In pictures: Kirk Douglas at 100
- Published
Kirk Douglas, the American actor whose steely gaze, virility and distinctively dimpled chin made him one of Hollywood's most popular leading men, was born Issur Danielovitch on 9 December 1916.
His early films include a 1947 adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's play Mourning Becomes Electra, in which he appeared alongside Rosalind Russell.
His first Oscar nomination came in 1950 for boxing drama Champion. The same year, he was seen in Young Man with a Horn, for which he took lessons on playing the trumpet.
Spartacus, in which he played a gladiator who leads a rebellion against the Roman empire, remains one of his most revered films.
Douglas's insistence that Dalton Trumbo be credited for the 1960 release's screenplay was instrumental in ending the Hollywood blacklist.
Douglas had a friendly rivalry with his Hollywood contemporary Burt Lancaster. The pair made a number of films together, among them Seven Days in May and Tough Guys.
The twice-married actor is also responsible for siring a Hollywood dynasty. Here he is pictured in 1956 with sons Joel and Michael.
Michael Douglas, pictured with his father in 1965, went on to become an Oscar-winning actor and producer in his own right.
In 2003, three generations of the Douglas clan came together when Kirk made It Runs in the Family with son Michael and grandson Cameron.
Douglas is also the proud father-in-law of Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, who became Michael Douglas's wife in 2000.
A near-death experience in 1991 led Douglas to embrace the Jewish faith in which he had been raised. Here he is shown in 2000 praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall.
In 1996 Douglas had a severe stroke that impaired his ability to speak. He later wrote about the experience in a book called My Stroke of Luck.
- Published10 November 2016
- Published1 December 2014
