Hollywood Legend Kirk Douglas Dies at 103

Yara Sameh

American actor Kirk Douglas, a fixture in cinema for six decades, has died Wednesday at the age of 103, Michael Douglas his eldest son and two-time Oscar winner announced.

"It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103.," Michael paid tribute to his late father on Instagram.

"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." he added.

He continued: "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." Michael added.

He concluded: "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"

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Michael's wife and Kirk's daughter-in-law, Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, had also paid a tribute to him on Instagram with a photo of the two together.

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The later legend was Born Issur Danielovich on Dec. 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York. He was the only son of seven children born to illiterate Russian immigrants.

He hitch-hiked to St. Lawrence University in New York, after graduating from high school, where he became a wrestling champion.

Douglas also starred in theatrical productions and changed his name to Izzy Demsy after St. Lawrence enrolled in New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1941, during which he changed his name to Kirk Douglas.

He joined the Navy following two small Broadway roles. In 1946, Douglas made his film debut in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" costarring Barbara Stanwyck.

Douglas rose to stardom in 1916 and earned his first Oscar nomination for the 1949 movie "Champion".

He was an actor known for his amazing acting skills and his range of roles that totaled over 90 movies in a career that stretched across seven decades and films, which included "Spartacus" and "The Vikings" that made him one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1950s and '60s.

Douglas is also known for his other movies "Lonely Are the Brave," "The Devil's Disciple," "Victory at Entebbe" and "Tough Guys,".

He was also a producer, director, and author. He also played a major role in breaking the Hollywood blacklist— actors, directors, and writers who were shunned professionally because of links to the communist movement in the 1950s— which was something he found to be a source of pride, more than any film he made.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kirk Douglas[/caption]

Douglas and his first wife, Diana Dill, married on November 2, 1943. They had two sons, actor Michael Douglas and producer Joel Douglas, before porcing in 1951.

Afterward, while shooting the "Act of Love" movie in Paris he met Anne Buydens, its publicist, and got married in 1954. They had two sons, Peter and Eric.

Douglas, who survived a 1991 helicopter crash that killed two people, tried to discourage his children from following him into acting, however, Michael became a major star and a successful producer, while Joel and Peter become producers and Eric who had also become an actor until his death in 2004 from a drug overdose.

A stroke in 1996 at the age of 80, left Douglas with slurred speech and damaged facial nerves, but two weeks later he was seen in high spirit as he attended the Academy Awards ceremony, during which he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

He also continued to take small acting roles through 2008 but said the stroke left him suicidal.

"Humor saved me," Douglas told Parade magazine in 2014. "At first, I thought my life was at an end. But when I put the gun in my mouth, it hit a tooth. Ow! And that struck me funny. A toothache was stopping me from committing suicide?"

In one of his last public appearances, he seemed fragile and barely audible in a wheelchair as he helped daughter-in-law at the Oscar in January 2018.