Around the same time, his acting career stalled. Two of his directorial efforts that decade, Scalawag (1973) and Posse (1975), failed to make much of an impression on movie-goers. In the 1970s, Douglas tried his hand at directing, but met with little success. Trumbo, a member of the Hollywood Ten, turned out a number of screenplays under various pseudonyms during the more than a decade he was blacklisted but was later given full credit for his work, including two Academy Awards. He hired blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to write Spartacus. In making Spartacus, Douglas also challenged the practice of blacklisting certain Hollywood figures over their possible communist leanings. Douglas' work in Spartacus as a Roman slave (the film's title character) who leads an uprising is considered to be one of his signature roles. Working with director Stanley Kubrick, he also starred in the World War I drama Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). Corral (1957), a western drama, The Devil's Disciple (1959) and Seven Days in May (1964). Over the years, he often appeared with his friend and fellow Hollywood heavyweight, Burt Lancaster, in such films as Gunfight at the O.K. In addition to his critical acclaim, Douglas became a big box-office draw. Douglas earned an Academy Award nomination for each of those films. However, it was his work with Vincente Minnelli that led to two of his greatest performances: morally bankrupt movie executive Jonathan Shields in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and troubled artist Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956). Career HighlightsĪ sought-after actor, Douglas worked with many leading directors, including Billy Wilder for 1951's Ace in the Hole. He amazed audiences and critics alike with his portrayal of Midge Kelly in the film, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Three years later, he gave a breakthrough performance as a boxer who stops at nothing to make it to the top in Champion (1949). Navy during World War II - and a brief career on the Broadway stage - Douglas made his first Hollywood film, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), starring with Barbara Stanwyck. At that time, he had no idea what his future had in store: In the 1950s and '60s, Douglas was one of the most popular leading men in cinema.Īfter serving in the U.S. He worked odd jobs to pay for his college education and to support himself while studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Douglas grew up poor. Early Lifeīorn Issur Danielovitch on December 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York, Douglas is known for his distinctive voice, strapping physique and cleft chin. One of his biggest hits was 1960's Spartacus. He went on to critical acclaim in such films as 1952's The Bad and the Beautiful and 1956's Lust for Life. Navy and on Broadway, actor Kirk Douglas broke into the movies with The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.

Kirk douglas i am spartacus