Kirk Douglas was originally born Issur Danielovitch Demsky on December 9, 1916 in Amsterdam, USA. And he’s turning 100 this year!
He was born to Russian immigrants Harry and Bryna Demsky. Kirk was their only son, but he had six sisters.
Douglas has had a long and illustrious career from serving in the Navy to playing Doc Holliday! Take a journey through time with us as we highlight some of his best moments!
By the time he was in high school he had begun acting in plays and knew he wanted to become a professional actor. He attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY from 1935 to 1939 followed by the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he won a scholarship in 1941.
In the same year, he made his Broadway debut as a singing telegraph boy in Spring Again.
Following his Broadway debut with the onset of World War II, Douglas enlisted in the Navy where he served with an anti-submarine patrol in the Pacific until being discharged due to injuries.
After World War II ended, Douglas returned to New York where he worked in radio and theater until his friend Lauren Bacall recommended him to director Hal Wallis who offered him an an appearance in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.
You’ll be taken to The Walls of Jericho next! Hold on tight!
From there Kirk Douglas had a number of supporting roles in Out of the Past (1947), Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), The Walls of Jericho (1948), My Dear Secretary (1948), and A Letter to Three Wives (1948).
Douglas finally made a name for himself when he took on the low-budget project Champion, a film about an ambitious and ruthless prizefighter.
Douglas earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and it made him a star.
After his performance in Champion, Douglas went on to earn two more Oscar nominees. The first was in 1952 for The Bad and the Beautiful. It was followed up in 1956 with Lust for Life.
He won the New York Critics Award for Lust for Life.
Douglas decided to venture out on his own in 1955 when he formed his own independent film company, Bryna Productions. He starred in a number of Bryna movies including Spartacus and Posse.
Douglas recalls what he thinks is his best movie! What do you think it is? Click next to find out!
Douglas considers Lonely Are the Brave his best movie.
“I love that character and his relationship with his horse. And I always consider that my best movie. It was not a big success. It’s gotten to be more of a cult film right now… Again, Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay. It was the one time we never changed a word; it was perfect, like a hole in one.”
Douglas also starred in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and talked about how much singing he actually did in the movie, so much so that he even bragged Frank Sinatra was jealous of him!
“I sang in that! For a guy who can’t sing, I sang a lot. [sings] ‘Got a whale of a tale to tell you lads!’… All the young kids at that time knew that song. They made a disc of it professionally, and I said in an interview that my friend Frank Sinatra was jealous of me!”
Douglas also talked about his work with director Stanley Kubrick for the 1957 film Paths of Glory.
“I saw a little picture that Stanley Kubrick had done [the 1956 film The Killing], and I said, ‘Gee, he’s very talented.’ I called him and said, ‘Do you have any other projects?’ He said, ‘Yes, I have a project, but nobody wants to do it.’ And he sent me Paths of Glory. I said, ‘Stanley, this picture won’t make a nickel, but we have to do it.’”
Douglas also gave a stellar performance alongside Burt Lancaster in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral where he portrayed Doc Holliday about the famed shootout in Tombstone, Arizona.
Douglas was so respected he even earned the Presidential Medal of Honor – see that next!
In 1981, President Jimmy Carter awarded Douglas the Presidential Medal of Honor.
Just a year after receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor, Douglas portrayed twin brothers in the coming-of-age tale The Man from Snowy River.
And just last year, Kirk celebrated his 99th birthday with his daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta Jones.
His son, Michael Douglas, also celebrated with his Dad and wished him a Happy Birthday!
What an amazing career! Happy Birthday Kirk!