
Kirk Douglas
Known for Acting · 185 credits
- Born
- 1916-12-09
- Died
- 2020-02-05
- Place of birth
- Amsterdam, New York, USA
- Also known as
- Issur Danielovitch · Issur Danielovitch Demsky · Isador Demsky · Izzy Demsky · Кёрк Дуглас · Керк Даґлас
Biography
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor, producer, director and author. He grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II.
During his career, Douglas appeared in more than 90 movies and was known for his explosive acting style. He became an international star for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion (1949), which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other early films include Young Man with a Horn (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), and Detective Story (1951), a film for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor in a Drama. He received a second Oscar nomination for his role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and his third nomination for portraying Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956), which landed him a second Golden Globe nomination.
In 1955, Douglas established Bryna Productions, which produced films as varied as Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). He took the lead roles in both films. Douglas has been praised for helping to break the Hollywood blacklist by having Dalton Trumbo write Spartacus with an official on-screen credit. In 1963 Douglas starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a story that he purchased and later gave to his son Michael Douglas, who turned it into an Oscar-winning film.
As an actor and philanthropist, Douglas received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As an author, he wrote ten novels and memoirs. He is No. 17 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema.
Kirk Douglas died at age 103.
Known For
TV Shows (50)

The Simpsons
1989
as Chester J. Lampwick (voice)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self

Real Time with Bill Maher
2003
as Self

Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host

Golden Globe Awards
1944
as Self / Self - Presenter

The View
1997
as Self

Wogan
1982
as Self

Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter

LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Self - Guest

The Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self

The Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest

Spécial cinéma
1974
as Self

Apostrophes
1975
as Self

Touched by an Angel
1994
as Ross Berger

Champs-Elysées
1982
as Self / Self (archive footage)

What's My Line?
1950
as Self

The Lucy Show
1962
as Kirk Douglas

Tales from the Crypt
1989
as Gen. Kalthrob

The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self / Ulysses (archive footage)

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975
as Self

The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self

People's Choice Awards
1975
as Self

The Oscars
1953
as Self
Film '72
1971
as Self

Parkinson
1998
as Self

The Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self - Recipient / Self - Guest

Brisant
1994
as Self
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957
as Self
Goldene Kamera
1984
as Self

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968
as Self (uncredited)

The Jack Benny Program
1950
as Kirk Douglas

Basketball: A Love Story
2018
as Self (archive footage)

Cinépanorama
1956
as Self

This Is Your Life
1952
as Self

The Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self

Cérémonie des César
1976
as Self - President
V.I.P. Schaukel
1971
as Self

Verstehen Sie Spaß?
1980
as Self
Der große Preis
1974
as Self
The George Gobel Show
1954
as Self

The Johnny Cash Show
1969
as Self

Scene by Scene
1997
as Self

The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self

Pour le plaisir
1964
as Self
Clive Anderson All Talk
1996
as Self

Clive James' Postcard from
1989
as Self

Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers
1976
as Alex Vandervoort

Queenie
1987
as David Konig

Once Upon a Wheel
1971
Movies (135)

J'ai tout donné
1972
as Self

Once Is Not Enough
1975
as Mike Wayne

Ulysses
1954
as Ulysses

Spartacus
1960
as Spartacus

Paths of Glory
1957
as Col. Dax

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1954
as Ned Land

Oscar
1991
as Eduardo Provolone

The Final Countdown
1980
as Capt. Matthew Yelland

Let Poland Be Poland
1982
as Self

The War Wagon
1967
as Lomax

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957
as Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday

Is Paris Burning?
1966
as General Patton

Illusion
2004
as Donald Baines

The Vikings
1958
as Einar

The Heroes of Telemark
1965
as Dr. Rolf Pedersen

The Fury
1978
as Peter Sandza

In Harm's Way
1965
as Commander Paul Eddington, Jr.

The Way West
1967
as Sen. William J. Tadlock

Act of Love
1953
as Robert Teller

The Man from Snowy River
1982
as Harrison / Spur

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
as (archive footage)

Greedy
1994
as Uncle Joe

Out of the Past
1947
as Whit Sterling

Last Train from Gun Hill
1959
as Marshal Matt Morgan

Lust for Life
1956
as Vincent van Gogh

Ace in the Hole
1951
as Charles Tatum

The Devil's Disciple
1959
as Richard Dudgeon

Strangers When We Meet
1960
as Larry Coe

Saturn 3
1980
as Major Adam

Completely Cuckoo
1997
as Self

Seven Days in May
1964
as Col. Martin "Jiggs" Casey

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
as (in "I Walk Alone") (archive footage)

The Bad and the Beautiful
1952
as Jonathan Shields

The Indian Fighter
1955
as Johnny Hawks

Kubrick by Kubrick
2020
as Self (archive footage)

The Story of Three Loves
1953
as Pierre Narval

Cast a Giant Shadow
1966
as Col. David 'Mickey' Marcus

Home Movies
1980
as Dr. Tuttle

Monsters of the Deep
as Himself

The Villain
1979
as Cactus Jack

There Was a Crooked Man...
1970
as Paris Pitman, Jr.

It Runs in the Family
2003
as Mitchell Gromberg

Lonely are the Brave
1962
as John W. "Jack" Burns

Welcome to Veraz
1991
as Quentin

Rowan & Martin at the Movies
1968
as Self

Detective Story
1951
as Det. James McLeod

Two Weeks in Another Town
1962
as Jack Andrus

Inherit the Wind
1988
as Matthew Harrison Brady

Top Secret Affair
1957
as Maj. Gen. Melville A. Goodwin

Tough Guys
1986
as Archie Long

Man Without a Star
1955
as Dempsey Rae

Along the Great Divide
1951
as Marshal Len Merrick

The Brotherhood
1968
as Frank Ginetta

The Last Sunset
1961
as Brendan 'Bren' O'Malley

The Untameable Kirk Douglas
2017
as Self - Actor

Eddie Macon's Run
1983
as Carl 'Buster' Marzack

The Arrangement
1969
as Eddie Anderson

The Juggler
1953
as Hans Muller

A Century of Cinema
1994
as Self

Morceaux de Cannes
2021

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010
as Self – Interviewee

A Letter to Three Wives
1949
as George Phipps

Kirk Douglas
1972
as Himself

Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary
1986
as Self

The Big Trees
1952
as Jim Fallon

I Walk Alone
1947
as Noll "Dink" Turner

The Universal Story
1996
as Self (archive footage)
Stanley Kubrick in Focus
2012
as Self

The Light at the Edge of the World
1971
as Will Denton

Young Man with a Horn
1950
as Rick Martin

A Gunfight
1971
as Will Tenneray

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
1946
as Walter O'Neil
My Life As Roger Moore
as Self (Archivfilmmaterial)

From Roger Moore with Love
2024
as Self (archive footage)
All-Time Movie Greats
1988
as Self (archive footage)

A Lovely Way to Die
1968
as Jameson Schuyler

Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty
2020
as Self (archive footage)

Posse
1975
as Howard Nightingale

Two-Fisted Tales
1992
as General Calthrop

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997
as Self (archive footage)

Catch Me a Spy
1971
as Andrej

For Love or Money
1963
as Deke Gentry

James Bond: The First 21 Years
1983
as Self

Victory at Entebbe
1976
as Herschel Vilnofsky
The Racing Experience
1988
as Self

Town Without Pity
1961
as Major Garrett

The Racers
1955
as Gino Borgesa

Mike Wallace Is Here
2019
as (archive footage)

Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France
2009
Hollywood au pied du terril
2014
as Self

The Lies Boys Tell
1994
as Ed Reese

The Glass Menagerie
1950
as Jim O'Connor

The Walls of Jericho
1948
as Tucker Wedge

Trumbo
2007
as Self - Interviewee

Making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
2009
as Self

Champion
1949
as Midge Kelly

If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
2017
as Self
The Making of A Movie
1965
as Self

Mourning Becomes Electra
1947
as Peter Niles

Operation Undersea
1954
as Self

Holocaust 2000
1977
as Robert Caine

The Hook
1963
as Sgt. P.J. Briscoe

Draw!
1984
as Harry H. Holland aka Handsome Harry Holland

The List of Adrian Messenger
1963
as George Brougham / Vicar Atlee / Mr. Pythian / Arthur Henderson

Kirk Douglas: Before I Forget
2009
as Self

Johnny Cash: American Rebel
2015
as Self (archive photo)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1973
as Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

Remembrance Of Love
1982
as Joe Rabin

The Special London Bridge Special
1972
as The Indian Fighter

Amos
1985
as Amos Lasher

Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
1986
as Self

Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985
as Self (archive footage)
I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas
2015
as Self - Interviewee

Diamonds
1999
as Harry Agensky

Scalawag
1973
as Peg

The Master Touch
1972
as Steve Wallace

The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
2003

My Dear Secretary
1948
as Owen Waterbury

Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection
1999
as General Kalthrob

Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices
2008
as Self
About Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor, producer, director and author. He grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the United States Navy during World War II. During his career, Douglas appeared in more than 90 movies and was known for his explosive acting style. He became an international star for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion (1949), which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Ot… With 185 credits spanning from 1944 to 2024, Kirk Douglas has appeared in 135 films and 50 TV shows.
Fans searching for Kirk Douglas movies, Kirk Douglas filmography, or the latest projects starring Kirk Douglas can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Kirk Douglas Movies
- J'ai tout donné (1972) — as Self
- Once Is Not Enough (1975) — as Mike Wayne
- Ulysses (1954) — as Ulysses
- Spartacus (1960) — as Spartacus
- Paths of Glory (1957) — as Col. Dax
Where to Watch Kirk Douglas Films
Most Kirk Douglas movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Kirk Douglas, check our movies catalogue and browse page.