Actor, Hollywood Icon Kirk Douglas Dead At 103
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Actor and Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas died Wednesday at age 103, his son and actor Michael Douglas announced on Instagram.
Douglas starred in more than 75 movies throughout his career and was best known for his role in the 1960 gladiator film "Spartacus."
He was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky in Amsterdam, New York in 1916. His ex-classmate Lauren Bacall got him his first film in 1946, kicking off a string of critically acclaimed movies like 1956's "Lust for Life" in which he played the tortured, yet talented artist Vincent Van Gogh — the role scored Douglas an Oscar nomination.
He received another nomination for 1952's "The Bad and the Beautiful."
Douglas was also a leading man off the screen. He was married to his second wife Anne Buydens for 65 years.
Never forgetting his roots growing up in poverty, he vowed to always give back. He left a legacy for children in Los Angeles, dedicating more than 400 playgrounds in Southern California over the years. The Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City even bears the actor's name.
"It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103," son Michael said in an Instagram post.
"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," he wrote.
He had been in good health since suffering a major stroke in 1996, after fighting to get his speech back. At the 1996 Oscars, the actor made his greatest comeback as he received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
"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." his son said.
He is survived by his wife Anne, and his three sons Michael, Joel, and Eric.
