Welcome to the Posts section of the official Kirk Douglas website. Its purpose is to let Kirk share his thoughts and activities with you, and to enable you to share your thoughts with him.
Below you’ll find links to the most recent "Reflections" and "Activities" posts.
Clicking the “Reflections” button to the left, you’ll be taken to a page where Kirk, a best-selling writer as well as a movie star, has posted his most recent thoughts and musings.
Clicking the “Activities” button, you’ll be taken to a page where you can learn about current and past goings-on in which Kirk is involved.
Clicking the "Kirk Douglas Theatre" button, you'll get the latest news about productions at the theatre, named to honor Kirk Douglas and established as the newest and most intimate of the Center Theatre Group's spaces, which include the Ahmanson and Mark Taper Theatres at the Los Angeles Music Center.
By clicking “Fan Mail,” you’ll have the opportunity to share your thoughts with Kirk.
Kirk Doulgas's new book, written with his wife Anne, Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter, and a Lifetime in Hollywood is now available. This link will enable you to order a copy, and have part of the proceeds go to the work of The Douglas Foundation.
Film legend Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens, his wife of nearly sixty-three years, look back on a lifetime filled with drama both on and off the screen. Sharing priceless correspondence with each other as well as the celebrities and world leaders they called friends, Kirk and Anne is a candid portrayal of the pleasures and pitfalls of a Hollywood life lived in the public eye.
Compiled from Anne's private archive of letters and photographs, this is an intimate glimpse into the Douglases' courtship and marriage set against the backdrop of Kirk's screen triumphs, including The Vikings, Lust For Life, Paths of Glory, and Spartacus. The letters themselves, as well as Kirk and Anne's vivid descriptions of their experiences, reveal remarkable insight and anecdotes about the legendary figures they knew so well, including Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, the Kennedys, and the Reagans. Filled with photos from film sets, private moments, and public events, Kirk and Anne details the adventurous, oftentimes comic, and poignant reality behind the glamour of a Hollywood life-as only a couple of sixty-two years (and counting) could tell it.
Hugh Jackman To Receive Santa Barbara Film Festival’s Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film
- Created on Thursday, 04 October 2018
- Written by Pete Hammond
--Deadline Hollywood October 1, 2018
Hugh Jackman will be the recipient of this year’s Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film, presented for the 13th year by the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The black-tie awards gala will be held November 19 at the Ritz Carlton Bacara hotel.
Jackman, riding high off the global box office success of 2017’s surprise hit musical The Greatest Showman, has won acclaim for his latest film The Front Runner. He plays U.S. Sen. Gary Hart, whose 1988 Presidential campaign was derailed by a sex scandal.
The film, directed by Jason Reitman, premiered at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals early last month and won high praise, particularly for Jackman’s performance which is being heavily Oscar-buzzed. Sony Pictures will open the movie, appropriately, on election day November 6 before going wide later in the month.
Since 2006, the annual Kirk Douglas Award has been given to a lifelong contributor to cinema through their work in front of the camera, behind, or both. Past honorees include Judi Dench, Warren Beatty, Jane Fonda, Jessica Lange, Forest Whitaker, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Quentin Tarantino, Ed Harris and John Travolta.
“I am delighted that Hugh Jackman will receive the 13th annual Kirk Douglas Award. He’s an exceptional talent of stage and screen, and one of the nicest people in the business. It’s my honor to have my name linked with his on this year’s award,” Kirk Douglas said.
The 34th annual Santa Barbara Film Festival is set to run January 30-February 9.
Kirk Douglas Spartacus actor, 101, in heartwarming moment with great-granddaughter
- Created on Friday, 31 August 2018
- Written by Samantha Masters
--Express.co.uk August 29, 2018
The 101-year-old former actor was captured admiring baby Lua Izzy, the daughter to his grandson Cameron Douglas, 39.
Baby Lua was seen holding her arms out to the Spartacus actor who smiled proudly.
The father of Michael Douglas, 73, dressed in casual attire and hid behind sunglasses as he sat on a chair.
Admiring the moment, Cameron took to his Instagram to upload the adorable snap.
In view of his 11,000 followers, he simply captioned the picture: “LOVE.”
Many of his social media fans flocked to his page to comment on the cute offering.
One user commented: “Beautiful. This is life.”
Another added: “That’s an amazing treasure,” another penned: “That is a gorgeous photo!”
Back in January, Kirk proudly cradled his great-granddaughter as Cameron sat alongside him.
Cameron shared the picture with the caption: “Words cannot express. #Powerful #Bloodline.”(sic)
Earlier this month, Kirk was pictured being helped by two nurses during a rare sighting in Los Angeles.
Kirk was seen receiving help assistance from two staff members before he settled down in a wheelchair.
His appearance comes shortly after Michael revealed an interesting fact about his father’s approach to life.
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly on her self-titled show, he said: “He still has a trainer. He works out with a trainer at 101.”
Recalling a memory of his father, he continued: “I remember when dad was 90 and he had a guy that he worked out with for 30 years, Mike.
“So I went to see dad one day and I go, ‘Dad, what’s wrong? You don’t look good.’
“He said, ‘Mike died.’ ‘Oh dad, I’m so sorry. Mike died… how old was Mike?’” he continued.
“He said, '94.’ So his trainer was 94-years-old when he was 90.”
Aside from Michael, Kirk also has three other sons Joel, Eric and Peter.
He has tied the knot twice in his lifetime and has been married to Anne Buydens, 99, since 1954.
AFI Names Taryn Proscal As Inaugural Recipient Of Kirk Douglas Fellowship
- Created on Wednesday, 15 August 2018
- Written by Dino-Ray Ramos
--Deadline Hollywood August 8, 2018
The American Film Institute announced today that AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Fellow Taryn Procsal will be the first recipient of the Kirk Douglas Fellowship.
Proscal, a single mother of three, was recognized for her unique voice and will receive a full-tuition two-year scholarship. The inaugural Kirk Douglas Fellowship is awarded to an AFI Conservatory Fellow and Proscal is set to enter the Conservatory in the fall as one of a full-class of 140 first-year Fellows.
“I am honored and pleased to have Taryn Procsal receive the first Kirk Douglas Fellowship,” said Kirk Douglas in a statement.
As an AFI Conservatory screenwriter, Proscal joins a prestigious list of talent including Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot), Liz Hannah (The Post), Brad Falchuk (American Crime Story, American Horror Story), Scott Frank (Out of Sight, Logan), Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich) and LaToya Morgan (Shameless, Parenthood).
Douglas, an AFI Life Achievement Award honoree, is known for championing screenwriters and film in his 70-year career. In 1960, Douglas hired blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo to pen Spartacus (which Douglas starred) and gave him full credit on the film. This eventually led to the end of the Hollywood blacklist. Trumbo was depicted by Bryan Cranston in the 2015 Jay Roach film Trumbo which documented the screenwriter’s life and the blacklist. Douglas was portrayed by Dean O’Gorman.
