Kirk Douglas Bio: Interesting Facts About The Hollywood Legend

He was a famous American actor, director, producer, and philanthropist, who rose to fame in the 1960s for acting in “Spartacus” among other favorite movies.

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Kirk Douglas age

Issur Danielovitch, known professionally as Kirk Douglas, was born on December 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York, United States, to Herschel and Bryna.

Herschel’s father was an alcoholic who physically abused him, his six sisters, and their mother.

Growing up, Douglas had to take up odd jobs to support his family, affecting his school life.

Although he attended Amsterdam High School, earning many honors in acting, he later graduated in 1934.

During world war II, in 1941, Douglas joined training in the United States Navy.

However, he was forced out of military work due to an injury sustained from the premature explosion of a depth charge in 1944.

He later moved back to New York, where he began a career in commercial theaters and radio stations.

Kirk Douglas movies

Douglas started as a stage actor in 1943, where he played the role of Richard Widmark in “Kiss and Told.”

His performance in the play led to other acting offers, including a lead role in the 1946 film “The Strange Love of Martha Iver’s,” where he was cast with Barbara Stanwyck, marking his debut screen appearance.

A supporting role later followed this in the classic noir thriller “Out of the Past.”

Then, in 1949, Douglas debuted in the Broadway “Three Sisters,” which Katharine Cornell produced.

That same year, he was cast to play the role of a selfish boxer in “Champion.” Still, in 1949, he created his own movie company named after his mother, “Bryna Production.”

Between 1950 to 1960, Douglas became a television screen sensation, appearing in all the hit movies alongside the leading actresses of that era.

Some of his roles involved horse riding, which was something he became quite comfortable with.

In 1950, he was cast as Rick Martin in the novel adopted film “Young Man with a Horn” with the same title.

In 1951, Douglas starred in “Ace in the Hole,” which had poor reviews from the start and later won a Best Foreign Film award at the Venice Film Festival.

Recently the film has been ranked among the Top 500 films.

Then, in 1954, he was cast in “20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea,” which soon became Walt Disney’s most successful live-action movies and a major box-office hit.

Douglas then appeared in “Man Without a Star” and “For Love or Money.”

He finally got his film production company “Bryna Production” up and running in 1955, despite having to break contracts with Half B. Wallis and Warner Bros. to do so.

Under his company, Douglas produced many blockbuster movies under his company, including the 1960 “Spartacus,” which soon became one of his most defined roles.

The movie, whose production cost was $12 million, was the most expensive film.

In addition, Douglas was considered one of the best actors of his days, appearing in several commercial hit movies and blockbusters during his time alive.