Kirk Douglas dead at 103 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

MA · 02-05-2020, 07:38 PM

https://people.com/movies/kirk-douglas-dead/

Kirk Douglas, one of the first box-office stars of the silver screen, has died. He was 103.

The acting legend, who had been in good health since suffering a stroke in 1996, is survived by his wife of 65 years, Anne, and his sons Michael, Joel, and Peter.

“It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” Michael said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.”

The actor continued, “But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband.”

“Kirk’s life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet,” Michael added. “Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Dad- I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son.”

In December, Michael became a Golden Globe nominee for The Kominsky Method as his father rang in his 103rd birthday.

To celebrate, Michael, 75, shared a sweet Instagram photo of his famous father and himself, thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for nominating him on the same day as Kirk’s milestone birthday.

“What a great day. Thank you HFPA for the Golden Globes nomination and for making my Dad proud on his 103 birthday!” Michael wrote.

In November 2018, Douglas attended Michael’s induction at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November — where the Basic Instinct star honored his father.

“It means so much to me, Dad, that you’re here today,” Michael said tearing up. “Thank you for your advice, inspiration, and I’ll say it simply and with all my heart: I’m so proud to be your son.”

RELATED: A Look Back at Kirk Douglas’s Incredible Rags-to-Riches Journey in His Own Words

With over 92 acting credits, including some 75 movies, seven of which co-starred his friend Burt Lancaster, Douglas became a superstar even before the term was coined.

He received his first Academy Award nomination in 1950 for Champion, and was nominated again in 1953 for the Hollywood expose The Bad and the Beautiful, and once more in 1957 for his performance as Vincent Van Gogh in the biopic Lust for Life.

In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Oscar for 50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community.

While Douglas’ on and off-screen bravado could be overpowering, and even difficult at times, he was a man of heartfelt conviction, hiring blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo — and giving him full-screen credit — to write the 1960 epic Spartacus, in which Douglas starred and served as executive producer.

“It was such a terrible, shameful time,” Douglas told PEOPLE about the communist purge of the entertainment industry during the ’40s and 50’s. “Dalton was in prison because he refused to answer questions, so I decided, the hell with it! I’m going to put his name on it. I think that’s the thing I’m most proud of because it broke the blacklist.”

As told in his 1988 autobiography, The Ragman’s Son, Douglas — who was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky — was born the poor son of an illiterate Russian-Jewish immigrant.

Douglas spoke about his father to PEOPLE, revealing that, “My father was not very affectionate, he was never interested in what I was doing. I had six sisters and no brothers and I wanted to be close to my father and he just ignored me.”

Instead, he says he found affection from his mother and became determined to not be as distant with his children as his father was with him.

“I’m much more demonstrative with my kids about hugging and kissing them and telling them that I love them,” he said. “My father wasn’t like that.”

The actor, known as Izzy, had some 40 jobs growing up in Amsterdam, N.Y., including newsboy, before acting in high school plays sent him on the course that would eventually make him a household name. He studied at Manhattan’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts alongside classmate Lauren Bacall, who later helped get him a screen test that led to his first movie role, opposite Barbara Stanwyck, in 1946’s The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.

Another Academy classmate was Diana Dill, to whom Douglas would be married from 1943 until their 1951 divorce. She is the mother of two of Douglas’s sons, Michael, born in 1944, and Joel, born in 1947.

Heading a Hollywood family, though, was often as difficult as being in one. As Michael has said on several occasions, including during his 1987 Best Actor Oscar acceptance speech for Wall Street, growing up under so large a shadow as Douglas’s was not always easy.

In 1979, Michael told PEOPLE, “Kirk Douglas was certainly a hard act to follow. I mean, there he was hanging from the cross in Spartacus, walking across the ranks of oars in The Vikings …” Added Kirk: “I think having a famous father was a pain in the ass for him.”

The family patriarch also never wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. “I didn’t want Michael to be an actor,” he told PEOPLE. “I wanted him to be a lawyer or a doctor, like many fathers. But he’s a good actor, he’s my favorite actor.”

As the years progressed, so did their relationship, even as the family faced such adversities as the death of youngest Kirk’s son (and Michael’s brother) Erik at age 46 in 2004, and the five-year prison sentence of Michael’s son Cameron, in 2010, for drug dealing. That same year, Michael was also diagnosed with throat cancer.

But there were many good times, too, including Kirk’s joy at welcoming Michael’s second wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones into the family, in a lavish 2000 wedding — and the birth of Michael and Catherine’s first child (they have two), son Dylan, born Aug. 8, 2000.

“You know, Dylan has a dimple bigger than mine,” the proud grandpa told PEOPLE. “[But] I think he looks more like Catherine. Catherine with a dimple. Not bad!”

The legendary actor spent the last years of his life surrounded by his loved ones including Cameron, who was released from prison in 2016 and welcomed his first child, daughter Lua Izzy, in December 2017.

Lua Izzy was named in honor of Douglas and is his first great-grandchild.

He celebrated his 103rd birthday with his family — and several tributes from his relatives including Michael and Catherine.

The actress shared an old shot of the two on her Instagram Monday to celebrate the iconic actor’s latest milestone. The sweet picture, which appears to be several years old, featured Kirk sitting on her lap as the two smiled for the camera.

“This guy on my knee, is 103!!!!! Happy Birthday Pappy!!! I love you with all my heart,” Zeta-Jones, 50, said.

For his 101st birthday, the star celebrated with two cakes: one decorated with sunflowers in honor of his performance as Vincent Van Gogh in the film Lust for Life, and the other depicting red boxing gloves that honored his first Academy Award-nominated performance in Champion.

The actor was also paid a visit by Dame Judi Dench who told PEOPLE at the time, “I will never forget this moment. He is a legend in our family.“

Zoneboy · 02-05-2020, 08:11 PM

So be it.

stevearino · 02-05-2020, 08:16 PM

According to Lester Holt by way of NBC News, movie legend Kirk Douglas just died at age 103.

Kirk's son, Michael, age 75, confirmed the news.

He was Isidore "Izzie" Danielovitch in Amsterdam, New York, on December 9, 1916, the son of Russian Jewish immigrant parents.

He was one of Hollywood's last Survivors of the Golden Age, and also a Stroke Survivor for 23 years as of 1996.

Per his obit at https://www.nbc15.com/content/news/K...567599921.html he legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas after Voluntarily Enlisting in the Navy during World War II, during which time his son, Michael, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on September 25, 1944.

His lengthy movie career included such hits as Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," "Spartacus," and his many pairing with the late Burt Lancaster--among them "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" and their final film pairing, Disney's 1986 movie "Tough Guys."

merlinjones · 02-05-2020, 08:18 PM

In tribute, I just played Kirk's "A Whale of a Tale'' song from "20,000 Leagues" at work. Got people clapping.

RIP Kirk.

Bonniegirl · 02-06-2020, 12:16 AM

He was amazing to be living till 103! A really good, legendary actor!

RIP, Mr. Douglas

OH Nuts! · 02-06-2020, 12:30 AM

He was an amazing man and actor. God Bless him. May he R.I.P.

80sTrivia · 02-06-2020, 05:18 AM

He lived a long, fulfulling life and he leaves the world with a wonderful legacy of films...

MA · 02-06-2020, 07:00 AM

Here are celebrities paying tribute to Kirk:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/enter...las/index.html

MrCleveland · 02-07-2020, 06:17 PM

I'm sure that Kirk Douglas will have a good dedication at the Oscars this Sunday...they really should!

I won't doubt now that Betty White will be the next celebrity to hit 100.

MA · 02-08-2020, 08:35 AM

Died from natural causes.

https://www.latimes.com/local/obitua...nap-story.html

D-Dey · 02-08-2020, 12:47 PM

Every new year there have been threads started on the Sitcoms Online Message Board asking about our predictions for whatever year those posts were started in. Among my predictions was a list of celebrities and politicians I thought was going to die that year. Kirk Douglas was among them.

Eventually, I stopped predicting his death.

The man lived a long life, especially for someone who never recovered from a stroke after nearly 24 years. I had a grandmother who suffered a stroke that she never recovered from in 1979, and she died in 1986. Of course, she also had a series of crooked visiting nurses who often took advantage of her too, so that didn't help.

MA · 02-08-2020, 02:57 PM

Oscars raced to include Kirk Douglas in the ‘In Memoriam’ tribute

https://pagesix.com/2020/02/06/oscar...riam-tributes/

MA · 02-08-2020, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCleveland

I'm sure that Kirk Douglas will have a good dedication at the Oscars this Sunday...they really should!

I won't doubt now that Betty White will be the next celebrity to hit 100.

They will.

https://variety.com/2020/film/awards...an-1203494963/

AB · 02-08-2020, 05:39 PM

Rest in peace.

Dude111 · 02-09-2020, 03:10 AM

Very sad

-- A good actor!!!!!!!!

02-05-2020, 07:38 PM	#1
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,578	Kirk Douglas dead at 103 https://people.com/movies/kirk-douglas-dead/ Kirk Douglas, one of the first box-office stars of the silver screen, has died. He was 103. The acting legend, who had been in good health since suffering a stroke in 1996, is survived by his wife of 65 years, Anne, and his sons Michael, Joel, and Peter. “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” Michael said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.” The actor continued, “But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband.” “Kirk’s life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet,” Michael added. “Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Dad- I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son.” In December, Michael became a Golden Globe nominee for The Kominsky Method as his father rang in his 103rd birthday. To celebrate, Michael, 75, shared a sweet Instagram photo of his famous father and himself, thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for nominating him on the same day as Kirk’s milestone birthday. “What a great day. Thank you HFPA for the Golden Globes nomination and for making my Dad proud on his 103 birthday!” Michael wrote. In November 2018, Douglas attended Michael’s induction at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November — where the Basic Instinct star honored his father. “It means so much to me, Dad, that you’re here today,” Michael said tearing up. “Thank you for your advice, inspiration, and I’ll say it simply and with all my heart: I’m so proud to be your son.” RELATED: A Look Back at Kirk Douglas’s Incredible Rags-to-Riches Journey in His Own Words With over 92 acting credits, including some 75 movies, seven of which co-starred his friend Burt Lancaster, Douglas became a superstar even before the term was coined. He received his first Academy Award nomination in 1950 for Champion, and was nominated again in 1953 for the Hollywood expose The Bad and the Beautiful, and once more in 1957 for his performance as Vincent Van Gogh in the biopic Lust for Life. In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Oscar for 50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community. While Douglas’ on and off-screen bravado could be overpowering, and even difficult at times, he was a man of heartfelt conviction, hiring blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo — and giving him full-screen credit — to write the 1960 epic Spartacus, in which Douglas starred and served as executive producer. “It was such a terrible, shameful time,” Douglas told PEOPLE about the communist purge of the entertainment industry during the ’40s and 50’s. “Dalton was in prison because he refused to answer questions, so I decided, the hell with it! I’m going to put his name on it. I think that’s the thing I’m most proud of because it broke the blacklist.” As told in his 1988 autobiography, The Ragman’s Son, Douglas — who was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky — was born the poor son of an illiterate Russian-Jewish immigrant. Douglas spoke about his father to PEOPLE, revealing that, “My father was not very affectionate, he was never interested in what I was doing. I had six sisters and no brothers and I wanted to be close to my father and he just ignored me.” Instead, he says he found affection from his mother and became determined to not be as distant with his children as his father was with him. “I’m much more demonstrative with my kids about hugging and kissing them and telling them that I love them,” he said. “My father wasn’t like that.” The actor, known as Izzy, had some 40 jobs growing up in Amsterdam, N.Y., including newsboy, before acting in high school plays sent him on the course that would eventually make him a household name. He studied at Manhattan’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts alongside classmate Lauren Bacall, who later helped get him a screen test that led to his first movie role, opposite Barbara Stanwyck, in 1946’s The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Another Academy classmate was Diana Dill, to whom Douglas would be married from 1943 until their 1951 divorce. She is the mother of two of Douglas’s sons, Michael, born in 1944, and Joel, born in 1947. Heading a Hollywood family, though, was often as difficult as being in one. As Michael has said on several occasions, including during his 1987 Best Actor Oscar acceptance speech for Wall Street, growing up under so large a shadow as Douglas’s was not always easy. In 1979, Michael told PEOPLE, “Kirk Douglas was certainly a hard act to follow. I mean, there he was hanging from the cross in Spartacus, walking across the ranks of oars in The Vikings …” Added Kirk: “I think having a famous father was a pain in the ass for him.” The family patriarch also never wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. “I didn’t want Michael to be an actor,” he told PEOPLE. “I wanted him to be a lawyer or a doctor, like many fathers. But he’s a good actor, he’s my favorite actor.” As the years progressed, so did their relationship, even as the family faced such adversities as the death of youngest Kirk’s son (and Michael’s brother) Erik at age 46 in 2004, and the five-year prison sentence of Michael’s son Cameron, in 2010, for drug dealing. That same year, Michael was also diagnosed with throat cancer. But there were many good times, too, including Kirk’s joy at welcoming Michael’s second wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones into the family, in a lavish 2000 wedding — and the birth of Michael and Catherine’s first child (they have two), son Dylan, born Aug. 8, 2000. “You know, Dylan has a dimple bigger than mine,” the proud grandpa told PEOPLE. “[But] I think he looks more like Catherine. Catherine with a dimple. Not bad!” The legendary actor spent the last years of his life surrounded by his loved ones including Cameron, who was released from prison in 2016 and welcomed his first child, daughter Lua Izzy, in December 2017. Lua Izzy was named in honor of Douglas and is his first great-grandchild. He celebrated his 103rd birthday with his family — and several tributes from his relatives including Michael and Catherine. The actress shared an old shot of the two on her Instagram Monday to celebrate the iconic actor’s latest milestone. The sweet picture, which appears to be several years old, featured Kirk sitting on her lap as the two smiled for the camera. “This guy on my knee, is 103!!!!! Happy Birthday Pappy!!! I love you with all my heart,” Zeta-Jones, 50, said. For his 101st birthday, the star celebrated with two cakes: one decorated with sunflowers in honor of his performance as Vincent Van Gogh in the film Lust for Life, and the other depicting red boxing gloves that honored his first Academy Award-nominated performance in Champion. The actor was also paid a visit by Dame Judi Dench who told PEOPLE at the time, “I will never forget this moment. He is a legend in our family.“
	__________________ ~-Mikaela-~

02-05-2020, 08:16 PM	#3
stevearino Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 15, 2017 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 249	RIP Kirk Douglas According to Lester Holt by way of NBC News, movie legend Kirk Douglas just died at age 103. Kirk's son, Michael, age 75, confirmed the news. He was Isidore "Izzie" Danielovitch in Amsterdam, New York, on December 9, 1916, the son of Russian Jewish immigrant parents. He was one of Hollywood's last Survivors of the Golden Age, and also a Stroke Survivor for 23 years as of 1996. Per his obit at https://www.nbc15.com/content/news/K...567599921.html he legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas after Voluntarily Enlisting in the Navy during World War II, during which time his son, Michael, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on September 25, 1944. His lengthy movie career included such hits as Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," "Spartacus," and his many pairing with the late Burt Lancaster--among them "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" and their final film pairing, Disney's 1986 movie "Tough Guys."

02-06-2020, 05:18 AM	#7
80sTrivia Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 23, 2002 Posts: 21,714	He lived a long, fulfulling life and he leaves the world with a wonderful legacy of films...
	__________________ Perfect Gift Books for Pop Culture Fanatics: Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book The Bouquet Residence: A Keeping Up Appearances Trivia Book Cooking With the Golden Girls: Fun & Delicious Recipes from a Hilarious Miami Kitchen Love in the Afternoon: The Ultimate Soap Opera Trivia Book The Last Great Decade: The Ultimate 90s Trivia Book Betty White: A Celebration

02-07-2020, 06:17 PM	#9
MrCleveland Drew Carey from Hell Forum Star Join Date: Nov 10, 2007 Location: The City of Cleveland, in The State of Cleveland, in The United States of Cleveland Posts: 14,226	I'm sure that Kirk Douglas will have a good dedication at the Oscars this Sunday...they really should! I won't doubt now that Betty White will be the next celebrity to hit 100.
	__________________ Thank God for kids that love Obscure Things. Lee Hazlewood (1929-2007) You ARE Special to God! Rev. Ernest Angely (August 1921-May 2021)

02-08-2020, 12:47 PM	#11
D-Dey Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 11, 2000 Location: Long Island, New York, USA Posts: 5,523	Every new year there have been threads started on the Sitcoms Online Message Board asking about our predictions for whatever year those posts were started in. Among my predictions was a list of celebrities and politicians I thought was going to die that year. Kirk Douglas was among them. Eventually, I stopped predicting his death. The man lived a long life, especially for someone who never recovered from a stroke after nearly 24 years. I had a grandmother who suffered a stroke that she never recovered from in 1979, and she died in 1986. Of course, she also had a series of crooked visiting nurses who often took advantage of her too, so that didn't help.
	__________________ Funny song parodies here: http://www.amiright.com/parody/60s/thebeatles11.shtml http://www.amiright.com/parody/2000s...nstoner0.shtml http://www.amiright.com/parody/2000s/weezer56.shtml http://www.amiright.com/parody/2000s/thedonnas4.shtml Petition the United States Postal Service for a stamp honoring Minoru Yamasaki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Yamasaki http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/lea...-committee.htm

02-05-2020, 08:11 PM	#2
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,386	So be it.

02-05-2020, 08:18 PM	#4
merlinjones Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 30, 2019 Location: los ángeles Posts: 933	In tribute, I just played Kirk's "A Whale of a Tale'' song from "20,000 Leagues" at work. Got people clapping. RIP Kirk.

02-06-2020, 12:16 AM	#5
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,779	He was amazing to be living till 103! A really good, legendary actor! RIP, Mr. Douglas

02-06-2020, 12:30 AM	#6
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	He was an amazing man and actor. God Bless him. May he R.I.P.

02-06-2020, 07:00 AM	#8
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,578	Here are celebrities paying tribute to Kirk: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/enter...las/index.html

02-08-2020, 08:35 AM	#10
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,578	Died from natural causes. https://www.latimes.com/local/obitua...nap-story.html

02-08-2020, 02:57 PM	#12
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,578	Oscars raced to include Kirk Douglas in the ‘In Memoriam’ tribute https://pagesix.com/2020/02/06/oscar...riam-tributes/

02-08-2020, 05:39 PM	#14
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,428	Rest in peace.

02-09-2020, 03:10 AM	#15
Dude111 Forum Legend Join Date: Nov 05, 2013 Posts: 36,334	Very sad -- A good actor!!!!!!!!