Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas (originally known as Issur Danielovitch), an American born on December 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York, US, was a renowned actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. He made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) alongside Barbara Stanwyck. After growing up in poverty, he became a top box-office star in the 1950s, acknowledged for his performances in serious dramas, westerns, and war films. He portrayed passionate characters in more than 90 films and was known for his explosive acting style. The American Film Institute named him the 17th greatest male star of classic Hollywood cinema.

For his first Academy Award nomination, he played an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion (1949). His breakout roles include those in Out of the Past (1947), Young Man with a Horn (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), and Detective Story (1951), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He earned subsequent Oscar nominations for The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Lust for Life (1956) where he portrayed Vincent van Gogh. Also known for his philanthropic endeavors, he received an Academy Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Despite facing a severe stroke in 1996, he continued acting for several years. He passed away in Beverly Hills, California, on February 5, 2020.