Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor, producer, director and author. He grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II.
During his career, Douglas appeared in more than 90 movies and was known for his explosive acting style. He became an international star for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion (1949), which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other early films include Young Man with a Horn (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), and Detective Story (1951), a film for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor in a Drama. He received a second Oscar nomination for his role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and his third nomination for portraying Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956), which landed him a second Golden Globe nomination.
In 1955, Douglas established Bryna Productions, which produced films as varied as Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). He took the lead roles in both films. Douglas has been praised for helping to break the Hollywood blacklist by having Dalton Trumbo write Spartacus with an official on-screen credit. In 1963 Douglas starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a story that he purchased and later gave to his son Michael Douglas, who turned it into an Oscar-winning film.
As an actor and philanthropist, Douglas received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As an author, he wrote ten novels and memoirs. He is No. 17 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema.
Kirk Douglas died at age 103.
Acted in
From Roger Moore with Love
2024
as Self (archive footage)
Kubrick by Kubrick
2020
as Self (archive footage)
Vincent van Gogh Superstar
2019
as Vincent van Gogh (archive footage)
Mike Wallace Is Here
2019
as (archive footage)
Basketball: A Love Story
2018
as Self (archive footage)
The Untameable Kirk Douglas
2017
as Self - Actor
If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
2017
as Self
I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas
2015
as Self - Interviewee
Hollywood au pied du terril
2014
as Self
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
as Self (archive footage)
Stanley Kubrick in Focus
2012
as Self
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
as (archive footage)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010
as Self – Interviewee
Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget
2009
as Self
Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices
2008
as Self
Empire State Building Murders
2008
as Jim Kovalski
Trumbo
2007
as Self - Interviewee
A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2005
as Self
Illusion
2004
as Donald Baines
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
2003
It Runs in the Family
2003
as Mitchell Gromberg
Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir
2001
as Self
FBI contre Hollywood
2001
as Self
Diamonds
1999
as Harry Agensky
Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection
1999
as General Kalthrob
Completely Cuckoo
1997
as Self
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Scene by Scene
1997
as Self
The Universal Story
1996
as Self (archive footage)
The Lies Boys Tell
1994
as Ed Reese
Touched by an Angel
1994
as Ross Berger
Greedy
1994
as Uncle Joe
A Century of Cinema
1994
as Self
The Secret
1992
as Grandpa Mike Dunmore
Two-Fisted Tales
1992
as General Calthrop
Welcome to Veraz
1991
as Quentin
Oscar
1991
as Eduardo Provolone
Movie Tough Guys
1991
as Self (archive footage)
Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Under the Sea
1990
as Ned Land (archive footage)
The Simpsons
1989
as Chester J. Lampwick (voice)
Tales from the Crypt
1989
as Gen. Kalthrob
The Racing Experience
1988
as Self
Inherit the Wind
1988
as Matthew Harrison Brady
Queenie
1987
as David Konig
Queenie
1987
as David Konig
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
1986
as Self
Tough Guys
1986
as Archie Long
Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary
1986
as Self
Amos
1985
as Amos Lasher
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985
as Self (archive footage)
Draw!
1984
as Harry H. Holland aka Handsome Harry Holland
James Bond: The First 21 Years
1983
as Self
Eddie Macon's Run
1983
as Carl 'Buster' Marzack
Remembrance Of Love
1982
as Joe Rabin
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
as (in "I Walk Alone") (archive footage)
The Man from Snowy River
1982
as Harrison / Spur
Let Poland Be Poland
1982
as Self
Home Movies
1980
as Dr. Tuttle
Saturn 3
1980
as Major Adam
The Final Countdown
1980
as Capt. Matthew Yelland
Verstehen Sie Spaß?
1980
as Self
The Villain
1979
as Cactus Jack
The Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
The Fury
1978
as Peter Sandza
Holocaust 2000
1977
as Robert Caine
Victory at Entebbe
1976
as Herschel Vilnofsky
Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers
1976
as Alex Vandervoort
Once Is Not Enough
1975
as Mike Wayne
Posse
1975
as Howard Nightingale
Der große Preis
1974
as Self
Mousey
1974
as George Anderson
Scalawag
1973
as Peg
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1973
as Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
The Master Touch
1972
as Steve Wallace
J'ai tout donné
1972
The Special London Bridge Special
1972
as The Indian Fighter
Catch Me a Spy
1971
as Andrej
A Gunfight
1971
as Will Tenneray
The Light at the Edge of the World
1971
as Will Denton
There Was a Crooked Man...
1970
as Paris Pitman, Jr.
The Arrangement
1969
as Eddie Anderson
The Brotherhood
1968
as Frank Ginetta
A Lovely Way to Die
1968
as Jameson Schuyler
Rowan & Martin at the Movies
1968
as Self
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1967
as Self (uncredited)
The War Wagon
1967
as Lomax
The Way West
1967
as Sen. William J. Tadlock
Kirk Douglas
1966
as Self
Is Paris Burning?
1966
as General Patton
Cast a Giant Shadow
1966
as Col. David 'Mickey' Marcus
The Heroes of Telemark
1965
as Dr. Rolf Pedersen
In Harm's Way
1965
as Commander Paul Eddington, Jr.
Seven Days in May
1964
as Col. Martin "Jiggs" Casey
For Love or Money
1963
as Deke Gentry
The List of Adrian Messenger
1963
as George Brougham / Vicar Atlee / Mr. Pythian / Arthur Henderson
The Hook
1963
as Sgt. P.J. Briscoe
The Lucy Show
1962
as Kirk Douglas
Two Weeks in Another Town
1962
as Jack Andrus
Lonely are the Brave
1962
as John W. "Jack" Burns
Town Without Pity
1961
as Major Garrett
The Last Sunset
1961
as Brendan 'Bren' O'Malley
Spartacus
1960
as Spartacus
Strangers When We Meet
1960
as Larry Coe
The Devil's Disciple
1959
as Richard Dudgeon
Last Train from Gun Hill
1959
as Marshal Matt Morgan
The Vikings
1958
as Einar
Paths of Glory
1957
as Col. Dax
Van Gogh: Darkness into Light
1957
as Self
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957
as Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday
Top Secret Affair
1957
as Maj. Gen. Melville A. Goodwin
Lust for Life
1956
as Vincent van Gogh
The Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self - Recipient
The Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self - Guest
Walt Disney's Where Do the Stories Come From?
1956
as Self
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
The Indian Fighter
1955
as Johnny Hawks
Man Without a Star
1955
as Dempsey Rae
The Racers
1955
as Gino Borgesa
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
as Ned Land
Operation Undersea
1954
as Self
The Disneyland Story
1954
Ulysses
1954
as Ulysses
The George Gobel Show
1954
as Self
Act of Love
1953
as Robert Teller
The Juggler
1953
as Hans Muller
The Story of Three Loves
1953
as Pierre Narval
The Oscars
1953
as Self
The Bad and the Beautiful
1952
as Jonathan Shields
This Is Your Life
1952
as Self
The Big Sky
1952
as Jim Deakins
The Big Trees
1952
as Jim Fallon
Detective Story
1951
as Det. James McLeod
Ace in the Hole
1951
as Charles Tatum
Along the Great Divide
1951
as Marshal Len Merrick
The Glass Menagerie
1950
as Jim O'Connor
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Ulysses (archive footage)
Young Man with a Horn
1950
as Rick Martin
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Mystery Guest
Champion
1949
as Midge Kelly
A Letter to Three Wives
1949
as George Phipps
The Walls of Jericho
1948
as Tucker Wedge
My Dear Secretary
1948
as Owen Waterbury
I Walk Alone
1947
as Noll "Dink" Turner
Out of the Past
1947
as Whit Sterling
Mourning Becomes Electra
1947
as Peter Niles
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
1946
as Walter O'Neil