Remembering the stunning career of Kirk Douglas

Meeting Lauren Bacall - The aspiring actor’s talents were recognized by the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York City, which awarded him a special scholarship. While at AADA, Douglas met Betty Joan Perske (the future Lauren Bacall, pictured). She would play an important role in launching his film career.

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First wife - It was also at AADA that Douglas started dating an aspiring actress named Diana Dill (pictured), who would later become his first wife. The couple married in 1943 and divorced in 1951. She was the mother of Michael and Joel Douglas, and died in 2015.

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Second wife - He met his second wife, Anne Buydens, on the set of ‘Lust for Life.’ The couple were married for 65 years, an amazing length of time by any standards! They had two sons together, Peter and Eric. Sadly, Eric died from an accidental drug overdose at age 46.

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That's entertainment - Douglas enlisted in the United States Navy in 1941, and served as a communications officer in anti-submarine warfare. Medically discharged in 1944 after sustaining injuries, he returned to New York City and found work in radio, theater, and commercials.

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Screen debut - Douglas’ screen debut was in the Hal Wallis film ‘The Strange Love of Martha Ivers’ (1946), a role his friend Lauren Bacall helped secure. His acting garnered positive reviews. However, Douglas didn't nail his tough-guy persona until his eighth film, ‘Champion’ (1949), in which he played a selfish boxer. For his efforts, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

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Bryna Productions - Away from the screen, the actor made his Broadway debut in 1949 in ‘Three Sisters.’ In 1955, Douglas formed his own movie company, Bryna Productions, which he named after his mother. Between 1955 and 1986, the company produced 19 films.

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Box-office draw - By now an established actor, Douglas was a major box-office star throughout the 1950s and 1960s. ‘Young Man with a Horn’ (1950) saw him play Rick Martin, a struggling jazz musician. The following year, Douglas starred as an unethical newspaper reporter in ‘Ace in the Hole.’

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Classic films - Controversial at the time for its unsettling subject matter, and a failure at the US box office, 'Ace in the Hole' nevertheless won a best foreign film award at the Venice Film Festival. Today it’s often cited in industry surveys as one of the top 500 films ever made.

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A softer touch - In the ‘Bad and the Beautiful’ (1952), playing to form, Douglas was again nominated as Best Actor for his portrayal of a hard-nosed film producer. But in ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ (1954, pictured), he displayed a lighter side by playing a happy-go-lucky sailor against James Mason’s mad inventor, Captain Nemo. The film was one of Walt Disney’s most successful live-action movies.

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'Lust for Life' - Douglas was nominated for an Academy Award a third time for his portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh in the sumptuous and compelling ‘Lust for Life’ (1956). Many believe he should have walked away with the Oscar, especially the film’s director, Vincente Minnelli.

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Defining roles - Kirk Douglas was fluent in French, a talent he put to good use on occasion in the anti-war themed ‘Paths of Glory’ (1957), where he played a French officer during World War I who tries to save three soldiers from execution. Directed by a young Stanley Kubrick, Douglas believed it was the most important picture the maverick director ever made.

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'The Vikings' and 'Spartacus' - The end of the 1950s and the beginning of the ‘60s saw the release of two quintessential Kirk Douglas vehicles: 1957’s ‘The Vikings’ with Tony Curtis, and ‘Spartacus’ (1960), where he played opposite Laurence Olivier. ‘Spartacus’ (pictured) is considered by many film critics as a career-defining role, and was directed by Stanley Kubrick.

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Lifelong buddies - In 1964, Douglas starred alongside Burt Lancaster in the tense political thriller ‘Seven Days in May’ (1964), one of seven films they appeared in together. The two on-screen tough guys became lifelong buddies.

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'The Heroes of Telemark' - The 1960s heralded a string of appearances in action movies, with Douglas often taking the role of straight-talking, uncompromising military men. Notable outings include ‘The Heroes of Telemark’ (1965). Filmed in Norway, this World War II drama ended up among the 15 most popular films at the British box office in 1965.

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Novel approach - Early on in the decade, Douglas purchased the rights to the novel ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.' He turned it into a play (which he starred in), but reviews were mixed. In 1975, the film version was produced by his son Michael. It went on to win five Academy Awards.

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Later career - The low-key but positively rated ‘There Was a Crooked Man’ (1970) teamed Douglas up with another cinema giant, Henry Fonda. It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

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Acting and directing - Always the consummate actor, Douglas himself turned to directing with 1973’s ‘Scalawag,’ an odd Western re-telling of ‘Treasure Island.’ He fared better with ‘Posse’ (1975), a revisionist western that premiered in Europe at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival, where the 59-year-old actor was nominated for the Golden Bear.

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Making a difference - A willingness to diversify into the horror genre paid dividends when Douglas agreed to appear in 1978’s ‘The Fury,’ a supernatural thriller directed by the master of suspense, Brian De Palma. The film garnered positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.

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Hollywood grandee - By now a Hollywood staple, Douglas again wooed critics with his dual role as the brothers Harrison in 1982’s ‘The Man from Snowy River,’ an Australian film that scooped numerous awards.

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Still entertaining - By the late 1980s, the actor appeared less on screen, but was still very active within the entertainment industry. In 1986, he co-hosted (with Angela Lansbury) the New York Philharmonic’s tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty.

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Accidents and achievements - In February 1991, Douglas was injured in a collision between the helicopter he was in and a small plane. The same year he received the prestigious American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. Much later on he would present son Michael with the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence In Film (pictured).

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Honorary Academy Award - Fate stepped in again in January 1996, when the 80-year-old suffered a severe stroke that impaired his ability to speak. Incredibly, after just two months of grueling speech therapy, he was able to accept an honorary Academy Award and, to their amazement, thank the audience.

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A family affair - Now semi-retired, Kirk appeared in ‘It Runs in the Family,’ a 2003 film produced by sons Michael and Joel Douglas, which saw them all together on screen. This included Douglas’s first wife, Diana Dill.

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A veteran actor - At the ripe old age of 93, the veteran actor appeared in ‘Before I Forget,' an autobiographical one-man show presented at the Center Theater Group’s Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City, California.

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100 years old and still married to Anne - On December 9, 2016, Kirk Douglas became a centenarian, a milestone he believed he had reached because of “fresh air and plenty of exercise.”

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A true Hollywood star - The numerous awards and honors bestowed upon Kirk Douglas include a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Interestingly, he is one of the few personalities (along with James Stewart, Gregory Peck and Gene Autry) whose star has been stolen and later replaced.

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The oldest celebrity blogger -

During his retirement, Douglas became the oldest celebrity blogger in the world. Originally hosted on Myspace in 2008, his posts have been hosted by the Huffington Post since 2012.

Check out some other stars from Hollywood's Golden Age!

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Name change - The young Issur grew up as "Izzy Demsky," and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II.

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Acting up - Douglas scraped a living undertaking various menial jobs, but knew that he wanted to be an actor after participating in plays in high school.

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