10 iconic roles of Kirk Douglas: Post in memory of the actor of the "golden age" of Hollywood

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On February 5, 2020, the representative of the "golden age" of Hollywood, 103-year-old Kirk Douglas, died in the United States. The legendary actor's son Michael Douglas, reporting the sad event on his Facebook page, said: "He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather, a talented actor and writer, and a renowned philanthropist." We recall the iconic roles of Kirk Douglas, which he himself considered the best of his acting career.

"Champion", 1949

For his role as Michael "Midge" Kelly in Mark Robson's sports drama, Kirk Douglas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. The actor himself said that he did not know how cool he was until he played in "Champion". And he confessed: virtue is not photogenic, and he always liked to play bad guys, trying to find something good in them. This is what helped him maintain contact with the audience.

"Trumpeter", 1950

In the musical drama Michael Curtitz, the actor played Rick Martin, whose story was partially based on the biography of the famous jazz musician Bix Beiderbeck. When Kirk Douglas was already 95 years old, Michael Douglas told his father about his acquaintance with a talented trumpet player from Africa, who confessed to the son of the legendary actor: it was after watching the film "Trumpet Player" that he became interested in playing the trumpet and began to seriously study music.

"Ace in the Sleeve", 1951

In the film by Bill Wilder, Kirk Douglas played the role of the imposing correspondent Chuck Tatum, who could sacrifice human life for a newspaper sensation. The actor fell in love with this role, it seems, due to the fact that there was a lot of work with her. He tried to add some good qualities to his character, but the director demanded to do the opposite. As a result, the film turned out to be very peculiar and showed the unscrupulousness of the race for sensations, to which the press has always gravitated. It had to take more than one year after the failure of the picture at the box office, before "Ace in the Sleeve" entered the golden fund of Hollywood.

"Detective Story", 1951

Before filming the film by William Wyler based on the play by Sidney Kingsley, the actor worked for several weeks in one of the New York police stations to better understand the image of detective Jim McLeod. He accompanied real-life detectives on their outings and additionally sought out the correct role line while playing in a special theatrical production of "Detective Story" in Phoenix, Arizona.

"Angry and Beautiful", 1952

Playing the role of tough, ruthless and ambitious Hollywood producer Jonathan Shields in Vincent Minnelli's film, based on a story by Charles Bradshaw, was not easy. However, making a film about the behind the scenes of the film industry is generally difficult. However, Kirk Douglas himself admitted: the picture turned out to be very "tasty". And he added without undue modesty that Lina Turner and himself were incredibly good in this film.

"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", 1954

Filming in the film by Richard Fleischer based on the novel by Jules Verne was remembered by the actor because he sang. Kirk Douglas, who is fundamentally unable to sing, liked this new role. He was frankly proud of his performance of the song, and no doubt every child knew the tune itself. The actor rejoiced like a boy, because even Frank Sinatra was jealous of his friend Kirk Douglas at the time.

Lust for Life, 1956

Another film directed by Vincent Minnelli Kirk Douglas calls one of the best in his work. In the film based on the novel by Irwin Stone, the actor had to try on the image of Vincent Van Gogh. Douglas had to rebuild himself for a character who constantly overtook the actor himself. Douglas described working on the film as a very interesting experience. Sometimes he was dissatisfied with his game, fearing that he was not playing very faithfully. However, the audience believed the actor, who made them empathize with the character.

"Paths of Glory", 1957

The script for the film, which Stanley Kubrick intended to direct, was initially rejected by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, after which it fell into the hands of Kirk Douglas. The actor not only agreed to star in the film, but also warned the director that the film was unlikely to be profitable, but they still have to make it. The story of the First World War was poignant and very powerful. Almost immediately after the release of the picture, Kirk Douglas called the role of Colonel Dax the best in his acting career.

Spartak, 1960

Kirk Douglas was very interested in the image of the gladiator Spartacus, he wanted to understand the character of this character, to find out what guided him when making decisions. Kirk Douglas' image of Spartacus turned out to be voluminous and powerful, but the actor, who also acted as the producer of the film "Spartacus", is most proud of the fact that he was able to attract Dalton Trumbo, who was included in the "black list" of Hollywood, to work. Film companies refused to work with him, directors did not involve him in work on their films. Douglas managed to break the list, after which Trumbo was actively invited to projects.

"Daredevils are lonely", 1962

The adaptation of Edward Abby's novel "The Brave Cowboy" directed by David Miller, in which Kirk Douglas starred as Jack Burns, turned out to be very bright and authentic. The actor was most impressed by the relationship of the cowboy with his … horse. Kirk Douglas, after reading the novel, was able to convince the management of Universal Pictures to put the film into production. The actor himself selected the actors through his own production company, and he again brought Dalton Trumbo to work on the script. Subsequently, Kirk Douglas will say more than once that the film "Daredevils are Alone" is the best in his life.

The representative of the "golden era" of Hollywood Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne Bidense met in the middle of the last century, went through serious trials together, survived the loss of one of their sons and remained in love with each other until the very moment when death separated them. What was the secret of their all-consuming long-term happiness?