I AM SPARTACUS! THE LEGENDARY HOLLYWOOD MOVIE STAR KIRK DOUGLAS TURNS 100 TODAY
Kirk Douglas, whose illustrious career has taken in some of cinema's landmark roles, turns 100 on Friday -- attributing his remarkable longevity to his 'wonderful marriage' of more than six decades.
The three-time Oscar nominee will celebrate with 200 friends and family at a party in California hosted by his son Michael and daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta Jones.
Kirk Douglas, whose illustrious career has taken in some of cinema's landmark roles, turns 100 on Friday -- attributing his remarkable longevity to his 'wonderful marriage' of more than six decades.
The three-time Oscar nominee will celebrate with 200 friends and family at a party in California hosted by his son Michael and daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta Jones.
The star, who was forced to retire because of speech
problems after a stroke, has practiced delivering a few words on the day with
the help of a speech therapist.
"I am always asked for advice on living a long and
healthy life. I don't have any. I do believe, however, that we have a purpose
for being here," he says.
"I was spared after a helicopter crash and a stroke
to do more good in the world before I leave it."
Douglas, the son of illiterate Russian immigrants,
appeared in some of cinema's most iconic roles, from slave Spartacus and
painter Vincent van Gogh to Western legend Doc Holliday.
He was in more than 80 movies but, unlike stars of
younger generations, never took a role in a sequel.
- 'Volcano' -
Born Issur Danielovitch in poverty in New York to a
Jewish parents, Douglas went to the city's Academy of Dramatic Arts.
"Champion" (1949) earned him the first of three
Oscar nominations for best actor, an award that has eluded him but was finally
snared by his son Michael for "Wall Street" (1987).
Among his most famous films were 1956 Van Gogh biopic
"Lust for Life," "Gunfight at the OK Corral" (1957),
"Spartacus" (1960) and "Seven Days in May" (1964).
Douglas's first marriage to American actress Diana
Webster produced sons Michael and Joel before it ended in divorce in 1951.
Three years later he married Belgian-American Anne
Buydens, who once wrote of Douglas: "Living with my husband is like
sitting in a beautiful garden right next to a volcano that may erupt at any
moment."
The couple would go on to have two sons, Eric and Peter.
"One hundred years old is certainly a milestone, but
the facts are what dad has accomplished in 100 years," Michael Douglas
writes in the Closer Weekly article.
"I think his stamina and tenacity are the qualities
that stand out for me," he continues. "He has taught me always to
give it your best shot at whatever you take on. He's the full package."
Double Golden Globe winner and lifelong friend Angie
Dickinson shared a bedroom scene with the legend in "Cast a Giant
Shadow" (1966), which required the pair to be naked.
"You couldn't ask for more than you get with
Kirk," the 85-year-old actress, an ex-wife of legendary composer Burt
Bacharach, told AFP.
"He's just a perfect man, I must say. Everything he
does is perfect."
Courtesy of http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4010858/Kirk-Douglas-100-love-soulmate-Anne.html
In pictures: Kirk Douglas at 100
A selection of images from the life and career of US
actor Kirk Douglas, who celebrates his 100th birthday on 9 December.
Courtesy of http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38250250
Kirk Douglas: 10 essential films
On his 100th birthday we celebrate one of the last
surviving great actors of Hollywood’s golden age, with a look at some of Kirk
Douglas’s finest movies.
