Kirk Douglas
Birthday:
Birthplace:
Amsterdam, New York, USA
Once quoted as saying "I've made a career of playing sons of bitches," Kirk Douglas is considered by many to be the epitome of the Hollywood hard man. In addition to acting in countless films over the course of his long career, Douglas has served as a director and producer, and will forever be associated with his role in helping to put an end to the infamous Hollywood black list.Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch) was the son Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Amsterdam, NY, on December 9, 1916. He waited tables to finance his education at St. Lawrence University, where he was a top-notch wrestler. While there, he also did a little work in the theater, something that soon gave way to his desire to pursue acting as a career. After some work as a professional wrestler, Douglas held various odd jobs, including a stint as a bellhop, to put himself through the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1941, he debuted on Broadway, but had only two small roles before he enlisting in the Navy and serving in World War II. Following his discharge, Douglas returned to Broadway in 1945, where he began getting more substantial roles; he also did some work on radio. After being spotted and invited to Hollywood by producer Hal Wallis, Douglas debuted onscreen in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), but he did not emerge as a full-fledged star until he portrayed an unscrupulously ambitious boxer in Champion (1949); with this role (for which he earned his first Oscar nomination), he defined one of his principle character types: a cocky, selfish, intense, and powerful man. Douglas fully established his screen persona during the '50s thanks to strong roles in such classics as Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (1951), William Wyler's Detective Story (1951), and John Sturges' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). He earned Oscar nominations for his work in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Lust for Life (1956), both of which were directed by Vincente Minnelli. In 1955, the actor formed his own company, Bryna Productions, through which he produced both his own films and those of others, including Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960); both of these movies would prove to be two of the most popular and acclaimed of Douglas' career. In 1963, he appeared on Broadway in Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, but was never able to interest Hollywood in a film version of the work; he passed it along to his son Michael Douglas (a popular actor/filmmaker in his own right), who eventually brought it to the screen to great success.During the '60s, Douglas continued to star in such films as John Huston's The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) and John Frankenheimer's Seven Days in May (1964), both of which he also produced. He began directing some of his films in the early '70s, scoring his greatest success as the director, star, and producer for Posse (1975), a Western in which he played a U.S. marshal eager for political gain. Though he continued to appear in films, by the '80s Douglas began volunteering much of his time to civic duties. Since 1963, he had worked as a Goodwill Ambassador for the State Department and the USIA, and, in 1981, his many contributions earned him the highest civilian award given in the U.S., the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For his public service, Douglas was also given the Jefferson Award in 1983. Two years later, the French government dubbed him Chevalier of the Legion of Honor for his artistic contributions. Other awards included the American Cinema Award (1987), the German Golden Kamera Award (1988), and the National Board of Review's Career Achievement Award (1989). In 1995, the same year he suffered a debilitating stroke, Douglas was presented with an honorary Oscar by the Academy; four years later, he was the recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor that was accompanied by a screening of 16 of his films. In addition to his film work, Douglas has also written tw
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Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
MOVIES
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | BOX OFFICE | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|---|
100% | If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast |
|
— | 2017 |
No Score Yet | Cooper and Hemingway: The True Gen |
|
— | 2013 |
97% | Cameraman: The Life And Work Of Jack Cardiff |
|
$20.5k | 2011 |
84% | Trumbo |
|
$28.6k | 2007 |
36% | Illusion |
|
— | 2006 |
No Score Yet | A Father...a Son...Once upon a Time in Hollywood |
|
— | 2005 |
29% | It Runs in the Family |
|
$7.4M | 2003 |
No Score Yet | Frank Sinatra Memorial |
|
— | 1999 |
26% | Diamonds |
|
— | 1999 |
32% | Greedy |
|
— | 1994 |
No Score Yet | The Lies Boys Tell |
|
— | 1994 |
No Score Yet | The Secret |
|
— | 1992 |
12% | Oscar |
|
— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | World's Greatest Movie Challenge |
|
— | 1989 |
No Score Yet | Inherit the Wind |
|
— | 1988 |
No Score Yet | Queenie |
|
— | 1987 |
53% | Tough Guys |
|
— | 1986 |
No Score Yet | Amos |
|
— | 1985 |
No Score Yet | Draw! |
|
— | 1984 |
No Score Yet | Eddie Macon's Run |
|
— | 1983 |
No Score Yet | Remembrance of Love |
|
— | 1982 |
85% | The Man from Snowy River |
|
— | 1982 |
53% | The Final Countdown |
|
— | 1980 |
No Score Yet | Home Movies |
|
— | 1980 |
25% | Saturn 3 |
|
— | 1980 |
0% | The Villain |
|
— | 1979 |
77% | The Fury |
|
— | 1978 |
No Score Yet | The Chosen |
|
— | 1977 |
No Score Yet | Victory at Entebbe |
|
— | 1976 |
67% | Posse |
|
— | 1975 |
No Score Yet | Jacqueline Susann's 'Once Is Not Enough' |
|
— | 1975 |
No Score Yet | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |
|
— | 1973 |
No Score Yet | Scalawag |
|
— | 1973 |
No Score Yet | The Master Touch |
|
— | 1972 |
33% | Catch Me a Spy |
|
— | 1971 |
No Score Yet | A Gunfight |
|
— | 1971 |
No Score Yet | The Light at the Edge of the World |
|
— | 1971 |
No Score Yet | Summertree |
|
— | 1971 |
82% | There Was a Crooked Man |
|
— | 1970 |
8% | The Arrangement |
|
— | 1969 |
60% | The Brotherhood |
|
— | 1968 |
90% | The War Wagon |
|
— | 1967 |
20% | The Way West |
|
— | 1967 |
No Score Yet | Cast a Giant Shadow |
|
— | 1966 |
71% | Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il?) |
|
— | 1966 |
36% | In Harm's Way |
|
— | 1965 |
67% | The Heroes of Telemark |
|
— | 1965 |
92% | Seven Days in May |
|
— | 1964 |
No Score Yet | The Hook |
|
— | 1963 |
67% | The List of Adrian Messenger |
|
— | 1963 |
93% | Lonely are the Brave |
|
— | 1962 |
89% | Two Weeks in Another Town |
|
— | 1962 |
60% | Town Without Pity |
|
— | 1961 |
60% | The Last Sunset |
|
— | 1961 |
93% | Spartacus |
|
— | 1960 |
60% | Strangers When We Meet |
|
— | 1960 |
No Score Yet | The Devil's Disciple |
|
— | 1959 |
91% | Last Train from Gun Hill |
|
— | 1959 |
76% | The Vikings |
|
— | 1958 |
96% | Paths of Glory |
|
— | 1957 |
85% | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral |
|
— | 1957 |
No Score Yet | Top Secret Affair |
|
— | 1957 |
85% | Lust for Life |
|
— | 1956 |
No Score Yet | The Indian Fighter |
|
— | 1955 |
No Score Yet | Man Without a Star |
|
— | 1955 |
No Score Yet | The Racers |
|
— | 1955 |
No Score Yet | Ulysses |
|
— | 1954 |
89% | 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea |
|
— | 1954 |
No Score Yet | The Juggler |
|
— | 1953 |
No Score Yet | The Story of Three Loves |
|
— | 1953 |
79% | The Bad and the Beautiful |
|
— | 1953 |
No Score Yet | Un Acte d'Amour |
|
— | 1953 |
89% | The Big Sky |
|
— | 1952 |
No Score Yet | The Big Trees |
|
— | 1952 |
67% | Detective Story |
|
— | 1951 |
92% | Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival) |
|
— | 1951 |
No Score Yet | Along the Great Divide |
|
— | 1951 |
No Score Yet | The Glass Menagerie |
|
— | 1950 |
80% | Young Man With a Horn |
|
— | 1950 |
95% | A Letter to Three Wives |
|
— | 1949 |
94% | Champion |
|
— | 1949 |
No Score Yet | The Walls of Jericho |
|
— | 1948 |
No Score Yet | I Walk Alone |
|
— | 1948 |
No Score Yet | My Dear Secretary |
|
— | 1948 |
67% | Mourning Becomes Electra |
|
— | 1947 |
95% | Out of the Past |
|
— | 1947 |
100% | The Strange Love of Martha Ivers |
|
— | 1946 |
TV
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet |
Real Time with Bill Maher
2003
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Touched by an Angel
1994-2003
|
|
|
85% |
The Simpsons
1989
|
|
|
82% |
Tales from the Crypt
1989-1996
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Saturday Night Live
1975
|
|
|
Quotes from Kirk Douglas' Characters
Spartacus: | He'll be back, he'll back and he'll be millions. |
Spartacus: | I'm not an animal! |
Daniel McTeague: | Your not broke are you Uncle Joe? |
Daniel McTeague: | You're not broke, are you Uncle Joe? |
Uncle Joe McTeague: | I'm richer than shit. |
Jack Burns: | I hate to lose those back teeth |
Jack Burns: | I hate to lose those back teeth. |
Jack Burns: | there are some things you just don't call a man |
Jack Burns: | There are some things you just don't call a man. |
Einar: | Oh, stop shouting. You sound like a moose giving birth to a hedgehog. |
Einar: | Take your magic elsewhere, holy man! |
Einar: | Einar: [to Ragnar on his return] I drink to your safe return in English ale. I wish that it were English blood. |
Einar: | [to Ragnar on his return] I drink to your safe return in English ale. I wish that it were English blood. |
Einar: | Einar: [about Eric] The sun will cross the sky a thousand times before he dies, and you'll wish a thousand times that you were dead. |
Einar: | [about Eric] The sun will cross the sky a thousand times before he dies, and you'll wish a thousand times that you were dead. |
Walter O'Neil: | And you. What have you done? |
Walter O'Neil: | All life is a gamble. |
Sam Masterson: | You'll do it for old times sake. |
Martha Ivers: | A sure thing is never a gamble. |
Martha Ivers: | There's only way you'll find out, release the girl. |
Sam Masterson: | I haven't been on the rubberneck tour for years. [on being shown the house of Martha] |
Jessica: | It changes so suddenly. One moment it's paradise, the next it's trying to kill you. |
Harrison: | Yep, that's how it can be up here. If it was easy to get to know it, it would be not challenging. You've got to treat the mountains like a high-spirited horse; never take it for granted. |
Jessica: | It's the same with people, too. |
Jonathan Shields: | Georgia, love is for the very young. |