Kirk Douglas Dies at 103, Hollywood Remembers

Kirk Douglas Dies at 103, Hollywood Remembers

By Kylie Hemmert

Following yesterday’s sad news (via The Hollywood Reporter) that Oscar nominee Kirk Douglas passed away at age 103, Hollywood flooded social media with tributes to the icon, including from his son and actor Michael Douglas, which you can read below.

Douglas was best known for his work in Spartacus, Paths of Glory, Ace in the Hole, The Vikings, Lust for Life, Champion, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Man From Snowy River, Tough Guys, Greedy, The Bad and the Beautiful, and It Runs in the Family (which starred three generations of Douglas’s including Kirk’s son Michael Douglas, and Michael’s son Cameron Douglas. Diana Douglas, Michael’s mother and Kirk’s ex-wife, also starred).

Douglas also did a memorable guest voice on The Simpsons in 1996, and also appeared in an episode of Tales From the Crypt called “Yellow,” which was directed by Robert Zemeckis and featured his late son Eric, who died in 2004.

One of his biggest historical contributions was effectively ending the Hollywood blacklist by insisting Dalton Trumbo be credited as the writer of the Stanley Kubrick-directed Spartacus. Douglas wrote a book about making the film titled I Am Spartacus! Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist. Spartacus, with a budget of $12 million, was the most expensive movie ever made at the time when the movie launched in 1960, and Douglas was known for wielding immense power on the set.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103. 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. 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. 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. #KirkDouglas

A post shared by Michael Douglas (@michaelkirkdouglas) on

(Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Kylie Hemmert
Kylie Hemmert

Share article

Movie News
Marvel and DC
Related
X