Kirk Douglas: A life in pictures
- Published
Hollywood acting legend Kirk Douglas has died, at the age of 103.
Kirk Douglas, the American actor whose chiselled good looks, steely glare 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.
Douglas in a promotional portrait for Champion, directed by Mark Robson in 1949, an early film that gained him a nomination for Best Actor at the 1950 Oscars and helped cement his reputation.
He is seen here in 1949 with his son Michael, whom he had with his first wife, actress Diana Love Dill. They divorced in 1951.
He played the painter Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life, directed by Vincente Minnelli in 1956.
Douglas and his second wife, Anne Buydens, being met by actor Tony Curtis, on their arrival at London Airport, in 1957, for the film The Vikings.
Paths of Glory, directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1957, was produced through Douglas's own production company. He plays Col Dax, a commanding officer of French soldiers who attempts to defend them against a charge of cowardice in a court martial after they refuse to take part in a suicidal attack.
He is perhaps best known for the role of Spartacus, a slave who leads a rebellion against Rome. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and produced by Douglas's company, it is one of his most celebrated films. Douglas's insistence former Communist Party member Dalton Trumbo be credited for the 1960 release's screenplay was instrumental in ending the Hollywood blacklist.
He had a friendly rivalry with his Hollywood contemporary Burt Lancaster, with whom he made seven films, including Seven Days in May, Tough Guys and, in 1957, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (pictured).
Douglas married Anne Buydens in 1954 and they were married until his death.
Three generations of the Douglas family, Cameron, Kirk and Michael, attend the ceremony honouring Michael with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 2018.
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