The famous American actor Kirk Douglas gave the world not only a lot of superbly played roles and a wonderful autobiographical work, but also a famous and talented son – now a popular actor Michael Douglas. And life for Oscar-winning Kirk Douglas was very difficult.
Kirk Douglas was born on December 9, 1916 in the small town of Amsterdam, New York. Kirk was the fourth child in a poor Jewish family. At one time, his parents emigrated from Gomel and Americanized their names and surnames, from Danielovich becoming Demsky. Kirk was originally called Iser.
The future actor, trying to get out of poverty, worked as a loader, a peddler, and a laborer. He began his serious career as a professional wrestler, and later performed on Broadway.
During the Second World War he served in the Navy.
In 1943, he married actress Diana Dill, a native of Bermuda. Later, classmate and friend Lauren Bacall helped his friend move to Hollywood. He was 30 years old, too late to start his career. Douglas proved that age is not an obstacle to fame.
In 1949, Douglas became famous, playing the role of a boxer.
film "Champion" . The audience also remembered the role of Vincent van Gogh in the film “The Thirst for Life”. However, the peak of Douglas’s success was noted when he began to star in the famous Stanley Kubrick. These were the films in the Paths of Glory and
"Spartak" Very well received in the Soviet Union.
In the 1980s, Kirk Douglas decided to end his acting career. He was interested in political, charitable and writing activities. Kirk Douglas owned the rights to the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", which he gave to his son.
In 1995, Douglas suffered a serious stroke and was able to recover both body and spirit. After his illness, he worked brilliantly in the film Diamonds, although it was not easy for him. Then there was the TV series “Touch of an Angel”, and the comedy “It all starts with family”, where Kirk Douglas starred with his son and grandson. After a terrible illness, Kirk Douglas wrote the book Climbing to the Top, which became literally a beacon of hope for many very sick people: after all, we all, one way or another, internally focus on celebrities.
Douglas was awarded a special award by the U.S. Screen Actors Guild for his contribution to cinema, as well as a personal star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, which, however, has once been stolen.
In 2011, 94-year-old Kirk Douglas attended the Academy Awards, and his appearance was the most interesting and moving episode of the ceremony. /