Kirk Douglas (born in 1916) is an American veteran actor, producer, director, and author. He is one of the oldest alive actors. He has also written books like Dance with the Devil (1990), The Gift (1992), etc. He has acted in many Hollywood movies and worked with many famous actresses.
Early Life, Biography, Parents, Siblings & Education
Issur Danielovitch was born in a Jewish family in 1916 (age 103 years) in Amsterdam, New York. Every year he celebrates his birthday on December 9. His Zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Kirk’s parents were migrants from Belarus.
Doug’s mother’s name is Bryna & his father’s name is Herschel Danielovitch. His siblings include six sisters. The family used to speak Yiddish in the house.
Kirk Douglas’ father was a horse trader in Belarus. The economic condition of the family was not well and that is why he spent his childhood in poverty.
The man himself used to sell snacks to the factory workers during his childhood just to bear the expenses for the milk &bread of his family. They use to live in the most backward area of the town. He has even worked as a gardener to pay off his debts.
He has written his autobiography “The Ragman’s Son” in which he has described the challenges that he has faced in his life.
In school, he used to participate in the dramas and plays and was honored for his performance many times. The man in himself had the talent from his early childhood. He graduated from St. Lawrence University.
Body Statistics, Height, Weight & Appearance
He is a Jewish guy who was born in America. He is known for his dashing looks and a dimple on his chin. Actor Kirk Douglas stands tall at a height of 5 feet 9 inches and has a weight of 152 lbs.
He has beautiful blue eyes and grey hair. During the starting of his career, he used to be the crush of a lot of girls. It is worth mentioning that he is still alive and healthy. He is 103 (in the year 2019) years and going well.
Marriage, Girlfriend, Spouse & Children
As per his personal life, Kirk Douglas got married in 1943 with his wife Dianna Dill. Dianna is also an actress who has worked in more than 50 movies. In September 1944 they got blessed with a son and they named him Michael Douglas. In January 1947 she gave birth to their second son Joel Douglas. The life was going well but in the year 1951, Dianna & Kirk got separated.
His second marriage happened in 1954 with Anne Buydens (Anne Douglas). Issur Danielovitch first met each other in 1953 and soon started dating each other. The first child is Peter Douglas who was born in the year 1955. Their second son was Eric Douglas who was born in June 1958. But Eric died of a drug overdose in 2004.
There was a girl, Lauren Bacall who was his classmate. She once in a letter accepted that she had a huge crush on Kirk but when she came to know that he was not interested in her she took her step back.
The man got his named attached to a lot of his co-stars like Betty Kelly, Gene Tierney, Ann Southern, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Marilyn Maxwell.
Wiki/Bio | |
---|---|
Real Full Birth Name | Issur Danielovitch. |
Popularly known as | Kirk Douglas |
Profession | American actor, producer, director and author. |
Famous As | American actor. |
Age (How old, as of 2019) | 103 years. |
Date of Birth (DOB), Birthday | 1916 |
Birthplace/Hometown | Amsterdam, New York, USA. |
Nationality | American. |
Gender | Male. |
Sexuality (Gay or Lesbian) | Straight. |
Religion | Jewish. |
House In | New Delhi. |
Sun Sign (Zodiac Sign) | Sagittarius. |
Social Media Account Stats | No. |
Physical Statistics | |
Height (Tall) | Feet & Inches: 5' 9". Centimeters: 175cm. Meters: 1.75 m. |
Weight | Kilograms: 69 Kg. Pounds: 152 lbs. |
Tattoo details? | No. |
Eye Color | Blue. |
Hair Color | Grey. |
Family | |
Parents | Father: Herschel Danielovitch. Mother: Bryna. |
Siblings | 6 sisters. |
Personal Life Relationship | |
Marital Status | Married. |
Girlfriend | Has been with Betty Kelly, Gene Tierney, Ann Southern, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Marilyn Maxwell. |
Wife | 1.Dianna Dill (1943-1951). 2.Anne Buydens (1954-Present). |
Children | From 1st marriage: Michael Douglas, Joel Douglas. From 2nd marriage: Peter Douglas, Eric Douglas . |
Education | |
Highest Qualification | Graduate. |
School | Local High School. |
Alma Mater. | St. Lawrence University. |
Wealth | |
Source of Income | Movies, shows, books. |
Acting Career, Movies List & Net worth
Doug always wanted to become an actor. In 1941 he joined the US Navy where he worked as a communications officer in anti-submarine warfare for world war. After returning from the war he got himself a job in a radio studio in New York.
Kirk got the movie of his career on the recommendation of his friend Lauren Bacall.
Lauren recommended his name to the producer Hall B. Wallis. Thus in this way, he got his movie The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). He got praised for the acting skills that he portrayed through his role.
After this a lot of other hit movies also like:
- Spartacus (1960).
- The Vikings (1958).
- Paths of Glory (1957).
- Lust for Life (1956).
- 20,000 Leagues under the sea (1954).
- The final countdown (1980).
- The Man from Snowy River (1982).
- The War wagon (1967).
- Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957).
- Ulysses (1954).
- It Runs in the Family (2003).
- Greedy (1994)
- Last Train from Gun Hill (1959).
These all are the hit movies. He was the producer of the movie Spartacus (1960) with 12 Million USD production costs. It was one of the most expensive movies of the time.
Danielovitch has even worked in shows. His first show was Floor Show. The man worked as a theatre artist at the starting of his career. Slowly-slowly he became one of the highest-paid stars. Once he charged 50,000 USD for a coffee advertisement.
Over the year he earned fame as well as name. Kirk Douglas’ net worth is around 60 Million USD.
Issur has even written books which include:
- The Ragman’s Son (1988).
- My stroke of luck (2002).
- I am Spartacus (2012).
- Kirk and Anne (2017).
- Climbing the Mountains (1997).
- Let’s face it (2007).
- Life could be Verse (2014).
- Last Tango in Brooklyn (1994).
Awards & Achievements
- Accepted AFI Life Achievement Award
- Honoree in 1994.
- Honorary Award for 50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community in 1996.
- Lust for Life nominated for Best Actor in 1956.
- Touched by an Angel nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Emmy Awards) in 2002.
- Tales from the Crypt nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Emmy Award) in 1992.
- Amos nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special (Emmy Award) in 1986.
- Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.
- Honorary Cesar (Cesar Award) in 1980.
Some Lesser Known Facts about Kirk Douglas
- Once his helicopter crashed in which 2 of his friends died but he got badly injured.
- His movie was one of the most expensive movies up to its time, with a production cost of 12 million USD.
- Issur Danielovitch had a friend in his class who helped him get his first individual movie as a lead artist.
- Currently, he is the only star from his era which is alive.
- Michael Douglas has a son named “Dylan Michael Douglas” and a daughter “Carys Zeta Douglas” from his wife Catherine-Zeta–Jones (Welsh Actress).
- Kirk Douglas charged 50,000 USD from a coffee company for speaking 1 word only in the advertisement and that word is “Coffee”.
- During his struggle days, he even worked as a Janitor.
- Once he suffered heart stroke.
- Due to his heart stroke, he lost his ability to speak, but with the help of therapy, he slowly regained the power to speak again.
- He writes blogs on regular intervals.
- Once Lauren Bacall gave him her father’s old coat to himself warm.
- He once went to jail because he had no place to spend the night.
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