Is kirk douglas deceased wrestlers

His only Oscar was an honorary award but Kirk Douglas became a Hollywood icon, with a film career spanning seven decades. He prided himself on playing the tough guys, the sort of characters he once described as "sons of bitches". He threw himself into his many roles with relish, acting with an intensity that often spilled over into his private life.

And he had a fine contempt for the Hollywood studio establishment, something that may well have made his career less successful than it was. How Kirk Douglas helped end the Hollywood blacklist. Kirk Douglas: A life in pictures. His father had fled Russia to escape conscription into the Tsar's army. One of seven children, he sold snacks to local mill workers to earn enough money to buy food and in his autobiography claims to have had more than 40 jobs.

It was when he began acting in school plays that he decided a theatrical career was for him. Already an inter-collegiate wrestling champion, he paid his way through drama college by fighting professionally, ushering and working as a car park attendant and bellhop. He began using the name Kirk Douglas while acting during the college break and made his first Broadway appearance under his new name in a small part in a musical.

In he enlisted in the US Navy but was invalided out two years later because of injury and, in Novemberhe married his former classmate Diana Dill. The marriage lasted eight years and produced two children, Michael, who would follow in his father's footsteps as an actor, and Joel, who became a film producer. The four performances were filmed and turned into a documentary that was first screened in January Douglas was described by his guests as still being in good shape, able to walk with confidence into the Sunset Room for the celebration.

Douglas appeared at the Golden Globes with his daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta-Jonesa rare public appearance in the final decade of his life. Kirk is one of a kind. He has an overpowering physical presence, which is why on a large movie screen he looms over the audience like a tidal wave in full flood. Globally revered, he is now the last living screen legend of those who vaulted to stardom at the war's end, that special breed of movie idol instantly recognizable anywhere, whose luminous on-screen characters are forever memorable.

Douglas stated that the keys to acting success are determination and application: "You must know how to function and how to maintain yourself, and you must have a love of what you do. But an actor also needs great good luck. I have had that luck. Many people fall by the wayside because they don't have the energy to sustain their talent.

That attitude toward acting became evident with Champion From that one role, writes biographer John Parker, he went from stardom and entered the "superleague", where his style was in "marked contrast to Hollywood's other leading men at the time". He virtually ignored interventionist directors. He prepared himself privately for each role he played, so that when the cameras were ready to roll he was suitably, and some would say egotistically and even selfishly, inspired to steal every scene in a manner comparable in modern times to Jack Nicholson's modus operandi.

As a producer, Douglas had a reputation of being a compulsively hard worker who expected others to exude the same level of energy. As such, he was typically demanding and direct in his dealing with people who worked on his projects, with his intensity spilling over into all elements of his film-making. As an actor, he dived into every role, dissecting not only his own lines but all the parts in the script to measure the rightness of the role, and he was willing to fight with a director if he felt justified.

Kirk Douglas was intelligent. When discussing a script with actors, I have always found it necessary to remember that they never read the other actors' lines, so their concept of the story is somewhat hazy. Kirk had not only read the lines of everyone in the picture, he had also read the stage directions Kirk, I was to discover, always read every word, discussed every word, always argued every scene, until he was convinced of its correctness.

He listened, so it was necessary to fight every minute. For most of his career, Douglas enjoyed good health and what seemed like an inexhaustible is kirk douglas deceased wrestlers of energy. He attributed much of that vitality to his childhood and pre-acting years: "The drive that got me out of my hometown and through college is part of the makeup that I utilize in my work.

It's a constant fight, and it's tough. Actress Lee Grantwho acted with him and later filmed a documentary about him and his family, notes that even after he achieved worldwide stardom, his father would not acknowledge his success. He said "nothing. He was reared by his mother and his sisters and as a schoolboy he had to work to help support the family.

I think part of Kirk's life has been a monstrous effort to prove himself and gain recognition in the eyes of his father Not even four years of psychoanalysis could alter the drives that began as a desire to prove himself. Douglas has credited his mother, Bryna, for instilling in him the importance of "gambling on yourself", and he kept her advice in mind when making films.

Douglas realized that his intense style of acting was something of a shield: "Acting is the most direct way of escaping reality, and in my case it was a means of escaping a drab and dismal background. In The Ragman's SonDouglas described himself as a "son of a bitch," adding, "I'm probably the most disliked actor in Hollywood.

Is kirk douglas deceased wrestlers

And I feel pretty good about it. Because that's me I was born aggressive, and I guess I'll die aggressive. And I would be the second. Douglas and his first wife, Diana Dillmarried on November 2, They had two sons, actor Michael Douglas and producer Joel Douglasbefore divorcing in According to his autobiography The Ragman's Sonhe and Italian actress Pier Angeli were engaged in the early s after meeting on the set of the film The Story of Three Lovesbut they never made it down the aisle.

Inthey celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. He never hid his infidelities from his wife, who was accepting of them and explained, "as a European, I understood it was unrealistic to expect total fidelity in a marriage. Douglas was good friends with producer Mike Todd who lived across the street from him in Palm Springs.

Upon hearing of the plan, Douglas's wife Anne had an uneasy feeling and urged him to take a commercial flight instead. After a heated argument about the matter, Douglas in a temper said that if he could not fly with Todd then he would not go at all. The next morning while driving in the car to Los Angeles, Douglas and his family heard on the radio the news that Todd's aircraft had crashed a few hours after takeoff, killing all on board.

On February 13,aged 74, Douglas was in a helicopter and was injured when the aircraft collided with a small plane above Santa Paula Airport. Two other people were also injured, including Noel Blancthe son of voice actor Mel Blanc who was piloting the helicopter, and two people in the plane were killed. He decided to visit Jerusalem again and wanted to see the Western Wall Tunnel during a trip where he would dedicate two playgrounds he donated to the state.

His tour guide arranged to end the tour of the tunnel at the bedrock where, according to Jewish tradition, Abraham's binding of Isaac took place. In his earlier autobiography, The Ragman's Sonhe recalled, "years back, I tried to forget that I was a Jew," but later in his career he began "coming to grips with what it means to be a Jew," which became a theme in his life.

Judaism and I parted ways a long time ago, when I was a poor kid growing up in Amsterdam, N. Back then, I was pretty good in chederso the Jews of our community thought they would do a wonderful thing and collect enough money to send me to a yeshiva to become a rabbi. Holy Moses! That scared the hell out of me. I didn't want to be a rabbi.

I wanted to be an actor. Believe me, the members of the Sons of Israel were persistent. I had nightmares — wearing long payos and a black hat. I had to work very hard to get out of it. But it took me a long time to learn that you don't have to be a rabbi to be a Jew. Douglas noted that an underlying theme of some of his films, including The JugglerCast a Giant Shadowand Remembrance of Lovewas about "a Jew who doesn't think of himself as one, and eventually finds his Jewishness.

Douglas recalled that, while there, he saw "extreme poverty and food being rationed. Although his children had non-Jewish mothers, Douglas stated that they were "aware culturally" of his "deep convictions" and he never tried to influence their own religious decisions. Lawrence Universityhis alma mater. The college used the donation for the scholarship fund he began in He donated to various schools, medical facilities, and other non-profit organizations in southern California.

This included the rebuilding of over Los Angeles Unified School District playgrounds that were aged and in need of restoration. Douglas and his wife traveled to more than 40 countries, at their own expense, to act as goodwill ambassadors for the U. Information Agencyspeaking to audiences about why democracy works and what freedom means.

Douglas was a long-time member of the Democratic Party. He noted in his memoir, Let's Face Itthat he felt compelled to write to former president Jimmy Carter in to stress that "Israel is the only successful is kirk douglas deceased wrestlers in the Middle East If Israel loses one war, they lose Israel. Howard Fast was originally hired to adapt his own novel Spartacus as a screenplaybut he had difficulty working in the format.

He was replaced by Dalton Trumbowho had been blacklisted as one of the Hollywood 10, and intended to use the pseudonym "Sam Jackson". Trumbo had been jailed for contempt of Congress inafter which he had survived by writing screenplays under assumed names. Kirk Douglas claimed that it was his insistence that Trumbo be given screen credit for his work that broke the blacklist.

One idea was to credit Lewis as co-writer or sole writer, but Lewis vetoed both suggestions. Kubrick then suggested that his own name be used. Douglas and Lewis found Kubrick's eagerness to take credit for Trumbo's work revolting, and the next day, Douglas called the gate at Universal saying, "I'd like to leave a pass for Dalton Trumbo.

He said, 'Thanks, Kirk, for giving me back my name. In fact, Douglas did not announce Trumbo as the credited screenwriter of Spartacus until Augustseven months after producer-director Otto Preminger 's January 20,announcement that he had hired Trumbo to adapt Leon Uris ' novel Exodus for the screen. Douglas later successfully denied Trumbo a sought credit on the film Town Without Pity as he worried that his continued association with the screen writer would hurt his career.

Kennedy publicly ignored a demonstration organized by the American Legion and went to see the film. Douglas blogged from time to time. Originally hosted on Myspace[ ] his posts were hosted by the Huffington Post beginning in Douglas is alleged to have raped actress Natalie Wood in the summer ofis kirk douglas deceased wrestlers she was 16 and he The allegation received renewed attention in Januaryafter the 75th Golden Globe Awards ceremony paid tribute to Douglas, with several news outlets citing a anonymous blog post which accused Douglas.

On January 28,at age 79, Douglas suffered a severe strokewhich impaired his ability to speak. However, after a regimen of daily speech-language therapy that lasted several months, his ability to speak returned, although it was still limited. He was able to accept an honorary Academy Award two months later in March and to thank the audience.

Douglas died at his home in Beverly Hills, Californiasurrounded by his family on February 5,at age His cause of death was kept private. He was buried in the same plot as his son Eric. Screen Actors Guild Awards. Berlin International Film Festival. Hollywood Film Festival. National Board of Review. InDouglas received the S. InDouglas received an Honorary Academy Award for "50 years as a moral and creative force in the motion picture community.

Both his son Michael, and his long-time friend Jack Valentiurged him to only say "Thank you", and leave the stage. Douglas agreed, but had second thoughts when standing in front of the audience. He later reflected that: "I intended to just say 'thank you,' but I saw 1, people, and felt I had to say something more, and I did. The audience went wild with applause [and] erupted in affection I felt an emotional tidal wave roaring through the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in the L.

Music Center. Sincethe Santa Barbara International Film Festival has awarded the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in film to acknowledge lifetime contributions to the film industry. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item.

American actor — For the musician, see Captain Kirk Douglas. Amsterdam, New YorkU. Beverly Hills, CaliforniaU. Diana Dill. Anne Buydens. Michael Joel Peter Eric. Early life and education [ edit ]. Career [ edit ]. Rise to stardom [ edit ]. Peak years of success [ edit ]. Financial troubles [ edit ]. Spartacus and mid-career [ edit ]. Later work [ edit ].

Style and philosophy of acting [ edit ]. Personal life [ edit ]. Personality [ edit ]. Marriages and children [ edit ]. Cannes Film Festival jury presidents. This short article about an actor or group of actors from the United States can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it. Hidden categories: Use mdy dates Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses Pages using infobox person with multiple parents No local image but image on Wikidata Biography with signature Articles with hCards Pages using infobox person with conflicting parameters Commons link from Wikidata Turner Classic Movies person ID different from Wikidata Internet Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata Webarchive template wayback links American actor stubs.

Toggle the table of contents. Douglas in February 5, aged Beverly HillsCaliforniaU. Isador Demsky Izzy Demsky. Diana Dilldivorced Anne Buydens ET Magazine. The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now. Read Today's Paper. Rate Story. Follow us. Font Size Abc Small. Abc Medium. Abc Large. Kirk Douglasthe cleft-chinned movie star who fought gladiators, cowboys and boxers on the screen and the Hollywood establishment, died on Wednesday at the age ofhis son Michael Douglas said.

Budget with ET. You Might Also Like:. Find this comment offensive?