglas, Kirk (1916-2020), was an American motion-picture actor. He starred in a wide variety of roles, including weak characters, villains, and action heroes. He won praise for his performances in Westerns, modern dramas, and historical films.
Douglas was born on Dec. 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York, to immigrant Russian parents. His given and family name was Issur Danielovitch. He changed the name to Isidore Demsky, and later, to Kirk Douglas. He graduated from St. Lawrence University in 1938 and worked his way through acting school at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Douglas made his stage debut in small roles in 1941. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II (1939-1945), he returned to the stage in 1945 and made his motion-picture debut in 1946 in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.
Douglas became a star as a ruthless boxer in Champion (1949), receiving the first of his three Academy Award nominations. He was also nominated for his performance in the Hollywood drama The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and as painter Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956).
Douglas’s other important movies include Out of the Past (1947), Ace in the Hole (1951), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Gunfight at the OK Corral and Paths of Glory (both 1957), Spartacus (1960), Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Seven Days in May (1964), Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), The Fury (1978), and Tough Guys (1986). Douglas wrote three autobiographical works, The Ragman’s Son (1988), Climbing the Mountain (1997), and My Stroke of Luck (2001), as well as several novels. He received an honorary Academy Award in 1996. Douglas died on Feb. 5, 2020. His son Michael is a prominent motion-picture actor and producer.
