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 on-screen credit. In 1963 Douglas starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a story that he purchased and later gave to his son Michael Douglas, who turned it into an Oscar-winning 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 Institute's list of the greatest male screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema. Kirk Douglas died at age 103.

Filmography

• 2019Mike Wallace Is Here — (archive footage)
• 2019Vincent van Gogh Superstar — Vincent van Gogh (archive footage)
• 2012Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen — (archive footage)
• 2009Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France
• 2008Empire State Building Murders — Jim Kovalski
• 2004Illusion — Donald Baines
• 2003It Runs in the Family — Mitchell Gromberg
• 2003The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
• 1999Diamonds — Harry Agensky
• 1999Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection — General Kalthrob
• 1994Greedy — Uncle Joe
• 1994The Lies Boys Tell — Ed Reese
• Touched by an Angel — Ross Berger
• 1992The Secret — Grandpa Mike Dunmore
• 1992Two-Fisted Tales — General Calthrop
• 1991Oscar — Eduardo Provolone
• 1991Welcome to Veraz — Quentin
• 1990Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Under the Sea — Ned Land (archive footage)
• Tales from the Crypt — Gen. Kalthrob
• The Simpsons — Chester J. Lampwick (voice)
• 1988Inherit the Wind — Matthew Harrison Brady
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark
• Queenie — David Konig
• 1986Tough Guys — Archie Long
• 1985Amos — Amos Lasher, Executive Producer
• 1984A Day in the Country: Impressionism and the French Landscape — Narrator
• 1984Draw! — Harry H. Holland aka Handsome Harry Holland
• 1984Salute to Lady Liberty
• 1983Eddie Macon's Run — Carl 'Buster' Marzack
• 1983Something Wicked This Way Comes — Executive Producer
• 1982Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid — (in "I Walk Alone") (archive footage)
• 1982Remembrance Of Love — Joe Rabin
• 1982The Man from Snowy River — Harrison / Spur
• 1980Home Movies — Dr. Tuttle
• 1980Saturn 3 — Major Adam
• 1980The Final Countdown — Capt. Matthew Yelland
• 1979The Villain — Cactus Jack
• 1978The Fury — Peter Sandza
• 1977Holocaust 2000 — Robert Caine
• Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers — Alex Vandervoort
• 1976Victory at Entebbe — Herschel Vilnofsky
• 1975Once Is Not Enough — Mike Wayne
• 1975Posse — Howard Nightingale, Director, Producer
• 1974Mousey — George Anderson
• 1973Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
• 1973Scalawag — Peg, Director, Writer
• 1972The Master Touch — Steve Wallace
• 1972The Special London Bridge Special — The Indian Fighter
• 1971A Gunfight — Will Tenneray, Executive Producer
• 1971Catch Me a Spy — Andrej
• Once Upon a Wheel
• 1971Summertree — Producer
• 1971The Light at the Edge of the World — Will Denton, Producer
• 1970There Was a Crooked Man... — Paris Pitman, Jr.
• 1969The Arrangement — Eddie Anderson
• 1968A Lovely Way to Die — Jameson Schuyler
• 1968The Brotherhood — Frank Ginetta, Producer
• 1967The War Wagon — Lomax
• 1967The Way West — Sen. William J. Tadlock
• 1966Cast a Giant Shadow — Col. David 'Mickey' Marcus
• 1966Grand Prix — Executive Producer
• 1966Is Paris Burning? — General Patton
• 1966Seconds — Co-Executive Producer
• 1965In Harm's Way — Commander Paul Eddington, Jr.
• 1965The Heroes of Telemark — Dr. Rolf Pedersen
• 1964Seven Days in May — Col. Martin "Jiggs" Casey, Co-Executive Producer
• 1963For Love or Money — Deke Gentry
• 1963The Hook — Sgt. P.J. Briscoe
• 1963The List of Adrian Messenger — George Brougham / Vicar Atlee / Mr. Pythian / Arthur Henderson, Executive Producer
• 1962Lonely are the Brave — John W. "Jack" Burns, Executive Producer
• The Lucy Show — Kirk Douglas
• 1962Two Weeks in Another Town — Jack Andrus
• 1961The Last Sunset — Brendan 'Bren' O'Malley, Executive Producer
• 1961Town Without Pity — Major Garrett
• 1960Spartacus — Spartacus, Executive Producer
• 1960Strangers When We Meet — Larry Coe, Executive Producer
• 1959Last Train from Gun Hill — Marshal Matt Morgan
• Tales of the Vikings — Producer
• 1959The Devil's Disciple — Richard Dudgeon
• 1958The Vikings — Einar, Executive Producer
• 1957Gunfight at the O.K. Corral — Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday
• 1957Lizzie — Executive Producer
• 1957Paths of Glory — Col. Dax, Producer
• 1957Ride Out for Revenge — Executive Producer
• 1957Top Secret Affair — Maj. Gen. Melville A. Goodwin
• 1956Lust for Life — Vincent van Gogh
• 1955Man Without a Star — Dempsey Rae
• 1955The Indian Fighter — Johnny Hawks, Executive Producer
• 1955The Racers — Gino Borgesa
• 195420,000 Leagues Under the Sea — Ned Land
• 1954Ulysses — Ulysses
• 1953Act of Love — Robert Teller
• 1953The Juggler — Hans Muller
• 1953The Story of Three Loves — Pierre Narval
• 1952The Bad and the Beautiful — Jonathan Shields
• 1952The Big Sky — Jim Deakins
• 1952The Big Trees — Jim Fallon
• 1951Ace in the Hole — Charles Tatum
• 1951Along the Great Divide — Marshal Len Merrick
• 1951Detective Story — Det. James McLeod
• The Colgate Comedy Hour — Self, Ulysses (archive footage)
• 1950The Glass Menagerie — Jim O'Connor
• The Jack Benny Program — Kirk Douglas
• 1950Young Man with a Horn — Rick Martin
• 1949A Letter to Three Wives — George Phipps
• 1949Champion — Midge Kelly
• 1948My Dear Secretary — Owen Waterbury
• 1948The Walls of Jericho — Tucker Wedge
• 1947I Walk Alone — Noll "Dink" Turner
• 1947Mourning Becomes Electra — Peter Niles
• 1947Out of the Past — Whit Sterling
• 1946The Strange Love of Martha Ivers — Walter O'Neil

Appearances as themselves (83)

• 2026My Life As Roger Moore — Self (Archivfilmmaterial)
• 2024From Roger Moore with Love — Self (archive footage)
• 2021Morceaux de Cannes — Self (archive footage)
• 2020Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty — Self (archive footage)
• 2020Kubrick by Kubrick — Self (archive footage)
• Basketball: A Love Story — Self (archive footage)
• 2018One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: The Shocking Truth — Self
• 2017If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast — Self
• 2017The Untameable Kirk Douglas — Self - Actor
• 2015I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas — Self - Interviewee
• 2015Johnny Cash: American Rebel — Self (archive photo)
• 2014Discovering: Robert Mitchum — Self (archive footage)
• 2014Hollywood au pied du terril — Self
• 2012Stanley Kubrick in Focus — Self
• 2010Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff — Self – Interviewee
• 2009Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget — Self
• 2009Making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — Self
• 2008Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices — Self
• 2007Trumbo — Self - Interviewee
• 2005A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — Self
• Real Time with Bill Maher — Self
• 2001FBI contre Hollywood — Self
• 2001Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir — Self
• Parkinson — Self
• 1997Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line — Self (archive footage)
• 1997Completely Cuckoo — Self
• Scene by Scene — Self
• The View — Self
• Clive Anderson All Talk — Self
• 1996The Universal Story — Self (archive footage)
• 1994A Century of Cinema — Self
• Brisant — Self
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien — Self - Guest
• 1991Movie Tough Guys — Self (archive footage)
• Clive James' Postcard from — Self
• 1988All-Time Movie Greats — Self (archive footage)
• 1988The Racing Experience — Self
• 1986Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary — Self
• 1986Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick — Self
• 1985Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers — Self (archive footage)
• Goldene Kamera — Self
• 1983James Bond: The First 21 Years — Self
• Champs-Elysées — Self, Self (archive footage)
• 1982Let Poland Be Poland — Self
• Wogan — Self
• Verstehen Sie Spaß? — Self
• The Kennedy Center Honors — Self
• Cérémonie des César — Self - President
• Apostrophes — Self
• Les Rendez-vous du dimanche — Self
• People's Choice Awards — Self
• Saturday Night Live — Self - Host
• Der große Preis — Self
• Spécial cinéma — Self
• The American Film Institute Salute to ... — Self
• 1972J'ai tout donné — Self
• 1972Kirk Douglas — Himself
• Film '72 — Self
• V.I.P. Schaukel — Self
• The Johnny Cash Show — Self
• 1968Rowan & Martin at the Movies — Self
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In — Self (uncredited)
• The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest
• 1966Kirk Douglas — Self
• 1965The Making of A Movie — Self
• Pour le plaisir — Self
• The Merv Griffin Show — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
• Tonight Starring Jack Paar — Self
• 1957Van Gogh: Darkness into Light — Self
• Cinépanorama — Self
• The Steve Allen Show — Self - Recipient, Self - Guest
• Tony Awards — Self - Presenter
• 1956Walt Disney's Where Do the Stories Come From? — Self
• 1954Operation Undersea — Self
• 1954The Disneyland Story — Self
• The George Gobel Show — Self
• The Oscars — Self
• This Is Your Life — Self
• What's My Line? — Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
• Golden Globe Awards — Self, Self - Presenter
• Monsters of the Deep — Himself