Kirk Douglas: A legendary life in pictures
Kirk Douglas, a centenarian and one of the last surviving stars from Hollywood's Golden Age, died on Wednesday, February 5, at 103. The actor made his debut in 'The Strange Love of Martha Ivers' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck and rose to star in films like 'Lust For Life' (1956) and 'Spartacus' (1960).
His chiseled features and intense on-screen delivery made him an intense charmer. Douglas went on to act in more than 90 movies in a career that stretched across seven decades.
From a boxing hero in 'Champion' (1949) to a cowboy in 'Lonely Are the Brave' (1962), his protagonists were mostly doused in shades of grey and their tough exteriors often overshadowed the good characters.
Born to Jewish immigrants in Amsterdam, New York, Douglas grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II.
The only son in a family of six girls, he sold snacks to mill workers to buy milk and bread, delivered newspapers and did almost 40 odd jobs before finally going on to live his dream of becoming an actor.
Later, he went on to pen down the struggles of his early years in his 1988 autobiography, 'The Ragman's Son'. "I was dying to get out. In a sense, it lit a fire under me," he said.
Shedding light on his violent streak, he described himself as a "son of a b***h", adding, "I'm probably the most disliked actor in Hollywood. And I feel pretty good about it. Because that's me…. I was born aggressive, and I guess I'll die aggressive."
The actor exchanged vows with Diana Dill on November 2, 1943, and had two sons, actor Michael Douglas and producer Joel Douglas. After living together for eight years, the two decided to part ways.
In 1999, Diana published a candid memoir called 'In the Wings' where she called him a "sexually voracious bird of prey". Kirk was reportedly irked and even threatened to boycott his son Michael's wedding to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones if ex-wife Diana was a part of it.
Nevertheless, the two continued co-parenting and acting in films together.
In an interview later, Diana said Kirk’s humor was a boon, "I've always enjoyed Kirk’s sense of humor, even when I was angriest at him. He could always make me laugh, somehow, which annoyed the hell out of me."
"But then I think we both decided too, when the time of divorce came, that we had to maintain a certain amount of civility because of the children," she shared.
Later, he met Anne Buydens in Paris during the filming of 'Lust for Life'. The two got married on May 29, 1954, and celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills in 2014. The couple had two sons, Peter, a producer, and Eric, an actor who died in 2004, from an overdose of alcohol and drugs.
Their love story has been one for the ages and in 2017, the pair published a book, 'Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood', that features intimate letters they wrote to each other.
Catch a glimpse of his life in pictures here:
Douglas suffered a stroke in March 1996 which paralyzed one side of his face. Nevertheless, he went to give the acceptance speech at the 1996 Academy Awards when he received a special award for "50 years as a moral and creative force in the motion picture community".
He is survived by his wife, Anne and his three sons, Michael, Joel and Peter.