Kirk Douglas Dies Of Natural Causes At 103: Looking Back On His Accredited Life Through Photos

Feb 06, 2020 by apost team

Known for his explosive acting, Hollywood star Kirk Douglas has died in his home in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 103, according to BBC. 

As a stage and screen actor, Douglas well-known for a wide range of roles and eventually fathered Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas. With a career that spanned seven decades, Douglas has left behind a rich discography as well as a legacy of fame and fatherhood.

Before he became the icon of Hollywood's golden age, Kirk douglas made his film debut in The Strange Love of Marth Ivers (1946). Douglas' international stardom came from positive reception of his leading role as the boxing hero in Champion (1949), which then became his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Kirk stunned viewers with his acting in serious dramas, westerns, and war films, but before he was known as Kirk Douglas, he was born as Issur Danielovitch in 1916, as stated in the Wall Street Journal. As the son of Jewish immigrants from the previous Russian Empire, Douglas developed into one of the leading box-office stars of the 1950s. Living as one of the last surviving links to such a particular era of Hollywood's past, Douglas was much more than just a leading man. 

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Other early films of Douglas include Young Man with a Horn (1950) and Ace in the Hole (1951) along with the film that gave him a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor in Drama, Detective Story (1951). After receiving a second Oscar nomination for his role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and a third for his portrayal of Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956), Douglas established Bryna Productions in 1955.

Under his new production company, Kirk Douglas produced and took the lead roles in both films, Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). He then went on to produce and star in the classic Lonely are the Brave (1962) and Seven Days in May (1964). Among these films, Douglas also displayed his dynamic acting style through his role as a criminal defense attorney in Town Without Pity (1961). However, Douglas' legacy lives just as much off-screen as it did on-screen.

The personal life of Kirk Douglas was nearly as colorful as his acting life. While acting in Paris for Lust for Life, Douglas met producer Anne Buydens (born Hannelore Marx)  and eventually married her on May 29th, 1954. Buydens had originally found work at film studio doing translations for subtitles after fleeing her home country of Germany to escpae Nazism.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Hollywood couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills in 2014. The husband-and-wife pair continued to work together after their acting careers, realeasing a book in 2017 titled, "Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood." To no surprise, the couple birthed two sons, one of which went on to claim his own stakes in the Hollywood business. 

Douglas went from having six sisters in an impoverished, Yiddish-speaking household in New Amsterdam, New York, to eventually having four sons of his own, two of which were with Anne Buydens. Most notably, however, was Kirk's son Michael, who followed in his footsteps and cemented a Douglas family legacy in the film industry. The two even had the chance to act together, side-by-side, in Michael's first feature film Hail Hero (1969), as seen in Michael's 'flashback Friday' Instagram post below. 

Among many posts, Kirk's son Michael announced the sad news of his dad's death on his Instagram while also posting a loving tribute to his late father.

"It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103. To the world he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to."

Michael emphasized Kirk's family life and remembered him as a father and loved one to the Douglas clan first and foremost, concluding the touching post with something he was lucky enough to tell him before death.

"Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Dad- I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son."

The journey Douglas took from Amsterdam, New York to Los Angeles involved working a series of odd-jobs and enlisting in the Navy for a while before his friend Lauren Bacall recommended him for a role in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, according to BBC. Before his big break, he graced the Broadway stage with his talent in a few small parts, and then the rest was history.

During his 103 years of life, Douglas receieved numerous awards. For his work in the arts, he was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush, but also earlier the highest civilian honor possible, the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed upon him by President Jimmy Carter. 

Our hearts go out to the Douglas family and we hope he rests in peace. What's your favorite Kirk Douglas feature? Reminisce with others about the actor's long legacy by passing this along to other Douglas fans!