We bid farewell to Spartacus. Kirk Douglas, one of Hollywood's greatest leading men, has died at age 103. From Hollywood Reporter:
One of my favorite actors of all time. I loved his performance in Paths of Glory. What a great life. RIP.
One of the most monumental Hollywood icons there ever was or will be. RIP, Kirk Douglas. You are Spartacus.
Too many great roles to credit but he'll always be Ulysses. Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
One of the all-time great stars, IMHO. I particularly enjoyed his collaborations with Burt Lancaster. It’s interesting that they meshed so well onscreen despite being so alike - tall, blond, athletic and, of course, owners of the best chins in Hollywood. Normally when you’ve two very similar actors, there’s not enough contrast for the partnership to work but it worked here, due to their obvious chemistry and charisma.
He was really a great actor, not just a personality who developed a popular on screen persona and never ventured outside of that box, like a John Wayne. Douglas took all kinds of roles. I read a story once about John Wayne allegedly asking Douglas why he wanted to play a “sniveling artist.” Douglas had agreed to play Picasso. From what I’v read, he was instrumental in breaking the Hollywood blacklist that had outlived the McCarthy hearings, by giving work and screen credit to guys like Douglas Trumbo, who had been labeled a communist by McCarthy and banned from writing movies. Check out the excellent movie, Trumbo, which details the story. I once had a somewhat close encounter with him once years ago. I took a visiting friend of mine to see downtown LA on a Sunday afternoon, and they were filming a movie Douglas was in. I actually saw him filming dialogue with, I think, Ann Baxter. It was kind of a thrill. It would be interesting to see which of today’s acting stars would be as brave as Douglas was in the event of some political “crackdown” in the film making community. We might not be all that far from something like this. May he Rest In Peace.
Agreed. Recently picked-up Seven Days in May on Blu-ray. Great movie and fantastic performances by Douglas and Lancaster in this film (well the whole cast across the board is great, as is the writing).
Are we sure he is dead? Kirk Douglas was a great actor, in serious roles as well as in comedy. He had an amazing career and a long life. Rest in peace.
AFAIK, the Wood story seems based on nothing more than an anonymous blog (some suggest that the blogger behind it was Robert Downey Jr., bizarrely enough) in 2012, 32 years after her death. I’m supportive of #metoo and #ibelieveher but this one never struck me as a credible allegation, particularly as there’s no first-hand evidence of Wood making it. It’s perhaps also notable, if not conclusive, that virtually no other scandal has ever attached to Douglas during his long life.