Michael Douglas Honored His Late Father Kirk Douglas: 'I Am Proud To Be Your Son'

Mar 18, 2022 by apost team

Michael Douglas is an American actor and producer that has made his own mark on Hollywood and received many accolades. Some of his achievements include two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. 

Michael is best known for several films, including "A Chorus Line," "Fatal Attraction," and "Wall Street." He has also become popular among a younger crowd by joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dr. Hank Pym. He has appeared in many films, including "Ant-Man," "Ant-Man and the Wasp," and "Avengers: Endgame."

Outside of his career, Michael is a family man. He and Catherine Zeta-Jones have been happily married since 2000 and have two kids. Their lives have changed a great deal since they moved between the US and Bermuda with their children, Dylan Douglas and Carys Zeta-Douglas.

Catherine is also a prominent actor in Hollywood. She and Michael were married in New York on Nov. 11, 2000, after Michael officially got divorced from his previous wife, Diandra Luke. The couple shares more than just an affinity for acting; they also share a birthday on Sept. 25, 25 years apart.

Fans of Michael's know that he comes from a Hollywood legacy family, with his father being Kirk Douglas. Kirk is best known for appearing in such films as "Champion," "The Bad and the Beautiful," and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," among many more. Keep reading to learn more about Michael's parents remarrying and why he says he is grateful for both his parents and step-parents.

Kirk Douglas was one of Hollywood's biggest heartthrobs in his heyday, and he was no stranger to chasing women. But it was his wife of 65 years, Anne Douglas, née Buydens, whom he chose to spend most of his life with. Kirk left Anne a widow after passing away at the age of 103 on Feb. 5, 2020. Over one year following his death, Anne passed away at her home in Beverly Hills on Apr. 29 at the age of 102.

Theirs was a love for the ages — amid the storms of infidelity, cancer, and even the loss of their child, Kirk and Anne stuck together through it all in 65 years of marriage.

Upon first meeting in 1953 on the Paris set of "Act of Love," the two were involved with different people at the time. Anne was married to Albert Buydens, while Kirk was already divorced from actress Diana Dill and secretly engaged to Italian actress Pier Angeli. 

Anne was a film publicist at the time and had been working as a location scout and assistant for director John Huston in 1952. In 1953, she had a three-year period where she worked as head of protocol for the Cannes Film Festival, where she scheduled parties and made sure that they were filled with celebrities and media. Kirk offered her a job to be his assistant, but she vehemently turned him down, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

However, what was meant to be would be. Very shortly after, at the end of 1953, Kirk ended his engagement to Pier Angeli, and by the spring of 1954, in a spontaneous moment, he and Anne decided to get married in Las Vegas after a year of working together and pursuing a complicated relationship. 

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Kirk and Anne's son Peter Douglas was born in 1955, followed by Eric Douglas, who was born in 1958. On the other hand, Michael Douglas was born in 1944 to Kirk's first wife, Diana Dill. Dill remarried as well, which meant Michael grew up with two sets of parents.

Kirk and Anne's marriage would last for more than six decades, which is extremely rare in the Hollywood industry. Speaking about Anne, Michael said in a statement to People in 2021:

"Anne was more than a stepmother, and never 'wicked.' She brought out the best in all of us, especially our father. Dad would never have had the career he did without Anne's support and partnership. Catherine and I and the children adored her; she will always be in our hearts." 

Michael also shared that he was close with his stepfather as well. "I was really blessed that my mother remarried a great, great guy. Step-parents never get enough credit. You know, it's always the wicked stepmother or stepfather but the truth is, there are so many more step-parents who have assumed the responsibility of raising kids that are not theirs and I was really lucky," he said.

After his father Kirk passed away, Michael made a touching post on Instagram sharing how much he meant to him. "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 setting a standard for all of us to aspire to."

Michael continued: "But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great-grandchild, their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband. 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."

Are you a fan of Michael and Kirk Douglas? What is your favorite film from each of them? Let us know, and feel free to send this along to your friends and family.