Kirk Douglas

Yes, Kirk Douglas has a cleft chin and is the father of Michael Douglas, but in his own right, he is one of the most talented, popular, and busiest actors to ever hit the silver screen.

The son of Jewish Russian immigrants, Douglas was born as Issur Danielovitch Demsky on December 9, 1916 in Amsterdam, New York. Working as a waiter, he put himself through St. Lawrence University, where he was a champion wrestler and did his first work in the theatre. While wrestling professionly, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Before serving in WWII, he had small roles on Broadway.

After the war, Lauren Bacall mentioned him to producer Hall B. Wallis who tested him and gave him his first film role as the lead in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1947). Next, after great reviews, he appeared in Out of the Past and I Walk Alone with Burt Lancaster. The role credited with catapulting him to true stardom, was his portrayal of a boxer in the 1949 production of Champion.

In the '50's, there was no bigger star than Kirk Douglas. When I was 11, I was overwhelmed by his performance in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", and subsequently spent many hours submerged in my own sea, in the tub. He not only was Spartacus but produced the movie as well and was the first to demand that screenwriters be given due credit for their work. He formed Byrna Productions and Joel Productions to produce his own films as well as those of others.

Besides his film work, he has authored several books, including his best selling autobiographies, The Ragman's Son and Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning. Kirk appeared in the stage production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1963, and son Michael later produced the film. He was given the Presidential Medal of Fredom in 1981. He has survived a 1995 stroke with debilitating long-term effects and today lives in Beverly Hills, California with his wife Anne.

Filmography

1. Diamonds (1999)
2. A Century of Cinema (1994)
3. Greedy (1994)
4. Take Me Home Again (1994) (TV)
5. The Secret (1992) (TV)
6. Two-Fisted Tales (1991) (TV)
7. Verez (1991)
8. Oscar (1991)
9. Inherit the Wind (1988) (TV)
10. Queenie (1987) (TV)
11. Tough Guys (1986)
12. Amos (1985) (TV)
13. Salute to Lady Liberty (1984) (TV)
14. Draw! (1984) (TV)
15. Eddie Macon's Run (1983)
16. The Man from Snowy River (1982)
17. Remembrance of Love (1982) (TV)
18. The Final Countdown (1980)
19. Saturn 3 (1980)
20. Home Movies (1979)
21. The Vililian (1979)
22. The Fury (1978)
23. Holocaust 2000 (1979) (TV)
24. Victory at Entebbe (1976) (TV)
25. "Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers" (1976) (TV)
26. Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough (1975)
27. Posse (1975)
28. Mousey (1974) (TV)
29. Scalawag (1973)
30. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1973) (TV)
31. Uomo da rispettare, Un (1972)
32. A Gunfight (1971)
33. To Catch a Spy (1971)
34. Light at the Edge of the World (1971)
35. There Was A Crooked Man (1970)
36. The Arrangement (1969)
37. The Brotherhood (1968)
38. Rowan and Martin at the Movies (1968)
39. A Lovely Way to Die (1968)
40. The War Wagon (1967)
41. The Way West (1967)
42. Paris brule-t-il? (1966)
43. Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)
44. The Heroes of Telemark (1965)
45. In Harm's Way (1965)
46. Seven Days in May (1964)
47. For Love or Money (1963)
48. The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)
49. The Hook (1963)
50. Two weeks in Another Town (1962)
51. Lonely are the Brave (1962)
52. Town Without Pity (1961)
53. The Last Sunset (1961)
54. Strangers When We Meet (1960)
55. Spartacus (1960)
56. Last Train from Gun Hill (1959)
57. The Devil's Disciple (1959)
58. The Vikings (1958)
59. Paths of Glory (1957)
60. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
61. Top Secret Affair (1957)
62. Lust for Life (1956)
63. Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light (1956)
64. The Indian Fighter (1955)
65. Man Without a Star (1955)
66. The Racers (1955)
67. Ulisse (1954)
68. Un acte d'amour (1954)
69. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
70. The Story of Three Lovers (1953)
71. The Juggler (1954)
72. The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
73. The Big Sky (1952)
74. The Big Trees ((1952)
75. Detective Story (1951)
76. The Big Carnival (1951)
77. Along the Great Divide (1951)
78. The Glass Menagerie (1950)
79. Young Man with a Horn (1950)
80. Champion (1949)
81. A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
82. My Dear Secretary (1948)
83. The Walls of Jericho (1948)
84. I Walk Alone (1948)
85. Mourning Becomes Electra (1947)
86. Out of the Past (1947)
87. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

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Sources: http://kirkdouglas.terrashare.com/andhttp://us.imdb.com/Name?Douglas,+Kirk