[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kirk_douglas.jpg]]

->''"All children are natural actors, and I'm still a kid. If you grow up completely, you can never be an actor."''

Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch Demsky; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was a famous American actor and producer, who started his career in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood and remained active for roughly half a century.

The young Issur grew up in poverty in Amsterdam, New York. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Chavusy, Mogilev Region, in the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russian Empire]] (present-day UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}), who fled pogroms. While studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, he met one [[Creator/LaurenBacall Betty Joan Perske]], who would greatly help him launch his career in the movie industry.

Known for depicting tough, [[LanternJawOfJustice square-jawed]] men and once quoted as saying he "made a career out of playing sons of bitches"; actually quite nice in real life (depending on who you ask). Had something of a LargeHam reputation, though he proved that he could tone it down and still act pretty well. Often [[ThoseTwoActors tag-teamed]] onscreen with Creator/BurtLancaster, though some sources claim the two men [[HostilityOnTheSet strongly disliked each other]]. Following the example of Lancaster, Kirk created his own production house, Bryna Productions (named after his mother) in 1955. Bryna Productions had several successes and was largely responsible for launching the career of a talented young director named Creator/StanleyKubrick.

He also played a very important role in ending UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist going on in the film industry during the '50s and '60s, most notably by defending the screenwriter he chose for ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'', Dalton Trumbo. His career was largely ended by a stroke that permanently affected his speech in 1996. He was one of the last living legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood, eventually passing away at age 103 in 2020. More details about his life can be found in his [[{{Biography}} autobiography]], ''The Ragman's Son''.

He is the father of Creator/{{Michael|Douglas}}, Joel, Peter and Eric Douglas.

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!!Partial filmography:

* ''Film/TheStrangeLoveOfMarthaIvers'' (1946) as Walter O'Neil; his film debut
* ''Theatre/MourningBecomesElectra'' (1947) as Peter Niles
* ''Film/OutOfThePast'' (1947) as Whit Sterling
* ''Film/ALetterToThreeWives'' (1949) as George Phipps
* ''Theatre/TheGlassMenagerie'' (1950) as Jim O'Connor
* ''Film/{{Ace in the Hole|1951}}'' as Chuck Tatum
* ''Film/DetectiveStory'' (1951) as Detective James [=McLeod=]
* ''Film/TheBadAndTheBeautiful'' (1952) as Jonathan Shields
* ''Film/TheBigSky'' (1952) as Jim
* ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' (1954) as Ned Land
* ''Film/LustForLife'' (1956) as Creator/VincentVanGogh
* ''Film/GunfightAtTheOKCorral'' (1957) as Doc Holliday
* ''Film/PathsOfGlory'' (1957) as Col. Dax
* ''Film/TheVikings'' (1958) as Einar
* ''Film/LastTrainFromGunHill'' (1959) as Matt Morgan
* ''Theatre/TheDevilsDisciple'' (1959) as Dick Dudgeon
* ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' (1960) as Spartacus
* ''Film/TownWithoutPity'' (1961) as Maj. Garrett
* ''Film/TheLastSunset'' (1961) as Bren O'Malley
* ''Film/LonelyAreTheBrave'' (1962) as Jack Burns
* ''Film/TheListOfAdrianMessenger'' (1963) as George Brougham
* ''Film/{{For Love or Money|1963}}'' (1963) as Deke Gentry
* ''Literature/SevenDaysInMay'' (1964) as Col. Jiggs Casey
* ''Film/TheHeroesOfTelemark'' (1965) as Dr. Rolf Pedersen
* ''Film/InHarmsWay'' (1965) as Cdr. Paul Eddington
* ''Film/IsParisBurning'' (1966) as Gen. UsefulNotes/GeorgeSPatton
* ''Film/TheWarWagon'' (1967) as Lomax
* ''Film/TheArrangement'' (1969) as Eddie Anderson
* ''Film/ThereWasACrookedMan'' (1970) as Parris Pitman Jr.
* ''Film/TheLightAtTheEdgeOfTheWorld'' (1971) as Will Denton
* ''Film/AGunfight'' (1971) as Will Tenneray
* ''Film/DrJekyllAndMrHyde1973'' as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
* ''Film/Posse1975'' as Marshal Howard Nightingale
* ''Film/{{Holocaust 2000}}'' (1977) as Robert Caine
* ''Film/TheFury'' (1978) as Peter Sandza
* ''Film/TheVillain'' (1979) as Cactus Jack
* ''Film/TheFinalCountdown'' (1980) as Capt. Matthew Yelland
* ''Film/{{Saturn 3}}'' (1980) as Adam
* ''Film/{{Draw}}'' (1984) as Harry H. Holland
* ''Film/ToughGuys'' (1986) as Archie Long
* ''Film/{{Oscar|1991}}'' (1991) as Eduardo Provolone
* ''Film/{{Diamonds|1999}}'' (1999) as Harry Agensky
* ''Film/{{It Runs in the Family|2003}}'' (2003) as Mitchell Gromberg

!!Tropes & Trivia in his works:

* FollowTheLeader: Douglas was bummed that he didn't get the main role for the mega hit ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]'' (which went to Creator/CharltonHeston), so he arranged to get his own SwordAndSandal EpicMovie, ''Film/{{Spartacus}}''.
* ProducedByCastMember: A number of his roles were in self-produced movies, through his company Bryna Productions.

!!Portrayals in fiction:

* Creator/AlbertUderzo, who loved using the [[ComicBookFantasyCasting likeness of celebrities]] for some of his comic book characters, gave Kirk's face to former slave [[ShoutOut Spartakis]] in the ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' adventure ''Recap/AsterixAndObelixAllAtSea''.
* The very silly 1994 animated short ''WesternAnimation/TheBigStory'' is basically just an excuse for Kirk Douglas impersonations.
* Creator/DeanOGorman portrayed Kirk in ''Film/{{Trumbo}}'', about the life of Dalton Trumbo.
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