Kirk Douglas, ‘Spartacus’ star who helped end Hollywood blacklist, dies at 103
LOS ANGELES – Kirk Douglas, the dimplechinned screen icon who was known for bringing an explosive, clenchedjawed intensity to a memorable array of heroes and heels in films such as “Spartacus” and “Champion” and for playing an off-screen role as a maverick independent producer who helped end the Hollywood blacklist, has died. He was 103.
Douglas, who continued to act occasionally after overcoming a stroke in 1996 that impaired his speech, died Wednesday in Los Angeles, surrounded by family, his son Michael said in a statement.
“To the world he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to,” Michael Douglas said on Instagram.
“Kirk’s life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet.”
The stage-trained Douglas earned the first Oscar nomination of his long acting career playing one of the post-world War II era’s antiheroes: the ruthlessly ambitious boxer in the 1949 drama “Champion.”
Douglas later received Oscar nominations for his performances as an opportunistic movie mogul in the 1952 drama “The Bad and the Beautiful” and as tormented artist Vincent van Gogh in the 1956 biographical drama “Lust for Life.”
“I have never felt any need to project a certain image as an actor,” Douglas wrote in “The Ragman’s Son,” his bestselling 1988 autobiography. “I like a role that is stimulating, challenging, interesting to play. That’s why I’m often attracted to characters that aren’t likable.”
Never a fan of the Hollywood studio system – he likened the standard seven-year studio contract to slavery – Douglas launched his own independent production company in 1955.
Named after Douglas’ immigrant mother, the Bryna Co. produced a number of films in which Douglas starred, including director Stanley Kubrick’s landmark anti-war film, “Paths of Glory,” “The Vikings” and “Spartacus.” Douglas’ Joel Productions, named after one of his sons, also produced “Seven Days in May” and “Lonely Are the Brave.”
As executive producer of “Spartacus,” Douglas helped end the Hollywood blacklist by giving blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo screen credit under his own name for his work on the 1960 Roman-empire epic that starred Douglas as the gladiator-trained slave revolt leader.