Kirk Douglas born Issur Danielovitch December 9 1916 February 5 2020 was an American actor producer director and author He grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II During his career Douglas appeared in more than 90 movies and was known for his explosive acting style He became an international star for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion 1949 which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor Other early films include Young Man with a Horn 1950 Ace in the Hole 1951 and Detective Story 1951 a film for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor in a Drama He received a second Oscar nomination for his role in The Bad and the Beautiful 1952 and his third nomination for portraying Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life 1956 which landed him a second Golden Globe nomination In 1955 Douglas established Bryna Productions which produced films as varied as Paths of Glory 1957 and Spartacus 1960 He took the lead roles in both films Douglas has been praised for helping to break the Hollywood blacklist by having Dalton Trumbo write Spartacus with an official onscreen credit In 1963 Douglas starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest a story that he purchased and later gave to his son Michael Douglas who turned it into an Oscarwinning film As an actor and philanthropist Douglas received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement and the Presidential Medal of Freedom As an author he wrote ten novels and memoirs He is No 17 on the American Film Institutes list of the greatest male screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema Kirk Douglas died at age 103
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