Kirk Douglas (December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was a legendary American actor, producer, and author, a true titan of Hollywood’s Golden Age known for his explosive acting style, granite-carved features, and indomitable on-screen presence.
He shot to international stardom with his first Academy Award-nominated role as a ruthless boxer in Champion (1949). His intense, powerful performances defined a series of classics, earning him two more Best Actor nominations for his roles as a ruthless movie producer in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and as the tortured artist Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956).
In 1955, Douglas formed his own production company, Bryna Productions, producing and starring in two of his most important films: the powerful anti-war statement Paths of Glory (1957) and the epic Spartacus (1960). In a courageous act of defiance, he effectively helped break the Hollywood blacklist by giving full screen credit to the banned writer Dalton Trumbo for the Spartacus screenplay.
