Actor Issur Danielovitch, better known as Kirk Douglas, has died at age 103. One of a handful of major stars still remaining from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Douglas had an epic career. After service in the US Navy during World War II as a communications officer aboard a sub chaser, Douglas embarked on an odyssey, yeah, I remember when he played Ulysses, as an actor in which he displayed notable range, starring in Westerns, historical epics, biographies, comedies, war flicks, etc. You name it, and Douglas was willing to take up the challenge as an actor. A political liberal, he never let politics interfere with friendships, being good friends for example with John Wayne. A near death experience in 1991 caused him to embrace the Judaism in which he had been raised. He was noted for his open handed generosity in regard to donations to charities. A perfectionist in his craft, he was known for being difficult with directors and a compulsive scene stealer, but the results will ever speak for themselves in his films. He rose from poverty to make himself world famous; his was a classic American success story and he was an American original. Fare thee Well Mr. Douglas in the world to come.
May he rest in peace.
Rest in peace. I think it’s safe to say he was one of my parents’ favorite actors. As a result, I grew up seeing him in many different films. God’s blessings on him.
Didn’t care for his politics, loved his movies.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea especially. He was a big enough star he didn’t need to make a kid’s movie like that.
I’m going to have to watch The War Wagon. I’d watch The Villian too, if I had a copy.
And of course Spartacus.
And Paths of Glory.
I’m going to have to finally see Cast A Giant Shadow.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea especially. He was a big enough star he didn’t need to make a kid’s movie like that.
Called up my folks to tell them he’d passed– the only actor I can think of where mom didn’t growl about how he’d been alive without living the last few decades– and dad mentioned that awesome song scene!
“an open handed generosity” Rest in peace Mr. Douglas
He had multiple affairs while he was married. Not someone who was exactly moral or praiseworthy.
He was not cited for being a moral exemplar. Someone may be skilled in a field and be lacking, in some ways, morally. Also, De mortuis nil nisi bonum, is generally a good rule to follow, at least as to the newly dead.
“He had multiple affairs while he was married. Not someone who was exactly moral or praiseworthy.”
Hmmm…..like King David?
Kirk Douglas was not King David, but David’s got him beat for affairs and family screwups he helped to cause (Amnon raping Tamar, Absolam’s rebellion, Adonijah’s rebellion, taking that census whuch resulted in 70 thousand dead, etc). Lots of holier than thou people when it comes to sexual morality.
If you ever get a chance to read his autobiography (“The Ragman’s Son,” 1988), it is a stunning account of how he came from absolutely grinding poverty as the son of a Russian Jewish junk dealer in Amsterdam, New York, the absolutely poorest family in a very poor neighborhood, for whom shoes and even a glass of milk were a very, very rare commodity.
It is quite a contrast to the experiences and expectations of the millennials and post-millennials today, something that can’t really quite be communicated.
Kirk Douglas is masterful in the movie Spartacus to see or see again : https://amzn.to/386jpY5
Douglas was terrific in Paths of Glory (1957). Great acting in a great film